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 …

A Force for Good — but Not at State  —  It may be moot and it certainly is presumptuous, but I would be less than honest with readers if I did not say what I believe: Making Hillary Rodham Clinton the secretary of state in Barack Obama's administration would be a mistake.

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.

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.

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.

Boehner, McCotter prevail; Sessions takes over NRCC  —  House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) and Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.) held on to their GOP leadership positions Wednesday while Rep. Pete Sessions (Texas) is taking over Rep. Tom Cole's (Okla.) post.  —  During mostly predictable …

Hooray for Holder  —  Eric Holder looks like Obama's pick for attorney general.  I've been impressed by him ever since interviewing him in the '90s, when he was U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and identified the phenomenon of the single “unreachable” D.C. juror …

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.

Not quite Senator-elect Franken meets with Reid  —  Al Franken is living in electoral limbo, but he's walking the Senate halls today nonetheless, and meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.  —  Franken is heading into a recount in Minnesota, and told reporters gathered in a Senate hallway …

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 …

EXCLUSIVE: Steele chastises ‘country club’ GOP  —  Vows to help transform party  —  Republican National Committee Chairman candidate Michael S. Steele castigated Republican Party leadership Tuesday for having a “country club” mentality and being out of touch, and said if he is chosen to represent the party …

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 …