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.

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 …

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens loses re-election bid  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in Senate history, narrowly lost his re-election bid Tuesday, marking the downfall of a Washington political power …

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.

ABOUT THAT CHENEY INDICTMENT.... At first blush, the headline looked pretty extraordinary: “Texas Grand Jury Indicts Cheney, Gonzales on Charges Related to Prisons.”  Wait, Dick Cheney's been indicted?  It sounded too good to be true, in large part because it is.

Al-Qaida No. 2 says Obama betrays race  —  Al-Zawahri uses racial epithet in group's first message since U.S. election  —  CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri has criticized President-elect Barack Obama, calling him a demeaning racial term implying that Obama is a black American who does the bidding of whites.

Obama exerts his power  —  President-elect Barack Obama, in the latest of several moves to heal election wounds, persuaded Democrats to reject stiff punishment for Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) despite his campaign efforts for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).  —  Lieberman is the beneficiary …

Big Three CEOs Flew Private Jets to Plead for Public Funds  —  Auto Industry Close to Bankruptcy But They Get Pricey Perk  —  The CEOs of the big three automakers flew to the nation's capital yesterday in private luxurious jets to make their case to Washington that the auto industry is running …

Former Prosecutor Eric Holder Called Obama's Top Pick for Attorney General  —  He Would Be the First Black Attorney General  —  Eric H. Holder Jr., a former Justice Department official who was President-elect Barack Obama's campaign co-chairman, is the leading candidate to serve …

A Sea of Unwanted Imports  —  LONG BEACH, Calif. — Gleaming new Mercedes cars roll one by one out of a huge container ship here and onto a pier.  Ordinarily the cars would be loaded on trucks within hours, destined for dealerships around the country.  But these are not ordinary times.

WAXMAN VERSUS DINGELL.  —  I haven't given this the attention it deserves, but Henry Waxman's decision to challenge John Dingell for chairman of the Energy and Commerce committee is a HUGE deal.  Energy and Commerce is, along with Ways and Means, the key House Committee, with jurisdiction over both energy and health care legislation.