In scandal, risks for Obama  —  At first blush, Barack Obama comes out of the Rod Blagojevich scandal smelling like a rose.  The prosecutor at a news conference seemed to give the president-elect a seal of approval, and the Illinois governor himself was caught on tape complaining that Obama was not interested in crooked schemes.

Sources Say Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is ‘Senate Candidate #5’  —  Feds Plan to Interview Chicago Congressman as Part of Blagojevich Probe  —  Chicago Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) is the anonymous “Senate Candidate #5” whose emissaries Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich reportedly claimed offered …

Jon Stewart slays the homophobic Huckabeast without breaking a sweat  —  UPDATE: Louise did a complete transcript of the segment in this diary - many thanks!  —  And entertains while doing so.  Jon Stewart asked serious questions any hard-hitting progressive journalist or political commentator …

Barack Obama plans to reach out to Muslim world  —  In exclusive interview, he says he plans to be sworn in like every other president, using his full name: Barack Hussein Obama  —  Barack Obama says his heart will remain in Chicago, even as he moves to Washington.  (Alex Garcia / Tribune / December 9, 2008)

FBI reviewing allegations involving Norm Coleman ally, source says  —  Source: Inquiry involves alleged attempt to steer money toward senator  —  Federal investigators are looking into allegations that a longtime friend and benefactor tried to steer money to U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, the Pioneer Press has learned.

$73 an Hour: Adding It Up  —  Seventy-three dollars an hour.  —  That figure — repeated on television and in newspapers as the average pay of a Big Three autoworker — has become a big symbol in the fight over what should happen to Detroit.  To critics, it is a neat encapsulation …

Capitalist Fools  —  Behind the debate over remaking U.S. financial policy will be a debate over who's to blame.  It's crucial to get the history right, writes a Nobel-laureate economist, identifying five key mistakes—under Reagan, Clinton, and Bush II—and one national delusion.

The 10 Worst Predictions for 2008  —  Prognostication is by far the riskiest form of punditry.  The 10 commentators and leaders on this list learned that the hard way when their confident predictions about politics, war, the economy, and even the end of humanity itself completely missed the mark.

WSJ: Only Secret Illegal Surveillance Will Provide Accountability  —  I'd thought that one beneficial result of Barack Obama being elected president was that it might cause conservatives to think twice about their post-9/11 embrace of unlimited executive power.