EXCLUSIVE: Emanuel accepts White House job  —  Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), a wily, aggressive West Wing strategist under President Bill Clinton, has accepted the post of White House chief of staff for President-elect Barack Obama, Democratic officials tell Politico.

Lieberman Meets With Reid, Tries To Cling To Senate Chairmanship  —  Bolstered by a newly expanded majority, Harry Reid met with Joe Lieberman on Thursday to sketch out the conditions by which the Connecticut independent could continue to caucus with Senate Democrats.

Obama's odds of getting Nebraska electoral vote increase  —  Good news for Barack Obama supporters.  —  His odds of bagging an electoral vote in Nebraska grew stronger this morning, with word that 10,000 to 12,000 early ballots and 5,200 provisional ballots are left to count in Douglas County.

Reason 142 to Homeschool: Obama Teachers Won't Bully Kids Who Support McCain  —  Welcome, HotAir Readers!  —  And Welcome Michelle Malkin Readers!  —  This is a video of Diantha Harris, a lifelong democrat and avid Barack Obama supporter.  She is also a lousy schoolteacher, as is evidenced by the mushmouthed kids in her class.

Former Sen. Max Cleland (D-Ga.) is in the running to be the new secretary of the Army, defense industry officials say.  Read full story.  —  Obama holds presser Friday  —  And he'll meet Bush on Monday  —  From Mike Allen's BlackBerry: After meeting with economic advisers in Chicago tomorrow …

The Palin knives come out  —  The quadrennial Newsweek special post-election edition, Elisabeth Bumiller and Campaign Carl Cameron all break new ground on the internecine feuding between Palin and McCain forces.  —  There were, of course, ritualistic denials from aides to both candidates that such sniping …

Obama campaign workers angry over unpaid wages  —  Updated:  —  Indianapolis - Lines were long and tempers flared Wednesday not to vote but to get paid for canvassing for Barack Obama.  Several hundred people are still waiting to get their pay for last-minute campaigning.

Franken says recount is needed  —  The Democrat's deficit is down to 341 votes in his Senate battle with Norm Coleman.  —  Democrat Al Franken, locked in an overtime election battle with incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, said today that he is pushing ahead with the recount of Tuesday's voting.

Matthews: My Job Is To Make Obama Presidency a Success  —  Just in time for the new James Bond movie, Chris Matthews has earned himself a new moniker: Odd Job.  Matthews says he sees his job as a journalist as doing everything he can to make the Obama presidency a success.

Election Analysis: America Can Take Pride In This Historic, Inspirational Disaster  —  Although I have not always been the most outspoken advocate of President-Elect Barack Obama, today I would like to congratulate him and add my voice to the millions of fellow citizens who are celebrating his historic and frightening election victory.

A Few Things You'd Have to Believe to Believe What McCain Staffers Say About Sarah Palin  —  Let's add some context to the Carl Cameron and Newsweek airing of rumors from anonymous McCain/Palin staffers.  The most controversial claims, all of which come without names attached because the purveyors …

Saul Alinsky Takes the White House  —  Conservatives may not realize just how difficult it might be to recover from this week's elections.  —  The day after the big defeat, the conservative chatter everywhere was about how the “movement” and the Republican Party (two different things) …

Italy's Berlusconi hails “suntanned” Obama  —  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gave an enthusiastic, if unconventional, welcome on Thursday to the election of Barack Obama, citing among his attributes youth, good looks and a “suntan.”

Rove: Obama Hoodwinked America Into Electing A Progressive President  —  Last night on Fox's Hannity and Colmes, Karl Rove argued that President-Elect Barack Obama ran a “center-right” campaign, but that if you “dig in” you can uncover the radical socialist that the right-wing warned the country about during the campaign:

Obama's Real Opposition  —  Presidents come and go; Congressional barons are forever.  —  Now that Barack Obama has vanquished John McCain, he faces a much greater foe: Democrats on Capitol Hill.  They've humbled the last two Democratic Presidents — and with their enhanced majorities next year, they'll be out to do it again.

Brooklyn Marine & wife tortured, slain in Calif.; 4 Marines charged  —  A Brooklyn-raised Marine sergeant and his new bride were tortured and killed execution-style in their California home - allegedly by four other Marines under his command.  —  Sgt. Jan Pawel Pietrzak, who was raised in Bensonhurst …