The Biggest Lesson Obama Learned From The Clinton Transition  —  Democrats who survived the transition from George H.W. Bush to William Jefferson Clinton are a bit in awe these days of what Barack Obama is doing and how he is doing it.  —  Of the Clinton transition, one very senior …

Heckuva job, McLame  —  From the man whose best-sellers include “Why Courage Matters” and “Character Is Destiny” comes this underwhelming reaction to the cowardly smearing of Sarah Palin by his own unnamed staffers:  —  “These things happen.”  —  Not: “Shame on the leakers.  I denounce and renounce them.”

Liberal Pranksters Hand Out Times Spoof  —  Sorry, folks, the paper isn't free.  And the Iraq war isn't over, at least not yet.  —  In what appears to be an elaborate hoax, pranksters distributed hundreds or possibly thousands of free copies of a spoof edition of The New York Times …

Lobbyists Swarm the Treasury for Piece of Bailout Pie  —  WASHINGTON — When the government said it would spend $700 billion to rescue the nation's financial industry, it seemed to be an ocean of money.  But after one of the biggest lobbying free-for-alls in memory, it suddenly looks like a dwindling pool.

Senator Takes Initiative on Health Care  —  WASHINGTON — Without waiting for President-elect Barack Obama, Senator Max Baucus, the chairman of the Finance Committee, will unveil a detailed blueprint on Wednesday to guarantee health insurance for all Americans by facilitating sales of private insurance …

ASSIGNMENT DESK: RAMBLING ABOUT KANSAS.  —  Rick writes: … This is a complicated question, and I have nothing definitive to say on it, but the outcome of the 2008 election makes it interesting to dig into.  —  First, you have to somehow handle the methodological dispute between Thomas Frank …

Obama surfs through  —  The Obamas are a warm vision for the White House — but he should strive toward full transparency.  Plus: Yes, I still like Sarah Palin!  —  Dazed and confused.  A week after the election of Barack Obama, millions of American news junkies are in serious cold turkey …

AP Interview: Foley breaks silence on sex scandal  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Even today, two years after Mark Foley's very public fall from grace, the former congressman can't explain why he sent lurid, sexually explicit computer messages to male teens who had worked as Capitol Hill pages.

Top Two Officials In U.S. Intelligence Expect to Lose Jobs  —  The nation's top two intelligence officers expect to be replaced by President-elect Barack Obama early in his administration, according to senior intelligence officials.  —  A number of influential congressional Democrats oppose keeping Director …

How to Fix a Flat  —  Last September, I was in a hotel room watching CNBC early one morning.  They were interviewing Bob Nardelli, the C.E.O. of Chrysler, and he was explaining why the auto industry, at that time, needed $25 billion in loan guarantees.  It wasn't a bailout, he said.

Chris Matthews for Senate?  —  Pennsylvania was at the epicenter of the fight for the presidency in 2008 and, just one week after the Barack Obama's victory, the Keystone State is once again caught up in the political buzz with a new poll that tests “Hardball” host Chris Matthews' chances against Sen. Arlen Specter (R).

WHEN BARONE GOES OVER THE EDGE.... Well, I certainly have my nomination for Wanker of the Day. … I knew Barone was pretty far gone, but I had no idea he was this far gone.  —  Two months ago, Barone argued, in print, that Palin had “foreign policy experience” because Alaska “is the only state with a border with Russia.”

Mischief in Minnesota?  —  Al Franken's recount isn't funny.  —  You'd think Democrats would be content with last week's electoral rout.  But judging from the odd doings in Minnesota, some in their party wouldn't mind adding to their jackpot by stealing a Senate seat for left-wing joker Al Franken.