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.

Darkness at Dusk  —  It's only been a week since the defeat, but the battle lines have already been drawn in the fight over the future of conservatism.  —  In one camp, there are the Traditionalists, the people who believe that conservatives have lost elections because they have strayed from the true creed.

Schumer and Durbin Want Lieberman Stripped of Homeland Security Chair  —  Newsweek's Howard Fineman on Keith Olbermann: … One point I think needs to be made.  This isn't about Joe Lieberman maintaining membership in a country club as a matter of feel-good “bipartisanship.”

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.

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.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST  —  John Hinderacker, arguably the most influential conservative blogger in the country ...  At the feet of masters.

Brownstein On The Palin Dilemma  —  Sarah Palin, who started her post-campaign bid for rehabilitation with a series of high profile interviews this week, emerged from the 2008 election in an even more politically damaged condition than previously understood, new data show.

Obama-Clinton soap opera takes new turn  —  Michelle Obama wasn't always an admirer of Hillary Clinton, but last Wednesday the soon-to-be first lady dialed up the former first lady for pointers on protecting her two young daughters from the media maelstrom of the White House.

For South, a Waning Hold on Politics  —  VERNON, Ala. — Fear of the politician with the unusual name and look did not end with last Tuesday's vote in this rural red swatch where buck heads and rifles hang on the wall.  This corner of the Deep South still resonates with negative feelings about the race of President-elect Barack Obama.

Obama to Explore New Approach in Afghanistan War  —  The incoming Obama administration plans to explore a more regional strategy to the war in Afghanistan — including possible talks with Iran — and looks favorably on the nascent dialogue between the Afghan government and “reconcilable” …

U.S. building bases in Afghanistan to aid drones  —  WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is building a series of air bases in eastern Afghanistan as part of its massive expansion of a system that uses drone aircraft to spy on and attack Taliban insurgents, according to interviews and documents.

Intelligence Policy to Stay Mostly Intact  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama is unlikely to radically overhaul controversial Bush administration intelligence policies, advisers say, an approach that is almost certain to create tension within the Democratic Party.

John Edwards returns to public stage in Indiana  —  BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards is returning to the public stage for a speech at Indiana University, three months after he acknowledged an affair with a woman hired to produce videos of him in 2006.

Most affluent voters key to Obama sweep  —  Barack Obama promised he would lower taxes for 95 percent of Americans and presumably raise them for the 5 percent who benefited most under President Bush's tax policies.  But, remarkably, the most affluent 5 percent supported Obama and that was perhaps the key to his victory last week.

A House Disappointment  —  There's some sentiment out and about that Democrats “underperformed” in House of Representatives races, perhaps because (in Mickey Kaus' words) “swing voters compensated for the bold, hopeful risk they took on Obama (including for overcoming any race prejudice) …

From Tiny Sect, Weighty Issue for Justices  —  PLEASANT GROVE CITY, Utah — Across the street from City Hall here sits a small park with about a dozen donated buildings and objects — a wishing well, a millstone from the city's first flour mill and an imposing red granite monument inscribed with the Ten Commandments.

‘My Life with Obama Senior’  —  “He asked to dance with me during a party and I couldn't turn him down.  He picked me out of several girls that were there.  A few days later, I married him ... He paid 14 cows as dowry for me, which were delivered in two batches.  That was because he loved me so greatly.”

Goodbye and Good Riddance  —  After eight years of President Bush, we almost don't know how to function without him — almost.  But before we move on, we should pause to remember just what we're leaving behind.  —  Just over two years into George W. Bush's presidency …

McCain Owes Sarah Some Straight Talk  —  Where's John McCain's honor when we need it?  —  We'll find out tonight, when the Arizona Republican appears on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno.  In the week since the election, Mr. McCain's campaign team has leaked some nasty stuff about Sarah Palin.

Most uncounted ballots will be tallied Wednesday  —  90,000 VOTES: Stevens vs. Begich isn't the only race in question.  —  khopkins@adn.com  —  Look for the needle to move on Alaska's landmark U.S. Senate race and other tight contests this week, with the Division of Elections planning …

EXCLUSIVE: Gingrich, Steele duel privately for RNC job  —  A behind-the-scenes battle to take the reins of the Republican National Committee is taking off between former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele.  —  Neither man will acknowledge his interest in the post …