Obama's train ride: Lincolnesque imagery  —  by Mike Dorning and Mark Silva, updated at 1:15 pm EST  —  WILMINGTON, Del. - President-elect Barack Obama, calling on Americans “to pick ourselves up once again” during a troubling era on the eve of a new presidency, picked up his own vice president-elect …

BLOCK THE STIMULUS, HELP THE GOP.... Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, now seeking the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, has a new reason to oppose an economic rescue package: it might help Democrats. … Now, from a policy perspective, most of this is incoherent.

The Only Thing We Have to Fear . . .  is Obama.  —  Barack Obama is the apostle of hope.  But he also arouses the flipside of hope—fear.  And while the fear he stirs may turn out to be unfounded, it's not irrational.  People don't know who Obama really is or where his ideological center of gravity rests …

Barnicle Man, Barnicle Man, Doing The Things That Barnicles Can  —  Matthew Yglesias at Think Progress catches this Mike Barnicle/Mika Brezenski exchange on “Morning Joe”: … http://www.youtube.com/watch?  v=1MEjX6ITLqY  —  Yup, sure is a disgrace to journalism when you're anonymous ...

By Request: Missing the Trees  —  John Bedell writes: … I grew up in an apartment in Manhattan and didn't actually realize how much I like to have a little greenery around until I moved to a rowhouse neighborhood in DC and got my hands on a small backyard.

Ethics cloud still hangs over Rangel  —  A herd of tax reporters trails Charles B. Rangel everywhere he goes these days, like a team of pilot fish feasting on whatever morsels the raspy, talkative Ways and Means Committee chairman casts aside.  —  Late last year, that media herd was feasting …

‘Drug-crazed idiot’ Boy George jailed for 15 months for chaining male escort to wall and beating him … Boy George was jailed for 15 months yesterday for falsely imprisoning a male escort.  —  The former Culture Club singer - real name George O'Dowd - shackled Audun Carlsen to a wall …

Hamas and Hezbollah supporters return to Calgary's Jewish neighbourhood  —  I don't get it.  Glenmore Landing is private property; with a word RioCan, the landlord, could demand that the pro-Hamas and pro-Hezbollah goons, who now gather there weekly, leave.  That's what mall security does when teens loiter on skateboards.

For a Power Lawyer, a New High-Wire Act  —  WASHINGTON — During 40 years in politics, Gregory B. Craig has learned the art of the balancing act.  —  As a Harvard student in 1968, he was enthralled by Allard K. Lowenstein, the antiwar candidate who preached change from within.

Obama For America Becomes Organizing For America  —  PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Obama political machine is merging with the Democratic National Committee.  —  The President-elect launched Obama 2.0, or Organizing for America, this morning with a YouTube video.

Obama's Inauguration Planners Strive to Set the Right Tone  —  When a train pulls out of Philadelphia today carrying President-elect Barack Obama on a symbolic journey to Washington, it will set off a four-day inaugural celebration of unprecedented ambition that has been calibrated to strike …

Bush's Final Approval Rating: 22 Percent  —  CBS News/N.Y. Times Poll Finds President Will Leave Office With Lowest Final Approval Rating Ever  —  (CBS) President Bush will leave office as one of the most unpopular departing presidents in history, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll showing …