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, Pajamas Media, The Caucus, The Swamp, Firedoglake, The Fix, TIME.com, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Ben Smith's Blogs, The Washington Independent, Marc Ambinder, The RBC, Shakesville, Hot Air, Hotline On Call, Big Lizards, Taylor Marsh, City Desk, Commentary and Gateway Pundit
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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 …
RELATED:
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 It Was What Obama Wanted — Howard Dean says that he's “fine” with the Senate's decision not to kick Joe Lieberman off the Homeland Security committee and suggested that the Senate had acted in accordance with what Barack Obama wanted.
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Has there been too much bipartisanship or too little?
Has there been too much bipartisanship or too little?
Discussion:
TPM Election Central
Marisa Katz / Rough Sketch:
Capitol Punishment — It's a rare double hanging in the Capitol this morning.
Capitol Punishment — It's a rare double hanging in the Capitol this morning.
Discussion:
The Swamp
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 …
RELATED:
Ben Smith / The Politico:
Cabinet post for Clinton roils Obamaland
Cabinet post for Clinton roils Obamaland
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, Reuters, The Moderate Voice, Liberty Street, www.redstate.com, Democracy in America and The New Republic
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 …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh
RELATED:
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
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.
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 …
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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 …
Discussion:
New York Observer, Portfolio, Washington Monthly, Kevin Drum, The New Republic and Wonkette
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 …
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight.com:
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.
RELATED:
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.
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
zombietime:
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 …
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
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
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:
Anne Schroeder Mullins / Anne Schroeder's Blogs:
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 …
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.