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.

Text of Obama's statement on the economy  —  President-elect addresses economic concerns before first press conference  —  The following is a statement read by President-elect Barack Obama before his first press conference since Election Day.  —  This morning, we woke to more sobering news about the state of our economy.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

Rahm Emanuel: You Can't Take a Knife to a Gun Fight.  Live from Chicago, It's BuzzFlash.com!  —  MARK KARLIN'S EDITOR'S BLOG: Another BuzzFlash Perspective on Our Homestate Illinois Politics.  —  As the oldest and largest news and commentary progressive website (since May of 2000) …

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 …

Obama has spoken only to living presidents  —  Obama says in his first post-election press conference that he's spoken to all the former presidents — Carter, Bush, Clinton, as well as the current Bush — and, looser than he's been in months, dares a joke at the expense of the widow of the most recently deceased.

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 …

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)

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.

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.

Mark Foley Prepares For First Interview...  The former congressman and 2006 Republican bête noire will appear on NBC News's Today Show next Wednesday.  (or the Wednesday after next..)  —  That's according to a Florida source who is close to the former congressman....

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 …