Gingrich says Palin will not be the future GOP leader  —  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) is batting down the hype that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin heads into 2012 as the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination.  —  Palin energized the Republican base after GOP presidential nominee …

Clinton Vetting Includes Look at Mr. Clinton  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama's advisers have begun reviewing former President Bill Clinton's finances and activities to see whether they would preclude the appointment of his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, as secretary of state, Democrats close to the situation said Sunday.

Rather's Lawsuit Shows Role of G.O.P. in Inquiry  —  When Dan Rather filed suit against CBS 14 months ago — claiming, among other things, that his former employer had commissioned a politically biased investigation into his work on a “60 Minutes” segment about President Bush's National Guard service …

Obama On Economic Crisis, Transition  —  Also Discusses National Security, Iraq, And His Cabinet In 60 Minutes Interview  —  (CBS) The full video version of tonight's broadcast will be made available online at 11 p.m. EST.  —  Since Barack Obama was elected the 44th president …

Are you an idiot to keep paying your mortgage?  —  Should you keep paying your mortgage?  —  If you have significant equity in your home, absolutely.  —  If you don't, it's getting harder to answer that question, especially when our government keeps giving people who owe more than their homes are worth so many reasons not to pay.

Obama's White House Hires Reflect Respect for Hill  —  Among the small number of White House staff announcements made so far by President-elect Barack Obama , most of the top spots have gone to recent Capitol Hill veterans.  —  The latest wave, announced early Sunday morning …

Senator John McCain as Obama's Secretary of Defense?  —  Barack Obama has already stated an intention to appoint at least one Republican to his cabinet.  Citing Abraham Lincoln as a precedent, Obama will even consider political enemies for powerful positions in his administration.

To hell with Karl Rove  —  If you've met Karl Rove — as I did earlier this year at George Washington University — you know what an impressive person he is.  The guy has an authoritative manner, and can talk politics very fluently, citing all sorts of historical and demographic facts to bolster his case.

Alan Keyes Files Lawsuit Over Obama Eligibility  —  On November 13, Alan Keyes and his vice-presidential running mate in California, Reverend Wiley Drake, and other members of the American Independent Party, filed a new lawsuit over Barack Obama's eligibility to be president.

KRUGMAN SCHOOLS WILL.... On ABC's “This Week” earlier, George Will explained his belief that FDR financial/regulatory policies discouraged investment and created an environment in which the “depression became the Great Depression.”  —  Fortunately, Will was sitting next to Paul Krugman.

Face Of The Day  —  An Iraqi man weeps next to the body of a dead child killed in an explosion at the morgue of the general hospital in the northeastern town of Baquba some 60 kms from Baghdad on November 16, 2008.  A suicide car bomb exploded at a police checkpoint in Iraq's volatile Diyala province today …

Will v. Krugman on the Depression  —  Nice work as the Nobel Prize winning economist takes on the conservative columnist.  Will argues that New Deal policies made the Depression worse.  Krugman retorts that the New Deal was working nicely until FDR's concern with balanced budgets and fiscal restraint created a new recession.

Arab Students at UC Berkeley Disrupt Israel Event, Attack Jews  —  (IsraelNN.com) Arab students disrupted a pro-Israel event at the campus of the University of California at Berkeley Thursday night, unfurling a large Palestinian flag in front of a crowd of hundreds of supporters of Israel who were enjoying a pro-Israel hip-hop concert.

Iran vice-president under fire over Koran “dance”  —  TEHRAN (Reuters) - An aide to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has come under fire for attending a ceremony that involved actions deemed insulting to the Koran, a row that has given fuel to the Iranian president's opponents before next year's election.

The Center-Right Nation Exits Stage Left  —  Here's the main thought Republicans are consoling themselves with these days: Notwithstanding President-elect Barack Obama, a nearly filibuster-proof Democratic majority in the Senate and the largest Democratic majority in the House of Representatives since 1993 …

Pinkerton: MSNBC Backs Obama, Gets $139 Billion Gov Guarantee  —  Is MSNBC being rewarded for having backed Obama?  That's what Jim Pinkerton suggests.  On this evening's Fox News Watch, the columnist and New America Foundation fellow cited the news that GE Capital, a subsidiary …

Authorities: One of California wildfires ‘human caused’  —  MONTECITO, California (CNN) — One of three major wildfires burning in southern California appears to be “human caused,” a spokesman for the state's fire agency said Sunday.  —  Investigators have eliminated “all accidental causes” …

For Obama, a Scouting Report on Athletic Heads of State  —  Barack Obama still moves with the ease of an athlete and has the left-handed jump shot to prove it, along with a state high school basketball championship to his credit, as a senior at Punahou School in Hawaii in 1979.