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 …

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 …

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

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

Discussions With Clintons as Obama Creates Team  —  WASHINGTON — Former President Bill Clinton has agreed to all of the conditions sought by President-elect Barack Obama's transition team to eliminate potential conflicts of interest if Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton becomes secretary of state …

What's Your Type?  —  This site claims to be able to analyze a blog and determine its “type.”  I plugged the Dish in and it spat back this: … Take that, Patterico!  Out of curiosity, I tried Reynolds: … And Yglesias: … And Hewitt: … Not too shabby, is it?

Iran Said to Have Nuclear Fuel for One Weapon  —  Iran has now produced roughly enough nuclear material to make, with added purification, a single atom bomb, according to nuclear experts analyzing the latest report from global atomic inspectors.  —  The figures detailing Iran's progress …

Obama taps Janet Napolitano for DHS: Shamnesty wolf in enforcement clothing  —  The buzz has Barack Obama tapping Arizona Democrat Gov. Janet Napolitano for DHS Secretary.  —  On the surface, it may seem a promising pick.  Napolitano made a few pro-immigration enforcement moves in her state …

California Rep. Linda Sanchez's baby announcement  —  It was planned, and so is a wedding in the future with the father.  —  When was the last time you read a baby announcement on the Op-Ed pages?  —  Exactly.  So this is obviously more than baby news.  It's about how far we've come, and where we may still fall short.

An unpardonable use of power  —  A departing president probably can't help thinking about the judgment of history.  At the end of eight years, President Bush likely isn't any different.  With the nation's attention focused on his successor, it may seem as if there is little opportunity left …

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 long-time Iowa Democrat …

Antiwar groups fear Barack Obama may create hawkish Cabinet  —  Activists note that most of the candidates for top security posts voted for the 2002 resolution authorizing President Bush to invade Iraq or otherwise supported launching the war.  —  Reporting from Washington …

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.

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.