What was once a 3,200 vote margin has disappeared, and Sen. Ted Stevens (R., Federal Prison) now trails in his re-election bid: The elections division still has over 10,000 ballots left to count today and thousands more through next week, but the latest numbers show Mark Begich leading Sen. Ted Stevens 125,019 to 125,016. The new numbers, [...]

He talks about the tragic fact that he was molested by a priest when he was a child, but I still don’t understand why is he’s bringing it up now. After all, he already talked about this back in 2006. Watch it for yoursef… Ultimately he may want to get back into politics in whatever way he [...]

If he’s truly thinking about running in 2012, I think that’s a mistake since he’ll literally be 41 years old at the time. Then again, that’s what they said about Obama a couple years ago, although Obama had more legislative experience when he ran than Jindal will have in 2012. And actually, both Huckabee and Jindal [...]

This time she goes after the media… One word: wahhhhhhhhhh! And, by the way, she’s not really that well spoken. Sure, it may be seen as folksy, but presidential? Not a chance.

Looks like Obama will have to start herding the cats a lot sooner than he thought. Because not only does Montana Senator Max Baucus want to push universal health care, he wants it to be mandate for everybody which is what Hillary proposed, not Obama. From WSJ: “My door is open and I seek partners with ‘can [...]

During the campaign, Barack Obama promised to curtail the power of lobbyists if he was elected president. Now, he’s apparently tyring to live up to that promise: President-elect Barack Obama will bar lobbyists from helping to pay the costs of his transition to power or working for it in any area in which they have represented [...]

All told, I’m betting we’re looking at $1 trillion in stimulus in the next few years. Steve Coll: The economy is about $14 trillion in size, so that’s potentially more than a trillion dollars beyond what has already been expended on rescue measures. (Obama and the Democratic-led Congress are starting much smaller—about $60 billion in stimulus measures [...]

Why the auto industry bailout? Well, if one or more of the companies go out of business, that’s what we’re facing. NBC has more… Folks, we’re in a very fragile time right now in our economy and all you free marketers and deficit hawks are just going to have to face that fact that the government must get [...]

Because Obama didn’t want his transition to be like Bill Clinton’s, which by all indications was an unmitigated disaster. From Ambinder… In 1992, the only Democrats who had run the White House in the past quarter century had worked for Jimmy Carter — and Carter’s tenure didn’t exactly inspire confidence. Clinton had James Carville — the most [...]

Maybe not in 2012, but be on the lookout for Bobby Jindal in the coming years. He will definitely be a major player. The three things that Jindal cite are definitely what the GOP hung their hat on, but will they have a higher hurdle if Obama is successful with his decidedly liberal economic agenda? We shall [...]

Looks like Barack Obama’s election is already stimulating the economy. The firearm economy that is. That’s right, guns are flying off the shelves all over the nation as gun owners rush to buy a large variety of rifles and handguns out of the fear that Obama and the Democratic controlled congress will pass drastic gun control [...]

I was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, a company town. Both my parents worked for General Motors. My dad came from his native Louisiana to work at Buick from 1953 to 1992. My mother got on a plane in Puerto Rico and headed to Michgan in 1963. After stints as [...]

After securing a $25 billion government loan from Congress before the election, the auto industry is back at the soup line begging for more assistance. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to give it to them. GM, Ford and Chrysler say they need another $25 billion to stay afloat and $25 billion more to cover future [...]

This one’s pretty shocking, and runs contrary to what we’ve heard Republicans saying over the past election cycle. Still, maybe people think that the Dems can’t possible screw it up as badly as the Repubs did? Maybe they’re thinking that Dems will learn from Repubs mistakes? Are expectations too high? In the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Tuesday, [...]

As we celebrate our veterans on this, their special day, we offer readers this beautiful tribute from Terry Kelly. Taking Some Time on Veterans Day.

If you need any more proof that our campaign finance laws are a joke, take this story: The Federal Election Commission is unlikely to conduct a potentially embarrassing audit of how Barack Obama raised and spent his presidential campaign’s record-shattering windfall, despite allegations of questionable donations and accounting that had the McCain campaign crying foul. Adding insult [...]

To those who made it home, and to those who didn’t: thank you for being there.

Ron Brownstein details just how badly campaign ‘08 hurt her… In the national Election Day exit poll, fully 60% of voters said they did not consider her qualified to serve as president if necessary, while only 38% thought she would be ready to step in. Those figures were daunting enough, but new calculations from the exit [...]

Did you ever think he’d really go away? Apparently he’ll be speaking at Indiana University about the results of the election. My question: why? I mean, does anybody really care what John Edwards’ thinks about the Democrats winning? Especially Democrats? All he’s doing is giving the right wing more cannon fodder. One bit of good news from the [...]

A pretty lengthy interview describing the ups and downs of campaign ‘08. This is the thing…she’s definitely interested in a 2012 run. Because this interview is designed to undo what the McCain’s media strategy did to her. But will it work? Not really. Sure, it may save her for her next run as Governor, but hanging out [...]

It’s the political equivalent of a steel cage match. The prize ? The Republican National Committee: A behind-the-scenes battle to take the reins of the Republican National Committee is taking off between former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele. Neither man will acknowledge his interest in the post, but Republicans close [...]

This from Powerline’s John Hinderaker… Obama thinks he is a good talker, but he is often undisciplined when he speaks. He needs to understand that as President, his words will be scrutinized and will have impact whether he intends it or not. In this regard, President Bush is an excellent model; Obama should take a lesson [...]

Well, the woman certainly doesn’t mince words, does she? This from her interview tonight on Greta Van Sustern’s show… “You know, I have — faith is a very big part of my life. And putting my life in my creator’s hands — this is what I always do. I’m like, OK, God, if there is an open [...]

“It may sound a bit crazy and off base, but the thing is, he’s the one who proposed this national security force. I’m just trying to bring attention to the fact that we may — may not, I hope not — but we may have a problem with that type of philosophy of radical socialism [...]

In yet another indictment of today’s youngsters, a recent study in the United Kingdom has revealed today’s brightest do not match the intellect of the top students in the 1970’s. In simplest terms, researchers from King’s College London have reported that the intellectual level of the brightest 14-year-olds today mirrors the cognitive abilities of the [...]

I didn’t really want to post any text stories about this because it’s the video that everybody wants to see. NBC has it… And here’s Chuck Todd on the situation… Ahh, to be a fly on the wall…

That’s what he apparently claimed a couple weeks ago. From the Post-Gazette via Politico: “I think it’s quite unlikely that I would run for office again,” he said. “I gave this my best effort. My experience in politics is that the window opens rarely. It opened for me. I stepped through it, got on the stage and [...]

Well, we know he isn’t going to be right. Not after a win like that. Still, the following panel on Hardball essentially agrees that he should make sure he has a more centrist nature than Bush, although there is a funny moment when Chris Matthews accuses the Republican on the panel of speaking with a forked [...]

Well, I got duped. But then again, so did MSNBC. And not only that, Martin Eisenstadt does it in the blogosphere. How very Smear 2.0 of him… As you know, I was one of the foreign policy advisers on the McCain campaign who worked with Randy Scheunemann to help prep Sarah on her debate with Joe Biden. Did [...]

One of the biggest symbols of post 9/11 American hubris is set to vanish. Good: WASHINGTON – President-elect Obama’s advisers are quietly crafting a proposal to ship dozens, if not hundreds, of imprisoned terrorism suspects to the United States to face criminal trials, a plan that would make good on his promise to close the Guantanamo [...]

Everybody knows that Joe isn’t a Republican, and the idea that he would caucus with them was a bit silly. Still, it doesn’t mean it wouldn’t happen, and it looks as if Obama is trying to mend fences with the Connecticut Senator because of it. From Huff Post: President-elect Barack Obama has informed party officials that he [...]

P. J. O’Rourke takes a rhetorical tire iron to the conservative movement of which he’s been on the libertarian side of since the 1970s. If you know O’Rourke, you know he has about as much love for modern liberals as dogs have for cats. Seems he now finds modern conservatives just as hideous. You don’t have [...]

Like many other records broken by Obama this year, it appears as if the crowd at his inauguration will set a high water mark too. From Wash Post: “People who haven’t called me in months, years, are suddenly calling and saying, ‘Hey, I was just thinking about you,’ ” said Eric Tyson, 29, a pharmaceutical salesman who [...]

The king of the Democratic hacks just won’t go away? Seriously, I watch him talk and my skin crawls. The guy is so oily that just reading this story makes me want to go take a shower. Ugh… RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe signed papers Monday signaling a possible run for [...]

There’s another update from the Minnesota Secretary State, and, yet again, Norm Coleman’s lead over Al Franken has shrunk: ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The margin in Minnesota’s unresolved Senate race between Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken has gotten tighter. The latest figures reported to the secretary of state give incumbent Coleman a lead over [...]

And yes, it’s the worst rating in the history of this polling. And I think it’s because Bush has shown such little leadership in the past couple years. Sure, he made some bold moves in Iraq, but as that was revealed to be ill-fated at best, the sentiment has shifted and stayed that way. From CNN: “No [...]

And 3.1 million of them gave his campaign money. Whoa. Mike Allen has that and more in his Playbook today.

Word is that Obama would like to see his longtime friend fill the remaining time in his Senate seat. From CNN: A prominent Democratic source close to Obama said Jarrett is also Obama’s choice to be named to take over his seat in the Senate, though Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich would have the final say over a [...]

Politico is reporting that Barack Obama’s administration will likely use Joe Biden as the “good cop” to offset Rahm Emanuel’s “bad cop” role: The Democrats’ apparent failure to win the 60 Senate seats necessary to halt a GOP filibuster has created the need for inter-party ambassadors like Biden who are practiced at the art of aisle [...]

A lot of smart people in the following clip, but the thing that struck me about all of them is the lack of ego. But maybe that’s just my take. Watch… And I think it’s telling that the one time they didn’t follow through on something, reviewing all the Reverend Wright footage, that’s what bit them in [...]

One of the interesting secondary plotlines playing out in Washington is the fate of Joe Lieberman. After his vocal support for John McCain, will Lieberman be allowed to stay in the Democratic caucus? Does he want to? Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said, he wants Lieberman to stay in the party’s caucus but that decision [...]

That’s the claim from Republican congressman Mike Pence. From Raw Story… When asked by Chris Wallace what “conservative solutions” the GOP would bring to their current minority-party status, Pence said social issues like “the sanctity of marriage” will remain the backbone of the Republican platform. “You build those conservative solutions, Chris, on the same time-honored principles of limited [...]

With him we get a president with the political intelligence of a Bill Clinton harnessed to the steely self-discipline of a Vladimir Putin. (I say this admiringly.) With these qualities, Obama will now bestride the political stage as largely as did Reagan. - Charles Krauthammer in his column today about the President Elect. It’s genuinely encouraging to [...]

Just in case you didn’t catch it this morning, one of Obama’s closest associates, Valerie Jarrett, was on. You’ll be hearing her name a lot more in the coming years. One really important thing she said that Michelle Obama will be a mom first, and won’t be involved in policy decisions. In other words, she’s not Hillary [...]

Why? Because she doesn’t seem to have the curiosity that America needs for a President, especially when it comes to the foreign policy matters. James Joyner expands that lead… Bill’s right that it’s inconceivable that she got elected and re-elected to so many offices over the years, culminating with a state governorship, by being an airhead….I saw little [...]

Now that the election is over, it’s not too soon to contemplate Sarah Palin’s future in national politics. Though she’s only been on the national stage for less than three months, I’ve seen enough to proffer a point of view.   I think the evidence is clear: Sarah Palin was a huge net drag on the [...]

Fred Barnes hits it on the head… Republicans have a big problem. Nope, it’s not figuring out how to rebuild their party after consecutive defeats in national elections (that’s easy). Nor is it finding new leaders in Congress (also easy) or latching onto fresh ideas that might improve the Republican brand (easiest of all). The problem [...]

Steve Schmidt, who was John McCain’s chief strategist during the campaign, points out the problems facing the GOP in the years beyond 2008: What can the Republican Party learn from what happened this cycle? There are many lessons for the Republican Party out [of] this election, and the party having been roundly defeated is going to [...]

No way, no how. Still…the speculation is rampant… I’m still blown away at how Pat Buchanan is so singularly focused on her good, but not great, RNC speech. It’s crazy, but I guess we all have to fall in love some time. Give it up Pat. The dream is dead. She ain’t gonna be President…or your secret girlfriend.

“Let me say this as to my colleagues. Although committed to their philosophy, they are incredibly pragmatic. They have lived through an experience in the minority. And they know how they got to be in the minority. And they know one very important political principle. They know that if President-elect Obama succeeds, all of us [...]