Obama apologizes to Nancy Reagan for ‘careless’ joke  —  President-elect Barack Obama called Nancy Reagan this afternoon to apologize for a joke about her having held “séances” in the White House, an Obama aide said.  —  “President-elect Barack Obama called Nancy Reagan today …

McConnell reaches out to Lieberman  —  Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has reached out to Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) about the prospect of joining the Republican Conference, but Lieberman is still bargaining with Democratic leaders to keep his chairmanship, according to Senate aides in both parties.

Breaking News: Obama wins electoral vote in Nebraska  —  Barack Obama made history today in Nebraska.  —  The Democratic presidential candidate claimed an electoral vote in the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District — the first time in more than four decades a Democrat won any of Nebraska's electoral votes.

Change I Can Believe In  —  I have dreams.  I may seem like a boring pundit whose most exotic fantasies involve G.A.O. reports, but deep down, I have dreams.  And right now I'm dreaming of the successful presidency this country needs.  I'm dreaming of an administration led by Barack Obama …

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MINNESOTA?  —  When the polls closed Tuesday evening, Minnesota's Secretary of State's office showed that Norm Coleman had a 725-vote win in his closely contested race against Al Franken.  By the next morning, however, Coleman's victory was already shrinking.

The N-bomb is dropped on black passersby at Prop 8 protests  —  UPDATE: the openly gay president of People for the American Way, Kathryn Kolbert, has released a statement.  It's below the fold.  —  You could see this coming, and this is what I'm talking about when you ignore the elephant in the room.

Examples of Obama's Decency  —  I've had some people demanding evidence — any evidence — that Obama is a decent or good man.  I've learned as a lawyer and a blogger that you can't convince someone who resists being convinced, and on the issue of Obama's positive qualities …

Emanuel Was Director Of Freddie Mac During Scandal  —  New Obama Chief of Staff, Others on Board, Missed “Red Flags” of Alleged Fraud Scheme  —  President-elect Barack Obama's newly appointed chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, served on the board of directors of the federal mortgage firm Freddie Mac …

The Wounded-Courier: Comedy World Devastated by Obama Victory  —  Comedy World Devastated by Obama Victory  —  As the majority of Americans continue to bask in the glow of Barack Obama's landslide victory on Tuesday, comedians nationwide have suddenly fallen on hard times.  Some literally.

Conservatives blame moderates for GOP losses  —  (CNN) — A conservative leader Friday laid the Republican Party's poor showing at the polls at the feet of moderates who, he argues, led the party away from its core principles.  —  Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council told CNN …

Juicy Bits Surfacing in Rather Case: In 2004, CBS Considered Matt Drudge, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter Independent Panel  —  This week, Dan Rather's legal team submitted a memorandum to the judge overseeing Mr. Rather's $70 million civil lawsuit against his former employers …

The Campaign Autopsy  —  In my previous life, I witnessed far more difficult postmortems.  This one is easy.  The patient was fatally stricken on Sept. 15 — caught in the rubble when the roof fell in (at Lehman Brothers, according to the police report) — although he did linger until his final, rather quiet demise on Nov. 4.

Obama Victory Alters the Tenor of Iraqi Politics  —  BAGHDAD — Barack Obama may have been elected only three days ago, but his victory is already beginning to shift the political ground in Iraq and the region.  —  Iraqi Shiite politicians are indicating that they will move faster toward …

Bozell Says Obama Was A Far-Left Candidate, Seconds Later Says He ‘Won As A Conservative’  —  Reeling from Tuesday's widespread losses, yesterday “about 20 political strategists and social and fiscal conservative leaders met” to discuss the future of the movement at the home of Brent Bozell, head of the right-wing Media Research Center.

Nine questions  —  Obama's first press conference as president-elect offered a glimpse of his governing style, looser and more assertive than his cautious campaign mode, though still keeping his interactions with the press brief.  —  This was, of course, a happy occasion for him …

‘Compassionate’ Conservatism Was a Mistake  —  The liberal pundits who embraced the candidacy of Barack Obama are also eager to issue a death certificate for free market capitalism.  They're wrong, and they remind me of what the great Willie Nelson once said: “I'm ragged but I'm right.”

A Butler Well Served by This Election  —  For 34 Years, Eugene Allen Carried White House Trays With Pride.  Now There's Even More Reason to Carry Himself That Way.  —  For more than three decades Eugene Allen worked in the White House, a black man unknown to the headlines.