Internal Battles Divided McCain and Palin Camps  —  PHOENIX — As a top adviser in Senator John McCain's now-imploded campaign tells the story, it was bad enough that Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska unwittingly scheduled, and then took, a prank telephone call from a Canadian comedian posing as the president of France.

Exclusive: Gibbs will be WH press secretary  —  Robert Gibbs, a top aide to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on his campaign and in his Senate office, will be named the White House press secretary, a top Democratic official said.  —  Gibbs was usually the senior official on Air Obama, the campaign plane.

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.

McCain at ease after loss  —  On the day after his victory, Barack Obama faced a world in financial crisis, shooting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a nation that expected him to deliver on all his promises.  —  John McCain faced a barbecue.  —  “I got nine racks of ribs,” McCain told his closest aide and co-author, Mark Salter.

‘Impeach Obama’ groups pop up on Facebook … Barack Obama has not even been sworn in yet as the 44th president of the United States but groups are springing up online calling for his impeachment.  —  On Facebook, an “Impeach Barack Obama” group has attracted more than 700 members …

An answer to Proposition 8: Repealing DOMA  —  The most potent ingredient making Tuesday's election bittersweet is the apparent passage of Proposition 8 in California.  It's one thing for a state to decide in advance not to allow same-sex marriages.  It's another thing entirely to watch …

Roy Blunt Expected to Leave House Leadership  —  Susan Davis and Brad Haynes report on Congress.  —  House Republican Whip Roy Blunt, the No. 2 GOP leader in the House, won't seek another term in leadership after his party's losses in a second straight election, according to a senior House aide.

Lawrence Summers: Africa Is “UNDER-Polluted”  —  Lawrence Summers is on a very short list of possible nominees for Secretary of Treasury.  His selection has been complicated, however, by his destructive performance as president of Harvard University, a rocky term he finally sabotaged …

How the President-Elect Did It  —  The new voters changed the game.  —  Intense and gripping, the 2008 election was also historic.  The son of a Kenyan immigrant and an American mother has risen to the presidency of history's most powerful nation.  Who was not moved by the sight …

Sen. Gordon Smith calls to concede to Jeff Merkley … Republican Gordon Smith, who has represented Oregon in the U.S. Senate for the last 12 years, this morning called Jeff Merkley, his Democratric challenger, to concede their race.  —  Jon Isaacs, an aide to Merkley …

Dems lower expectations  —  Democratic leaders are tamping down on expectations for rapid change and trying to signal they will place a calm hand on the nation's tiller.  —  “The country must be governed from the middle,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday.

A guide to key appointments Obama should resist.  —  With Barack Obama's presidential victory in the bag, speculation has begun about who he'll appoint to his Cabinet.  Actually, it began some time ago.  Russell Baker of the New York Times many years ago invented a spectral figure called …

Emanuel Accepts  —  President-elect Barack Obama and newly installed White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.  AP Photo/Alex Brandon  —  Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel has, as expected, accepted the job as chief of staff to President-elect Barack Obama, according to informed Democratic sources.

The Straight-Ticket Youth Vote  —  As a sidenote to Obama's 66-32 blowout among 18-29 voters, check out how these same voters voted for the House.  Not much different: 63-34.  —  So, in casting an identity politics vote for Barack Obama, a hip young (by political standards) African American …