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 …

Plouffe to the Senate?  —  Obama campaign manager David Plouffe speaks to the media in the spin room after the vice presidential debate at the Field House of Washington University's Athletic Complex on October 2, 2008 in St. Louis, Missouri.  (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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.

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 …

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 …

Franken's deficit: 236 votes  —  Sen. Norm Coleman's Democratic challenger is vowing to push ahead with a recount.  —  Just as Secretary of State Mark Ritchie was explaining to reporters the recount process in one of the narrowest elections in Minnesota history, an aide rushed in with news …

Transition Rumint: Security Posts  —  As advisors to President-Elect Obama move swiftly into transition mode, speculation on possible appointments is heightened while those under consideration for the jobs have gone quiet.  But here are some names I am hearing and reading for national security posts:

America Serves … The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation's challenges.  President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools …

Dems split over Treasury choice  —  As Barack Obama faces mounting pressure to announce his economic team, Democrats are split over two of the leading candidates for Treasury secretary: New York Federal Reserve Chairman Timothy Geithner and former Clinton Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers.

Unemployment Rate at 14-Year High After Big October Losses  —  The American economy lost another 240,000 jobs in October, the government reported Friday morning, the 10th consecutive monthly decline and a clear signal that an accelerating slowdown is assailing households and businesses.

69% of GOP Voters Say Palin Helped McCain  —  Sixty-nine percent (69%) of Republican voters say Alaska Governor Sarah Palin helped John McCain's bid for the presidency, even as news reports surface that some McCain staffers think she was a liability.  —  Only 20% of GOP voters say Palin hurt …

Gays Hit Back at Mormons — Please Join Us  —  Given their history, Mormons know about being targeted for being different.  Yet in a full-on offensive, the LDS Church mobilized in favor of California's Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that bans gay marriage.

Georgia Claims on Russia War Called Into Question  —  TBILISI, Georgia — Newly available accounts by independent military observers of the beginning of the war between Georgia and Russia this summer call into question the longstanding Georgian assertion that it was acting defensively against separatist and Russian aggression.

Palin Aide Fires Back at Reported McCain Camp Slams  —  Says RNC, Not Palin, Responsible for Wardrobe Missteps; Rejects Other Complaints  —  Now that the defeated Republican presidential team of Sen. John McCain and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin have gone their separate ways, the knives are out and Palin is the one who is getting filleted.