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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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:

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.

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.

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 …