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 adds symbolic NC victory to White House win  —  President-elect Barack Obama has won North Carolina, adding 15 electoral votes to his wide victory and a symbolic triumph in a state that hadn't voted for a Democrat in more than a generation.  —  The Associated Press declared …

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.

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.

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.

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:

‘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 …

Writers welcome a literary president-elect  —  NEW YORK - Last winter, Nobel laureate Toni Morrison received a phone call from Sen. Barack Obama, then the underdog to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.  —  Obama had contacted Morrison to ask for her support.

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 …

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 …

House Dems celebrate with internal fights  —  Tuesday's election may have made House Speaker Nancy Pelosi the most powerful woman in U.S. political history, but she isn't getting much time to celebrate: Some of her colleagues are accusing her of plotting to overthrow a popular committee chairman …

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.

US elections: Republicans must choose between two futures  —  Democrats last night won the grandest political victory since the Reagan Revolution of 1980, not only electing a president but also scoring gains in both houses of Congress.  When the final tally is counted, we will likely …