memeorandum: Experts Warn of Security Risks in Financial Downturn (Joby Warrick/Washington Post)

10:20 AM ET, November 15, 2008

Top Items:

Obama's Talk With Clinton Starts Buzz — WASHINGTON — The end of the presidential campaign seemed to signal the completion of the Obama-Clinton drama. But now it turns out there could be a surprise ending. — Advisers to the onetime rivals for the Democratic nomination confirmed Friday …

Discussion: Top of the Ticket, Liberal Values, marbury, The Politico, The Moderate Voice, Marc Ambinder and CNN

Jennifer Parker / Political Radar:

Details on Hillary-Barack Meeting — ABC News' Martha Raddatz reports: President-elect Barack Obama met with Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Thursday in Chicago to discuss the possibility of the senator becoming secretary of state. — A source with knowledge of the transition process describes the meeting as not a hard offer.

Discussion: AMERICAN DIGEST, Kevin Drum, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh and Washington Monthly

The Trail / Washington Post:

Clinton, Richardson on Short List for Secretary of State — President-elect Barack Obama met Friday with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson in Chicago, Democratic sources said, and is under consideration to be Secretary of State in the Obama administration. — News of the meeting comes …

Discussion: PoliGazette, TIME.com, Spin Cycle, Donklephant and The Fix

Glenn Thrush / The Crypt's Blogs:
Source: Clinton serious about SoS

Discussion: City Room, Donklephant and Wonkette

New York Times:

Mormons Tipped Scale in Ban on Gay Marriage — SACRAMENTO — Less than two weeks before Election Day, the chief strategist behind a ballot measure outlawing same-sex marriage in California called an emergency meeting here. — “We're going to lose this campaign if we don't get more money …

Discussion: Time, American Power, Pam's House Blend, VOTE, Campaign Silo, Don Surber, Riehl World View and JammieWearingFool

Bo Kyi / New Yorker:

Interesting Times — George Packer writes about foreign affairs, politics, and books. — KILCULLEN ON AFGHANISTAN: “IT'S STILL WINNABLE, BUT ONLY JUST.” — I wrote about David Kilcullen two years ago, in a piece called “Knowing the Enemy.” Few experts understand counterinsurgency …

Discussion: Commentary and Macleans.ca

Andrew Martin / New York Times:

Spam Turns Serious and Hormel Turns Out More — AUSTIN, Minn. — The economy is in tatters and, for millions of people, the future is uncertain. But for some employees at the Hormel Foods Corporation plant here, times have never been better. They are working at a furious pace and piling up all the overtime they want.

Discussion: Gawker and The E&P Pub

Sean Cockerham / Anchorage Daily News:

Begich lead increases in race for Senate — Mark Begich has extended his lead over Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens to 1,022 votes with the latest count of absentee and questioned ballots. The Elections Division counted 14,508 ballots today. The count of absentee and questioned ballots will pick up Tuesday.

Discussion: Opus Hussein X's Blog, TPM Election Central, MyDD and The Huffington Post

Chris Cillizza / The Fix: Alaska Senate: Begich Widens Lead Slightly

Joby Warrick / Washington Post:

Experts Warn of Security Risks in Financial Downturn — Global Financial Crisis May Fuel Instability and Weaken U.S. Defenses — Intelligence officials are warning that the deepening global financial crisis could weaken fragile governments in the world's most dangerous areas and undermine …

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Haaretz:

Israel infuriated by U.K. plan to label West Bank produce — Relations between Israel and Britain remained strained on Thursday over Downing Street's intention to label products manufactured in West Bank settlements, a week before the expected arrival of British Secretary of State for Foreign …

Discussion: Israel Matzav

William Glaberson / New York Times:

Post-Guantánamo: A New Detention Law? — As a presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama sketched the broad outlines of a plan to close the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba: try detainees in American courts and reject the Bush administration's military commission system.

Discussion: TalkLeft

Jodi Kantor / The Caucus:

Obama Hires Jarrett for Senior Role — Nearly two decades ago, Valerie Jarrett hired a young lawyer named Michelle Obama for a job at Chicago's City Hall. Now President-elect Barack Obama has hired Ms. Jarrett for a senior role in the White House. — Ms. Jarrett's role will be threefold …

Discussion: Fox News, Stop The ACLU, TIME.com and Marc Ambinder

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

RISING TO THE MOMENT — We've been fielding emails all day in response to this morning's post on ‘drift’. And the ones that have particularly stuck out to me are the ones about bailing out the auto industry. Quite a few readers are of the opinion either that the Big Three are ground central …