Bill vetting could cost Hillary her Cabinet post  —  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is President-elect Obama's first choice for secretary of State but his aides are becoming exasperated by the Clinton camp's pokey response to demands for extensive information about former President Bill …

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 …

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 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.

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 …

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  —  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 found himself doing in the eight months following his surprising and colorful presidential campaign.

Obama Meeting With McCain in Chicago  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama was meeting on Monday with another former adversary, sitting down in Chicago with Senator John McCain to explore areas where the two might make common legislative cause.  —  The private meeting …

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.

Obama interview sets ‘60 Minutes’ viewership record  —  Barack Obama's first televised post-election interview gave Sunday night's “60 Minutes” its biggest audience in at least nine years.  —  The CBS News program was seen by 24.5 million viewers and earned a 6.4 preliminary adults 18-49 rating.

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.

Here There Bee (More) Pirates ... and Might the Obama Administration Take Them Out?  —  US Navy vessel confronts Somali pirates, 2006.  Photo credit Chief Petty Officer Kenneth Anderson, USN, open access DOD (no, not me, but we Ken Andersons really get around).

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 …

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

Bill Ayers talks back  —  Sarah Palin called him a terrorist, Barack Obama called him an acquaintance.  A Salon editor who knew Ayers back when talks to the ex-Weather Underground member turned Republican talking point.  —  Video: Interview with Bill Ayers

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 …

White House may let Obama decide part of bailout  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - The Bush administration has told top lawmakers it does not plan to use at least half of the $700 billion bailout fund that Congress approved this fall to aid …

Sen. Carper: Lieberman should pay consequences  —  Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), a close ally of Sen. Joe Lieberman, said the Connecticut Independent should pay a price for his campaign attacks against President-elect Barack Obama.  —  “There need to be consequences, and they cannot be insignificant …

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?

McConnell Suggests an Agenda for Obama  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) today outlined a list of “big issues” he thinks President-elect Barack Obama and Republicans can agree on and pledged his own readiness to work with the Illinois Democrat.