Top Items:
Frank Newport / Gallup:
No Clamoring for Palin to Become a National Political Figure — But she enjoys support of three-quarters of Republicans — PRINCETON, NJ — Just 45% of Americans would like to see Sarah Palin become a major national political figure for many years to come, while a slight majority of 52% say they would not.
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Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
An awkward press conference — After much anticipation from a room full of reporters and other curiosity-seekers, Sarah Palin this morning took four questions from reporters in a press conference that lasted 11 minutes. — Actually, taking away Texas Gov. Rick Perry's opening statement, the session lasted under 10 minutes.
CNN:
Palin blasts bailout expansion before governors — MIAMI, Florida (CNN) — Former Republican vice presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin sharply questioned expanding the federal economic bailout plan Thursday during her first extended remarks since the end of the presidential campaign.
Clout St:
Obama will resign Senate seat Sunday — President-elect Barack Obama said today he will step down from his Senate seat effective this Sunday. — The decision adds to the pressure on Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a fellow Democrat, who under state law has the sole responsibility for naming a successor to Obama …
Discussion:
The Fix, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Political Radar, MyDD, TIME.com, The Democratic Daily and Political Punch
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Lynn Sweet:
Obama resigning Senate seat as of Sunday — WASHINGTON—President-elect Barack Obama will step down from his U.S. senate seat on Sunday, he said in a statement on Thursday. All political eyes in Illinois are on Gov. Rod Blagojevich to see who he will select to replace Obama for the two years remaining in his term.
Brian Knowlton / New York Times:
Biden to Meet Cheney as Transition Moves Forward
Biden to Meet Cheney as Transition Moves Forward
Discussion:
The Swamp
Vaughn Ververs / CBS News:
Who Were Those Clinton-McCain Crossover Voters? — CBS News' Election and Survey Unit's survey analyst extraordinaire Jennifer De Pinto goes inside the exit polls from last week's election and finds some interesting nuggets about those Hillary Clinton supporters who voted for John McCain:
Discussion:
Post-Ed Notes
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Marc Ambinder:
The RNC Throws A Pie In John McCain's Face — Nine days after the election, the Republican National Committee is no longer interested in being friends with their nominee. — They've filed suit today in courts in Louisiana and Washington, D.C. claiming that the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act …
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Thomas Erdbrink / Washington Post:
Facing Obama, Iran Suddenly Hedges on Talks — Since 2006, Iran's leaders have called for direct, unconditional talks with the United States to resolve international concerns over their nuclear program. But as an American administration open to such negotiations prepares to take power …
Ali Frick / Think Progress:
Bill O'Reilly and Dennis Miller make homophobic jokes about Barney Frank.» — Last night on the O'Reilly Factor, Dennis Miller said President-elect Obama should “flatten these punks at AIG.” When O'Reilly suggested Obama should arrest Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Miller laughed and said, “Barney might want to be arrested.”
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Debbie Schlussel:
EXCLUSIVE: Did Next Commander-in-Chief Falsify Selective Service Registration? Never Actually Register? Obama's Draft Registration Raises Serious Questions — By Debbie Schlussel — **** Copyright 2008, Must Cite Debbie Schlussel and link to DebbieSchlussel.com **** — *** SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATE ***
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Marc Ambinder:
Lieberman's A Scold, Not A Ken Starr — This is a fun distraction, but isn't the bloggy left having a major overreaction to the idea of keeping Lieberman in his current position? — It's true that he'll have subpoena power over the new administration, but the idea that he'll …
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The Huffington Post:
Stevens Pollster: Race Is Over, Begich Will Win — Alaska-based GOP pollster David Dittman, who worked for Sen. Ted Stevens during this year's primary race, believes Democratic challenger Mark Begich is all but certain to expand his current razor-thin lead and snatch the seat.
Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
History Favors Republicans in 2010 — The 2008 election numbers are not as stark as the results. — Political races are about candidates and issues. But election results, in the end, are about numbers. So now that the dust is settling on the 2008 presidential race, what do the numbers tell us?
Carrie Johnson / Washington Post:
Obama Team Faces Major Task in Justice Dept. Overhaul — Goal Is to Restore Confidence in Law Enforcement Actions — As a transition team for the Obama administration begins work on a Justice Department overhaul, the key question is where to begin. — Political considerations affected every crevice …
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Tom LoBianco / Washington Times:
Gore says no to ‘Climate Czar’ role — President-elect Barack Obama's transition team is flirting with creating a White House “Climate Czar,” but climate change crusader Al Gore says he doesn't want the job. — The Obama team declined to comment on such a post, even as environmentalists …
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John Kass / Chicago Tribune:
Tolerance fails T-shirt test — Catherine Vogt, 14, conducted an experiment in political tolerance at her Oak Park middle school and learned some valuable lessons. (Tribune photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo / November 12, 2008) — As the media keeps gushing on about how America has finally adopted tolerance …
The Trail / Washington Post:
Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State? — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) looks up during a Veterans Day event at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City. (Chris Hondros/Getty Images) — By Al Kamen and Philip Rucker — There's increasing chatter in political circles …
Discussion:
Hot Air
Ashley Fantz / CNN:
Getting inside Obama's ‘brain’ — (CNN) — Karen Kornbluh is not famous, but her ideas are. As Barack Obama's chief policy director, political insiders call her his “brain.” — “Karen is a big ideas person, but more than that, she's able to bring a lot of really smart people together …
Discussion:
The Washington Note
Roger Simon / The Politico:
Gingrich says GOP is outmatched — How bad off is the Republican Party right now? Ask Newt Gingrich. — “The Republican Party right now is like a midsize college team trying to play in the Superbowl,” Gingrich told me Wednesday. “It is pretty hard to say our losses were because of John McCain's campaign.
Michele Catalano / Pajamas Media:
Obama's Call for Community Service Is Not Marxism — It's not “slavery” either — and the comparison insults one's intelligence. — Is community service synonymous with slavery? Whether that service is mandated or suggested, could it in any way be construed as enslaving citizens?
Jonathan Stein / Kevin Drum:
DISAPPOINTMENT WATCH... If you're looking for an indication of what the first schism between the Obama Administration and the Democratic Congress will be, consider the question of investigations. — Congressional Democrats are gearing up for a season of post-Bush inquiries …
New York Times:
Welcome to My World, Barack — On Jan. 20, Barack Obama will inherit a world very different from the one his predecessor found in January 2001. Over the past eight years, the Bush administration has faced great challenges and nurtured grand ambitions; it has tried hard to remake the world.
Reuters:
Former Guantánamo Captives Continue to Struggle, Report Says — MIAMI (Reuters) — Former Guantánamo prisoners released after years of detention without charge went home to find themselves stigmatized and shunned, viewed either as terrorists or as United States spies …
Sam Dillon / New York Times:
A School Chief Takes On Tenure, Stirring a Fight — WASHINGTON — Michelle Rhee, the hard-charging chancellor of the Washington public schools, thinks teacher tenure may be great for adults, those who go into teaching to get summer vacations and great health insurance, for instance.
Huma Khan / Political Punch:
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Asks Rahm to Repudiate His Dad's Comments — Upon hearing of his son's new gig, the father of incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was quoted in the Israeli newspaper Ma'Ariv saying “Obviously he'll influence the President to be pro-Israel.