Depends on how you define “contact”; Update: Blago newsletter photo included  —  Barack Obama has gone out of his way to make his incoming administration Clintonesque.  Not only has he built 63% of his transition team from Clinton administration officials, he even picked Hillary Clinton for a Cabinet post.

McConnell deals major blow to bailout  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell broke with the White House Thursday over a proposed $14 billion loan package for ailing automakers, all but assuring its defeat this week and forcing the administration to consider other emergency steps …

NASA has become a transition problem for Obama  —  CAPE CANAVERAL - NASA administrator Mike Griffin is not cooperating with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, is obstructing its efforts to get information and has told its leader that she is “not qualified” to judge his rocket program, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.

FIRST THOUGHTS: NO ORDINARY HONEYMOON  —  From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann  —  *** No ordinary honeymoon: While the political world continues to focus on the Blagojevich scandal, which at this point has been only a headache for the incoming Obama administration …

How the GOP Should Prepare for a Comeback  —  Organization and ideas are what matters.  —  What a difference a month makes.  Since November's election, the GOP is three wins, no losses.  —  The first win came in Georgia, where Sen. Saxby Chambliss crushed his Democratic opponent by 15 points in a run-off election on Dec. 2.

Jobless Claims at 26-Year High; Import Prices Fall  —  The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits surged to a 26-year high last week, Labor Department data showed on Thursday, as a deepening recession forced employers to cut back on hirings.

A VERY RAW DEAL  —  It's looking increasingly like Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., was truly uninvolved in Rod Blagojevich's alleged Senate-seat-for-sale scheme, other than expressing the usual interest in getting the appointment.  Most telling was the report from Jackson's lawyer today …

Obama Promises Health Care Reform “This Year”  —  Barack Obama did manage to slip in a few words about health care at his presser today, and here's one of the key quotes: … That Obama went out of his way to promise action “this year” is pretty striking.  Obviously he didn't mean in 2008 …

Obama's atomic umbrella: U.S. nuclear strike if Iran nukes Israel  —  U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's administration will offer Israel a “nuclear umbrella” against the threat of a nuclear attack by Iran, a well-placed American source said earlier this week.

CAROLINE ‘EQUALS J.LO’: DEM  —  REP. TAKES SWIPE AT CAMELOT CELEB POWER  —  ALBANY - A prominent New York Democratic congressman publicly questioned Caroline Kennedy's credentials to replace Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, saying she's no more qualified to hold office than Jennifer Lopez.

A Spy CEO for Obama  —  What should President-elect Barack Obama do about the intelligence community?  He has appointed the other top members of his national security team, but intrigue still surrounds his choices for director of national intelligence and director of the CIA.

Could Detroit Trigger a New Global Meltdown?  —  Washington's Infamous Sex Blogger Gets Hitched by Jessica Cutler  —  Blogs and Stories  —  If history is any indication, bankruptcy filings by American automakers could have aftershocks around the world.  —  Would the auto industry …

UN Blowback: More Than 650 International Scientists Dissent Over Man-Made Global Warming Claims  —  Study: Half of warming due to Sun!  -Sea Levels Fail to Rise?  - Warming Fears in ‘Dustbin of History’  —  POZNAN, Poland - The UN global warming conference currently underway in Poland …