Hillary Clinton could be Sec. of State  —  Several Obama transition advisers are strongly advocating Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) for secretary of State, a move that would create the ultimate “Team of Rivals” cabinet, according to officials involved in the discussions.

Nancy Pelosi's Motown Juggling Act  —  What do bleeding Detroit auto makers, Colombia and green groups have in common?  Not a lot, unless you are Nancy Pelosi.  —  If there was a moment that highlights to what extent the Democratic Party has become captive to its special interests, this might be it.

Campaign Bogeyman William Ayers Talks to ‘GMA’  —  'Good Morning America's' Chris Cuomo Grills '60s Radical Bill Ayers  —  William Ayers, the 1960s radical whose violent history became a focal point in the 2008 presidential election, said today that the Republicans unfairly “demonized” …

CIA Chief: Iraq Not Main Front  —  CIA Director Michael V. Hayden said yesterday that al-Qaeda remains the single greatest threat to the United States but that Iraq is no longer the central front in the broader war on terrorism.  —  “Today, the flow of money, weapons and foreign fighters …

The YouTube Presidency  —  The White House has gone YouTube.  —  Today, President-elect Obama will record the weekly Democratic address not just on radio but also on video — a first.  The address, typically four minutes long, will be turned into a YouTube video and posted on Obama's transition site …

Vladimir Putin ‘wanted to hang Georgian President Saakashvili by the balls’  —  Nicolas Sarkozy saved the President of Georgia from being hanged “by the balls” — a threat made last summer by Vladimir Putin, according to an account that emerged yesterday from the Élysée Palace.

Depression Economics Returns  —  The economic news, in case you haven't noticed, keeps getting worse.  Bad as it is, however, I don't expect another Great Depression.  In fact, we probably won't see the unemployment rate match its post-Depression peak of 10.7 percent, reached in 1982 (although I wish I was sure about that).

Free the GOP  —  The Party Won't Win Back the Middle as Long As It's Hostage to Social Fundamentalists  —  Four years ago, in the week after the 2004 presidential election, we were working furiously to put the finishing touches on the book we co-authored, “It's My Party Too …

Vast Obama network becomes a political football  —  Some Obama advisors want to blend his campaign operation with the Democratic National Committee.  Others worry that such a move could cause the grass-roots organization to unravel.  —  Reporting from Washington — It is the biggest …

Factories Shut, China Workers Are Suffering  —  CHANG'AN, China — Wang Denggui, father of three, arrived more than a year ago in the palm-lined streets of this southern town with a single goal: toil in a factory to save for his children's school tuition.  —  But the plans of Mr. Wang …

FDIC Details Plan To Alter Mortgages  —  Treasury Opposes Using Bailout Funds For Proposal to Ease Monthly Payments  —  Officials at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. yesterday detailed a plan to prevent 1.5 million foreclosures in the next year by offering financial incentives to companies …

For Obama and Family, a Personal Transition  —  CHICAGO — A couple of weeks ago, Barack Obama headed to the Hyde Park Hair Salon for a trim.  He greeted the staff and other customers and plopped down in the same chair in front of the same barber who has cut his hair for the last 14 years.

McCain Campaign Retrospective  —  I wrote a piece for the new issue on the McCain campaign, focusing especially on the endgame and the fight over Palin.  I know a lot of people are already sick of this stuff, but I wanted to talk to people in the campaign to satisfy my curiosity as much as anything else.

State high court interested in Prop. 8 suits  —  (11-13) 18:17 PST SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court has asked state Attorney General Jerry Brown to reply by Monday to lawsuits challenging the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage - a sign that the justices are taking …