Waxman dethrones Dingell as chairman  —  California Rep. Henry A. Waxman on Thursday officially dethroned longtime Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingell, upending a seniority system that has governed Democratic politics in the House for decades.  —  In a secret ballot vote in the Cannon Caucus Room …

Judge Orders Five Detainees Freed From Guantánamo  —  In the first hearing on the government's justification for holding detainees at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, a federal judge ruled Thursday that five Algerian men were held unlawfully for nearly seven years and ordered their release.

GOP Takes Another Image Hit Post-Election  —  Republicans favor tacking right; independents offer mixed guidance  — USA - Democrats - Favorability - Government and Politics - Political Parties - Republicans - Americas - Northern America  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The Republican Party's image …

Bum Rush  —  Obama's secret plan to muzzle talk radio.  Very, very secret.  —  Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and other friends have spent the past year screaming about the horrors of Barack Obama.  And, while it's true that they talked ad nauseam about socialism and the Weathermen and Jeremiah Wright …

Most Americans Back Idea of Clinton as Secretary of State  —  Nearly 8 in 10 Democrats favor the possibility  — USA - Election 2008 - Elections - Government - Party Affiliation - The Presidency - Americas - Northern America  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A new Gallup Poll finds a majority of Americans …

Challenged ballots: You be the judge  —  Representatives from the campaigns of Sen. Norm Coleman and Al Franken have been challenging ballots across the state.  —  It's your turn to play election judge.  Tell us how you would rule in the case of these challenged ballots.

Senate GOP in big funk  —  A day after losing Ted Stevens' seat, along with their best hope for getting Joe Lieberman to cross over, Senate GOP leaders preached party unity as the key to surviving the Obama years.  —  If that doesn't work, there's always psychotherapy.

McCain Pollster Explains Loss, Calls Frank Luntz A Moron  —  The chief pollster for John McCain's presidential campaign offered a candid diagnosis of how his candidate was done in, on occasion reserving harsh words for fellow Republicans.  —  Bill McInturff, speaking at a National Journal breakfast …

Why the U.S. blinked on its troop agreement with Iraq  —  WASHINGTON — Although the Pentagon officially has welcomed the new accord on a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, senior military officials are privately criticizing President Bush for giving Iraq more control over U.S. military operations …

Modernity, Faith, And Marriage  —  Reading this piece by Rod Dreher is saddening to me.  What separates Rod from many others on the right is his passionate sincerity.  Even when he goes overboard, it's all real.  He's not a cynic; and he grapples in ways many others on the social right …

World Leaders Don't Shake Bush's Hand At G20 Summit (VIDEO)  —  It appears in this video that President Bush's approval is in a sorrier state than polls indicate.  In a video taken at the G20 summit, Bush walks across a line of world leaders without shaking or being asked to shake any of their hands.

Conservative Transportation Policy  —  Politico reports on conservatives trying to think of some ideas: … I'm not sure exactly what Strassel has in mind, but to my way of thinking an enormous amount of good could be done if conservatives were more interested in applying really basic free market principles to transportation policy.

Mad Max and the Meltdown  —  How we went from Christmas to crisis.  —  Notwithstanding the cardboard Santas who seem to have arrived in stores this year near Halloween, the holiday season starts in seven days with Thanksgiving.  And so it will come to pass once again that many people …

Exclusive: Pritzker turns down Commerce  —  Chicago businesswoman Penny Pritzker, national campaign finance chairwoman for the Obama campaign, has taken herself out of the running to be secretary of Commerce because of vetting issues, a Democratic official said.

Hezbollah Marshals the Young via Scout Troops  —  RIYAQ, Lebanon — On a Bekaa Valley playing field gilded by late-afternoon sun, hundreds of young men wearing Boy Scout-style uniforms and kerchiefs stand rigidly at attention as a military band plays, its marchers bearing aloft …

Michelle Obama Taps Jackie Norris for Chief of Staff  —  Incoming first lady Michelle Obama has tapped Jackie Norris, President-elect Barack Obama's Iowa state director, to be her chief of staff.  Norris, a high school government and history teacher and longtime Iowa Democrat …

First Steps to GOP Recovery  —  How can the Republican Party rebound?  The first step would be to quit letting Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham set its agenda.  —  A second step would be for Congressional Republicans to actually try to help President-elect Barack Obama succeed …

Obama Throws No Bones to Progressive Base  —  When is Obama going to appoint someone who reflects the progressive base that brought him to the White House?  —  He won the crucial Iowa caucuses on the strength of his anti-Iraq War stance, and many progressive peace and justice activists worked hard for him against John McCain.