A Visit Both Historic and Perhaps Awkward  —  WASHINGTON — For nearly two years on the campaign trail, Senator Barack Obama rarely missed a chance to take a swipe at President Bush.  The name George W. Bush invariably followed the phrase “failed policies” in Mr. Obama's speeches.

A Quiet Windfall For U.S. Banks  —  With Attention on Bailout Debate, Treasury Made Change to Tax Policy  —  The financial world was fixated on Capitol Hill as Congress battled over the Bush administration's request for a $700 billion bailout of the banking industry.

Jamie Gorelick  —  As he prepares to take office, President-elect Barack Obama is relying on a small team of advisers who will lead his transition operation and help choose the members of a new Obama administration.  Following is part of a series of profiles of potential members of the administration.

Right-wing media feeds its post-election anger  —  Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity dive shamelessly in, talking about the ‘Obama recession’ and other partisan lines.  —  You have to give Rush Limbaugh a perverse kind of credit.  At least when he is demonizing Barack Obama, fabricating Obama policies …

TALENT SHOPS COURTING PALIN  —  SARAH Palin won't be vice president, but she won the hearts of talent scouts and literary agents who are scrambling to sign her to multimillion-dollar contracts.  —  CAA, ICM, William Morris, Paradigm and other agencies “smell books, talk shows and commentary for Fox and CNN” …

BATTLE PLANS  —  How Obama won.  —  Obama's strategy worked, with only minor alterations, throughout the campaign.  —  Last June, Joel Benenson, who was Barack Obama's top pollster during his Presidential run, reported on the state of the campaign.  His conclusions, summed …

Planning under way for Obama holiday  —  The Capital-Journal  —  Plans are being made to promote a national holiday for Barack Obama, who will become the nation's 44th president when he takes the oath of office Jan. 20.  —  “Yes We Can” planning rallies will be at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. every Tuesday …

Now: We Get Our Lives Back  —  As I find myself barely able to function this weekend, I did manage to go for a bike ride, walk the dogs, and catch up on a few Netflix projects (finishing off John Adams, “The Savages”, the rest of Season 11 of The Simpsons).  What is this I'm feeling?

Sometimes Continuity Trumps Change  —  Three Bush Appointees in Crucial Positions Likely to Remain Under Obama  —  As President-elect Barack Obama prepares to fill top positions for his incoming government, he faces a stubborn reality: Some of the key individuals he will rely upon to tackle …

Obama set to push ‘big bang’ reform package  —  US President-elect Barack Obama intends to push a comprehensive programme of social and economic reform beyond an immediate emergency stimulus package, Rahm Emanuel, the next White House chief of staff, indicated on Sunday.

The return of the real  —  Sarah Baxter in today's Sunday Times: … In saying this, Sarah reprises the theme of the opening words of Obama's victory speech in Chicago.  For a substantial part of the last eight years it has been impossible to escape the voices of all those who have been telling us …

GOP leader: Rebuild party based on ‘sanctity of marriage’  —  The Republican brand is still alive and well, Rep. Mike Pence said on Fox News Sunday.  —  When asked by Chris Wallace what “conservative solutions” the GOP would bring to their current minority-party status, Pence said social issues like …

Dem groups claim Obama win  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  John F. Kennedy famously said that “victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan,” an adage born out over the last three days as reporters' inboxes have overflowed with e-mails …

GOP aims to rebuild, refocus  —  Party at crossroads  —  Colorado Republicans, sifting through the ashes of three disastrous election cycles, are in the midst of a vigorous debate over how to win again in a state where their future looks bleak.  —  That struggle is likely to play …

Big Political Donors Just Looking for Favors?  Apparently Not.  —  The Center for Responsive Politics recently estimated that it cost $5.8 billion to finance the 2008 general elections.  To most people that is a staggeringly large sum and evidence of the profoundly corrupting role …

Secret Order Lets U.S. Raid Al Qaeda in Many Countries  —  WASHINGTON — The United States military since 2004 has used broad, secret authority to carry out nearly a dozen previously undisclosed attacks against Al Qaeda and other militants in Syria, Pakistan and elsewhere, according to senior American officials.

Trapping The Apostle  —  I like dday's optimism below, but if you want to see what the village elders are saying about all this “change”, this morning's Fareed Zakaria show on CNN will give you a clue.  —  Zakaria hosted a panel of historians and establishment icons, Walter Isaacson …

Like the Dwights and Lyndons of Old, Baby Baracks All Over  —  Decontee Williams was so excited by Barack Obama's victory on Tuesday night that she started jumping up and down — and went into labor.  Twelve hours later, Barack Jeilah was born at Phoenix Baptist Hospital to Ms. Williams and Prince Jeilah.

Nov. 9: Valerie Jarrett, Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., political roundtable  —  MR. TOM BROKAW: Our issues this Sunday: The nation elects Barack Obama its 44th president.  —  PRES.-ELECT BARACK OBAMA: It's been a long time coming but tonight, because of what we did on this day …