Daily Roundup

Leader: Mumbai Blowback

- Days after the end of the siege, many questions still lie unanswered about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. The death toll has still not solidified, but it is somewhere near 200. The Washington Post has a step-by-step report on how the attackers carried out their plan. It appears the terrorists may have had inside help-- accomplices who left weapons for them, and allowed them to have intimate knowledge with the layout of the hotel.

- It appears that India's police forces failed dramatically to respond in the early stages of the attacks, in some cases running away from attackers, and failing to return fire. India's top domestic security minister has resigned in the wake of the attacks.

- Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is on her way to India to demonstrate America's solidarity with India after what some Indians are calling "our 9/11."

- Courtesy of Steve Clemons, three recent pieces of good analysis on the Mumbai attacks: Steve Coll decodes Mumbai, looking at the political situation, particularly in Kashmir, that led to these attacks; for the Guardian, Paul Cruickshank covers the search for those responsible; Juan Cole offers advice for the Indian government, urging them not to take the Bush-Cheney road.

Politics

- This morning, Barack Obama will announce his national security team, including Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, James Jones as National Security Advisor, Robert Gates as Defense Secretary, Janet Napolitano as Homeland Security Advisor, Susan Rice as Ambassador to the UN.  To clear the way for his wife's Secretaryship.

- Bill Clinton has agreed to disclose the names of all donors to his foundation, and turn down donations from foreign governments.

- Progressives have been foaming at the mouth in consternation over Obama's picks.

- The LA Times runs a story on the "emerging consensus" on health care.  Apparently this consensus rejects universal coverage, opting instead to preserve employer-based coverage.  

International

- Roger Cohen has advice for Hillary Clinton in her dealing with the Israel-Palestine conflict: Try tough love, with an emphasis on the tough.

- The Times editorial board praises the choice of Janet Napolitano at Homeland Security, particularly in the work she could do to fix our illegal immigration problem. The Arizona Republic also hopes the new congress could make some progress on immigration, finally.

One More Thing

- Sarah Palin will campaign for Sen. Saxby Chambliss in Georgia. That worked really well for John McCain, so presumably Chambliss is stoked.

- ¡Obamanos! Hendrik Herztberg comes across a new slogan for the Obama presidency.

- The State Department has gone digital! You can now watch spokesman Sean McCormick give addresses on StateVideo, the department's YouTube channel.  Rather than make you sit through one of those, however, I've got another offering from the channel, in which Harrison Ford reminds you about the evils of illegal wildlife trafficking:

Leader: Econ Squad

- Barack Obama announced his economic team yesterday. Captained by Timothy Geithner as Secretary of the Treasury, the group also includes Larry Summers as head of the National Economic Council and Christina Romer as chair of the Council of Economic Advisors. Around the web, economists seem pretty pleased with the selections. NDN's Robert Shapiro, speaking to Forbes, says of the selections: "It tells you that not only does President-elect Obama have respect for expertise, but that he is very comfortable in an administration with very major figures."

- Obama has sounded increasingly willing to take on greater debt through deficit spending, in what would be an attempt to jump-start the economy and create jobs. There is talk that Obama would like a $500 billion stimulus package waiting for him on his desk in the Oval Office on his first day. Josh Marshall takes a look at his calendar, and concludes such a bill would need to be written in the next four weeks.

Economy

- After suggesting he would leave the cash to Obama's team, the Worst Treasury Secretary in Modern Times suggested yesterday that he might actually want that $350 billion to spend himself.

- George Soros takes to the pages of NYRoB to offer his thoughts on the economic crisis, and what to do about it.

Politics

- Joe Biden's seat in the Senate will be filled by longtime ally Ted Kaufman. This may or may not be a tactic to keep the seat warm between Bidens.

- It seems ever more likely that Jim Jones will be Obama's National Security Advisor.  And as the wild cheers and applause die down, everyone leans to their neighbor and asks in a hushed whisper: "Who's Jim Jones?"

- Reversing "Don't ask don't tell" will apparently not be a first-week priority for Obama, though Nathaniel Frank writes in TNR that it would be much easier now than in 1993.

- Susan Rice looks increasingly likely to serve as Ambassador to the United Nations

International

- Venezuelan voters dealt a blow to President Hugo Chavez in regional voting.  Though his allies won 17 of 22  states, his party did unexpectedly poorly in certain districts seen as Chavez strongholds-- poor urban areas and regions dependent on the oil industry, particularly.

- A Russian warship cruises into the Caribbean this week for joint maneuvers with the Venezuelan Navy. In more heartening Russia news, Moscow has suggested they're tired of escalating tensions over the proposed missile defense shield. 

One More Thing

- President Bush pardoned fourteen criminals yesterday, and commuted the sentences of two others. Perhaps representative of a shift in his musical tastes, among those pardoned was John Forte of the Fugees, who was in the can for pushing blow back in '01. Perhaps the president should consider pardoning the rest of the Fugees for disbanding at the peak of the greatness in 1997.  Seriously, why would they do that to us?

- President Bush (who seems to appear in this final section, usually reserved for the likes of Sarah Palin and Long Island schoolchildren, more and more often) had an awkward press conference yesterday apparently trying to appear as though he has some control over what's going on.  Appropriately, he can barely be heard, while Hank Paulson stands behind him looking like Uncle Fester with his head darting around nervously as though he's afraid of being seen with this man:

Leader: CitiFAIL

- As you may recall, Hank Paulson reassured us all a week ago when he told us that the financial system had been stabilized.  As if on cue, Citigroup burst into a ball of magnificent flames, and demanded government rescue.  Last night, the Treasury, Fed and FDIC announced they had reached a deal, whereby the government will invest another $20 billion in the financial behemoth, and backstop as much as $306 billion of buggered assets. In return, the government will become the proud owner of $7 billion in preferred shares, with more coming, if more public dollars are used to back up the bank.

- Louise Story at the NY Times reports on the bailout, take three.  Will it work better this time?

- Paul Krugman's short take on the deal: It's a bad deal.

- Steve Forbes makes it official: Hank Paulson is the worst Treasury Secretary in modern times.

Politics

- Michael Lind at Salon takes up an old rhetorical battle, and asks if it's ok to be "liberal" again, instead of "progressive." I vote yes.

- Hillary is now more or less a lock to head the State Department, and New York's John Heilemann writes on the relationship between Hillary and Barack: The closest of frenemies.

- Virginia is moving closer to abandoning some of its notoriously harsh policies toward illegal immigrants, making the state less hostile and more accepting of the situation's reality.

- Perhaps this is part of a Republican strategy to reverse their  fortune among Hispanics? The Denver Post reports on the blue drift in Hispanic-heavy states, and quotes Simon talking about how Republicans lost serious ground with Hispanics because of their anti-immigrant policies.  Even Texas, he says, could turn blue as a blueberry.

International

- Brent Scowcroft (a Republican, but a foreign policy realist, not like those crazy neocons) has been speaking regularly with Barack Obama, and is the ideological forbear of many Obama foreign policy advisors, particularly those from the right side of the aisle.

- Obama has also been chatting it up with Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan. Let's hope Obama makes good on his campaign promise to prioritize the conflict there, and get the country under control.

One More Thing

- Students at a Long Island elementary school voted to rename their school after Barack Obama.

- Will spazzy Democrats tip the scales for Al Franken? Perhaps: “Democrats are [thought to be] more creative, free-spirited, so the idea is they’re more likely to make a mistake that the optical scan won’t pick up. But when they recount the hard copy, those votes will be counted for Franken. If you talk to Republicans, they say it will be Franken’s advantage, because Democrats are stupid and will screw up ballots more often.”

- Happy Thanksgiving week!  MSNBC does a "where are they now" on the pardoned turkeys of Thanksgivings past.

- Last, in case you haven't seen this yet, Sarah Palin blathers while innocent birds are systematically executed over her left shoulder. Shudder.

Leader: Worries in Spades

- Perhaps it isn't news anymore, but every time we reach thrilling new milestones measuring our economic nose-dive, it seems important to return our attention to such matters.  The S&P 500 took another fall, reaching its lowest point since 1997.  If it ends the year at the level it reached last night, 2008 will constitute the largest percentage drop in the index's 80-year history: 52%. As its shares have dropped by half this week, Citigroup has earned the title of panic-inducing bank of the moment. They're pulling out all the stops to halt the bleeding.

- Paul Krugman sanguinely assures us that we needn't worry about the stock market.  Rather, we should be panicking about the credit market. The NY Times Business pages concur.

- The NY Times also points out that Wall Street is not benefitting from the power vaccum in Washington. With one president redefining the term "lame duck," and another president waiting in the wings, it's just not clear who's in charge. Our constitution has left us with a rather serious problem here, as an awful lot can go wrong between election day and inauguration day. NDN's Rob Shapiro is quoted on TAPPED, wondering why President Bush and the Congress won't push through the first part of a stimulus package now.

Transition

- What about Defense secretary? CNN gives us the shortlist, and Time weighs the pros and cons of keeping Robert Gates around for a while.

- Hillary remains coy about whether she'll take the job as Secretary of State.  If she does, the WaPo wonders: Whither Bill Richardson?

Politics

- In a victory for the environmental movement, and a surprising rebuttal to our usually seniority-obsessed Congress, Rep. Henry Waxman defeated Rep. John Dingell in his challenge for chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Slate's Christopher Beam says this is a boon for President-elect Obama.

- The Washington Post writes about the declining influence of the conservative Federalist Society.  Yesterday, in a moment of surprisingly apt metaphor, Attorney General Michael Mukasey keeled over and nearly died while speaking in front of the Society.

- Ron Brownstein of the National Journal writes of Bush's great gift to the Republican Party: An incoherent coalition of the far-right and the far-far-right. 

- The Guardian covers Republican strategizing to reclaim power by winning over Hispanic voters.  The new map used by Democrats to win this year "Should be very scary to Republicans," says Simon.

International

- A federal district judge ruled yesterday that five Algerian men currently held in Guantanamo Bay were detained illegally.   The tricky question with these men-- and all of the Gitmo detainees-- is what to do with them. Attorney General Mukasey has an Op-Ed in today's WSJ (written before his collapse, presumably), arguing for a uniform, unique set of rules guiding the trial of Guantanamo detainees. Daphne Eviatar, writing for the Windy, questions the premise of an alternative court system.

- The NY Times takes a look at the Mai Mai fighters in the eastern Congo, the third major part of the complex conflict there.

One More Thing

- There is hope for the Republicans yet, as pointed out by the Democratic
Strategist: Scientists draw ever closer to recreating a living Wooly Mammoth. Perhaps, if science can bring back the Pleistocene period, Republicanism would enjoy a revitalization.

- Last, the Astroturf pontificate on stagflation and sing about the Central Banker's Dilemma (So maybe, with consumer prices falling, stagflation isn't the concern of the moment, but the song remains relevant). You can listen to them here on NPR. (Hat Tip: KTW)

If you come across an article, blog post, video or anything else you think should be in the Daily Roundup, send it to me, and I'll try to get it in. Thanks!

Leader: Stocking the Cabinet

- You might be forgiven for thinking that President-elect Obama was about finished picking his cabinet. In fact, not one official announcement has been made. However! It appears certain that Tom Daschle will be named Secretary of Health and Human Services, and everyone seems to think this is a swell idea. Some are calling Daschle's position a "health care czar," and it is certainly an indication that health care reform will be high on Obama's agenda.

- Likewise, it seems very likely at this point that AZ Governor Janet Napolitano will be the new Director of Homeland Security. She has been lauded for her handling of immigration issues in her home state, and her appointment to the position could signal Obama's intent to get serious about comprehensive immigration reform. 

- With Hillary seeming increasingly inevitable as Secretary of State, and Eric Holder closing in on the top job at Justice,  many are grumbling that Obama has abandoned his commitment to "Change," and is filling his cabinet with former Clinton officials.  Surprise! Even Barack thinks experience matters, and he's picking his cabinet using the same criteria as every other president, ever.

Economy

- In another deeply miserable day on Wall Street, stocks plunged five percent, and the Dow closed below 8,000 for the first time since early 2003. Taking pity on us all, Andy Kessler writes in the WSJ that we should just put wax in our ears and ignore the market for a few months-- it's not behaving efficiently right now.  Consider it done, Andy.

- The NY Times is careful to remind readers of the grim danger of deflation, which was the phantom behind the Great Depression. This specter raised its head yesterday on reports that consumer prices had fallen one percent in October-- the biggest drop in history.  While falling prices might seem like good news for consumers, they are an "economist's nightmare."

Politics

- The Democratic Steering committee voted yesterday by a three-vote margin to recommend replacing Rep. John Dingell with Rep. Henry Waxman as leader of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The vote will go to the whole caucus this morning.

- The California Supreme Court has agreed to hear legal challenges to Proposition 8-- the ballot measure prohibiting gay marriage.

- Mike Tomasky looked at the group of old, white men speaking on behalf of the Republican caucus yesterday, and wondered if they felt embarrassed about being a group of old, white men.

- John Alter thinks Barack Obama should keep his personal Blackberry, so as to maintain a connection to the world beyond the White House. Abraham Lincoln did it (albeit sans Blackberry).

- At last, Missouri blew it. The state was officially called for McCain yesterday; this is the first time the notorious bellwether went for the loser since 1956.

International

- An American drone fired missiles inside Pakistani territory yesterday, reportedly killing five militants.  The Pakistani government has not yet commented, but protests have sprung up already at the invasion of sovereignty.

- Piracy update: The buccaneers want $25 million in exchange for the Saudi oil tanker they've hijacked. States around the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are convening an emergency meeting to figure out what to do about this problem.

One More Thing

- Barack gave Joe Biden birthday cupcakes yesterday.  He was one day early.

- Guess how many states have all-Republican delegations to congress? Hint: It's not very many.

- Last, Dana Milbank is not only a top-notch reporter, but happens to be a very funny guy, as well.  Here's the latest edition of his Washington Sketch, commenting on the mayhem on the Hill.

If you come across an article, blog post, video or anything else you think should be in the Daily Roundup, send it to me, and I'll try to get it in. Thanks!

Leader: Bail Me Out!

- The CEOs of Detroit's big auto manufacturers shuffled into congress on their knees yesterday, heads bowed, palms outstretched. Mitt Romney argues in an NY Times Op-Ed that we ought to let Detroit go bankrupt-- controlled bankruptcy, he says, might be the only way for the auto industry to reconfigure itself.

- NDN's Robert Shapiro disagrees. If these were good economic times, bankruptcy might be a good option. However, quoted by CNN, he says: "Demand for everything has collapsed because we're in a deep recession. The movement of the auto industry from dire conditions to near-terminal conditions has been driven by the financial crisis."

Politics

- It's turned out that an Obama administration might have more Clinton allies and former officials than a Clinton administration.  Eric Holder is rumored to be Obama's choice for Attorney General, edging out AZ Governor Janet Napolitano.  Holder served in the Justice Department under Clinton, and worked as Obama's campaign co-chairman. 

- Apparently, Alaskans aren't so keen on being represented by a convicted felon after all. Mark Begich has officially dispatched Ted Stevens from the US Senate.

- Joe Lieberman has been welcomed back into the Democratic fold of the Senate.

International

- Two days after Somali pirates hijacked an oil tanker loaded down with $100 million in crude, the Indian Navy sank a pirate "mother ship" after a five hour battle.   Time writes that policing piracy is getting harder as the pirates get more and more audacious.

One More Thing

- A grand jury in south Texas has indicted Alberto Gonzalez and Dick Cheney on charges related to prisoner abuse. If convicted, they may enjoy the opportunity to experience the other side of the equation.

-  In a bald-faced attempt to ruin our country's global image, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice named Ken Griffey Jr. as an official Public Diplomacy Envoy. As a Yankees fan still smarting from 1995 (some wounds never heal, Junior), I'm highly ambivalent about being represented by this guy.

- Last, the President-elect addressed a bipartisan group of governors at the Global Climate Change Summit via video.... and now it's on YouTube! (~4 mins)

If you come across an article, blog post, video or anything else you think should be in the Daily Roundup, send it to me, and I'll try to get it in.  Thanks!

Leader: Hill Musical Chairs

- Senator Joe Lieberman, by all accounts, is likely to keep his chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee, in closed-door voting today. More likely, he will be lose his chairmanship in two subcommittees. Senator Tom Carper, once a Lieberman ally, says Joe should be punished.

- Senator Ted Stevens turns 85 today, and may have a very unhappy birthday. Republican Senators may vote today to expel him from the caucus. This is all assuming, of course, he can fend off Mark Begich in Alaska, who currently leads in the vote recount.  It's likely, however, that the GOP won't vote on this today.

- In his challenge to Rep. John Dingell's chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Henry Waxman may rely on the votes of younger House members, who post-date Dingell's glory days.  He'll need all the help he can get.  At present, the Blue Dogs, the Conservation groups, and the unions are all backing Dingell. 

Economy

- Time reports on the stalling-out of Democratic plans to bail out Detroit. The National Journal collects expert opinions on whether it's a good idea. Politico posits: Paulson Powerless, Pelosi Punts.

- The Washington Post publishes the first half of a profile of Henry Paulson, focusing particularly on the ways his views have changed since coming to Washington from Goldman Sachs.

Politics

- There's been a lot of hullabaloo the past few days about President-elect Obama following the Lincoln's model of cabinet building, as described in Doris Kearns Goodwin's book Team of Rivals.  Matthew Pinsker of the LA Times takes a step back and points out that Lincoln's model might be taken more as a cautionary tale, rather than a strategy for success.

- Speaking of which, the Guardian is reporting that Hillary Clinton plans to accept Barack Obama's offer of the Secretary of State job.  But nobody else is, yet.  Politico writes on the feathers this is ruffling in Obamaland.

- Ted Kennedy is back in town, and Teddier than ever: He is presently planning to introduce a bill for universal health care early next year.

- Obamaha it is!

International

- Somali pirates have seized a Saudi oil tanker in the Indian Ocean, off the Kenyan coast.  The ship is three times the size of an aircraft carrier, and is loaded down with over $100 million worth of crude oil. The pirates are expected to demand a ransom for the ship, crew, and oil.  

- The NY Times reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki has been quietly firing government officials tasked by the United States with ensuring accountability and preventing fraud.

One More Thing

- Freshmen congressmen and women arrive on the Hill... let the hazing begin!

- Last, Paul Krugman goes to town on George Will: 

If you come across an article, blog post, video or anything else you think should be in the Daily Roundup, send it to me, and I'll try to get it in.  Thanks!

Leader: Neck Deep

- The debate rages on within the Republican Party about how in the heck they are going to get out of the hole in which they presently find themselves. Step one, it seems, is to argue over who dug the hole in the first place. Perhaps this is just the natural swinging of the pendulum? Should the party continue to journey rightward, or is that exactly what got them in this mess to begin with?

- Frank Rich observes the circular firing squad currently forming among Republicans.  The real problem, says Rich, is the alarming lack of fresh ideas. Politically, says Politico, Republicans have a whale of a problem in their lack of support among Hispanics. (Hat Tip: DL)

- The real danger for the Republicans is that this recession-- perhaps the biggest of our time-- will be pinned on President Bush, writes Bill Kristol in the Times. Just as Republicans were killed by Herbert Hoover presiding over the beginning of the Great Depression, they could suffer the same fate at the hand of Bush.

Economy

- Congress is back this week for a lame-duck session, and the auto industry will top the agenda.  The LA Times reports that, were GM or Chrysler to collapse, the pain would be felt far beyond Detroit. The NY Times points out that foreign auto makers could fill the void relatively quickly, but 100,000 jobs would still be gone (beyond the 100,000 that have already disappeared from the industry this year).

Politics

- President-elect Obama will meet with Not-President-elect John McCain today at Transition Central in Chicago. Both men have a lot to gain from working together, and by all accounts they're eager to do so.

- Hillary Clinton appears ever more surely situated atop the list of candidates for Secretary of State.  One potential hangup? Her husband has been acting as an unofficial, self-appointed Secretary of State for nearly eight years now.

- Before the election Obama wrote letters to employees at seven federal agencies, describing to them how he would manage his government. Broadly, the letters suggest Obama will work to "Scale back on contracts to private firms doing government work, to remove censorship from scientific research, and to champion tougher industry regulation to protect workers and the environment.

- Newsweek puts Obama on the penny, and mediates on lessons he could take from that other President from the Land of Lincoln (that would be Lincoln himself).

International

- The Iraqi cabinet approved an agreement that calls for the full withdrawal of American troops by the end of 2011. This is good news for President-elect Obama, as it will help him build further political capital to begin drawing down forces soon.

- Walter Pincus writes in the Washington Post about the dire need for drastic overhaul of the national security system.

One More Thing

- Some South Carolina Catholics who voted for Barack Obama have been advised by their priest that they ought not take communion anymore.

If you come across an article, blog post, video or anything else you think should be in the Daily Roundup, send it to me, and I'll try to get it in.  Thanks!    

Leader: Welcome to the YouTube Presidency

- Barack Obama will record the weekly Democratic address today, just as has been done every week since god-knows-when.  But something different is happening this week-- rather than only recording a radio address, a video of the address will also be recorded, and posted to YouTube! Welcome, everyone, to the YouTube presidency.

- Over the past several weeks, NDN has been talking a great deal about all the new tools used by the Obama campaign would reinvent the Presidency. Well, this weekend we will be getting a taste of what this new 21st century Presidency might look like. You can hear Simon on the subject here.  

Economy

- The FDIC published a plan yesterday to keep people in their homes.  The plan would spend $25 billion to share costs with banks that agreed to let troubled homeowners reduce their mortgage payments.

- The outlook for the auto industry is rather dim-- Republican opposition to a bailout of GM and Chrysler may prove insurmountable, at least until January. Will both manufacturers survive until then?  Hard to say.

- World leaders are descending on the National Building Museum in Washington for a G-20 economic summit. The goal of the summit is to prevent a major global economic meltdown. 

Politics

- Hillary might be Secretary of State! Summers might not be Treasury Secretary! Rumors abound, but the truth of the matter is that nobody has a bloody clue.

- Robert Puentes at TNR writes on ways to reform public infrastructure spending. 

- Time tries to be helpful by listing the 10 worst cabinet members of all time.  And yes, Rummy, Brownie and Gonzo all make the list.

- CNN has an interesting interview with Karen Kornbluh, "Obama's Brain." 

International

- Shabab may sound like some delicious form of meat on a stick, but in fact it's the name of the militant wing of a Somali Islamist group, and is anything but delicious. Shabab militants continue their march up the Somali coast, getting ever closer to Mogadishu. 

- Everyone on earth has their own bit of foreign policy advice for President-elect Obama, even the Taliban, who urge him to "put an end to all the policies being followed by his Opposition Party, the Republicans, and pull out U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Iraq."

- A Catholic priest in Georgia will be excommunicated for participating in the ordination of a female priest.

One More Thing

- Internet providers cut off a web hosting firm identified as a major purveyor of spam e-mail, and the global volume of spam dropped by two-thirds, instantly!

- Last, hard to say whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, but Barack and Michelle are apparently the new Brangelina:

Leader: About Face!

- The Treasury officially announced that it would abandon plans to buy troubled assets from shaky banks. This was effectively an acknowledgement that banks were still unwilling to increase lending, and that, instead, a direct cash infusion would be more worthwhile. The Treasury is hoping to put aside $50 billion for a new loan facility that would directly help consumers, rather than the massive institutions.

- In a good piece of news analysis, the LA Times points out that this isn't particularly surprising at all, and that Secretary Paulson had made it clear that things would be going in this direction weeks ago.

Politics

- Gail Collins is keeping election fever alive by getting totally obsessed with Minnesota and Alaska, and with good reason:  By last count, Begich leads Stevens by 814 votes (after briefly leading by 3 votes), while Coleman and Franken are within a few hundred votes of each other.

- And though I hate to get self-congratulatory, if the two Democrats pull it out, Simon will have been eerily accurate in his election predictions: 353 electoral votes? Off by one state. 53-46 popular vote split? Bam. 59 seats in the Senate? Bam. +20 in the House? Bam.

- Alex Koppelman at Salon writes about the potential for a permanent Democratic majority, founded particularly on support among Hispanics.  Simon is quoted: "Increased turnout happened because Democrats finally woke up to this Hispanic opportunity ... It's really only in the last few years that Democrats woke up to this new reality. If you're a Hispanic voter, particularly in the Southwest or the West, the Democratic Party sort of woke up and started to speak to you."

-  O! To be a fly on the wall! The Bidens will visit the Cheneys at their VP Manse today, and will presumably get a tour of all the recently-excavated underground caverns and lairs. 

Economy

- Several leading Democrats have stated their primary focus during the lame-duck session of Congress next week will be rescuing the auto industry, potentially putting the economic stimulus package on the back burner.

- Bill Saporito at Time wonders if GM is even worth saving.  And the NY Times weighs the competing benefits of bankruptcy vs. a bailout.

International

- It's been a bad week in the Middle East.  Two ferocious suicide attacks in Afghanistan have left 26 dead. In Iraq, 58 have been killed this week in Baghdad alone.

- For years, Iran has been calling for direct, unconditional talks with the United States.  Now that a president has been elected who has, at least in principle, agreed to such talks, the Iranian leadership isn't quite sure what to do with themselves.

One More Thing

- Humiliation alert! If you apply for a top-level job in the Obama administration, you'll have to tell them all the embarrassing screen names you've ever used. Could this mean the end of Larry "Ca$hDude88" Summers?

- At last, President Bush was able to think of a few things he oughtn't have said.