Top Items:
Michael Isikoff / Powering Up:
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.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Washington Monthly, Firedoglake, The Fix, Pajamas Media, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, TIME.com, The Washington Independent, Marc Ambinder, The RBC, Hot Air, Hotline On Call, Big Lizards, The Swamp, Shakesville, Taylor Marsh, City Desk, Commentary, Gateway Pundit, Ben Smith's Blogs, Wonkette and Lost in Transition
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Mark Halperin / TIME.com:
Release From the American Constitution Society — FORMER DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER BLASTS ADMINISTRATION'S “WAR ON TERROR” — In Speech To American Constitution Society Holder Outlines Steps To Make Nation More Secure — Washington, D.C. — Eric H. Holder Jr. …
Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:
HOLDER TO BE NAMED ATTORNEY GENERAL — From NBC's Pete Williams — President-elect Obama has offered Eric Holder the position of attorney general, and Holder has accepted it, according to sources involved in the process. The formal announcement has been held up while Obama transition team members ran the idea past key senators.
Discussion:
Top of the Ticket
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
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 …
Discussion:
Associated Press, TPM Election Central, Salon, Kevin Drum, Reuters, Washington Monthly, Hullabaloo, No More Mister Nice Blog, Wake up America, The Moderate Voice, Weekly Standard, Open Left, AMERICAblog News, The Caucus, Daily Kos, Hot Air, Commentary, American Power, The Fix, www.redstate.com, DownWithTyranny!, The Mahatma X Files and BobGeiger.com
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New York Times:
Democrats Let Lieberman Keep Senate Chairmanship — WASHINGTON — Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, the Democrat-turned-independent from Connecticut, was allowed to keep his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday despite his support for Senator John McCain in the presidential campaign.
Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:Howard Dean Is Fine With Senate's Lieberman Decision, Suggests …
Glenn Thrush / The Politico:
Hillary could reject State offer — Hillary Rodham Clinton isn't certain she would accept the Secretary of State post even if Barack Obama offers it to her, several people close to the former first lady say. — Press reports that portray Clinton as willing to accept the job …
Discussion:
The Field on the Narcosphere, Associated Press, Ben Smith's Blogs, Liberal Values, Reuters and Donklephant
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Marc Ambinder:
Inside The Clinton (ClintonS) Vet — The vetting of Hillary Clinton is ongoing, delicate, sensitive and private — but not, according to people with direct knowledge of the work, acrimonious. — Despite press reports about former President Bill Clinton's resistance to turn over information …
Sean Cockerham / Anchorage Daily News:
Begich lead over Stevens grows — Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich's lead over Sen. Ted Stevens is growing as ballot counting continues today in the race for U.S. Senate. — The latest numbers, issued just before 1 p.m., show Begich up by 2,374 votes. — The state has counted over 16,000 absentee …
RELATED:
Michael R. Blood / Associated Press:
Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens loses re-election bid — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has lost his bid for a seventh term. — The longest-serving Republican in the history of the Senate trailed Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich by 3,724 votes after Tuesday's count.
Associated Press:
Vice president, former AG, state senator indicted — McALLEN, Texas — A South Texas grand jury has indicted Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on charges related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in Willacy County's federal detention centers.
RELATED:
Emma Perez-Trevino / Brownsville Herald:Vice President Cheney indicted by Willacy County grand jury
CNN:
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 …
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The Huffington Post:
Hagel, Unrestrained, Lashes Into Bush, Rush And The GOP — Two months before he leaves office, Sen. Chuck Hagel is increasingly unrestrained by political niceties. — Appearing at a forum at the Johns Hopkins School of Advances International Studies, the outgoing Nebraska Republican leveled harsh criticism …
Discussion:
Buck Naked Politics
Washington Post:
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 …
RELATED:
George Packer / New Yorker:
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 …
Alexis Simendinger / Lost in Transition:
Obama To Name Peter Orszag As Budget Director — President-elect Barack Obama is preparing to tap Congressional Budget Office Director Peter Orszag, once a veteran economic adviser in the Clinton White House, to become his budget director, according to several National Journal sources.
Discussion:
Marc Ambinder
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight.com:
Zogby Engages in Apparent Push Polling for Right-Wing Website — UPDATE: For additional context about the survey and an exclusive interview with John Ziegler, please see here. — The conservative website HowObamaGotElected.com reports that it has commissioned Zogby International to conduct …
RELATED:
Marisa Taylor / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Taxpayers will pay for Gonzales' private attorney — WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has agreed to pay for a private lawyer to defend former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales against allegations that he encouraged officials to inject partisan politics into the department's hiring and firing practices.
Discussion:
Think Progress
The Trail / Washington Post:
Obama Girls Get a White House Tour — After trips to two D.C. private schools, Malia and Sasha Obama are getting a special personal tour of the White House this afternoon, accompanied by grandma Marian Robinson and their mother. — “Mrs. Obama greatly appreciated this invitation to provide …
Discussion:
TIME.com
Eric Kleefeld / TPM Election Central:
GOP Senator In Georgia Race Launches New Attack Ad — Against Obama — GOP Senator Saxby Chambliss, who's fighting a high-stakes runoff in Georgia against Democratic candidate Jim Martin, has unveiled a tough new ad strategy — he's attacking Barack Obama in his latest spot:
Ali Frick / Think Progress:
Huckabee Claims Civil Rights Of Gays Are Not Being Violated: They Aren't Getting Their ‘Skulls Cracked’ — Today on ABC's “The View,” former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabe discussed his pride that an African-American has been elected president. When host Joy Behar asked if he feels the same …
Discussion:
Washington Times
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
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.
Margaret Colgate Love / Washington Post:
In Defense of Pardons — As President Bush's term nears its end, rumors abound that he will grant a lot of final pardons. Hundreds of clemency applications have been filed with the Justice Department in the past year, a reflection of the popular belief that pardoning is an end-of-term phenomenon in which all presidents indulge.
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