Lieberman: Suck On That, Liberals! … I hope this puts to rest the notion that this is all some master stroke of kumbayah, of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.  —  This is about telling you that you mean nothing.  That democracy is a nice word, but it should never threaten …

Obama's Attorney General  —  President-elect Obama has decided to tap Eric Holder as his attorney general, putting the veteran Washington lawyer in place to become the first African-American to head the Justice Department, according to two legal sources close to the presidential transition.

Cabinet post for Clinton roils Obamaland  —  Barack Obama's serious flirtation with his one-time rival, Hillary Clinton, over the post of secretary of State has been welcomed by everyone from Henry Kissinger to Bill Clinton as an effective, grand gesture by the president-elect.

Administration Protects Bush Appointees by Converting Positions to Career Civil Service Jobs  —  Political Positions Shifted To Career Civil Service Jobs  —  Just weeks before leaving office, the Interior Department's top lawyer has shifted half a dozen key deputies …

Zogby Engages in Apparent Push Polling for Right-Wing Website  —  The conservative website HowObamaGotElected.com reports that it has commissioned Zogby International to conduct a poll of 512 Barack Obama voters as part of what can best be described as a viral marketing effort to discredit the intelligence of Obama supporters.

Web Sites That Dig for News Rise as Watchdogs  —  SAN DIEGO — Over the last two years, some of this city's darkest secrets have been dragged into the light — city officials with conflicts of interest and hidden pay raises, affordable housing that was not affordable, misleading crime statistics.

AFTER KRISTOL … It's time for the newspaper to move on.  For Pinch Sulzberger and Andy Rosenthal to renew Kristol's one-year contract, in 2009, would be for the Times to reward failure—and look where that got Wall Street and General Motors.  It's not just that Kristol isn't another Safire …

Victory in Iraq Day  —  We won.  The Iraq War is over.  —  I declare November 22, 2008 to be “Victory in Iraq Day.”  (Hereafter known as “VI Day.")  —  By every measure, The United States and coalition forces have conclusively defeated all enemies in Iraq, pacified the country …

Beau Biden Will Not Accept Senate Appointment  —  Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden will not accept an appointment to the Senate to replace his father, according to knowledgeable state sources, a decision that scrambles the race to to replace the vice president-elect in the Senate next year.

Hagel takes aim at Limbaugh, Senate colleagues  —  (CNN) — As his Senate career nears its end, Republican Chuck Hagel isn't holding back when it comes to criticizing members of his own party — including conservative talk radio hosts.  —  “We are educated by the great entertainers like Rush Limbaugh …

Bad blood for Musgrave  —  It's no surprise Rep. Marilyn Musgrave is taking her recent loss to Betsy Markey really, really hard.  —  Musgrave, a Republican who's been representing Colorado's 4th District since 2002, became part of the Republican Casualty List when she lost in a landslide …

THE TRAGIC PREDICTABILITY OF THE JEWISH VOTE  —  Back in the 1980s, during the euphoria of the Reagan-era, Neo-cons like Norman Podhoretz and Irving Kristol predicted a seismic shift in Jewish voting patterns.  —  Once American Jews discovered that voting Republican was crucial for the survival …

California Asks Court to Weigh Ban on Gay Marriage  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The California attorney general asked the State Supreme Court on Monday to review the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the voter initiative passed two weeks ago that bans same-sex marriage.

OBAMA'S TOP NSA AND CIA PICKS: HARSH ON ISRAEL, SYMPATHETIC TO IRAN AND HEZBOLLAH  —  Well that was totally unpredictable wasn't it? … Totally, totally unpredictable: … The US should exercise “strategic patience” with Iran - who as of today has four navy bases in the Gulf …

LA Times Only Just Notices Obama Has Thin Resume?  —  Interestingly, Dan Morain of the L.A. Times has just discovered that Barack Obama has a pretty thin resume prior to being elevated to the presidency.  Between 1993 and '96, Obama, the much-ballyhooed “Constitutional scholar,” …

CORNYN TO LEAD NRSC  —  From NBC's Carrie Dann  —  Sen. John Cornyn says that he's ready to “hit the ground running” in his new post as the Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.  —  Cornyn, a Texas senator since 2002 and the state's former Attorney General …