Your Guide to the Coming Republican Civil War

by juliewolf
Tue Nov 11, 2008 at 05:56:51 AM PST

Many of you have heard reports about the coming Republican Civil War, which I will henceforth be referred to as THE WAR TO END ALL REPUBLICANS ("WEAR," for short)

But most of this has been discussed merely as a split between the camps of John Sidney McCain and Sarah Louise Heath Palin, specifically focusing on matters of the approach to the campaign.

But, in reality, there are several factions competing for the "soul" of the Republican Party, or at least the closest thing to a soul the party could dig out of a deep, dark, recess that's best not described in polite company.

So I've written up this handy little guide to help us all better understand who the various factions in the Republican party are, and what sides we can expect them to be taking in the upcoming WEAR.




First, let's start with the obvious broad categories:

BIG BUSINESS

Their likes are deregulation, tax breaks for the wealthy, making a lot of money no matter who or what it hurts, complete lack of accountability and offshore accounts to hide certain kinds of profits from the IRS.

Their dislikes are corporate responsibility, people who write them letters and anyone who attempts to regulate any aspect of their business.

They favor Republicans because Republicans are eager and willing to take large donations and, in turn, just sort of look the other way when they, I dunno, don't bother paying taxes on public property for forty years.

RELIGIOUS/"FAMILY VALUES" NUTCASES

Their likes are smug superiority, people like them, amendments banning same-sex marriage, the death penalty, gays who attack other gays and the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Their dislikes are gays, Muslims, people who look like Muslims, people who aren't like them, people who dare to criticize them, elitists, vegetarians, Wiccans, abortion, people who are sane Christians, people who act too Jewish, gay or catholic.

They favor Republicans because they think Republicans will eventually overturn Roe v Wade and because Republicans pretend to like them in exchange for their support.

WARMONGERS/NEOCONS

Their likes are war, violence, and anything which makes them think America is superior.

Their dislikes are France, Europe, France, any country that's not the United States, France, Canada, and peacenicks.

Their likes are anyone who likes war as much as they do, especially if they're dark-skinned enough and crazy-sounding enough to justify us going to war with them. This means you, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

They like Republicans because Republicans are consistently thrilled to talk up war and violence, even when it's not in their best interest to do so.

LIBERTARIANS/ANTI-TAX NUTCASES

Libertarians like very small government and freedom. They hate excessive spending, big government and waste.

It is often unclear as to why they like Republicans.

RACISTS

Their likes are people who look like them and anyone who helps them justify their bigotry. Their dislikes are everyone else.

They like republicans because Republicans make them think they're not really racist.

USEFUL IDIOTS

Their likes are people who say the right kind of thing, regardless of their actions. Their dislikes are anyone who tries to correct their understanding of the world.

They like Republicans because they use catchy buzzwords and because they are idiots.

There are, of course, other categories we could discuss, but these will serve as basic categories for the discussion. There are plenty of people who overlap in this group. John McCain, for example, would fall into the Warmonger category, but he'd also fit directly in with Big Business. Many of his supporters fall into those categories as well as the Useful Idiot category because he can talk a good game about veterans issues, but actually does very poorly with them.

Sarah Palin, on the other hand, fits in easily with Religious Nutcases, Racists and Useful Idiots. In fact, assume that everyone I mention here includes that last group in some capacity from this point on. I'll focus instead on the other two: she's loved by religious nutcases because she is one and she's loved by racists because she gave them so much great rhetoric during the campaign so as to make them think that their racism and xenophobia was, on some level, acceptable.

Mitt Romney, on the other hand, is all Big Business and Family Values. My suspicion about Romney is that he is less someone with convictions then someone who was so sure that he needed to say certain things to get elected that he's actually convinced himself that he believes them. But he's got a strong base of support, just not strong enough that he didn't need to fund his own campaign with a whole lot of his own money.

But how about Mike Huckabee? He's clearly loved by the Religious Nutcases but seems to be anti-racism, at least in his rhetoric. He's hated by big business but somewhat in the libertarian category, except he believes in universal education. In other words, one of the popular Republican candidates has some campaign issues more in favor with Democrats than Republicans.

Which brings us to Ron Paul, who represents an entirely different aspect of the Republican party, with the vast majority of his support coming from Libertarians and Racists, and definitely not the religious nutcases nor the warmongers.

With the exception of John McCain, there is a good possibility that all these individuals will be running for President in 2012 and this is where the WEAR comes in.

There are lots of rumors spreading about what happened behind the scenes in the McCain/Palin campaign, which helps set the stage for the upcoming battle. I.e., Romney camp spreading Palin stories?, Palin aide fires back at McCain camp, etc. Most of you have seen much of this, so I won't bother reiterating.

But this is the basic dynamic: people from the Romney, McCain and Palin factions seem to really have it in for one another. Romney's appeal to the Family Values nutcases is damaged by the fact that he's a Mormon and most Family Values nutcases don't like anyone who's not a Christian (or, at the very least, an acceptably conservative Jew) and most assuredly do not think of Mormonism as "Christian." McCain's people pretty much hate Romney and now they seem to really hate Palin. They blame her for having hurt McCain's chances and being an all around crappy candidate and for "going rogue" from time to time. And then there's the whole Palin/underwear thing (which has nothing to do with Romney).

But the real gold here is that this scatters those categories I listed above. Libertarians are already finding problems with the Republican party, which has largely increased spending during their tenure and made government a lot bigger (and a lot more anti-freedom). Big Business will support anyone who helps them out, and turning the economy into a great big sinkhole really doesn't help big business all that much.

The religious nutcases are now split, with some going to Obama and most still preferring Republicans but willing to sit the election out if someone who's not sufficiently evangelical gets nominated. Granted, there are still plenty of racists, and they probably (if possible) like the Republicans a little more than they used to, but probably think of them as weak little sissies if they cooperate on Obama with anything.

So most of what's left for Republicans are useful idiots. And the great thing about useful idiots is that they're stupid enough to start chasing each other around with baseball bats rather than us. So when big business starts blaming religious nutcases and religious nutcases start blaming warmongers and warmongers start blaming libertarians who, in turn, blame everybody, well, hijinx ensue.

To me, this is going to be sort of like "Glengarry Glen Ross" crossed with a Keystone Cops movie.

Grab your popcorn, folks. This is going to be fun.

Russia hopes to avoid arms race despite Western fears

Russia may deploy missiles in its most western region of Kaliningrad in response to the U.S. anti-missile defence plans in Europe. The announcement was followed by a wave of criticism from Western leaders. But some analysts believe the West has overlooked the fact that the scenario can still be avoided.

With a new administration coming into power in the U.S., it remains to be seen whether Barack Obama will pursue Bush’s policy of deploying AMD elements in Poland and the Czech Republic - or remember Russia’s suggestion to set up an alternative anti-missile system in Azerbaijan.

In June 2007 Vladimir Putin proposed to George W. Bush that the two countries could jointly use a radar station in Gabala, which Russia rents from Azerbaijan, and a new radar under construction in Russia’s southern city of Armavir.

Back then Bush diplomatically hailed the idea - but made it clear the U.S. won’t renounce its plans. The result was the signing of an agreement with the Czech Republic and Poland in summer 2008 for deploying AMD elements on their territories.


Obama has not yet voiced his view on the subject, but there are already voices among America’s intellectual elite that the U.S. needs to change its foreign policy.

Ted Carpenter from the Cato Institute in Washington DC believes the United States needs to significantly cut its military spending “so it does not have the kind of military capability that frightens other countries.”

“The U.S. also has to avoid taking steps that needlessly antogonise other countries. In particular with Russia it is imperative that the United States abandons its goal of expansion of the NATO alliance and to abandon such projects as the missile defence system that it has proposed for Eastern and Western Europe.”

For the time being, the United States says it is disappointed with Russia's intentions. The Pentagon has stated it will continue with the AMD plans and that its position remains the same.

Nevertheless, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack made assurances that Washington is open for dialogue with Moscow.

And despite strong words from President Medvedev some experts believe this is just a bargaining tactic ahead of his first meeting with Obama next week at the summit in Washington.

Political analyst Vladimir Kuzin said: “The placement of the conventional missile Iskander has not been started yet, so before November 15, Moscow and Washington have some time to think it over.”

According to President Medvedev’s aide, Arkady Dvorkovich, consultations are taking place with George W. Bush and president-elect Barack Obama concerning their bilateral meetings with Medvedev in Washington, but no arrangement has yet been reached.

International reaction

German Vice-Chancellor Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed concern that the deployment of Iskander would lead to a new arms race.

He said: “President Medvedev's comments are certainly the wrong signal at the wrong time. Just as in the past, I called on the U.S. administration to seek dialogue with Russia. In the case of missile defence, it is necessary that Russia recognises the opportunity to seek dialogue with the U.S. so as not to set any new arms race in motion here in Europe. This is important.”

Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU Commissioner for External Relations, shares Germany’s position.

“The deployment of missiles in Kaliningrad will not improve security in Europe. I am asking myself how such statements are compatible with a new security strategy in Europe proposed by the Russian president,” he said.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk sees Medvedev’s statement as an indication of Russia’s new aggressive policy.

“In the event that the situation gets bad, the balance of power is already well known," he said. "So we should consider the announcement as a new political step, not a military one”.

Iskander missile complex

The Iskander short-range missile complex, which could be set up in Kaliningrad, is capable of striking targets at a range of up to 300 kilometres. With the deployment of the system in Russia's exclave on the Baltic Sea, the territories of the Czech Republic, Poland and the Baltic States would be within striking distance of Russia.

Kaliningrad borders NATO and EU members Poland and Lithuania.

US calls on Russia to resume missile defence talks

Washington says it wants to resume talks with Moscow over its missile defence plan in Eastern Europe. On Tuesday, Russia’s foreign minister confirmed the country’s position that if and when the U.S. goes ahead with its plans to build elements of its AMD, Russia will deploy Iskander missiles in its westernmost enclave, Kaliningrad.

Speaking in Moscow, Sergey Lavrov said:

”Russia's position, as voiced by President Medvedev, is that if the U.S. goes ahead with its plans and actually installs this radar in Europe, then one of the measures Russia will use to neutralise the inevitable threat to Russia's national security will be the deployment of Iskander missiles.”

”But only after the U.S. actually builds those radars,” he underlined.

The Iskander missiles Russia is proposing would be within striking distance of the planned U.S. sites.

Earlier, U.S. president-elect Barack Obama reportedly told Poland that there was no guarantee the proposed anti-missile shield will be built. The move could indicate that the next American government is preparing to change policy on the controversial defence system.

Britain’s Daily Telegraph reported on Monday that Obama 'did not make any promises concerning the anti-missile shield' in a telephone conversation with the Polish president Lech Kaczynski.

The source said that officials in Warsaw believe that now the chances of the project going ahead stand at no more than "over 50 per cent".

Radek Sikorski, the Polish foreign minister, was also quoted as saying that the worsening state of the American economy might force the president-elect to abandon, or at least delay the programme, in favour of domestic priorities.

The news has given a boost to Moscow, which is vehemently opposed to the missile shield. Russia is expected to hold off reaching agreements on defence with the U.S. until the new administration takes office in January.

"We have taken note of the U.S. president-elect Barack Obama's position on these issues. It inspires the hope that we will be able to deal with them more constructively in the coming period," Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists in Sharm El Sheikh on Sunday.

Lavrov also said Russia would be ready for extensive consultations on the issue before the end of the year, but that agreements concerning both strategic offensive weapons and missile defense "will surely be negotiated with a new U.S. administration".

Meanwhile, the current American leadership is urging Russia to continue talks on missile defence.

U.S. State Department spokesman, Robert Wood, said Washington remained “interested in talking to Russia about missile defence and that they have nothing to fear from our missile defence system that we would like to set up in Europe".

Russia views U.S. plans to install 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic as aggressive. However, the U.S. maintains that the system is aimed at countering future rogue threats from the Middle East and Iran in particular.

The U.S. seems to have changed tack after President Medvedev's address to the Federal Assembly last week after the Russian leader said Moscow would be forced to place missiles in its westernmost Kaliningrad region, bordering Poland - if the U.S. went ahead with its planned bases in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Condoms unite McCain and Obama

With the election safely behind them, President-elect Barack Obama and defeated Republican candidate, John McCain, are now promoting safe sex.

T-shirts, buttons and other paraphernalia supporting the candidates have become useless. Entrepreneur Benjamin Sherman has discovered a way to make a little money post-election.

Sherman has introduced a line of condoms offering the advice: Practice safe policy.

Подпись The Obama variation
The condoms are selling a $10 for three and come with advice from both candidates.

"Definitely for the McCain folks those are approved for veterans. We like to tell the older folks they're laced with viagra," jokes Sherman.

Hopefully the product doesn't cause offense like a voodoo doll caused French president Nicholas Sarkozy earlier this year. Sarkozy tried to take the producers of the highly popular doll to court but the case was thrown out.

Sherman's condoms are found in over 1000 stores around the world and can even be bought online.

http://www.obamacondoms.com/

Democracy Now! PART 2

August 14, 2008: After Ron Suskind Reveals Bush Admin Ordered Iraq-9/11 Fakery, House Judiciary Chair John Conyers Opens Congressional Probe

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind joins us for part two of an interview on his new book, The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism. Suskind reports that in 2003 the White House ordered the CIA to forge and disseminate false intelligence documents linking al-Qaeda and Iraq. While much of the attention on the book has focused on the forged letter, Suskind also reveals that the Bush administration and the British government knew prior to the war that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. We also speak to Rep. John Conyers, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, which is investigating some of the explosive findings in Suskind’s book.

Democracy Now ! Facts About Bushs' War Pt1

August 13, 2008: The Way of the World: Ron Suskind on How the Bush Admin Deliberately Faked an Iraq-al-Qaeda Connection and Undermined Diplomacy, Democracy in Pakistan and Iran.

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Judiciary Committee say they will review allegations the White House ordered the CIA to forge and disseminate false intelligence documents linking al-Qaeda and Iraq. The revelation is among several in Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Suskind’s explosive new book, The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism. Suskind joins us for the hour to talk about the letter controversy and the thin denials that have followed its disclosure. He also reveals details of his lengthy conversations with the late Pakistani politician Benazir Bhutto and her frustrations with the Bush administration in the months before her assassination, and discloses the previously unknown case of an interrogation “cell” beneath the White House.

Gun-buying spree follows Obama election

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Bernie Conatser has never seen business this good.

The owner of a gun shop in the Washington suburb of Manassas, Virginia, Conatser said sales have doubled or tripled the numbers he racked up in late October. Saturday, he said, he did as much business as he would normally do in a week.

"I have been in business for 12 years, and I was here for Y2K, September 11th, Katrina," Conatser said as a steady stream of customers browsed what remained of his stock. "And all of those were big events, and we did notice a spike in business, but nothing on the order of what we are seeing right now."

Weapons dealers in much of the United States are reporting sharply higher sales since Barack Obama won the presidency a week ago. Buyers and sellers attribute the surge to worries that Obama and a Democratic-controlled Congress will move to restrict firearm ownership, despite the insistence of campaign aides that the president-elect supports gun rights and considers the issue a low priority.

According to FBI figures for the week of November 3-9, the bureau received more than 374,000 requests for background checks on gun purchasers — a nearly 49 percent increase over the same period in 2007. Conatser said his store, Virginia Arms Company, has run out of some models — such as the AR-15 rifle, the civilian version of the military's M-16 — and is running low on others.

Such assault weapons are among the firearms that gun dealers and customers say they fear Obama will hit with new restrictions, or even take off the market.
The owner of a gun shop in the Washington suburb of Manassas, Virginia, Conatser said sales have doubled or tripled the numbers he racked up in late October. Saturday, he said, he did as much business as he would normally do in a week.

"I have been in business for 12 years, and I was here for Y2K, September 11th, Katrina," Conatser said as a steady stream of customers browsed what remained of his stock. "And all of those were big events, and we did notice a spike in business, but nothing on the order of what we are seeing right now."

Weapons dealers in much of the United States are reporting sharply higher sales since Barack Obama won the presidency a week ago. Buyers and sellers attribute the surge to worries that Obama and a Democratic-controlled Congress will move to restrict firearm ownership, despite the insistence of campaign aides that the president-elect supports gun rights and considers the issue a low priority.

According to FBI figures for the week of November 3-9, the bureau received more than 374,000 requests for background checks on gun purchasers — a nearly 49 percent increase over the same period in 2007. Conatser said his store, Virginia Arms Company, has run out of some models — such as the AR-15 rifle, the civilian version of the military's M-16 — and is running low on others.

Such assault weapons are among the firearms that gun dealers and customers say they fear Obama will hit with new restrictions, or even take off the market.

Virginia gun owner Kyle Lewandowski said he was buying a .45-caliber pistol to "hedge my bets."

"Every election year, you have to worry about your rights being eroded a little bit at a time," he said. But he added, "I also knew, because of the Democrat majority and because of the election, everybody would have the same reaction I did."

Dealers in Colorado, Ohio, Connecticut and New Hampshire also reported seeing major increases.

"It's a fact that the liberal Democrats that now control all three branches of our government do not like guns. They want us out of business," Connecticut resident Scott Hoffman said. "They don't want the average American to have a right to defend themselves."

And New Hampshire gun owner Lloyd Clement said, "I think there's going to be an attack to some degree on the gun owners."

The Clinton administration imposed a ban on several types of military-style semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines in 1994, but that ban was allowed to lapse in 2004. Obama has proposed restoring the ban, requiring background checks for buyers at gun shows and other "common-sense
measures."

He has said he supports the rights of local governments to set their own gun laws, but believes the Second Amendment to the Constitution protects individual gun rights.

"I believe the Second Amendment means something. I do think it speaks to an individual right," Obama said in Milwaukee in February.

With the U.S. economy in a tailspin, however, the president-elect's advisers say gun legislation is not a high priority.

"What people do is their own business, and if they decide to go out and buy guns they'll go out and buy guns, assuming that they are eligible to buy guns," John Podesta, the co-chairman of Obama's transition team, told reporters Sunday. "But I think that President-elect Obama has been clear in his campaign that what he wants to focus on is the economy, trying to get jobs growing again, dealing with the health care crisis, and dealing with our dependence on foreign oil."

Some customers specifically are stocking up on ammunition and point to concerns raised by the National Rifle Association, which ran anti-Obama ads during the campaign. The NRA said Obama would support a "huge new tax on my guns and ammo," referencing a 1999 article in a Chicago newspaper saying the then-Illinois state senator promoted a plan to increase federal taxes by 500 percent on the sales of firearms and ammunition.

But as a state legislator, Obama would not have had any control over federal taxes. And as a U.S. senator and presidential candidate, he has not introduced or promoted such a proposal.

"I don't really believe it is fear. It is more there is just uncertainty," said Virginia customer David Reynolds, who was buying ammunition in the store as well as ordering more online. "You know, we don't really know what is going on. There really hasn't been a lot of clear direction on where he
supports it, although he says he supports the Second Amendment. But it just remains to be seen. I think some people are just uncomfortable with what his policy may be."

Laura Bush, Michelle Obama discuss daughters in White House

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The White House and the Obama-Biden transition team both released statements following Barack and Michelle Obama's visit to the White House Monday:

From White House spokeswoman Dana Perino:

"The President and the President-elect had a long meeting, described by the President as good, constructive, relaxed and friendly. They spoke about both domestic and international issues, though since it was a private meeting the White House will decline to comment on specifics. The President also showed President-elect Obama the living quarters, including the office the President uses, the Lincoln Bedroom, and the rooms for the Obamas’ two young daughters. The President enjoyed his visit with the President-elect, and he again pledged a smooth transition to the next administration."



Obama Biden transition spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter:

“President-elect Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama were very warmly welcomed today at the White House by President George Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. Upon arriving, President-elect Obama and President Bush proceeded to the Oval Office, where they had a productive and friendly meeting that lasted for over an hour. They had a broad discussion about the importance of working together throughout the transition of government in light of the nation’s many critical economic and security challenges. President-elect Obama thanked President Bush for his commitment to a smooth transition, and for his and First Lady Laura Bush’s gracious hospitality in welcoming the Obama’s to the White House."

“After a brief private meeting, the First Lady led Mrs. Obama on a tour of the White House that focused primarily on the private residence of the historic home. After this tour, the First Lady and Mrs. Obama visited in the West Sitting Hall, where they discussed raising daughters in the White House, as Jenna and Barbara Bush were similar in age to Malia and Sasha Obama when they visited their grandfather, President George H. W. Bush, during his presidency. Mrs. Obama was honored to finally meet the First Lady, who was a gracious hostess. Following their visit, Mrs. Obama met with Admiral Rochon, the White House Chief Usher.”

Secret Service: Palin Comments Led to Spike in Obama Threats

The Secret Service has disclosed Republican attacks led to a spike in death threats against Barack Obama during the final weeks of the presidential campaign. According to Newsweek magazine, threats on Obama’s life peaked after then-Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin accused him of “palling around with terrorists.” Palin was referring to Obama’s tenuous ties to William Ayers, who once hosted a gathering for Obama during his first run for office.

US Loses 240,000 Jobs; Highest Jobless Rate Since 1994

Back in the United States, the national unemployment rate has reached a fourteen-year high. New figures from the Labor Department show the jobless rate hit 6.5 percent last month, as the economy shed 240,000 jobs. More than 1.2 million jobs have been lost so far this year.

Monitors Cast Doubt on Georgia Claims in Russia Conflict

Newly disclosed accounts from international monitors have cast further doubt on Georgia’s motives for launching a US-backed armed conflict with Russia earlier this year. Georgia attacked two breakaway provinces after claiming its forces had come under Russian fire. But according to the New York Times, monitors with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said there was scant proof Russia attacked when Georgia claimed. Monitors stationed near the Georgian areas reported hearing no rounds fired from the Russian side. Instead, monitors recorded an intense Georgian attack on the separatist capital of Tskhinvali. At least forty-eight rounds were fired on a civilian area in the first hour of the Georgian attack. Russian forces stationed there also came under fire.

Obama Won’t Commit to Bush Admin Missile Shield

Obama has also announced he won’t commit to continuing the Bush administration’s controversial missile shield in eastern Europe. A spokesperson clarified Obama’s stance after Polish President Lech Kaczynski said Obama had told him the program would continue under the new administration. The program has been widely derided as bellicose, expensive and useless to its stated goals of protecting national security. Poland would host ten ballistic missiles along with a radar site in the Czech Republic. The Bush administration says the missile system would protect Europe from Iranian missiles, but it’s widely seen as a first-strike weapon.

Aides: Obama to Seek Tax Cuts, Reverse Bush Exec Orders

Aides to President-elect Barack Obama have begun to outline his top priorities upon taking office. On Sunday, incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said Obama would push ahead with a middle-class tax cut and a tax increase for higher-income Americans. Obama has pledged to undo the Bush administration tax cut for Americans making more than $250,000 a year. Emanuel also said Obama would move to expand healthcare access, but didn’t give details. Meanwhile, Obama’s transition team says it’s reviewing hundreds of actions taken by President Bush using executive authority. The Obama camp says it might overturn a wide variety of executive orders, including limits on stem cell research, abortion funding and the expansion of oil and gas drilling.

US to Restructure AIG Bailout

In other bailout news, Treasury officials are finalizing a new rescue package for the troubled insurance giant American International Group. The government has already loaned AIG $143 billion. The plan would restructure the loan to give AIG more time to pay it back at a lower rate.

NY to Seek Billions in Medicaid, Education Cuts

News of the deliberate bank windfall measure comes as a new round of social welfare cuts are likely in the state where most of these firms are based. On Sunday, New York Governor David Paterson said he will seek billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid and education funding. Paterson cited a rise in the state deficit worsened by the financial crisis on Wall Street.

Ten quick lessons from the US election

1. NORTHERN DEMOCRATS ARE VIABLE AGAIN

With all the excitement surrounding the first black presidency, it is easy to forget that Barack Obama is the first northern Democrat to win since JFK.
Barack Obama at his election night party in Chicago on 4 November 2008
Obama will be the first northern Democratic president in 45 years

Largely because of the fall-out from civil rights reforms of the 1960s, after which the Democrats lost their grip on the South, every Democratic President has come from below the Mason Dixon Line.

Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and,the diehards would contest, Al Gore.

Northern Democrats are back in the game.

2. LIBERAL DEMOCRATS ARE VIABLE AGAIN

When liberals have run for the presidency in recent times - Hubert Humphrey, George McGovern, Walter Mondale, Mike Dukakis and John Kerry - they have been beaten. When centrists have run - Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and JFK (yes, Adlai Stevenson was the liberal darling in 1960, while Kennedy was deeply distrusted by the party's progressive wing) - they have won. Barack Obama breaks that rule.

"Liberal" used to be the most toxic word in US politics. But the L-word has now lost much of its fear factor.

3. SENATORS ARE VIABLE AGAIN

For the past 40 years, Americans have preferred their presidential candidates to have executive experience. Ronald Reagan (California), Jimmy Carter (Georgia) and Bill Clinton (Arkansas) were governors. Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, George HW Bush and Gerald Ford had racked up the frequent flyer miles on Air Force Two.

JFK was the last sitting senator to become president. Before that, you have to reach back to Warren Harding in 1920. Senators have pesky voting records which hand opponents valuable ammunition - just look at how President Bush went after John Kerry's votes on Iraq. But this year, the three strongest candidates - Mr Obama, Mr McCain and Hillary Clinton - were all senators.

4. PALMER EFFECT MORE POWERFUL THAN BRADLEY EFFECT

Remember David Palmer, the fictional black president in the hit TV show 24?
Dennis Haysbert was 24's black president
All in a day's work - Dennis Haysbert was 24's black president

I do not know whether there is any data to back this up, but my hunch is that he helped create a climate of public acceptance for the notion of a black president.

I reckon the Palmer effect was more significant than any Bradley effect. (The so-called distortion in opinion polls caused by voters who don't want to vote for a black candidate, but won't admit that to pollsters.)

5. SOCIAL PROMISCUITY IS REALLY HELPFUL

Sexual promiscuity has derailed many candidacies, but web-based social promiscuity is definitely the way forward. Facebook and MySpace were used with devastating effect by the Obama campaign. So, too, his own beautifully-designed website. Its organisational and money-making power were extraordinary and election-changing.

Barack Obama has become the commander-in-chief by being the social networker-in-chief. If Jack Kennedy was arguably the most telegenic presidential candidate that America has seen, then Mr Obama is surely its most web-genic.

6a. MUCH OF THE US POLITICAL MAP STAYS THE SAME

Some of the pages in that dog-eared atlas of US political geography stay the same. Iowa and New Hampshire continue to wield a disproportionate measure of influence, despite what has now become the quadrennial attempt by other states to push them to the fringes. Senator Kerry used victory in Iowa to propel him to the nomination. Obama did the same. New Hampshire was vital for getting Hillary Clinton back in the game, as it was for John McCain.

Many of the old favourite battleground states remain as important as ever. The old rule that Republicans cannot win without Ohio remains in place. And clearly it is very tricky to win without Florida.

6b. MUCH OF THE US POLITICAL MAP NEEDS SOME ATTENTION

We are now seeing some new swing states. Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina, Virginia, New Mexico.

7. DEBATES ARE REINFORCING NOT TRANSFORMATIONAL

In post-debate coverage, how many times have we heard that dreadful cliche, "neither candidate delivered a knock-out punch"? Well, they rarely do.
Obama and McCain after a debate
No knock-out blows were landed in the 2008 debates

It was the cumulative effect of Kennedy's first debate performance against Nixon, rather than a single moment, that had such a dramatic impact. Similarly, Gerald Ford knocked himself out, when he made the mistake of saying that Poland was not a Soviet satellite state.

In 1984, Walter Mondale says he knew he had lost the moment in the televised debate when Ronald Reagan said he would never look to take political advantage of his opponent's youth and inexperience.

But mostly the debates reinforce impressions of candidates rather than alter them dramatically.

(The best line ever, of course, was Lloyd Bentsen's famous putdown of Dan Quayle - "Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy". But remember who ended up vice-president?)

8. THE VETERAN PROBLEM

Nobody doubts John McCain's remarkable story of wartime bravery. But does it help to be a hero?

For the fifth election running, the candidate with the more heroic or convincing war record has lost. McCain against Obama.

Kerry and Gore against Bush. Bob Dole against Bill Clinton and Bush Sr against Clinton.

9. DYNASTIC POWER HAS TAKEN A HIT

No Bushes or Doles will occupy any vital seats of power in Washington for donkeys' years, despite the two dynasties between them having done so for the past 56. Hillary Clinton did not bring about a restoration. Mitt Romney fizzled. Senator John Sununu lost in New Hampshire. The pulling power of a dynastic surname seems to have lost some of its lustre (although Tom Udall won the New Mexico Senate race).

10. WHAT IS IT ABOUT ARIZONA SENATORS?

Like John McCain, Barry Goldwater, the GOP presidential candidate in 1964, was an Arizonan senator, a former pilot, a maverick and a straight-talker. He commandeered a plane during the 1964 convention in San Francisco to buzz the convention below.

Arizonan senators with a love of dare devil aeronautics and devil-may-care linguistics? Don't call us, we'll call you.

Moderates to blame for GOP losses, conservative leader says

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(CNN) -- A conservative leader Friday laid the Republican Party's poor showing at the polls at the feet of moderates who, he argues, led the party away from its core principles.
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council says the GOP must return to conservative principles.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council says the GOP must return to conservative principles.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council told CNN that conservatives need to take back control of the GOP if the party is to return to its winning ways.

"Moderates never beat conservatives. We've seen that in past elections," he said.

Rejecting suggestions that the conservative movement was viewed as being out of touch with the electorate, Perkins says the Republican Party needs to go back to basics.

"It's a return to fundamental conservative principles that Ronald Reagan showed work and that people can be attracted to," Perkins said.

Pointing to measures in California, Florida and Arizona barring same-sex marriage that passed Tuesday, Perkins said President-elect Barack Obama's election did not mean the country had embraced liberal social views.

"There was clearly no mandate to shift the country to the left on social issues," Perkins said. "What Tuesday was, was a fact that people wanted change, and it's a rejection of a moderate view." Video Watch what went wrong in the McCain campaign »
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David Keene of the American Conservative Union also said the idea of the Republican Party as the party of smaller government was undermined by the rapid increase in government spending over the last eight years.

"Republicans in Congress began to act like the Democrats they'd gotten rid of in the '90s. The president began to spend money like he was Lyndon Johnson, and the result was that voters began to get very upset," Keene said. "So, yes, you have to go back to your basics."

Perkins' comments come after a post-election conservative conclave met at an undisclosed location in northern Virginia on Thursday.

One of the prominent conservatives who attended the meeting, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, said the group's goal was to rebuild the conservative movement in all 50 states.

"There's no one leader. There are many leaders," Norquist said. "One of the things that the meeting decided is they wouldn't decide something. They won't endorse a candidate. It was the first meeting of a series of meetings of how do we structure, how do we increase building."

Perkins also said the meeting was meant to get the various wings of the conservative movement talking again.

"What has made the conservative movement strong is when you have social conservatives, fiscal conservatives and foreign policy conservatives working together," he said. "This was the first step in what will be a long journey in rebuilding that communication and that common vision." Video Watch the fighting between the McCain and Palin camps »

Norquist said one of the lessons the conservatives took away from Tuesday night's results was that they focused too much on the presidential race and not enough on helping congressional candidates.
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In addition to Sen. John McCain, a Republican standard bearer, losing his bid for the White House, House Republicans will have at least 26 fewer seats in the next Congress, and Republicans could have a few as 40 seats in the Senate.

"As a national movement, a conservative movement, as a national Republican Party, it was certainly a mistake to focus on the presidency. It would be a mistake to focus on the elected officials in Washington," Norquist said. "So we rebuild, not just in Washington, but in all 50 states."

Bailout Includes Secretive, Possibly Illegal $140B Windfall for Banks

The Washington Post has revealed the recent $700 billion taxpayer bailout of Wall Street contains a possibly illegal provision that stands to give American banks a massive windfall. As part of the bailout, lawmakers changed tax code Section 382, which limits the kinds of tax shelters companies can use during corporate mergers. It was created to stop companies who avoid paying taxes by acquiring shell companies valued by the losses on their stocks. The companies would then write off the losses and avoid paying taxes on their own profits. Taxpayers stand to lose some $140 billion from the move. Experts say the Treasury had no legal authority to eliminate the tax measure. Republicans have been trying to overhaul or eliminate it since its introduction in 1986. Congressional aides admitted lawmakers agreed to keep the change hidden to avoid public outrage. Staffers with Senate Finance Committee chair, Max Baucus, a Democrat, reportedly asked that an administration briefing on the tax code change be kept secret. One congressional aide said, “We’re all nervous about saying that this was illegal because of our fears about the marketplace. To the extent we want to try to publicly stop this, we’re going to be gumming up some important deals.”

Report: Iraq, Shell Near 25-Year Deal

In other Iraq news, United Press International is reporting the Iraqi government has drafted a deal with that would give the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell the biggest foreign role in Iraqi petroleum in four decades. The twenty-five-year agreement would let Shell capture gas wasted during the extraction of oil in Basra.

Report: Bush Authorized US Attacks Anywhere in the World

The New York Times has revealed the US military has waged nearly a dozen secret attacks inside Syria, Pakistan and other countries since 2004. The assaults were approved under a classified order signed by then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and authorized by President Bush. The order authorizes US military attacks anywhere in the world if they can be linked to targeting al-Qaeda. Last month’s US attack inside Syria appears to be the latest known instance under the policy. Syria says eight civilians were killed. The attacks have often been carried out in collaboration with the CIA.

Olbermann: Gay marriage is a question of love

Everyone deserves the same chance at permanence and happiness


Keith Olbermann


Finally tonight as promised, a Special Comment on the passage, last week, of Proposition Eight in California, which rescinded the right of same-sex couples to marry, and tilted the balance on this issue, from coast to coast.

Some parameters, as preface. This isn't about yelling, and this isn't about politics, and this isn't really just about Prop-8. And I don't have a personal investment in this: I'm not gay, I had to strain to think of one member of even my very extended family who is, I have no personal stories of close friends or colleagues fighting the prejudice that still pervades their lives.
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And yet to me this vote is horrible. Horrible. Because this isn't about yelling, and this isn't about politics. This is about the human heart, and if that sounds corny, so be it.

If you voted for this Proposition or support those who did or the sentiment they expressed, I have some questions, because, truly, I do not understand. Why does this matter to you? What is it to you? In a time of impermanence and fly-by-night relationships, these people over here want the same chance at permanence and happiness that is your option. They don't want to deny you yours. They don't want to take anything away from you. They want what you want—a chance to be a little less alone in the world.

Only now you are saying to them—no. You can't have it on these terms. Maybe something similar. If they behave. If they don't cause too much trouble. You'll even give them all the same legal rights—even as you're taking away the legal right, which they already had. A world around them, still anchored in love and marriage, and you are saying, no, you can't marry. What if somebody passed a law that said you couldn't marry?

I keep hearing this term "re-defining" marriage. If this country hadn't re-defined marriage, black people still couldn't marry white people. Sixteen states had laws on the books which made that illegal in 1967. 1967.

The parents of the President-Elect of the United States couldn't have married in nearly one third of the states of the country their son grew up to lead. But it's worse than that. If this country had not "re-defined" marriage, some black people still couldn't marry black people. It is one of the most overlooked and cruelest parts of our sad story of slavery. Marriages were not legally recognized, if the people were slaves. Since slaves were property, they could not legally be husband and wife, or mother and child. Their marriage vows were different: not "Until Death, Do You Part," but "Until Death or Distance, Do You Part." Marriages among slaves were not legally recognized.

You know, just like marriages today in California are not legally recognized, if the people are gay.

And uncountable in our history are the number of men and women, forced by society into marrying the opposite sex, in sham marriages, or marriages of convenience, or just marriages of not knowing, centuries of men and women who have lived their lives in shame and unhappiness, and who have, through a lie to themselves or others, broken countless other lives, of spouses and children, all because we said a man couldn't marry another man, or a woman couldn't marry another woman. The sanctity of marriage.

How many marriages like that have there been and how on earth do they increase the "sanctity" of marriage rather than render the term, meaningless?

What is this, to you? Nobody is asking you to embrace their expression of love. But don't you, as human beings, have to embrace... that love? The world is barren enough.

It is stacked against love, and against hope, and against those very few and precious emotions that enable us to go forward. Your marriage only stands a 50-50 chance of lasting, no matter how much you feel and how hard you work.

And here are people overjoyed at the prospect of just that chance, and that work, just for the hope of having that feeling. With so much hate in the world, with so much meaningless division, and people pitted against people for no good reason, this is what your religion tells you to do? With your experience of life and this world and all its sadnesses, this is what your conscience tells you to do?

With your knowledge that life, with endless vigor, seems to tilt the playing field on which we all live, in favor of unhappiness and hate... this is what your heart tells you to do? You want to sanctify marriage? You want to honor your God and the universal love you believe he represents? Then Spread happiness—this tiny, symbolic, semantical grain of happiness—share it with all those who seek it. Quote me anything from your religious leader or book of choice telling you to stand against this. And then tell me how you can believe both that statement and another statement, another one which reads only "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

You are asked now, by your country, and perhaps by your creator, to stand on one side or another. You are asked now to stand, not on a question of politics, not on a question of religion, not on a question of gay or straight. You are asked now to stand, on a question of love. All you need do is stand, and let the tiny ember of love meet its own fate.

You don't have to help it, you don't have it applaud it, you don't have to fight for it. Just don't put it out. Just don't extinguish it. Because while it may at first look like that love is between two people you don't know and you don't understand and maybe you don't even want to know. It is, in fact, the ember of your love, for your fellow person just because this is the only world we have. And the other guy counts, too.

This is the second time in ten days I find myself concluding by turning to, of all things, the closing plea for mercy by Clarence Darrow in a murder trial.

But what he said, fits what is really at the heart of this:

"I was reading last night of the aspiration of the old Persian poet, Omar-Khayyam," he told the judge. It appealed to me as the highest that I can vision. I wish it was in my heart, and I wish it was in the hearts of all: So I be written in the Book of Love; I do not care about that Book above. Erase my name, or write it as you will, So I be written in the Book of Love."

Dem groups claim Obama win

John F. Kennedy famously said that "victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan," an adage born out over the last three days as reporters' inboxes have overflowed with e-mails from advocacy groups boasting of their role in Tuesday's sweeping Democratic win.

Unions, Hispanic groups, the Netroots, progressive organizing coalitions, single women, working women, youth, the religious left — to name just a few — all claim to have played a vital role in electing Barack Obama.

And each says he owes them for that role.

Such claims are, of course, an election-year standard. Four years ago, social conservative and anti-tax groups boasted of their role in President Bush's reelection.

Obama's wider margin of victory this year makes it seem as though America — and the Democratic Party — may just be big enough for virtually every group to claim credit and jostle elbows as they push for their respective agendas.

The National Council of La Raza, "the largest national Hispanic and civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States," sent out a statement citing its efforts to register Hispanics and declaring that the 2008 election proved the "Latino vote matters," and that the group was "energized by the urgency of seeing immigration reform enacted."

While exit polls showed Obama performed significantly better with Hispanic voters than John F. Kerry did four years earlier, the president-elect rarely raised immigration reform on the trail. The Democrat's margin seemed in large part the result of John McCain's claim during the primary that he would stress enforcement and would not vote for his own immigration reform bill if it were to be revived.

"Today is one of the brightest days for working people all across our nation," John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, which represents 10 million workers, said on Wednesday. "Voters have delivered a resounding mandate for broad-based economic change."

On Wednesday morning, AFL-CIO Political Director Karen Ackerman claimed that "in the declining [industry] states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, union voters were the firewall that stopped John McCain," repeated something a group spokesman had told Politico last week, changing only the tense.

The National Education Association — whose leaders and members consistently tilt Democratic, as do unions more generally — also rushed to claim a narrow mandate and send a message to Obama, who boasted on the trail of his willingness to take on the teachers' unions. President Dennis Van Roekel threw the brushback pitch, issuing a statement citing the role of its "2 million potential voters in 15 presidential battleground states" and calling the years ahead an "incredible opportunity to begin to correct the failed education policies of the Bush administration."

The youth advocacy group Rock the Vote — which stays strictly nonpartisan — declared that "young people have spoken and elected the next president."

MoveOn.org's political action committee, the powerhouse of Internet progressivism, framed the victory as its own, "the culmination of a decade of work to build a progressive, people-driven politics in America," and emphasized its endorsement and the role of members' donations in funding the campaign.

Women's Voices, Women Vote, a nonpartisan but liberal-leaning single women's political advocacy organization, declared that "unmarried women anchored Obama's victory" in a post-election statement entitled "Single Women Prove Decisive Political Force."

Sojourners, a progressive Christian group, highlighted Obama's support among opponents of abortion rights, a minority position in the Democratic Party. Their statement credited Obama's win to "the leadership of African-American and Latino Christians, with a younger generation of the faithful in white America" who are working for "racial and economic justice, creation care, peacemaking and a more consistent ethic of life."

The Human Rights Campaign, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, cited its $7 million "Year to Win" effort "to mobilize 5 million LGBT and allied voters to help elect fair-minded candidates." While they may have elected their candidates, several states passed initiatives curtailing gay rights, most notably California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage. The referendum passed by a thin 52-48 margin, with much of that cushion from culturally conservative black voters who turned out in record numbers to back Obama and split 70 percent to 30 percent in favor of the ban.

The National Jewish Democratic Council noted that "American Jewish voters have once again overwhelmingly supported the Democratic presidential nominee" and that "with Obama's victory, we selected a candidate who shares the values of the vast majority of American Jews, including the separation of church and state, a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, and reproductive freedom." Meanwhile the Council on American Islamic Relations issued a statement within minutes of Obama's victory speech celebrating the victory and stating that it looks forward to working with Obama on civil rights and "projecting an accurate image of America in the Muslim world."

Then there are the bottom-liners who know victory is good for business. Yankee Group, a technology consulting firm, sent a statement to reporters Wednesday, citing its network as a "transformational force... in Obama's march to the White House," citing itself, among other things, as the vehicle for Obama's money raised online.

As the groups stake their claims, they've also taken passing shots at others doing the same, as in the Womens Voices, Womens vote statement entitled "WE MADE THE DIFFERENCE," which deemed unmarried women, who exit polls showed voted 74-25 for Obama, a "decisive political force," pointing to the "margin of 12 million votes" they provided for Obama — which, they pointed out, meant "Obama’s margin among unmarried women exceeded his margin among both young voters and Latino voters."

Obama won't attend financial summit

esident-elect Barack Obama will not attend the Bush administration’s global financial summit this weekend in Washington, senior aide Robert Gibbs said Monday.

"He's very interested and thought it was very good to have the meeting,” Gibbs said. “But in a phrase you'll hear in exceedingly large numbers of times between now and the 20th of January, there's only one president at a time."

Other members of Obama's transition team might meet with the foreign leaders, Gibbs said.

After touring the White House and meeting with President Bush on Monday, Obama headed back to Chicago, where he is expected to remain for the rest of the week with Vice President-elect Joe Biden to work on the transition.

Gibbs said he believes Biden is back in Chicago after being spotted Sunday at the Philadelphia Eagles game, an appearance that surprised Obama aides.

"My wife said, ‘What's he doing there?' " Gibbs recounted jovially. And I said, 'That's a darnn good question.' "

Obama does not plan to announce any Cabinet selections this week, although he might make White House staff appointments. He made three phone calls while sitting on the tarmac Monday in Washington, one of which was to Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), who has been speculated as a possible cabinet nominee, possibly as secretary of State.

Obama is likely to lay a wreath Tuesday in observance of Veterans Day. He may do some shorter trips over the next few weeks and is expected to travel to Hawaii around Christmas time, Gibbs said.

Palin Sorts Clothes To See What Belongs To RNC

WASILLA, Alaska — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, amid speculation she'll run for president in four years, blamed Bush administration policies for the defeat last week of the GOP ticket and prayed she wouldn't miss "an open door" for her next political opportunity.

"I'm like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door," Palin said in an interview with Fox News on Monday. "And if there is an open door in '12 or four years later, and if it is something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I'll plow through that door."

In a wide-ranging interview with Fox's Greta Van Susteren, Palin says she neither wanted nor asked for the $150,000-plus wardrobe the Republican Party bankrolled, and thought the issue was an odd one at the end of the campaign, considering "what is going on in the world today."

"I did not order the clothes. Did not ask for the clothes," Palin said. "I would have been happy to have worn my own clothes from Day One. But that is kind of an odd issue, an odd campaign issue as things were wrapping up there as to who ordered what and who demanded what."

"It's amazing that we did as well as we did," Palin, who was Sen. John McCain's running mate, said of the election in a separate interview with the Anchorage Daily News.

"I think the Republican ticket represented too much of the status quo, too much of what had gone on in these last eight years, that Americans were kind of shaking their heads like going, wait a minute, how did we run up a $10 trillion debt in a Republican administration? How have there been blunders with war strategy under a Republican administration? If we're talking change, we want to get far away from what it was that the present administration represented and that is to a great degree what the Republican Party at the time had been representing," Palin said in a story published Sunday.

Palin has scheduled a series of national interviews this week with Fox, NBC's "Today" show and CNN. She also plans to attend the Republican Governors Association conference in Florida this week.

Palin has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2012. She also could seek re-election in 2010 or challenge Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Still uncertain is the fate of Sen. Ted Stevens, who is leading in his bid for another term but could be ousted by the Senate for his conviction on seven felony counts of failing to report more than $250,000 in gifts, mostly renovations on his home. If Stevens loses his seat, Palin could run for it in a special election.



Palin and McCain's campaign faced a storm of criticism over the tens of thousands of dollars spent at such high-end stores as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus to dress the nominee. Republican National Committee lawyers are still trying to determine exactly what clothing was bought for Palin, what was returned and what has become of the rest.

Her father, Chuck Heath, said Palin spent part of the weekend going through her clothing to determine what belongs to the Republican Party.

"She was just frantically ... trying to sort stuff out," Heath said. "That's the problem, you know, the kids lose underwear, and everything has to be accounted for. Nothing goes right back to normal,"

Palin's father said his daughter told him the only clothing or accessories she personally had purchased in the past four months was a pair of shoes.

RNC lawyers have been discussing with Palin whether what's left of the clothing and accessories purchased for her on the campaign trail will go to charity, back to stores or be paid for by Palin, a McCain-Palin campaign official said Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the campaign hadn't authorized comment.

The McCain-Palin campaign said about a third of the clothing was returned immediately because it was the wrong size, or for other reasons. However, other purchases apparently were made after that, the campaign official said.

In Wasilla, her hometown backers welcomed her, putting aside their disappointment over her unsuccessful bid.

Jessica Steele can't wait to see what Sarah Palin does next _ not with her political career, but with her hair.

"That's something I want to talk to her about: What's our vision for her hair?" says Steele, proprietor of the Beehive Beauty Shop and keeper of the governor's up-do since 2002. "I can't wait to see her and say, 'OK, I've got you alone for three hours. Just relax, and how are you, really?'"

While Palin remains popular, the reality of defeat is evident.

Bags of fan mail, as many as 400 letters a day, partially fill a room at her parent's house. But parents no longer meet Secret Service agents when they pick up their children at Cottonwood Creek Elementary, where Palin's youngest daughter, Piper, is a student. The reporters and camera crews are gone from the Palin home on Lake Lucille, once patrolled by Coast Guard boats. Now a thick sheet of ice covers the lake.

Four state troopers still guard the governor 24 hours a day, Heath said _ something Palin never had before.

And in a bit of familiarity, Heath said he brought a pot of moose chili to Palin's house this past weekend.

Egypt rejects bin Laden son

Egypt denied entry to one of Osama bin Laden's sons on Sunday, becoming the third country to reject him.

Omar Osama bin Laden, 27, and his British wife arrived at Cairo International Airport over the weekend and were promptly put on a plane to the Gulf Arab country of Qatar.

Bin Laden was denied entry after he unsuccessfully sought political asylum in Spain, claiming he would not be safe if he returned to an Arab country. The couple had lived in Egypt for the past year.

Obama launches Web site to reach public

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(CNN) -- Barack Obama had a formidable online presence during his quest for the White House, and he is once again turning to the Internet to communicate with the American public as president-elect.
President-elect Barack Obama has launched a Web site to chronicle his transition.

President-elect Barack Obama has launched a Web site to chronicle his transition.

Within 24 hours of last week's historic vote, his transition team rolled out change.gov, a Web site that promises to be "your source for the latest news, events and announcements so that you can follow the setting up of the Obama administration."

The site is still a little thin on content, but there's a blog, a newsroom and a countdown to the January 20 inauguration.

Visitors can fill out a form to share their stories about what the election meant to them, or they can give their vision of an Obama presidency. They can even apply for a job. Video Watch how the site may help Obama »

The Web site is an extension of Obama's online strategy during the campaign.

As a candidate, he had four times as many friends as his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, on MySpace.com. Obama had almost 3 million supporters on Facebook and put together a massive database of e-mail addresses -- some 10 million.

Obama even announced Sen. Joe Biden as his choice for vice president in a text message to supporters.

People who follow Obama online have become a community that the president-elect can tap into, said Andrew Raseij, founder of TechPresident.com, a Web site that tracked the online operations of the 2008 presidential campaigns.

"He now has his own special interest. He has a group of people he can go to and ask them to participate in helping him pass his legislative agenda," Raseij said.

He also predicted that Obama will use online video and interactivity to revolutionize the way the commander in chief communicates.

"I think the days of just a Saturday morning radio address and an occasional press conference as the way the president speaks to the American public are over," Raseij said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Barack Obama starts doing a weekly YouTube video and also fireside chats for the 21st century by allowing people to filter up questions to him that he might answer."

The president-elect already has said he'll have a five-day online comment period before signing any nonemergency legislation, so Americans can be part of the process.

He's also planning to appoint a chief technology officer and has pledged to get true broadband to every community in the country.

Obama's embrace of the Internet during his presidential campaign came as Americans increasingly turned to online sources to get election news.
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A recent poll by the Pew Research Center found 33 percent got most of their 2008 campaign news from the Internet, compared with 10 percent in 2004.

The same survey found almost half of Americans ages 18 to 29 turned to the Internet as their major source of election news in 2008. Seventeen percent of people in this age group turned to newspapers.

Reid: Lieberman did something 'improper'

Reid made it clear Friday he's not happy with Joe Lieberman over the onetime Democrat's avid support of John McCain's White House bid, but told CNN the Connecticut independent has a strong record of voting with the Democrats.

"Joe Lieberman has done something that I think was improper, wrong, and I'd like if we weren't on television, I'd use a stronger word of describing what he did," Reid told CNN's John King. "But Joe Lieberman votes with me a lot more than a lot of my senators. He didn't support us on military stuff and he didn't support us on Iraq stuff. You look at his record, it's pretty good."

Sources tell CNN Reid wants to strip Lieberman of his Homeland Security Committee chairmanship and offer him the chairmanship of a less high-profile committee. Lieberman reportedly called the proposal "not acceptable."

Historians: Bush presidency 'incompetent' and 'unlucky'

(CNN) -- With record low approval ratings and intense criticism for his handling of the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina and the economy, the word most used to label George W. Bush's presidency will be "incompetent," historians say.
"Right now there is not a lot of good will among historians. Most see him as a combination of many negative factors," said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School.

"He is seen as incompetent in terms of how he handled domestic and foreign policy. He is seen as pushing for an agenda to the right of the nation and doing so through executive power that ignored the popular will," he added.

But like so many presidents before him, Bush's reputation could change with time.

Harvard University political history scholar Barbara Kellerman said when President-elect Barack Obama takes over in January, people may view Bush in a new light. Video Watch Bush address staff about transition of power »

"I think it's possible when people have stopped being as angry at the Bush administration as they are now ... that they will realize that some of this is just ... the luck of the draw."

Kellerman, author of the book "Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters," noted that Bush has not had luck on his side for the past eight years.
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"He [Bush] has been a quite unlucky president. Certain things happened on his watch that most people don't have to deal with -- a 9/11, a [Hurricane] Katrina, the financial crisis, being three obvious examples," she said.

"And yet they happened on his watch. He is being blamed," she said.

And that fact -- coupled with approval ratings around 27 percent, according to CNN's poll released October 21 -- is in large part why Obama and Democrats won big on November 4.

Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian and professor at Rice University, said the country is dealing with a "lame duck president" who will most likely face an uphill battle in getting anything passed through Congress before he leaves office.

"We're dealing with an economic meltdown ... We're dealing with two wars. So everything Obama does now is going to be seen as he is the de facto president," Brinkley said Thursday. Read Zelizer's take on what Obama should avoid

Historians, beginning to examine Bush's legacy, note that the 43rd president could end up with a better reputation down the road -- something that happened to Harry Truman.

At different points in his presidency, Truman earned some of the highest and the lowest public approval ratings in history: 87 percent approval in June 1945 vs. 23 percent approval in January 1952, according to a CNN analysis of polling at the time.

Truman, who is often noted for his upset victory over Thomas Dewey in 1948, faced several domestic and foreign policy problems throughout his term in office, which lasted from 1945-1953. Most notably: The Korean War, World War II and later, Cold War relations with an aggressive Soviet Union.

"One of the things that has been conventionally done is to compare George W. Bush to Harry Truman, both of whom had upon leaving office dismal approval ratings and of course as it is well known by now, Harry Truman's reputation has, by virtually every account, not only improved, but I would say escalated nearly to the top of the list of greater American presidents," Kellerman added.

Another president Bush may be compared to down the road? Ronald Reagan.

Prior to leaving office, Reagan faced strong backlash from Republicans and Democrats on opening negotiations with Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev during the Cold War era as well as the handling of the Iran-Contra Affair.

"He was seen as bumbling; he was seen as unintelligent; he was seen as a guy driven by his advisers," Zelizer added. "And now he's being talked about like FDR, one of the great presidents in American history and we have a new look at who he was."

Reagan is often invoked by Republicans in presidential races -- most recently with the campaign of Sen. John McCain -- looking to shore up the conservative base.

Bush, meanwhile, who has long defended his decision to invade Iraq as a way to spread democracy, could also see criticism dissipate over time if Iraq becomes a thriving, stable country.

"If you imagine that an Iraq in 10,15 years is actually a vibrant, stable democracy and other countries neighboring it move in that direction ... I think you'd have a strong Bush revisionism," Zelizer said. "How things unfold in coming decades can help repair a battered presidency," he added.


Kellerman said that while many will credit Bush for taking charge of democracy-spreading, his "incompetence" will still be noted.

"The level of incompetence after the initial 'mission accomplished' was so acute that my guess is, even if the decision to invade might be historically justified, the incompetence that succeeded it ... I think that's going to be very difficult to ever alter our negative perception of that."

The Odd and Damaging Behavior Of Sarah Palin

Newsweek’s Special Election Project reveals more about the behavior of Sarah Palin. I must say, I can not wait for the movie! She met staff members in a towel; Brought up William Ayers before the McCain camp OK’d it; The Outrageous Spending on Clothing; and as previously reported, the incredible lack of knowledge.

At the GOP convention in St. Paul, Palin was completely unfazed by the boys’ club fraternity she had just joined. One night, Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter went to her hotel room to brief her. After a minute, Palin sailed into the room wearing nothing but a towel, with another on her wet hair. She told them to chat with her laconic husband, Todd. “I’ll be just a minute,” she said.

Palin launched her attack on Obama’s association with William Ayers, the former Weather Underground bomber, before the campaign had finalized a plan to raise the issue. McCain’s advisers were working on a strategy that they hoped to unveil the following week, but McCain had not signed off on it, and top adviser Mark Salter was resisting.

NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin’s shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain’s top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family–clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent “tens of thousands” more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as “Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast,” and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.

Eventually, Steve Schmidt, the person who actually picked Palin as VP, vetoed the request by Sarah Palin to speak along with McCain at his Arizona concession speech Tuesday night.

Moderates to blame for GOP losses, conservative leader says

(CNN) -- A conservative leader Friday laid the Republican Party's poor showing at the polls at the feet of moderates who, he argues, led the party away from its core principles.
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council says the GOP must return to conservative principles.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council says the GOP must return to conservative principles.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council told CNN that conservatives need to take back control of the GOP if the party is to return to its winning ways.

"Moderates never beat conservatives. We've seen that in past elections," he said.

Rejecting suggestions that the conservative movement was viewed as being out of touch with the electorate, Perkins says the Republican Party needs to go back to basics.

"It's a return to fundamental conservative principles that Ronald Reagan showed work and that people can be attracted to," Perkins said.

Pointing to measures in California, Florida and Arizona barring same-sex marriage that passed Tuesday, Perkins said President-elect Barack Obama's election did not mean the country had embraced liberal social views.

"There was clearly no mandate to shift the country to the left on social issues," Perkins said. "What Tuesday was, was a fact that people wanted change, and it's a rejection of a moderate view." Video Watch what went wrong in the McCain campaign »

Perkins' comments come after a post-election conservative conclave met at an undisclosed location in northern Virginia on Thursday.
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One of the prominent conservatives who attended the meeting, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, said the group's goal was to rebuild the conservative movement in all 50 states.

"There's no one leader. There are many leaders," Norquist said. "One of the things that the meeting decided is they wouldn't decide something. They won't endorse a candidate. It was the first meeting of a series of meetings of how do we structure, how do we increase building."

Perkins also said the meeting was meant to get the various wings of the conservative movement talking again.

"What has made the conservative movement strong is when you have social conservatives, fiscal conservatives and foreign policy conservatives working together," he said. "This was the first step in what will be a long journey in rebuilding that communication and that common vision." Video Watch the fighting between the McCain and Palin camps »

Norquist said one of the lessons the conservatives took away from Tuesday night's results was that they focused too much on the presidential race and not enough on helping congressional candidates.
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In addition to Sen. John McCain, a Republican standard bearer, losing his bid for the White House, House Republicans will have at least 26 fewer seats in the next Congress, and Republicans could have a few as 40 seats in the Senate.

"As a national movement, a conservative movement, as a national Republican Party, it was certainly a mistake to focus on the presidency. It would be a mistake to focus on the elected officials in Washington," Norquist said. "So we rebuild, not just in Washington, but in all 50

Obama's victory caps struggles of previous generations * Story Highlights * Obama's win validates risks civil rights activists took years ag

(CNN) -- At a modest stucco home in Montgomery, Alabama, an unlikely presidential victory celebration is taking place this morning.
Barack Obama's election victory represents a triumph for civil rights activists before him.

Barack Obama's election victory represents a triumph for civil rights activists before him.

Peggy Wallace Kennedy, the daughter of the late George Wallace, the Alabama governor who once vowed to maintain segregation forever, is rejoicing.

Kennedy, 58, voted for Sen. Barack Obama. She says she was "mesmerized" when she first heard him speak at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Her admiration for Obama deepened when she learned he opposed the Iraq war. She even slapped an Obama bumper sticker on her car, even though someone told her that the prospect of an African-American president would have her father "rolling over in his grave."

"I think Obama is going to be one of the best presidents we'll have," she says. "He's going to bring the freshness we need. We've just been bogged down so long. We need this shot in the arm." Video Watch Obama address supporters after his win »

President-elect Obama's victory Tuesday may be a racially transformative event. But for people like Kennedy, who came through the fires of the civil rights movement, it also represents something else -- personal triumph. Obama's win validates the risks they took years ago. iReport.com: What does Obama's victory mean to you?

Some, like Kennedy and an entire generation of white Southerners, risked social rejection for renouncing the bigotry of their parents. Others risked their lives while leading civil rights campaigns in the Deep South. Some almost lost their belief in the inherent goodness of America because they saw so many innocent people die. iReport.com: 'This is the most wonderful night of my life'
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They are people like Bob Moses, who led African-American voter registration drives in Mississippi during the early 1960s. He was a leader in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Mississippi when three civil rights workers were murdered by a group of men that included a Mississippi deputy sheriff. He also helped lead an ill-fated attempt to sit African-American delegates from Mississippi at the 1964 Democratic National Convention, which was segregated.

Moses grew so disenchanted by his experiences that he moved to Tanzania. He returned to the United States in 1976 and founded the Algebra Project, a national program that encourages African-American students to attend college by first teaching them mathematical literacy.

"We seem to be evolving..., " Moses says. "The country is trying to reach for the best part of itself."

Moses is evolving as well. Obama is the first president he's voted for in three decades, he says.

"I don't do politics, but I made sure to vote this time," says Moses, now 73 years old. "Obama is the first person I really felt moved to vote for."

Moses says he is amazed that Obama has helped lead the country through a racially transformative moment without anyone getting killed.

Pivotal events in America's racial history -- the debate over slavery, the assault on segregation -- sparked widespread violence, Moses says.

"I don't think people appreciate how delicate it is to move the society around these questions without descent into chaos or into pockets of chaos," he says.

Obama's victory also offered a rare public acknowledgement for Moses. He recently attended an Obama rally when Obama -- a keen student of the civil rights movement -- discovered he was in the audience.

"When he got on the platform, he gave me a shout out," says Moses, whose reluctance to be in the spotlight was notorious among his civil rights colleagues. "He said, 'there's someone in the audience, and he's a hero of mine.' "

Moses paused when asked how it felt.

"It was good."

The nation goes full circle

Obama's victory, though, wasn't just made possible by civil rights activists, some say. It was also made possible by a generation of African-American leaders who excelled in the political, sports and entertainment arenas: former Secretary of State Colin Powell, golfer Tiger Woods and pop culture figures like actor Bill Cosby and Dennis Haysbert, who portrays a black president in the television series "24." Video Watch Powell discuss his reaction to Obama's win »

They didn't change laws, but they did shift perceptions, some say.

"We live in a society where white voters are prepared and accustomed to seeing African-Americans in prominent positions and leadership," says Brett Gadsden, an assistant professor of African-American studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Rev. James Zwerg almost lost his life trying to usher in this new society.

Zwerg, who is white, participated in the Freedom Rides in the early 1960s, and he says Obama's victory means the country has gone "full-circle."

Zwerg was almost beaten to death by a white mob in 1961 when he dared to sit next to African-Americans on a Greyhound bus. He was part of a group of white and black college students, dubbed "Freedom Riders," who tried to desegregate interstate travel.

The photos of a bloodied Zwerg, standing next to a battered John Lewis -- who would go on to become a Georgia congressman --rallied activists across the nation. Zwerg became a civil rights hero, but his father disowned him for protesting alongside African-Americans. Video Watch Lewis celebrate Obama's victory »

Yet Zwerg became so tormented by the attention he received -- he thought he got too much credit because he was white -- that he once contemplated suicide.

Zwerg, 68, says the bond he experienced with other Freedom Riders caused the most inspiring moments of his life. Obama's campaign reminded him of that era.

"Obama's message reflects much of the same idealism that [the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.] spoke of when he talked about coming together to improve our country," Zwerg says. "He's really rekindled the same enthusiasm for change among young people, which is terrific."

Zwerg says he never thought back then that an African-American would integrate the Oval Office -- nor did any Freedom Rider.

"I don't think it really crossed our mind."

Clayborne Carson, a former activist and now a Stanford University historian, remembers getting arrested in 1965 just because he demanded the right to vote. He says it was "inconceivable" then that the United States would elect an African-American president.

"I remember how it was still a controversial act for President [Lyndon] Johnson to even select a black person for his Cabinet," Carson says.

Carson says many people forget that many African-Americans in the South were not allowed to vote until the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, a law passed only after the bloody civil rights campaign in Selma, Alabama, mobilized public opinion.

"America was a democracy in name only," Carson says. "It's only since the mid-1960s that we've had this experiment in a multicultural and multiracial democracy."

Carson says he sees the future of this multicultural experiment not only in Obama's victory, but also in his Stanford classroom. More than half of his students are not native white Americans but Asians, Latinos and African-Americans, he says.

He also sees a troubling future for the United States in his travels to counties like India and China. Those countries have highly educated youths who "have the sense that the future belongs to them."

"I don't know if we have that confidence," he says. "This symbolic change in leadership won't mean anything unless a President Obama can mobilize the country for the long, hard struggle to keep up with the world."

Kennedy, George Wallace's daughter, is thinking more about the past these days. She wonders how her father would have regarded Obama's victory.

She says Wallace had his own racially transformative moment. He renounced bigotry later in his life, publicly apologized for the pain he caused and was elected to his last term as governor of Alabama with strong African-American support.

Still, she doesn't know what he would say about her vote for Obama.

"I think he would be all right with it," she says. "Daddy had come full circle. I really think that he would be happy about it or at least interested in it. I'm not sure he would have voted for Obama."

Obama's victory, however, doesn't mean the politics of exclusion that her father once practiced is history, she says.

"There's racism, and there always will be racism," she says. "But this country has come a long way."
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When asked how she was going to celebrate Obama's win, Kennedy gave a mischievous chuckle. She says she's going to continue to do what she and her husband, H. Mark Kennedy, a retired Alabama Supreme Court justice, have been doing the last few days since an Obama victory seemed certain:

"We've been sitting here and watching Fox News go utterly berserk."

Brigade's exit may help Obama’s Iraq plan

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The U.S. military will reduce the number of troops in Iraq this month as violence has dropped and Iraqi security forces have shown vast improvements, senior military officials told CNN Wednesday.

The military said it is sending home two brigades and not replacing one of them this month, dropping the number of brigades in Iraq from 15 to 14. A brigade has about 3,000 troops.

There are currently about 152,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

The 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division was scheduled to leave Iraq in February 2009, but a late November departure will cut short by two months its 15-month tour.

The second unit, the 3rd Brigade of the 101st, is scheduled to leave this month and will not be replaced, according to Pentagon officials.

Army officials said that several other units will be returning early because of positive security situations on the ground in Iraq. However, current plans are to eventually replace those units, they said.

Early departures and not replacing forces could be the start of a trend that could allow President-elect Barack Obama to fulfill his campaign pledge to reduce the number of combat brigades in Iraq by roughly one a month in his first 16 months in office.

Pentagon prepares for wartime transition

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pentagon officials have begun preparing for the first transfer of power during war since Vietnam. They insist that the complicated transfer from the Bush administration to the Obama administration will go smoothly.
The coming transfer of power during wartime will be the first since 1968.

The coming transfer of power during wartime will be the first since 1968.

President Bush met Thursday with members of his Cabinet, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and urged them to cooperate.

"We're in a struggle against violent extremists determined to attack us, and they would like nothing more than to exploit this period of change to harm the American people," Bush said.

"For the next 75 days, all of us must ensure that the next president and his team can hit the ground running."

Teams in Gates' office and that of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, have been working on the transition for months, according to Pentagon officials. See who Obama may be considering for his Cabinet »

With ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it will mark the first time a transfer of power has taken place during wartime since 1968, when Lyndon Johnson handed over power to Richard Nixon while the Vietnam War raged.
Do
"We are preparing to make this as smooth a transition as we can," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said this week.

Although officials say the transition is in good hands, little is being said about what discussions will occur between the Pentagon teams and President-elect Barack Obama's transition teams when they begin showing up within days or weeks.

"There is a recognition that given that we are a nation at war, that energy and effort [should] be sufficiently placed to ensure that we don't drop any balls, because national security and supporting our fielded forces that are engaged in combat is of paramount importance to this country," Whitman said.

Robert Rangel, special assistant to Gates and the deputy secretary of defense, is in charge of the transition process in the Pentagon, while Marine Brig. Gen. Frank McKenzie, who reports to Rangel, is leading the effort for the Joint Chiefs.

Last month, Gates issued guidelines for the transition, stressing that the department must maintain continuity of operations and ensure efficient and effective transition between the outgoing political leaders and the incoming administration, according to Whitman.

The Pentagon has opened offices for Obama's transition staff. The nondescript offices are just down the hall from the secretary of defense's office and have been readied with computers, phones and filing cabinets.

The offices remain empty until staff members are designated by Obama's team and cleared through the White House.
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"The initial contact point for the Obama transition team will be through the White House, and there will be a discussion on the way forward on the transition, and what will happen out of that will be a memorandum of understanding that says, 'these people will be working with the Defense Department,' so we know who has been sanctioned and designated by the president-elect," Whitman said.

In his comments Thursday, Bush said, "ensuring that this transition is as smooth as possible is a priority for the rest of my presidency."

Economy the issue as Obama meets reporters

Obama will have to confront the nation's ailing economy.


CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) — The nation's sagging economy is expected to be in the spotlight Friday as President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden hold their first news conference since the election.

Obama named llinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff on Thursday, but the transition office said no personnel announcements would be made at Friday's event.

Obama will take questions from reporters, however.

Before the news conference, Obama and Biden will meet with a 17-member council of economic advisers. Among the panelists are former Treasury Secretaries Lawrence Summers and Robert Rubin, former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker, billionaire businessman Warren Buffett, and leaders in business and
politics.

Interest in the makeup of Obama's economic team is high as bad news continues to emerge daily.

The Labor Department's monthly jobs report Friday morning showed that the shed 240,000 jobs in October. The unemployment rate climbed from 6.1 percent to 6.5 percent, the highest it's been since 1994.

Also Friday, Ford Motor Co. reported a $3 billion operating loss in the latest quarter, and said it would reduce staff and capital spending to preserve its dwindling cash. Ford said it would cut white-collar compensation by eliminating merit pay, bonuses and retirement-account matching contributions
"This is one of the first times that I can remember that the secretary of the treasury is going to be almost as important as the secretary of state," said CNN senior political analyst David Gergen, who served in the Reagan and Clinton administrations.

A source with the Obama transition team told CNN that a plan to name David Axelrod a senior adviser to the incoming president is "in the works."

Axelrod was the Obama campaign's chief strategist and was a top adviser to Obama during his run for the Senate in 2004. Observers believe Robert Gibbs, the communications director for Obama's presidential campaign, will become Obama's press secretary.

Gibbs said that to say he has been offered the job is a report "ahead of itself."

Obama was considering who will be on his team long before Tuesday's election.

He could pick Republicans such as Sens. Chuck Hagel or Dick Lugar to come on board, analysts speculate.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates' name also has been floated in media reports.

Gates has served in Bush's Cabinet for almost two years. He worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for 27 years, serving as its director from 1991 through 1993. He also served as deputy national security adviser under President George H. W. Bush.

"What Barack Obama has to do in the transition time is set the tone," said Gloria Borger, a senior political analyst for CNN. "If he reaches out to Republicans in the Cabinet — if he decided to keep Bob Gates at Defense — that's really, really important."

Hagel, R-Nebraska, is a Vietnam War veteran and fierce critic of the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war. Hagel did not run for re-election for his Senate seat this year.

Lugar, R-Indiana, is minority leader of the Foreign Relations Committee and worked with Obama last year to expand a program aimed at destroying weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union.

The White House is holding an economic summit November 15. Obama could delay naming his economic team to avoid interfering with the G-20 summit.

Names circulating for the treasury secretary position include Timothy Geithner, Lawrence Summers and Volcker.

Geithner helped deal with Wall Street's financial meltdown earlier this year, overseeing the acquisition of Bear Stearns by JPMorgan Chase and the bailouts of AIG and Lehman Brothers. He was appointed president of the New York Federal Reserve in November 2003.

Summers was appointed treasury secretary in July 1999 and served as the chief economist of the World Bank from 1991 through 1993. Before his career in government, he taught economics at Harvard.

Volcker is a former chairman of the Federal Reserve, serving under Presidents Carter and Reagan. He also worked in the private sector as an investment banker and headed the investigation into the United Nations' oil-for-food program for Iraq.

Obama said Thursday that Emanuel accepted his offer to be White House chief of staff. The Office of the Chief of Staff oversees and coordinates activities and communication among various departments of the administration.

"I announce this appointment first because the chief of staff is central to the ability of a president and administration to accomplish an agenda. And no one I know is better at getting things done than Rahm Emanuel," Obama said in a written statement.

Emanuel helped lead Democrats to majority control of the House in 2006. He was elected to the House in 2002 and is the fourth-highest-ranking member of the chamber's Democratic leadership.

He also worked on President Clinton's first presidential campaign and served as a White House adviser to Clinton. Emanuel choked up as he said how glad he is his parents are alive to see him have the choice of becoming chief of staff for a "historic figure."

He said he wants to do "everything I can to help deliver the change America needs."

Also Thursday, Obama received and intelligence briefing and returned the calls of nine leaders of other countries, thanking them for having expressed congratulations on his election. The leaders were: the presidents of France, Mexico and South Korea; the prime ministers of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan and the United Kingdom; and the chancellor of Germany.

On Monday, Obama and President Bush are set to meet in the White House.

"Michelle and I look forward to meeting with President Bush and the first lady on Monday to begin the process of a smooth, effective transition," Obama said in a statement. "I thank him for reaching out in the spirit of bipartisanship that will be required to meet the many challenges we face as a nation."