Bailing Out in the Real World  —  I feel like some of the commentary on the prospect of an auto industry bailout is starting to remind me of some of the stuff I fell for before we invaded Iraq.  The kind of thing where someone yes, “yes this sounds like a bad idea, but if we do it like this …

A Giddy Sense of Boosterism  —  Perhaps it was the announcement that NBC News is coming out with a DVD titled “Yes We Can: The Barack Obama Story.”  Or that ABC and USA Today are rushing out a book on the election.  Or that HBO has snapped up a documentary on Obama's campaign.

64 days to Inauguration — Tonight's cable today: Ball in her court — Bill Clinton vetting issues could sink HRC as SecState, but he plans to step up shortly  —  Arianna guest-hosts for Rachel Maddow — DNC Chairman Howard Dean is 60 today — Third Way out tomorrow with a report on public trust in government

Murdoch to media: You dug yourself a huge hole  —  With newspapers cutting back and predictions of even worse times ahead, Rupert Murdoch said the profession may still have a bright future if it can shake free of reporters and editors who he said have forfeited the trust and loyalty of their readers.

Huckabee Finally Settles His Campaign Scores  —  The former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee  —  Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is not the sort of politician who likes to bite his tongue.  But that's just what he has found himself doing over eight months since he ended his surprising and colorful presidential campaign.

NO UAW BAILOUT  —  Jim Manzi has done some of the best analysis of the proposed bailout of GM, Ford and Chrysler—or, one should more properly say, bailout of the United Auto Workers, otherwise slated for extinction.  Here, he addresses the theory that the Big Three are in the midst of a turnaround …

George W. Hoover?  —  Last week, assembled at Miami's InterContinental Hotel for a meeting of the Republican Governors Association, the governors seemed cheerful.  The G.O.P. had lost only one statehouse on Election Day.  The prospects for a Republican pickup in Virginia in 2009 were decent …

Scoop: Palin book deal could rake in $7 million  —  Plus: Kanye West defends himself, stars don't help ‘30 Rock’ ratings  —  One McCain-Palin ad tried to paint Barack Obama as a celebrity, but it's Palin who's on the verge of a celeb-sized book deal.  —  The Scoop  —  msnbc.com

Obama Courted Federal Employees With Letters Before Election  —  Workers at Seven Agencies Got Detailed Letters Before Election  —  In wooing federal employee votes on the eve of the election, Barack Obama wrote a series of letters to workers that offer detailed descriptions of how he intends …

Rather's Lawsuit Shows Role of G.O.P. in Inquiry  —  When Dan Rather filed suit against CBS 14 months ago — claiming, among other things, that his former employer had commissioned a politically biased investigation into his work on a “60 Minutes” segment about President Bush's National Guard service …

Deregulator Looks Back, Unswayed  —  WASHINGTON — Back in 1950 in Columbus, Ga., a young nurse working double shifts to support her three children and disabled husband managed to buy a modest bungalow on a street called Dogwood Avenue.  —  Phil Gramm, the former United States senator …

Republicans ask: Just how bad is it?  —  Party leaders agree that the GOP has had a rough go of it at the polls in recent years.  —  How could they not?  —  Since 2004, they've gone from 55 Senate seats to no more than 43 once this year's last winners are determined …

Drama Club  —  How Obama handles people.  —  The morning after the presidential election, a group of top Obama staffers and consultants gathered for brunch at a restaurant a few blocks from their Chicago headquarters.  The mood was understandably emotional, and, before long, chief strategist David Axelrod rose to offer a valedictory.

On The Possibility of An Abortion Compromise  —  A fine post from John Schwenkler: … Actually, I don't think I've said anything about the untenability of pro-lifers speaking the language of compromise, federalism, etc; indeed, I think given how adept many pro-life groups have become at pursuing the very …

Do newspapers have 6 more months?  —  After 50 newspaper company CEOs met behind closed doors at the American Press Institute on Thursday for their “Crisis Summit,” I was tempted to comment, but wanted to wait to see what would come out of the meeting.  Would some participants write what transpired that day?

Mormon Church feels the heat over Proposition 8  —  SALT LAKE CITY: A Proposition 8 protest outside Mormon headquarters.  The church said demonstrators were trying to intimidate not just Mormons but all religious people who voted their conscience by backing the California initiative.

Which Language Do You Dream In?  —  (It has been a rough-and-tumble political season.  Nerves are raw.  Perhaps it's time to dream a little bit.)  —  It doesn't happen that often any more, but there are still times when my English-born wife gently—sometimes not so gently …

EXCLUSIVE: Cantor says GOP is no longer ‘relevant’  —  Urges real solutions on health care, economy  —  Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, poised to ascend to House Republicans' No. 2 leader this week, said the Republican Party in Washington is no longer “relevant” to voters and must stop simply espousing principles.

At National Review, a Threat to Its Reputation for Erudition  —  In a span of 252 days, the National Review lost two Buckleys — one to death, another to resignation — and an election.  —  Now, thanks to the coarsening effect of the Internet on political discourse, the magazine …

New Dem Ad In Georgia — Which Backed McCain — Hits Chambliss For Not Backing Obama  —  Jim Martin, the Georgia Democrat who has an outside shot at picking off GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss in the upcoming runoff election, has a new ad with a very interesting strategy for a red-state Dem …

First Pictures of Extrasolar Planets Taken  —  Beautiful new images reveal our first visual glimpse that other solar systems share planets just like ours does  —  One of the central themes both to science fiction and to real-life space progress was the drive to find and eventually travel to extrasolar plants.

Chaos In San Francisco As Anti-Gay Christianists Are Chased Out Of The Castro  —  On Friday night, police in riot gear had to rush to the Castro District to protect a group of Christianists seeking to convert gays. … The Justice House of Prayer posted the above video on YouTube under their username …

A system's fatal flaws  —  Thousands of inmates admit they're in the U.S. illegally, but even those convicted of violent crimes are often released right back onto Houston's streets  —  Federal immigration officials allowed scores of violent criminals — some ordered deported decades ago …