THE BACK STORY OF VALERIE JARRETT, ILLINOIS U.S. SENATE SEAT AND THE WHITE HOUSE  —  No one with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team has identified his close friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett as Senate candidate #1, as mentioned in the criminal complaint against Gov. Rod Blagojevich …

Absentee vote issue headed for state Supreme Court  —  Minneapolis election director Cindy Reichert addressed members of the state Canvassing Board at the State Capitol on Friday morning.  Members (l to r) are: Kathleen R. Gearin, Chief Judge, Second Judicial District; Eric J. Magnuson …

GOP: ‘ACTION ALERT - AUTO BAILOUT’  —  Countdown has obtained a memo entitled “Action Alert - Auto Bailout,” and sent Wednesday at 9:12am, to Senate Republicans.  The names of the sender(s) and recipient(s) have been redacted in the copy Countdown obtained.

McCain Campaign Sells Info-Loaded Blackberry to FOX 5 Reporter  —  Exclusive FOX 5 Investigation  —  ARLINGTON, Va. - Private information at bargain prices.  It was a high-tech flub at the McCain-Palin campaign headquarters in Arlington when Fox 5's Investigative Reporter Tisha Thompson bought …

UK caused cholera, says Zimbabwe  —  The cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe which has left hundreds dead was caused by the UK, an ally of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has said.  —  Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu described the outbreak as a “genocidal onslaught on the people of Zimbabwe by the British”.

Sorry, We're Booked, White House Tells Obamas  —  Michelle, Malia and Sasha Obama met Barack Obama's campaign plane in Colorado on Nov. 1.  (Photo: Damon Winter/The New York Times)  —  Updated |  3:12 p.m. CHICAGO—The White House has turned down a request from the family …

The Pragmatist  —  In case you haven't heard, Barack Obama is a pragmatist.  Everybody agrees on this.  Joe Biden, accepting Obama's nod as VP at his unveiling event in Springfield, Illinois, called him a “clear-eyed pragmatist.”  Describing Obama's rise through Chicago politics …

22 Pounds of UAW Rules and Regulations  —  Ever wondered what a UAW contract looks like?  Here is all 22 pounds of it (in this case, Ford's 2,215 page 2007 master contract; Coke can is for scale and because I was thirsty).  —  I'll tell you this much, those 2,215 pages don't include much regarding efficiency and competitiveness.

Soderbergh on Che Guevara's Continuing Relevance: The Butcher of La Cabana's “dream of a classless society, a society that isn't built on the profit motive.”  —  Che director Steven Soderbergh tells Politico why his new four-hour, two-part epic about Ernesto Guevara is relevant in 2008:

Corker: UAW didn't ‘release’ Dems  —  Sen. Bob Corker, who emerged as a central player in the auto-bailout debate, insisted Friday that the package that collapsed in the Senate could be revived and easily clear Congress if the United Auto Workers agreed to wage concessions.

Using the courts to oust Blagojevich on the theory that he's “disabled” from serving as governor.  —  Illinois AG Lisa Madigan makes the move to oust Blagojevich that we were talking about yesterday. … Oh, the irony!  Grabbing power to oust someone for grabbing power.

A Bailout Plan the GOP Can Support  —  Inspired by a commenter, I have come up with an auto industry bailout plan.  For years, we have been treated to the following comments: … And this: … Rep. Steve King (R-IA) was even dedicated enough to run the numbers:

GOP warned to embrace technology or face ‘suicide’  —  (CNN) — When Michigan GOP Chairman Saul Anuzis decided to throw his hat in the ring to head the Republican Party, he announced his intentions on an unlikely forum: Twitter.  —  Not too long ago, the social networking Web site …

Exclusive: Pentagon Pro-Troop Group Misspent Millions, Report Says  —  While the Pentagon preps for a new administration, a scandal from an earlier era is rearing its head.  —  A Defense Department project, supposedly designed to support U.S. troops, was used instead to channel millions …