The Biggest Lesson Obama Learned From The Clinton Transition  —  Democrats who survived the transition from George H.W. Bush to William Jefferson Clinton are a bit in awe these days of what Barack Obama is doing and how he is doing it.  —  Of the Clinton transition, one very senior …

Why Palin Still Matters  —  Some readers think my continuing attempt to expose all the lies and flim-flam and bizarre behavior of Sarah Palin is now moot.  She's history - they argue.  Move on.  I think she probably is history.  Even Bill Kristol and his minions in the McCain-Palin campaign …

Senator Takes Initiative on Health Care  —  WASHINGTON — Without waiting for President-elect Barack Obama, Senator Max Baucus, the chairman of the Finance Committee, will unveil a detailed blueprint on Wednesday to guarantee health insurance for all Americans by facilitating sales of private insurance …

Dem senators try to save Lieberman  —  Several top Democratic senators have launched a behind-the-scenes effort to save Sen. Joe Lieberman's chairmanship, despite calls from a Democratic base seeking retribution for Lieberman's vocal support of John McCain's presidential campaign.

Paulson Says Treasury Is Shifting Focus of Bailout  —  WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. announced a major shift in the thrust of the $700 billion financial-rescue program on Wednesday, at the same time joining several agencies in prodding banks to speed up the thaw in the country's credit system.

Mischief in Minnesota?  —  Al Franken's recount isn't funny.  —  You'd think Democrats would be content with last week's electoral rout.  But judging from the odd doings in Minnesota, some in their party wouldn't mind adding to their jackpot by stealing a Senate seat for left-wing joker Al Franken.

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: CINDY MCCAIN CAUGHT CHEATING ON J-MAC!  —  The ENQUIRER's exclusive bombshell expose as Sen. John McCain's wife, Cindy, is caught with another man!  —  Not only that but multiple witnesses have caught the pair lip locking on several other occasions.

No Bailout Without Big Changes in Detroit  —  There is little doubt but that the political fix is in, thanks to those meetings late last week among Big Three auto executives, United Auto Workers union officials and leading Democrats.  The outgoing Bush administration has already set …

Liberal Pranksters Hand Out Times Spoof  —  Sorry, folks, the paper isn't free.  And the Iraq war isn't over, at least not yet.  —  In what appears to be an elaborate hoax, pranksters distributed hundreds or possibly thousands of free copies of a spoof edition of The New York Times …

ANUZIS JUMPS INTO RNC CHAIR RACE  —  From NBC's Chuck Todd, Carrie Dann, and Abby Livingston  —  Michigan Republican Party Chair Saul Anuzis watched his state slip from a tossup to a 16-point slam-dunk for Barack Obama, after the McCain campaign dropped its ads there.

Obama surfs through  —  The Obamas are a warm vision for the White House — but he should strive toward full transparency.  Plus: Yes, I still like Sarah Palin!  —  Dazed and confused.  A week after the election of Barack Obama, millions of American news junkies are in serious cold turkey …

Supreme Court Rules for Navy in Sonar Case  —  WASHINGTON — Courts have no business second-guessing the military, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in lifting restrictions on submarine training exercises off the coast of Southern California that may harm marine mammals.

Dodd Interview Censored  —  Tom Scott conducted the interview.  WELI killed it.  Now you can hear it.  —  Scott, one of Connecticut's leading conservative voices of the past three decades, was the last local on-air voice at WELI-AM, once a fully-staffed Greater New Haven news station turned …

The Good Life of a New-Media Guru  —  Is Jeff Jarvis gloating too much about the death of print?  —  Take a look at this, from Jeff Jarvis' blog BuzzMachine: … Jeff Jarvis is living the good life.  (But he's still humble—he says so himself!)  Jeff Jarvis is the very model of a modern new-media guru.

Heckuva job, McLame  —  From the man whose best-sellers include “Why Courage Matters” and “Character Is Destiny” comes this underwhelming reaction to the cowardly smearing of Sarah Palin by his own unnamed staffers:  —  “These things happen.”  —  Not: “Shame on the leakers.  I denounce and renounce them.”

‘Why Believe in a God?’  Ad Campaign Launches on D.C. Buses  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — You better watch out.  There is a new combatant in the Christmas wars.  —  Ads proclaiming, “Why believe in a god?  Just be good for goodness' sake,” will appear on Washington, D.C., buses starting next week and running through December.

AP Interview: Foley breaks silence on sex scandal  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Even today, two years after Mark Foley's very public fall from grace, the former congressman can't explain why he sent lurid, sexually explicit computer messages to male teens who had worked as Capitol Hill pages.