Giving Up on God  —  As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit.  —  Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D.  —  I'm bathing in holy water as I type.  —  To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing …

Let Detroit Go Bankrupt  —  IF General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye.  It won't go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed.  —  Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself.

Daschle the choice for Health and Human Services  —  CHICAGO (CNN) — Three sources close to the transition and in a position to know tell CNN that former Sen. Tom Daschle is President-elect Barack Obama's choice to be Secretary of Health and Human Services and the former Senate Majority Leader has indicated he wants the job.

Obama's First Drama: Hillary Clinton  —  I was agnostic on the matter of Hillary Clinton's possible appointment as secretary of state—until last night.  —  If Barack Obama, the president-elect, wanted to pull a Team of Rivals play, that had seemed fine to me.

Al-Qaida No. 2 insults Obama with racial epithet … CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader used a racial epithet to insult Barack Obama in a message posted Wednesday, describing the president-elect in demeaning terms that imply he does the bidding of whites.

State Supreme Court to hear challenges to Prop.  8  —  (11-19) 13:57 PST SAN FRANCISCO — The state Supreme Court plunged back into the same-sex marriage wars today, agreeing to decide the legality of a ballot measure that repealed the right of gay and lesbian couples to wed in California.

Emanuel Sets a Challenge  —  President-elect Barack Obama's incoming White House chief of staff challenged chief executives and other business leaders Tuesday night to join the new administration in a push for universal health care, saying incremental increases in coverage won't be acceptable.

McCain wins Missouri.  Kind of.  Two weeks later.  Obama is still the prez, of course...  It looks like John McCain has won Missouri — the last state not marked in either red or blue on the electoral map.  —  The Missouri Secretary of State's office said Tuesday night …

John Boehner, Cleverest Republican in Washington  —  The House Republican leadership elections are today, and GOPers will almost certainly reselect John Boehner, their eternally tan, chain-smoking, long-suffering caporegime, as their leader - and not only that, but they'll …

Stevens ousted; Dems eye power of 60  —  The Democratic pursuit of 60 Senate seats received new life Tuesday night after Alaska Democrat Mark Begich was declared the winner against Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate.  —  Begich defeated the Senate giant by a 3,724-vote margin …

Democratic Steering Panel Chooses Waxman Over Dingell  —  The House Democratic Steering Committee has nominated Henry A. Waxman to be chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee next year — a stinging rebuke of the sitting chairman, John D. Dingell .

Policy Working Groups  —  “Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today.”  - President-elect Barack Obama  — GSA Transition Directory  —  Learn  —  Policy Working Groups

Preliminary facts and thoughts about Eric Holder  —  (updated below - Update II)  —  Even before there has been a single Cabinet selection announced, I'm already weary from all the gossip and chatter about potential appointees, but, at least for me, the position of Attorney General is different.

Election surprise: Obama won Salt Lake County voters' nod  —  Politics » Democrats say win is a big step for party's plans in Beehive State.  —  Updated election results released Tuesday show that Salt Lake County voters favored Barack Obama over John McCain — but just barely …

Huckabee on Palin: 'She Didn't Have to Get Bloodied'  —  Laura Meckler reports from Washington on politics.  —  Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, a once and possibly future presidential candidate, admires his fellow social conservative, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.  Really.