How the Palin debate helps McCain  —  Want an idea of how popular Sarah Palin was among Southern Republicans?  You can check her numbers in exit polls or just see which element of the party is defending her the loudest.  GOP state chairs in North Carolina, South Carolina and now Tennessee …

Al Gore, Colin Powell, Caroline Kennedy in Obama's Administration?  —  Obama transition team boss John Podesta threw open the curtains of his operation today to reporters, signaling that the president-elect wants to move quickly, but not hastily, to set up his government.

Poll finds most Americans welcome Dem control  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — It was one of John McCain's closing arguments: “We're getting a glimpse of what one-party rule would look like under Obama, Pelosi, and Reid.  Apparently it starts with lowering our defenses and raising our taxes,” …

Bush: ‘I regret’ some things 'I shouldn't have said'  —  NEW YORK (CNN) — As his presidency nears its end, a reflective President Bush suggested Tuesday he regrets some of his more blunt statements on the war on terror over the last eight years, and said he wishes he had not spoken in front of a …

Anti-war camp urges Obama to dump Gates  —  Arms control advocates and anti-war activists are ratcheting up pressure on President-elect Barack Obama to dump Defense Secretary Robert Gates and replace him with a more strident anti-war voice.  —  Nominating Gates to stay …

Presidential race not over in Missouri  —  The presidential contest is still not over in Missouri, even if President-elect Barack Obama is already sizing up the White House.  —  In fact, the vote count in Missouri is tightening.  —  Republican John McCain's statewide lead has shrunk …

Sources: Jarrett headed to White House, not Senate  —  (CNN) — Two Democratic sources close to President-elect Barack Obama tell CNN that top adviser Valerie Jarrett will not be appointed to replace him in the U.S. Senate.  —  “While he (Obama) thinks she would be a good senator …

Barone: Media wanted Palin abortion  —  A roomful of academics erupted in angry boos Tuesday morning after political analyst Michael Barone said journalists trashed Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republicans' vice presidential nominee, because “she did not abort her Down syndrome baby.”

Argument preview: Pleasant Grove City v. Summum  —  At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear argument on the constitutional status of monuments placed in public parks by private groups or individiuals, in the case of Pleasant Grove City, et al., v. Summum (07-665).

Obama likely to escape campaign audit  —  The Federal Election Commission is unlikely to conduct a potentially embarrassing audit of how Barack Obama raised and spent his presidential campaign's record-shattering windfall, despite allegations of questionable donations and accounting that had the McCain campaign crying foul.

It's Official: Full Dem Caucus Will Vote On Lieberman's Fate  —  The full Democratic caucus will vote on whether Joe Lieberman is allowed to keep his chairmanship of the Homeland Security committee at its caucus meeting next week, a leadership aide confirms to us.

Jindal Says No  —  Interestingly, it seems Bobby Jindal was being seriously considered for the Veepstakes but decided to say no in part because they feared that he might “be caught up in what they believed to be a less-than-stellar campaign that could pin a loss on Jindal without much ability …

Saxby Chambliss Seeks Deferment From Runoff - Cites “Bum Knee”  —  Never one to let an opportunity to mislead the people of Georgia, Saxby Chambliss has requested that he actually be excused from the December 2nd runoff against Jim Martin and just be declared the winner.

Responding to Obama's Win, Michael (Son of) Reagan Says, Go After Dems on Sex  —  The Obama win is driving some conservatives crazy.  On Tuesday, Michael Reagan, talk show host and son of Ronald, sent out an email announcing a new outfit called Reagan Action, which among other things …

The End of ‘Objectivity’ in New Era: A Good Thing?  —  NEW YORK When Michael Paulson began covering religion for The Boston Globe eight years ago, the paper had no blogs or online video, he did almost no outside speaking work, and the paper's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Catholic church sex scandal was still years away.

Invidious comparisons  —  Why bail out Wall Street and not GM, demand many people.  Why do we care about bankers and not ordinary folks?  —  I think this misses the point of the financial bailout.  Whether or not it works—and I sure hope it will—I don't think very many people wanted …

Prop. 8 gift gets theater's leader in a ruckus  —  Gay and lesbian artists called Monday for an artistic and audience boycott of California Musical Theatre after learning that its artistic director donated $1,000 to a campaign that backed banning gay marriage in California.

BUSH ANGER: OBAMA AIDES LEAK CHAT DETAILS  —  Just hours after President Bush and President-elect Obama met in the Oval Office of the White House, details of their confidential conversation began leaking out to the press, igniting anger from the president, sources claim.

Uh, Sarah....You Sure You Want To Go There?  —  Sarah Palin seems to have a special place in her heart for bloggers: … For the record: … I have a masters' degree in film business from USC, produced major motion pictures and wrote a best selling book.

Why Obama Looks Like a One Termer  —  Just “one and done” for Barack Obama's presidency?  Recall an ominous passage in his otherwise joyous election-night speech: “The road ahead will be long.  Our climb will be steep.  We may not get there in one year or even in one term.”

Scarborough now guarded by a seven-second delay.»  —  Yesterday, MSNBC's Joe Scarborough accidentally dropped the f-bomb while live on air.  After apologizing, Scarborough said, “My wife is going to kill me when I get home.”  (Watch the incident here.)

The Gray Lady turns pasty white: Is the financial demise of The Times at hand?  —  In 1896, Adolph Ochs bought The New York Times and boldly placed on its front-page flag the slogan All The News That's Fit To Print.  Today, its publisher, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., may need to rewrite …