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” …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.