The Obama team has put out a statement condemning today's coordinated terror attacks in Mumbai, India.  Here's the text:

"President-Elect Obama strongly condemns today's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and his thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and the people of India. These coordinated attacks on innocent civilians demonstrate the grave and urgent threat of terrorism. The United States must continue to strengthen our partnerships with India and nations around the world to root out and destroy terrorist networks. We stand with the people of India, whose democracy will prove far more resilient than the hateful ideology that led to these attacks," said Brooke Anderson, Chief National Security Spokesperson

Video: President-elect Barack Obama reportedly called Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. NBC's John Yang reports.

NBC's Libby Leist reports that, per a senior state department official, Secretary Rice has briefed President Bush on her talks with the U.S. consul general in Mumbai.

From NBC's Carrie Dann
Senate candidate Al Franken will not appeal a decision by the Minnesota State Canvassing Board, which today rejected the Democrat's request that rejected  absentee ballots be included in the race's hotly contested recount.

The canvassing board's decision was perceived as a blow to Franken, who trailed Republican incumbent Norm Coleman by just 283 votes Wednesday with about 80% of the recount completed. Some of the absentee ballots appear to have been improperly rejected due to administrative errors, and the Franken team hoped that -- when inspected -- the reconsidered ballots would yield votes to close Coleman's razor-tight advantage.

In announcing its decision this morning, canvassing board members emphasized that the Franken camp's request was not rejected on legal grounds, but because it is unclear if the board has the jurisdiction to mandate that the ballots be reexamined.

Estimates by the Franken camp and the Minnesota Secretary of State indicate that the number of rejected absentee ballots is at least 6000, and could be as high as 12,000.  The Democrat's team says that failing to count the small fraction of those ballots that were mistakenly discarded amounts to disenfranchisement. 

Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid echoed that concern, calling the canvassing board's decision "cause for great concern" in a statement issued this afternoon.

The state canvassing board will meet again next week.  Many observers believe that the fate of the discarded ballots will eventually have to be determined through litigation.

Still, top Franken attorney Marc Elias said this afternoon that, although the campaign is "disappointed" with the board's ruling, the campaign won't be taking the issue to court at this time. Elias painted the board's hesitation as a sign that election officials want to use the proper channels to prevent legitimately cast votes from being unfairly thrown out.

"Whether it is at the county level, before the Canvass Board, before the courts, or before the United States Senate, we don't know yet," Elias said today. "But we remain confident these votes will be counted."

From NBC's Libby Leist
Condoleezza Rice refused to answer questions today about her likely successor as Secretary of State - Hillary Clinton.

Asked about Clinton's apparent lock on the job at a press conference today, Rice laughed and said, "I'm going to give President-elect Obama the courtesy of waiting until he makes an announcement. And I've heard some -- some names of some great people, and I think that the department and the country will be in good hands"

Rice would also not comment on her relationship with Hillary Clinton.  But spokesman Sean McCormack reminded NBC that Rice and Clinton go back a long time. Rice hosted then-first lady Hillary Clinton and her daughter Chelsea for lunch at Stanford when Chelsea was looking at colleges in 1996. Rice was provost at the university at the time.

McCormack added Rice has a lot of respect for how the Clintons raised Chelsea.

From NBC's Athena Jones
CHICAGO -- In response to criticism that he is departing from his promise to bring change to Washington because several members of his economic team were Beltway insiders, Barack Obama said today that his team would combine experience with fresh thinking and his own vision for change. 

"Understand where the vision for change comes from, first and foremost," he told reporters at his third press conference in as many days. "It comes from me. That's my job, is to provide a vision in terms of where we are going, and to make sure, then, that my team is implementing."

He also called the government's latest attempt to help ease lending with $800 billion in new lending programs a "positive sign."

Obama made the comments on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday in what was his third press conference this week - and the fourth since being elected. With the economic crisis dominating the front pages, Obama has used each day this week to announce members of his economic team, a sign that managing the economy would be a top priority in his first days in office.

Today he tapped former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, an economic adviser during the campaign, to chair his President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Obama also announced that Austan Goolsbee, another campaign economic adviser, would serve as the board's staff director and chief economist as well as a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. He said Goolsbee was one of the advisers who had most shaped his thinking on economic matters.

Both men were on hand for the announcement and Goolsbee's wife and children were in the audience.

Obama said the board would be made up of distinguished individuals of diverse backgrounds outside of government who could provide him with a fresh perspective and help avoid the kind of "groupthink" that can plague decision makers in Washington. When one reporter noted that Volcker had a lot of experience in Washington, Obama replied that the former Fed chair had not been in Washington for a long time and said Goolsbee had never worked there, while stressing the importance of having the proper balance. Obama described his economic team as one with a "cross-section of opinion that in some ways reinforces conventional wisdom; in some ways breaks with orthodoxy in all sorts of ways."

"The last Democratic administration that we had was the Clinton administration," Obama added, "So it would be surprising if I selected a treasury secretary who had had no connection with the last Democratic administration. Because that would mean that the person had no experience in Washington whatsoever."

A student of history who has spoken frequently about the lessons he has learned from reading about past presidents like Abraham Lincoln, Obama pointed out that his economic recovery board was modeled on the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board created by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to provide "rigorous analysis and vigorous oversight to our intelligence community by individuals outside of government, individuals who would be candid and unsparing in their assessment."
 
With Black Friday approaching, the president-elect stopped short of telling worried Americans to go out and shop during the holidays, instead saying simply that people should remember that "help is on the way".

"As they think about this Thanksgiving shopping weekend, and as they think about the Christmas season that is coming up, I hope that everybody understands that -- that we are going to be able to get through these difficult times, but we're just going to have to make some good choices," he said.

During the campaign, both Obama and his one-time rival Hillary Clinton criticized President Bush for calling on people to go out and shop after the September 11th attacks, rather than asking them to make sacrifices.

From NBC's Pete Williams
When the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court meet on Dec. 5th, in their regular private conference to decide which cases to hear, two lawsuits that have captivated a segment of the blogosphere will be up for discussion.

Both urge the court to consider claims that President-elect Obama is not qualified to be president, because he is not a natural-born American citizen.

Persistent concerns about the qualifications of both major party candidates rank among the oddest aspects of 2008's historic campaign.

Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution provides that "No person except a natural born citizen" is eligible to be president. John McCain's status was questioned because he was born in the Panama Canal Zone and various theories have been advanced to cast doubt on Obama's.

Lawsuits over the inclusion of their names on state general-election ballots popped up around the country and were quickly dispensed with by local courts. But two challengers have pursued their cases to the Supreme Court.

Pennsylvania lawyer Philip Berg claims that the circumstances of Obama's birth are vague and that he may have been born in Kenya. Obama's mother, Berg asserts, later flew to Hawaii to register the birth.

Leo Donofrio, a New Jersey lawyer, contends that election officials in his state failed to ensure that only legally qualified candidates were placed on the ballot. Obama may have been born in the United States, Donofrio argues, but "natural born" status depends on both parents being American citizens. Obama's father was Kenyan.

The justices are unlikely to take up these cases for a host of reasons, not the least of which is the invitation to overturn the results of an election in which more than 66 million Americans voted for Obama. An equally high hurdle is the issue of whether Berg or Donofrio have the legal right to sue claiming a violation of the Constitution.

In dismissing Berg's complaint, a federal judge in Pennsylvania found that he failed to meet the basic test required for sustaining a lawsuit, because he couldn't show how the inclusion of Obama's name on the ballot would cause him -- apart from others -- some particular harm. Berg's stake, the judge said, "is no greater and his status no more differentiated than that of millions of other voters."

Other courts presented with similar challenges have reached the same conclusion, ruling that there is no general legal right to sue over the Constitution's eligibility requirements. Federal courts typically reject claims of legal standing based simply on a litigant's status as a voter or taxpayer.

The Obama campaign had hoped to end the controversy last spring by releasing his actual Hawaii birth certificate. But that prompted further questions about its authenticity, which were compounded when state authorities in Hawaii said they could not vouch for it, because they were constrained by the privacy laws.

Then, on Oct. 31st, the director of Hawaii's Department of Health issued a statement, proclaiming that he had personally seen and verified that the state has "Sen. Obama's original birth certificate on record," which shows that he was born there.

From NBC's Carrie Dann and msnbc.com's Tom Curry
If you're an Illinois lawmaker hoping for an appointment to fill Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat, a few things might help to get Gov. Rod Blagojevich on your side. Offer some positive publicity for the unpopular governor, perhaps, and maybe be open to the possibility of a full-term run in 2010.
 
Another thing that might be helpful: Spell his name right.
 
Per a press release from the office of Rep. Danny Davis, an African-American congressman considered one of the front-runners for the appointment, Illinois supporters will be holding an event today to "announce their support and urge Governor Blagojavich to appoint Congressman Danny K. Davis to replace President-Elect Obama as U. S. Senator."
 
Whoops.
 
The correct spelling is Blagojevich.

If a serious name has been floated, they are likely on this list. If not, let us know.

OUR OBAMA CABINET SPECULATION LIST:
-- Agriculture: Tom Vilsack, Tom Buis (Natl Farmers Union), Charlie Stenholm, Jim Leach, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Marshall Matz, John Boyd Jr. (pres, Natl Black Farmers Assn)
-- Commerce: Bill Richardson CONFIRMED BY NBC NEWS, Penny Pritzker (reportedly turned down the position), Kathleen Sebelius, John Thompson (Symantec), Ron Kirk (former Dallas mayor), Scott Harris (Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis fndr)
-- Defense: Robert Gates LIKELY, PER NBC NEWS, (Deputy: Richard Danzig / Michelle Flournoy No. 3), Chuck Hagel, Sam Nunn, Jack Reed, Colin Powell, John Hamre, Tim Roemer, Thomas Pickering, Anthony Zinni, Max Cleland, Michele Flounoy, Gen. James Jones
-- Education: Joel Klein (NYC), Linda Darling-Hammond, Kathleen Sebelius, Colin Powell, Jim Hunt, Arne Duncan, Inez Tenenbaum, Michael Bennett, George Miller, Gaston Caperton (fmr WV gov), Bambi Cardenas (pres, U TX-Pan Am, Susan Castillo (OR supt), Michael Cohen (pres, Achieve), Christopher Edley (dean, UC-Berkeley), Michael Johnston (dir, Mapleton Expeditionary Schl of the Arts), VA Gov. Tim Kaine, Michelle Rhee (DC), Sharon Robinson (pres, Assn of Colls for Tchr Ed), Andrew Rotherman/Jonahtan Schnur (fmr Clinton advisers), Diane Shust (dir, NEA govt rels), Paul Vallas (supt, New Orleans Recovery Schl Dist), Bob Wise (fmr WV gov), Ray Mabus (fmr MS gov)
-- Energy: Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris, Kathleen Sebelius, Philip Sharp, Ed Rendell, Arnold Schwarzenegger (has said no), Al Gore, Jeff Bingaman, Jennifer Granholm, Steve Westly, Frederico Pena, Dan Reicher, Jason Grumet, Ray Mabus (fmr MS gov)
-- HHS: Tom Daschle CONFIRMED BY NBC NEWS, Howard Dean (reportedly ruled out), Eric Whitaker, John Kitzhaber, Kathleen Sebelius
-- Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano LIKELY, PER NBC NEWS, Ray Kelly (NY), William Bratton (L.A.), Tim Roemer, James Lee Witt, Tom Kean Sr, Jane Harman, Artur Davis, Richard Clarke, Manny Diaz, Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, Lee Hamilton (though he said he's too old), Jamie Gorelick
-- HUD: Manny Diaz (Miami mayor), Shirley Franklin (Atlanta mayor), Saul Ramirez, Jim Clyburn (reportedly not interested)
-- Interior: Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ), , Jay Inslee, John Kitzhaber, Tony Knowles, Ken Salazar, Jamie Rappoport Clark, Brian Schweitzer, Bill Richardson
-- Justice (AG): Eric Holder CONFIRMED BY NBC NEWS, Janet Napolitano, Charles Ogletree, Deval Patrick, James Comey, Patrick Fitzgerald, Artur Davis, Tim Kaine, Jamie Gorelick (but was vice chair of Fannie), Ken Feinberg, Cass Sunstein, Kathleen Sullivan (Stanford Law prof, possible Solicitor General. Also possible SGs: Beth Brinkmann-DC Atty; Preeta Bansal-Skadden, Arps; Elena Kagan-Harvard law dean; Pamela Karlan-Stanford; Teresa Wynn Roseborough-MetLife litigation counsel)
-- Labor: Kathleen Sebelius, Andy Stern (SEIU) (said not interested), Richard Gephardt, George Miller, David Bonior (said he's not interested, suggested: American Rights at Work Executive Director Mary Beth Maxwell), Xavier Becerra, Linda Chavez-Thompson, Antonio Villaraigosa
-- State: Hillary Clinton CONFIRMED BY NBC NEWS, (Deputy: Jim Steinberg CONFIRMED BY NBC NEWS), John Kerry, Bill Richardson, Richard Lugar, Chuck Hagel, Richard Holbrooke, Chris Dodd, Thomas Pickering, Al Gore, Colin Kahl (CNAS fellow), Tom Daschle
-- Transportation: Ed Rendell, Jane Garvey, Mortimer Downey, Earl Blumenauer, Steve Heminger, James Oberstar, Peter DeFazio, Federico Pena, Jeanette Sadik-Khan, Tim Kaine,  John Hickenlooper (Denver mayor), Ron Sims (King County (WA) Executive), Doug Foy (Fmr pres, Convservation Law Fndtn), Parris Glendening (Fmr Gov MD)
-- Treasury: Tim Geithner CONFIRMED BY NBC NEWS, Paul Volcker, Robert Rubin, Jon Corzine, Warren Buffett, Michael Bloomberg, Laura Tyson, Jamie Dimon (JP MorganChase), Jacob "Jack" Lew, Sheila Bair, Indira Nooyi, John Thain (Merrill Lynch)
-- Veterans Affairs: Max Cleland, Tammy Duckworth, Chet Edwards, Arnold Fisher (fmr Fisher House Fndtn chair), James Peake, William Bratton, Anthony G. Brown (MD Lt Gov)

President's office/staff:
-- Chief of Staff: Rahm Emanuel NAMED (Deputies: Jim Messina NAMED, Mona Sutphen NAMED)
-- Senior Advisers: Valerie Jarrett NAMED, Peter Rouse NAMED, David Axelrod NAMED
-- Political Director: Patrick Gaspard NAMED
-- Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs: Phil Schiliro NAMED
-- White House Counsel: Greg Craig NAMED
-- Press Secretary: Robert Gibbs NAMED
-- Communications Director: Ellen Moran NAMED (Deputy: Dan Pfeiffer NAMED)
-- Director of Scheduling and Advance: Alyssa Mastromonaco NAMED
-- Staff Secretary: Lisa Brown NAMED
-- Cabinet Secretary: Chris Lu NAMED
-- Special Assistant to the President and White House Social Secretary: Desirée Rogers NAMED

Vice President's office:
-- Biden's Chief of staff: Ron Klain NAMED
-- Counselor to the Vice President: Mike Donilon NAMED
-- Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President: Terrell McSweeny NAMED
-- Assistant to the Vice President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison: Evan Ryan NAMED

First Lady's office:
-- Michelle Obama's Chief of Staff: Jackie Norris NAMED (Deputy: Melissa Winter NAMED)

OTHER POSITIONS:
-- National Economic Council Director: Larry Summers NAMED
-- Council of Economic Advisers: Christina Romer (chair), NAMED, Dan Tarullo, Jacob "Jack" Lew, Jason Furman, Austan Goolsbee, Laura Tyson
-- Economic Recovery Advisory Board: Paul Volcker NAMED, Austan Goolsbee (staff director, chief economist) NAMED, Eric E. Schmidt (Google chairman, CEO)
-- Natl Sec Adviser: Gen. James L. Jones (Deputy: Tom Donilon) CONFIRMED BY NBC NEWS, Jim Steinberg, Rand Beers, Susan Rice, Greg Craig
-- NSC: Dennis Ross, Greg Craig, Susan Rice, Tony Lake
-- OMB: Peter Orszag NAMED (Deputy: Rob Nabors NAMED), John Spratt Jr, Gene Sperling, Jason Furman
-- White House Domestic Policy Council Director: Melody Barnes NAMED(Domestic Policy Council Deputy Director: Heather A. Higginbottom NAMED)
-- CIA: Tony Lake, John Brennan (wrote a letter to Obama asking that his name be withdrawn), Chuck Hagel, Michael Hayden, Jami Miscik (fmr CIA dep dir for Intel)
-- DNI: Ret. Adm. Dennis Blair, Tony Lake, John Brennan, Tim Roemer, Rand Beers, Jane Harman, John Abizaid, Evan Bayh
-- FEMA: James Lee Witt
-- EPA: Howard Learner (Pres, Exec. Dir, Environmental Law and Policy Center), Ian Bowles (MA), RFK Jr, Kathleen Sebelius, Kathleen McGinty (former secretary of Pennsylvania's Department of Env Protection), Mary Nichols (chair of California's Air Resources Board), Robert Sussman, Dan Esty, Lisa Jackson (NJ environ commission)
-- FBI: Robert Mueller (term expires 2011)
-- Fed Chair: Ben Bernanke (at least for first year)
-- FDA: Steven Nissen (Cleveland Clinic), Joshua Sharfstein (Baltimore health commissioner), Janet Woodcock (Big Pharma's choice), Susan Wood (GWU occupational and environmental health professor), Diana Zuckerman (president, National Research Center for Women & Families) Joint Chiefs: Michael Mullen (term ends in late 2009, can expect to be appointed for second term, per tradition)
-- Peace Corps: Chris Shays
-- UN Ambassador: Caroline Kennedy, Susan Rice, Ray Mabus (fmr MS gov)
-- USTR: Cal Dooley (American Chemistry Council president), Daniel K. Tarullo (Georgetown University law professor), Lael Brainard (Brookings Institution vice president), Thomas F. "Mack" McLarty (fmr Clinton White House chief of staff)
-- Climate: Terry Tamminen (climate change, adviser to Schwarzenegger), Al Gore, Carol Browner (Audobon Society), Jonathan Lash (World Resources Inst), Kathleen McGinty, Janet Napolitano, Mary Nichols, Kathleen Sebelius
-- Auto Czar: Jennifer Granholm
-- Secretary of the Army: Mortimer Downey
-- Chief Technology Officer: Julius Genachowski, Shane Robison (HP), Edward Felten (Princeton)
-- FCC: Jonathan Adelstein (FCC commissioner), Antoinette Bush (Skadden), Karen Kornbluh (Obama's former Senate policy director), Blair Levin (fmr chief of staff to then-FCC Commissioner Reid Hunt)

Other mentions for various White House staff posts: Patti Solis Doyle, David Wilhelm, John Rogers, Bill Daley, Cass Sunstein, Bob Bauer, Michael Froman, Federico Pena, Lawrence J. Korb, Carol Browner (Clinton's EPA head), Thomas Perrelli, David Ogden, Cassandra Butts, Denis McDonough (foreign policy, formerly Daschle's foreign policy adviser), Stephanie Cutter

From NBC's Savannah Guthrie
Obama will announce this morning a new economic recovery advisory board, with former Federal Reseve Chairman Paul Volcker to play a key role.

*** UPDATE *** The Obama transition team has made it official. Below is the release, explaining the reasoning behind the formation of the board and brief bios of Volcker and Austan Goolsbee, who will serve as staff director and chief economist of the board. Goolsbee, a University of Chicago professor, was an economics adviser to Obama during the campaign. He will also serve as a member of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers.

The release:
Modeled on the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board created by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to provide an independent voice on intelligence issues, the new Economic Recovery Advisory Board will be charged with offering independent, nonpartisan information, analysis and advice to the President as he formulates and implements his plans for economic recovery. The Economic Recovery Advisory Board will provide regular briefings to the President, Vice-President and their economic team. The Board will be established initially for a two-year term, after which the President will make a determination on whether to continue its existence based on its continued necessity.

"At this defining moment for our nation, the old ways of thinking and acting just won't do.  They call for us to seek fresh thinking and bold new ideas from the leading minds across America.  And they demand that as we chart a course to economic recovery, we ensure that our government – your government – is held accountable for delivering results. Today, I'm pleased to announce the formation of a new institution to help our economic team accomplish these goals," said President-elect Barack Obama.

Paul Volcker, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979-87, will serve as Chair of the Board. Volcker is one of the world's foremost economic policy practitioners with vast experience in managing economic crises. He will bring a deep understanding of financial markets and the global nature of this economic crisis to bear in leading the Board's work. Austan Goolsbee will serve as Staff Director and Chief Economist of the Recovery Advisory Board and act as the primary liaison between the Board and the Administration. The President is also nominating Goolsbee to be one of the three Members of his Council of Economic Advisers.

Members of the Board will be drawn from among distinguished citizens outside the government who are qualified on the basis of achievement, experience, independence, and integrity. The Board will bring a diverse set of perspectives and voices from different parts of the country and different sectors of the economy to bear in the formulation and evaluation of economic policy. Additional members will be announced in the future.

The Board will meet regularly and provide advice directly to the President on the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs to jump-start economic growth, create jobs, raise wages and living standards, address the housing crisis and stabilize financial markets. The Board will also focus on how the response to the short-run economic crisis is laying the groundwork for the reforms necessary for longer-run prosperity.

Bios, per the transition team:
Paul Volcker, Chair of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board
Paul Volcker has served under five presidents of both parties in a life committed to public service. He was chairman of the Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve System from 1979 to 1987. Prior to that he served as President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Undersecretary of the Treasury for Monetary Affairs. He is professor emeritus of international economic policy at Princeton University and has served as chairman of the board of trustees of the International Accounting Standards Committee and of the Independent Inquiry Committee for the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program and Chairman of the Board of the Group of Thirty.

Austan Goolsbee, Staff Director and Chief Economist of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board & Member of the Council of Economic Advisers
Austan Goolsbee is the Robert P. Gwinn Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business where he has taught since 1995. He is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and the American Bar Foundation. Goolsbee, a Fulbright Scholar and Sloan Fellow, co-directs the Chicago Booth Initiative on Global Markets and formerly served as lead editor for the Journal of Law and Economics. He has been a key economic adviser to the President-elect since 2004.

From NBC's Jim Miklaszewski
One source familiar with the selection process tells NBC News that Defense Secretary Robert Gates will remain on the job at the Pentagon for at least a year. "That's been a done deal for sometime," according to the sources. "No other name has been seriously floated as a possible candidate."

Video: President-elect Barack Obama is expected to confirm that current Defense Secretary Robert Gates, appointed by President Bush, will likely remain at the Pentagon for at least a year.

The deal was sealed for Gates when former Marine Corps Commandant Jim Jones was mentioned as the probable candidate for National Security Adviser, and former Admiral Dennis Blair was named as the likely pick for Director of National Intelligence, according to one source.

"That's a dream team that Gates could clearly work with," the source said.

Two other sources involved or familiar with the process said, as of yesterday, Gates was all but certain.   

"It was the formula all along," according to one source, that Gates would stay in the Pentagon, retain a small number of his personal staff while a Democrat, appointed by Obama as Deputy Defense Secretary, would put together the remainder of the top staff.

According to officials close to Gates, to avoid being labeled a "lame duck," he asked that a specific timetable not be attached to his term, but something more loosely defined, such as "under 4 years."

From NBC's Jeff Hanley
The mystery of 'missing ballots' in Minnesota continues to plague both the Norm Coleman and Al Franken campaigns as the Franken campaign claims the margin has narrowed to just 84 votes between the two candidates in the Minnesota Senate. 

"The number of lost ballots continues to grow and now totals in the hundreds," Franken lead attorney Marc Elias said in a phone conference today. "We grow more and more concerned that these ballots are missing and appear to be disappearing."

Video: As the recount nears an end in the disputed Minnesota Senate vote between incumbent Norm Coleman and challenger Al Franken, the tension increases with each new ballot counted. KARE's John Croman reports.

In an effort to illustrate just where some of these ballots might be hiding, Elias displayed a locked voting machine to on-looking reporters with what appeared to be an undetermined number of jammed ballots stuck in the base of the machine. 

"Astonishingly, election officials have refused our request to open that machine," Elias said. "Until that machine is opened, we will not know if that is one ballot, five ballots, whether it's a ballot for Coleman or Franken."
 
Further complicating the recount effort is the issue of improperly rejected absentee ballots. Following a court order on Nov. 19th, 66 counties released records showing 6,432 absentee ballots had been rejected. That number could potentially double as more information from other counties is released. 
 
The Franken campaign stressed today that they do not believe all 6,000-plus ballots are legitimate, however an incident where a number of ballots were rejected in Minneapolis due to "lack of registration" was proven to be a clerical error. The secretary of state's Web site confirmed that those voters were actually properly registered.
 
Data that the Franken campaign received on rejected absentee ballots also showed that in Fillmore County, two ballots were not counted, because they were found in the precinct's ballot box after they had already printed their totals.

In another incident, a precinct listed their rejection reason as, "We messed up," after they accidentally placed a legitimate ballot in their reject pile.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: To clarify, this post has been updated to make it clear that the 84-vote number is the Franken campaign's claim.]

From NBC's Pete Williams
We may know later today whether the U.S. Supreme Court will take up one of the biggest unanswered questions in the war on terror: Can the government pick up people in the United States and declare them enemy combatants?

If the court agrees to hear this case, it will set up an immediate test for the Obama administration, which will catch this hot potato, forcing it to decide whether to follow the Bush administration course or set a new direction.

The case involves a man from Qatar who came to study in the U.S., but civil liberties groups -- and several federal judges -- say the same legal principle could be applied to U.S. citizens.

Ali al-Marri arrived in Peoria in September 2001, with his wife and five children, to do graduate work at Bradley University. In December, he was charged with credit card fraud and possession of false ID's.  Then in 2003, a month before he was to stand trial, President Bush declared al-Marri an enemy combatant and an al Qaeda agent. Since the day he was seized -- June 23, 2003, al-Marri has been held at the U.S. Navy brig in Charleston, S.C.

Lawyers challenged the government's authority to pick up people on American soil and detain them indefinitely, and the lower courts have divided over the issue. But in the most recent decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled 5-4 that the president can detain people in the U.S., including American citizens, indefinitely without charge.

If the Supreme Court agrees to take up this case, it would probably hear it in late February or March. The Bush Justice Department has steadfastly defended the power to declare people in the U.S. enemy combatants. So this would be an early and high-stakes test for the Obama administration.

*** UPDATE *** The Supreme Court today took no action on the case.

From NBC's Ken Strickland
During his news conference today, President-elect Obama said there has been bipartisan support for his newly named economic team.

Here's what a couple of key Senate Republicans have said.

As the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, Sen. Judd Gregg called the nomination of Peter Orszag to OMB Director "another positive choice by President-elect Obama as he unveils his new economic team this week." In a written statement issued this afternoon, Gregg went on to call Orszag "an excellent choice."

Gregg said the earlier selection of Tim Geithner and Larry Summers "assures that we will continue to see a clear commitment by the federal government and the new administration to do whatever is needed to ensure the solvency and orderly functioning of the credit markets and key institutions."

Support from Gregg is significant. Besides his role on the budget committee, Gregg is also a de facto member of Senate's Republican leadership. And he was recently appointed by Republican Leader Mitch McConnell as a member of a congressionally created oversight panel to keep track of federal bailout spending. 

The Senate Finance Committee's top Republican, Chuck Grassley, was apprehensive about Obama during the campaign but seems won over by the new administration's economic team. 

"The kind of change that the President-elect promised was so undefined it made me nervous," he said in a written statement yesterday. "Now that he's appointing familiar faces from the Clinton administration to very high-level positions I'm less concerned."

Citing Summers' and Orszag's experience in the Clinton Administration, Grassley said, "They saw up close how the tech bubble developed. They also responded constructively to pressure from the Republican-led Congress to restrain spending and put in place pro-growth and pro-family tax relief policies."

From NBC's Robert Windrem
In a letter to President-elect Obama, John Brennan has asked that his name be withdrawn from consideration as CIA director.

Video: President-elect Barack Obama's top advisor in intelligence has taken his name out of the running for any position with the Obama White House. NBC's John Yang reports.

Brennan was thought to be the leading candidate for the job. He was the former chief of staff to then-CIA Director George Tenet, former executive assistant to Tenet and former station chief in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Reporters and others were asking questions about what role Brennan played in the decision to "torture" high value targets. (Full letter here.)

NBC's Savannah Guthrie adds this statement from Obama transition spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter:

"John Brennan has served our nation with honor and is a man of talent and integrity. The President-elect accepts his decision to withdraw from consideration for a position in the intelligence community but he is grateful for John's contining assistance as a valuable member of our transition team. "

From NBC's Pete Williams

If President-elect Barack Obama nominates Hillary Clinton to be secretary of state, many legal scholars believe it would be the former law professor's first violation of the Constitution as president.

Why? Because the Constitution forbids the appointment of members of Congress to administration jobs if the salary of the job they'd take was raised while they were in Congress. (Article I, Section 6: "No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office ... the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time."  Emoluments meaning salaries and benefits.)

Past presidents have confronted this problem repeatedly -- Taft in nominating Sen. Philander Knox to be secretary of state, Nixon in nominating Sen. William Saxbe to be attorney general, Carter in nominating Sen. Ed Muskie to be secretary of state, and Clinton in nominating Sen. Lloyd Bentsen to be treasury secretary, to name some notable examples.

The usual workaround is for Congress to lower the salary of the job back to what it was so that the nominee can take it without receiving the benefit of the pay increase that was approved while the nominee was in Congress. This maneuver, which has come to be known as "the Saxbe fix," addresses the clear intent of the Constitution, to prevent self-dealing.    

But many legal scholars believe it does not cure the Constitutional problem, because the language of Article I is so clearly an absolute prohibition: No senator or representative, period. 

"The content of the rule here is broader than its purpose," said Professor Michael Stokes Paulsen, a Constitutional law expert at St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis. "And the rule is the rule; the purpose is not the rule." 

"A 'fix' can rescind the salary," he added, "but it cannot repeal historical events. The emoluments of the office had been increased. The rule specified in the text still controls."

Having said all this, so what? If Obama goes ahead and nominates Clinton, it's doubtful the courts would entertain a lawsuit from an outraged citizen. Such generalized taxpayer lawsuits are disfavored by the federal courts. 

A more difficult case might come if a Secretary of State Clinton issued an order that put a specific citizen at a disadvantage. That might give rise to a lawsuit that could get some traction.

Even then, though, some legal scholars believe it would be a hard case to make. Former Clinton Justice Department solicitor general Walter Dellinger says there's reason to think that the official acts of someone in a federal office are valid, even if the person's qualifications for the office are in doubt.

From NBC's Athena Jones
CHICAGO -- In his second press conference in as many days, President-elect Obama stressed the importance of crafting an efficient and responsible budget, while arguing that middle-class tax cuts must be put in place quickly to help stimulate the flagging economy.

"During my campaign, I talked about the need to provide a tax cut to 95% of workers," he said. "Now, for us to get that tax cut in place, that is going to put money into the pockets of the middle class and will help them in spending for their basic needs. That can help the economy. The sooner we do that, the better."

Video: President-elect Barack Obama announces two members of his budget office, and discusses his plans to build a "smarter government" by eliminating unneeded programs, and running the remainder in a cost-effective way.

Obama took questions from reporters after announcing two more members of his economic team. He named Peter Orszag as director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Rob Nabors as Orszag's deputy. On Monday, Obama officially announced four other members, including New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers as head of the National Economic Council.

Returning to a theme he mentioned often on the campaign trail, Obama said Orszag and Nabors would be charged with going through the federal budget "page by page, line by line" to develop a budget that would eliminate waste and increase government efficiency.

"If we are going to make the investments we need, we also have to be willing to shed the spending that we don't need," he said. "In these challenging times, when we're facing both rising deficits and a shrinking economy, budget reform is not an option. It's a necessity."

Obama stressed the need to set up a long-term plan to reduce what he called the nation's structural deficit once an economic recovery was "well under way" to avoid leaving "a mountain of debt for the next generation." Still, as was the case during the campaign, Obama offered few examples, citing the need to reduce health-care costs and end wasteful government subsidies in industries like agriculture.

With Inauguration Day still two months away, the president-elect has made a point of saying there is just one president at a time. He declined to attend a summit President Bush hosted earlier this month with G-20 leaders to discuss how to manage the global financial crisis, and has not criticized the current Administration's handling of a multi-billion-dollar bailout of the financial system. Today, in his third press conference since the election, he talked about why he was spending so much time talking about the economy.

"Given the extraordinary circumstances that we find ourselves in, however, I think it is very important for the American people to understand that we are putting together a first-class team, and for them to have clarity that we don't intend to stumble into the next Administration," he said. "We are going to hit the ground running. We're going to have clear plans of action."

Obama said his decisive win on November 4th showed the American people wanted a new direction, but he repeated his frequent remarks about the importance of bipartisanship, adding that he was pleased about the "bipartisan accolades" the budget team he had put together was receiving.

Obama repeated his intention to help states and local governments by fast-tracking infrastructure projects so that governments have the funds to carry out plans that would help create or save jobs, and he said his economic recovery plan would require the participation of governors and mayors -- in fact, he plans to meet with the nation's governors in Philadelphia on Tuesday. In what some interpreted as a message to Illinois politicos, Obama said his budget team would base funding decisions on national priorities and not personal relationships.

"Friendship doesn't come into this. That's part of the old way of doing business," he assured a local reporter. "The new way of doing business is -- let's figure out what projects, what investments are going to give the American economy the most bang for the buck, how can we protect taxpayer dollars so that this money is not wasted, restore a sense of confidence among taxpayers that, when we spend our money, it's on things that are actually going to improve their quality of life, create the jobs that are so desperately needed, help to spur on economic growth and business creation in the private sector."

The transition team's press operation repeated an exercise that sparked laughs and some consternation from at least one baseball fan at yesterday's press conference, dividing reporters into two sections. The north side of the room was designated the "Cubs" section and the south side of the room was called the "White Sox" section. Obama is an avid White Sox fan.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Arizona Sen. John McCain, in his first news conference since losing his bid for the presidency, applauded President-elect Obama's cabinet appointments so far, particularly that of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) potentially as Homeland Security secretary.

Interesting, considering she hasn't been nominated yet, and convenient, since Napolitano was seen as a top rival for McCain's Senate seat in 2010.

Thank you, Mr. President-elect. A couple of chits for Obama with McCain -- (1) Eliminating a top political opponent and (2) Making nice with Joe Lieberman.

VIDEO: McCain gives his first news conference since losing his bid for the presidency.

"I intend to run again," McCain said, adding that he will make an official announcement at the appropriate time. "I always expect a tough race," McCain added later, lightheartedly cocking a fist and smiling.

McCain also reflected on the campaign, saying he looks "back with pride and honor."

"You really have to take an attitude ... that what a great honor it's been to be able to serve this country for so long," he said, adding, "We worked hard, and we inspired a lot of people, Sarah Palin and I. I think we look back with pride ... [and] accept very much that people have made a decision."

Regarding Palin, he said she has a "very bright future in the leadership of the Republican Party." He added that she was chosen, first and foremost, because she was a "reformer" -- not because of political considerations that a woman could have been potentially helpful in swaying Hillary Clinton voters.

In a bit of post-election analysis on why he lost, McCain pointed to that when the campaign started, Iraq was a top issue, but that later shifted to the economy as the top concern. Voters were looking for a change in the stewardship of the country and economic philosophy, he said.

"I respect that. I don't in any way criticize it," McCain said, laughing.

*** UPDATE *** NBC's Lauren Appelbaum and Ashley Codianni add, McCain also said he plans to travel to Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan "soon." "Of course we know we know we face significant challenges in Afghanistan," McCain said, "which I think almost all of us are in agreement, will require increased U.S. presence, NATO participation...."

McCain also reaffirmed his support for the issue that nearly sunk his presidential campaign -- comprehensive immigration reform.

"Running for re-election has never been a concern of mine as far as issues like that are concerned," McCain said. "I intend to discuss that with the President-elect. It's pretty clear that our agenda, that all Americans are, is our economy. But I still am committed to comprehensive immigration reform. ... Right now, the president's agenda is something that we have to, Republicans and Democrats alike, adhere to. And it's very clear that the state of our economy will be the number one agenda item."

On the Republican Party's future, McCain stressed fiscal conservatism, specifically cutting spending and reducing earmarks -- both of which were campaign platforms.

"Republicans have to show the American people that we have solutions to the economic challenges that face this nation, that are incredibly large, as we all know," he said.

When asked, the 72-year-old McCain ruled out a future presidential run -- with a laugh.

"I think right now my focus is on running re-election for the United States senate," he said. "I do not envision a scenario that would entail that."

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro

As expected, Peter Orszag, director of the Congressional Budget Office, was named as President-elect Obama's Office of Management and Budget Director, the Obama transition team announced today.

Rob Nabors, currently Clerk and staff director of the House Appropriations Committee, was named Orszag's deputy. Nabors served in the OMB during the Clinton administration as a senior adviser to the director.

"In these challenging times, when we are facing both rising deficits and a sinking economy, budget reform is not an option," Obama said in a statement. "It is an imperative. We cannot sustain a system that bleeds billions of taxpayer dollars on programs that have outlived their usefulness, or exist solely because of the power of a politician, lobbyist, or interest group.  We simply cannot afford it. This isn't about big government or small government. It's about building a smarter government that focuses on what works. That is why I will ask my team to think anew and act anew to meet our new challenges. We will go through our federal budget -- page by page, line by line -- eliminating those programs we don't need, and insisting that those we do operate in a sensible cost-effective way."

Short bios, per the transition team, after the jump:

Peter Orszag, Office of Management and Budget Director
Peter Orszag currently serves as the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), overseeing the agency's work in providing objective, nonpartisan, and timely analyses of economic and budgetary issues--supervising the numerous analytical papers and cost estimates that the agency produces and, to present the results, frequently testifying before the Congress. Under his leadership, the agency has significantly expanded its focus on areas such as health care and climate change. In previous government service, Orszag served as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and as a staff economist and then Senior Advisor and Senior Economist at the President's Council of Economic Advisers.  Orszag was the Joseph A. Pechman Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution where he authored or edited numerous books and papers. Orszag graduated summa cum laude in economics from Princeton University and obtained a Ph.D. in economics from the London School of Economics, which he attended as a Marshall scholar.

Rob Nabors, Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director
Rob Nabors currently serves as the 13th Clerk and Staff Director of the House Appropriations Committee. He is responsible for the hiring, and direction of the majority staff of the committee and for recommending overall legislative strategies with respect to discretionary spending to committee Democrats and the House Democratic Leadership. Nabors joined the Appropriations Committee in 2001. Prior to coming to the Appropriations Committee, Nabors served in the Office of Management and Budget in the Executive Office of the President as the Senior Advisor to the Director and as the Assistant Director for Administration and Executive Secretary. Nabors is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he received degrees in Government and Computer Applications. He received a Masters Degree in Political Science from the University of North Carolina.

From NBC's John Talty
In the hotly contested Minnesota Senate recount, missing ballots could provide another source of rancor between the two candidates. In a Franken camp teleconference call this afternoon, lead recount attorney Marc Elias stressed the need to find missing ballots and encouraged the Minnesota Secretary of State's office to take an active role in the process.

"Missing ballots aren't automatically an indication of foul play, but it should be a serious matter of concern," Elias said. "We hope and call on the Secretary of State to issue clear instructions on all counties so that these ballots may be found and properly counted."

Elias provided examples in both Clay County and St. Louis County, in which the amount of ballots cast on November 4th does not match up with the amount of ballots produced for reconsideration in the recount. He also continued to assert that the difference between Al Franken (D) and incumbent Norm Coleman remains in only the double digits.

In a senatorial race where every single vote matters, a handful of missing votes in Clay or St. Louis County could ultimately make the difference, Franken's attorney reminded reporters.

"We know this is an election that is down to double digits out of 2.9 million votes cast," Elias said. "In an election this close, we cannot let any lawful vote go uncounted."

Today's call comes in advance of a Wednesday meeting of the two camps with the Minnesota Canvassing Board to discuss whether rejected absentee ballots will be reconsidered. While unsure of exactly how things would go on Wednesday, Elias reiterated a point that he has made during the entire recount process stating, "…if a Minnesota resident cast a lawful ballot then it should be counted," including the contested absentee ballots.

From NBC's Athena Jones
CHICAGO -- President-elect Obama stressed the need to "act swiftly and boldly" to prevent millions of job losses next year and said his economic team, which he announced today, was at work on an "aggressive economic recovery" plan that he hoped could be enacted soon after he takes office.

"Beyond any immediate actions we may take, we need a recovery plan for both Wall Street and Main Street, a plan that stabilizes our financial system and gets credit flowing again, while at the same time addressing our growing foreclosure crisis, helping our struggling auto industry, and creating and saving 2.5 million jobs, jobs rebuilding our infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, modernizing our schools, and creating the clean energy infrastructure of the 21st century," Obama said. "I've asked my economic team to develop recommendations for this plan and to consult with Congress, the current administration, and the Federal Reserve on immediate economic developments over the next two months."

Video: President-elect Barack Obama unveils his economic team and vows to use a massive stimulus program to get the economy back on track. NBC's Savannah Guthrie reports.

The economic team will brief Obama daily, and he plans to provide an overview of their initial recommendations to the broader public and to the new Congress in the hopes that legislators can begin work on a recovery plan in early January so that his administration can "hit the ground running."

The president-elect promised to honor the public commitments the Bush administration has made in dealing with what he called a financial crisis of historic proportions, said the current administration must use the authority it has "forcefully" in the coming weeks to stabilize the current situation and added that economic recovery would also require the government to make spending cuts and sacrifices, a subject he plans to speak more about at a press conference here tomorrow.

In a departure from a promise he made frequently on the campaign trail, Obama would not say today whether he still planned to repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy or would instead simply allow them to expire in 2010. During the campaign, then-rival John McCain cast the plan to end the tax cuts as a tax increase that would stifle a recovery.
 
Obama made the comments during a press conference -- his second since the election -- at which he announced four members of his economic team. Saying he had sought leaders who could offer both experience and new ideas, he said New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner would be his pick for Treasury secretary, named Lawrence Summers, a former Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, as the director of the National Economic Council, Christina Romer, as chair of the Council of Economic Advisors and Melody Barnes to be director of the Domestic Policy Council.

Geithner has been working with current Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to manage the Wall Street bailout and Paulson released a statement praising him.

"I have the highest regard for Tim -- his judgment and creativity have been critical to designing and implementing the necessary actions we've taken to protect and strengthen our financial system," Paulson's statement read. "I have great confidence in his understanding of markets, his judgment and leadership, and his ability to meet the challenges that lie ahead."

As he did frequently during the final weeks of the campaign and upon being elected, Obama said solving the crisis would not be easy, a warning to the American people about the tough times ahead and a way of buying some time to fix them.

"There are no shortcuts or quick fixes to this crisis, which has been many years in the making, and the economy is likely to get worse before it gets better," he said. "Full recovery will not happen immediately."

Obama said his economic plan would also serve as a "down payment" on longer-term strategies he spoke about often during the campaign, from investing in clean energy to reforming the health care system and improving education, but he declined to offer specifics on the size of the stimulus plan he would put forward, saying that would be something he would decide along with his economic team, along with how to handle the Bush tax cuts for the rich.

"I think the most important thing to recognize is that we have a consensus, which is pretty rare, between conservative economists and liberal economists, that we need a big stimulus package that will jolt the economy back into shape and that is focused on the 2.5 million jobs that I intend to create during the first part of my administration," he said. "We have to put people back to work. Now, that runs in parallel with making sure that our financial system is stable. And so we're going to have to do more than one thing at a time. But across the board, people believe that this stimulus is critical."

While believes the auto industry must not "vanish" because so many American jobs depend on it, Obama said he was surprised that auto executives had not presented a stronger proposal when they appeared before Congress to request federal help and that lawmakers had done the right thing by telling auto executives to come back with a plan for sustainability.

"My attitude is that we should help the auto industry, but what we should expect is that any additional money that we put into the auto industry, any help that we provide is designed to assure a long-term sustainable auto industry and not just kicking the can down the road," he said.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro, Mark Murray and Doug Adams

Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner will appoint longtime Joe Biden loyalist, adviser and former chief of staff Ted Kaufman to fill Biden's Senate seat when the vice-president-elect resigns.

 Per a Biden spokeswoman, the longest-serving Delaware senator will resign within the next 40 to 50 days.

"As you know, VP-elect Biden has been a senator for 36 years and is chairman of a major Committee," spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander tells NBC News. "He has two transitions going on, with the Senate and the Foreign Relations Committee, and he wants to ensure that they are as smooth as possible."

Biden won re-election to another six-year term in November (he was allowed to be on the ballot for both the presidential ticket and U.S. Senate seat). Under state law, however, a successor would serve through just 2010 and then there would be a special election for the seat.

So, given Kaufman's ties to Biden, is he just a placeholder for Biden's son Beau, Delaware's attorney general, who is currently on a one-year stint as an attorney with the Delaware National Guard in Iraq?

In a (lengthy) statement from Biden, he references his son and even indicates he would have been open to having him appointed to the seat. (Full statement after the jump.) Last week, Beau rejected the notion of being appointed.

"It is no secret that I believe my son, Attorney General Beau Biden would make a great United States Senator-just as I believe he has been a great Attorney General," Biden said. "But Beau has made it clear from the moment he entered public life, that any office he sought, he would earn on his own. He proved that two years ago when he turned down an appointment as Attorney General. Instead, he ran on his own and won election. Typical of Beau, he made it clear again his year that he would not accept an appointment to the United States Senate. As he said when he deployed overseas, he is determined to fulfill his military obligations and then return to his duties as Attorney General. If he chooses to run for the Senate in the future, he will have to run and win on his own. He wouldn't have it any other way. In making her decision, the governor has made it clear that whoever seeks the office in 2010 will do so from a level playing field. The voters will make that decision. For now, my concern is with Beau's safety, not his political future."

Kaufman has known Biden for more than three decades. They first met when Biden was a New Castle County councilman. Kaufman worked on Biden's 1972 Senate campaign, and when Biden won, he asked Kaufman to stay and help open his Wilmington office. Kaufman ended up working 22 years for Biden, the last 19 as his Senate chief of staff. He's worked on every one of Biden's campaigns since 1972.

Kaufman was also a senior adviser to Biden's short presidential campaign and was working on his Senate re-election campaign in Delaware when Biden asked him to come to the Obama team. He then went to work on his Senate re-election campaign this year. He spent the last three weeks of the campaign with Biden on the vice-presidential trail, according to reports.

In her press conference, Minner said she was seeking someone who was qualified, put the interests of Delaware first, and shares Joe Biden's values. She also hinted that Kaufman is not interested in re-election.

Full Biden statement:
"I believe that today Governor Minner has made a decision, as she has made all her decisions in public life, in the best interests of Delaware. This was a tough decision-but I think we all know that making tough decisions is not anything new for this Governor. She is tough, she is strong, and her legendary grit long ago earned my admiration and respect.

"Serving Delaware as your United States Senator has been the privilege of my life. And while I admit it is with some pride that I can say I've been your Senator longer than anyone in our state's history-I have never forgotten it is an honor that you, the voters, have bestowed upon me. From the time that the people of Delaware elected me to the U.S. Senate at the age of 29, this state has lifted me up in tough times and given me the chance to make a difference. I hope I have done so.

"I know this is was an unusual circumstance for the voters this year. And I want to thank the people of Delaware for the trust they placed in me. Now as I leave the Senate for the Vice Presidency, I believe Governor Minner has appointed the very best person she could have chosen to serve Delaware at this time in the United States Senate.

"I have known Ted Kaufman for over 30 years. He is a man of first-rate qualifications, unquestioned integrity and a long-time commitment to public service. As my Chief of Staff for 19 years, he was involved in many of the most important decisions I've made in the Senate. Further, he has been personally involved in handling many of the most important issues that we've faced in Delaware. From protecting Cape Henlopen, to putting more cops on the street, Ted has played a critical role in these accomplishments.

"Ted has also done the hard day-to-day work of a Senate office - answering constituent concerns, overseeing their casework and making sure the voters of Delaware have a strong advocate for them. So whether it's debating the biggest issues that come before the Senate, or helping a veteran or a senior citizen get the help they need, Ted has done it. He knows Delaware. And he knows the Senate. He'll be able to hit the ground running.

"Since the time he worked with me in the Senate, Ted has gone on to teach at Duke University, in the Law school, the Fuqua Business School, the Sanford Institute of Public Policy, and to serve on the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Ted's long service to Delaware has earned him the respect of virtually every community in our state - from business to education to labor to children's advocates to those committed to protecting our environment.

"There is no one who knows more about how the United States Senate works and no one who is more ready to do this job for Delaware than Ted Kaufman. Over the years, he has earned the respect of those who have served, like Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey and of those who are still there, like Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut. He will make a great partner with Senator Tom Carper.

"I care deeply about this Senate seat and I care deeply about Delaware. And I can say with absolute confidence that with Ted Kaufman in the Senate, Delaware will be in very good hands.

"It is no secret that I believe my son, Attorney General Beau Biden would make a great United States Senator-just as I believe he has been a great Attorney General. But Beau has made it clear from the moment he entered public life, that any office he sought, he would earn on his own. He proved that two years ago when he turned down an appointment as Attorney General. Instead, he ran on his own and won election. Typical of Beau, he made it clear again his year that he would not accept an appointment to the United States Senate. As he said when he deployed overseas, he is determined to fulfill his military obligations and then return to his duties as Attorney General. If he chooses to run for the Senate in the future, he will have to run and win on his own. He wouldn't have it any other way.

"In making her decision, the Governor has made it clear that whoever seeks the office in 2010 will do so from a level playing field. The voters will make that decision. For now, my concern is with Beau's safety, not his political future.

"I have promised the Governor, and instructed my staff, to make sure we work closely with Senator Kaufman over the upcoming weeks to ensure an orderly transition and to make sure that at no point will the work of Delaware go undone.

"To the voters, again let me thank you for the trust you have placed in me. To Governor Minner, thank you for making this difficult decision. And to Senator Kaufman -- serve the people well. It will be for you, as it has been for me, the privilege of a lifetime."

From NBC's Mark Murray
Here's a wrap of the coverage that Bobby Jindal's visit to Iowa on Saturday received:

-- The Des Moines Register: "After two years of a non-stop political campaign, if anyone came to hear a political speech, 'you might want to consider getting involved in some kind of recovery program,' Jindal joked during a speech at the Sheraton Hotel in West Des Moines. Instead, Jindal focused on culture and family during a speech to an audience of 800 at a fundraiser for the socially conservative Iowa Family Policy Center. 'It all starts with family and builds outward from there,' said the first-term Jindal, who was making his first visit to Iowa. 'As a parent, I'm acutely aware of the overall coarsening of our culture in many ways.'"

-- The AP: "He said Americans need a break from politics, but more importantly, 'it is time for us to work together on solutions.' And, he said that means it's time to get behind the newly elected Congress and president-elect Barack Obama to overcome the country's 'substantial challenges.' 'Whether you voted for him or not, whether you supported the new leaders of Congress or not, they're our president, they're our Congress, they need our prayers, they need our support,' he said."

-- The New Orleans Times-Picayune: "Rather than emphasizing traditional themes that motivate social conservatives, such as opposition to abortion and gay marriage, Jindal talked about his efforts as governor to impose harsher penalties on child sex offenders and his efforts as a parent to keep his young children shielded from the coarser elements of modern culture. 'The success of America and the realization of the American dream relies on a common sense of culture,' he said."

From NBC's Mark Murray
Katon Dawson, the chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, today officially announced his bid to become the next chairman of the Republican National Committee.

"I am running to serve as chairman of the Republican National Committee because I'm ready to help lead our party's turnaround," he said in a statement. "We need to turnaround our fortunes in many regions of the country. We need to turnaround our grassroots organization, our fundraising, our use of technology and new media, and our candidate recruitment. We must move forward with the confidence that our message of optimism, hope, and freedom still resonates in the hearts of our fellow Americans."

But in a sign that this will be a contentious contest for RNC chair, opponents to Dawson's candidacy passed along to First Read a South Carolina newspaper article noting that Dawson stepped down from a whites-only country club back in September. "He resigned ... as The State pursued an article on his membership in the club and his role in an internal push to admit African-Americans as members."

More from the article: "Dawson wrote a letter to club leaders Aug. 20, urging them to allow people of color. 'It is with only the best interests of our club's proud tradition at heart that I inform you of my intent to work to change the club practice that would exclude membership for anyone based on any specific ethnicity,' he wrote in the letter obtained by The State."

Other announced and potential contenders for RNC chairman include Michigan GOP chair Saul Anuzis, current RNC chair Mike Duncan, former Huckabee campaign manager Chip Saltsman, and former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele.

*** UPDATE *** Dawson spokesman Rob Godfrey responds to the oppo on his boss. "We're not going to get bogged down in the inside-the-Beltway game of 'gotcha' politics." Instead, Godfrey says that Dawson is focused on the big issues that RNC members care about: rejuvenating the GOP's grassroots, raising money, and competing in every county across the country. Godfrey also notes that during Dawson's tenure as South Carolina GOP chair, someone became the state's first African-American RNC member, and another person this month became the first black Republican elected to the South Carolina General Assembly since Reconstruction.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Tim Geithner was officially named Treasury Secretary by President-elect Obama's transition team. Several other members of the Obama White House economic team were also named. Included in that list is Larry Summers, the controversial former Harvard president but also a highly respected economic mind, as director of his National Economic Council.

Also, Christina Romer will serve as director of the Council of Economic Advisors. On other domestic policy, Melody Barnes was named director of Obama's Domestic Policy Council. Heather Higginbottom will be her deputy.

Video: Saying he intends to move "swiftly and boldly," President-elect Barack Obama officially announces his nominees for treasury secretary, Council of Economic Advisors Chair and National Economic Council Director.

"Vice President-elect Biden and I have assembled an economic team with the vision and expertise to stabilize our economy, create jobs, and get America back on track," Obama said in a statement moments before his second news conference since winning the presidential election Nov. 4th. " Even as we face great economic challenges, we know that great opportunity is at hand -- if we act swiftly and boldly. That's the mission our economic team will take on." 

Bios, per the transition team, after the jump as is our cabinet speculation list:

Timothy F. Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury
Timothy Geithner currently serves as president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he has played a key role in formulating the nation's monetary policy. He joined the Department of the Treasury in 1988 and has served three presidents. From 1999 to 2001, he served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs. Following that post he served as director of the Policy Development and Review Department at the International Monetary Fund until 2003. Geithner is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Lawrence H. Summers, Director of the National Economic Council
Lawrence Summers is currently the Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard University. Summers served as 71st Secretary of the Treasury from 1999 to 2001 and as president of Harvard from 2001 to 2006. Before being appointed Secretary, Summers served as Deputy and Under Secretary of the Treasury and as the World Bank's top economist. Summers has taught economics at Harvard and MIT, and is a recipient of the John Bates Clark Medal, awarded to the American economist under 40 judged to have made the most significant contribution to economics. Summers played a key advisory role during the 2008 presidential campaign.

Christina D. Romer, Director of the Council of Economic Advisors
Christina Romer is the Class of 1957 Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, where she has taught and researched since 1988. Prior to joining the faculty at Berkeley, Romer was an assistant professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Romer is co-director of the Program in Monetary Economics at the National Bureau of Economic Research and has been a visiting scholar at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Melody C. Barnes, Director of the Domestic Policy Council
Melody Barnes is co-director of the Agency Review Working Group for the Obama-Biden Transition Team, and served as the Senior Domestic Policy Advisor to Obama for America. Barnes previously served as Executive Vice President for Policy at the Center for American Progress and as chief counsel to Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee from December 1995 until March 2003.

Heather A. Higginbottom, Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council
Heather Higginbottom served as Policy Director for Obama for America, overseeing all aspects of policy development. From 1999 to 2007, Higginbottom served as Senator John Kerry's Legislative Director. She also served as the Deputy National Policy Director for the Kerry-Edwards Presidential Campaign for the primary and general elections. After the 2004 election, Higginbottom founded and served as Executive Director of the American Security Project, a national security think tank. She started her career as an advocate at the national non-profit organization Communities in Schools. 

OUR OBAMA CABINET SPECULATION LIST:
-- Chief of staff: Rahm Emanuel NAMED (Deputy chiefs of staff: Jim Messina NAMED, Mona Sutphen NAMED)
-- Senior advisers: Valerie Jarrett NAMED, Peter Rouse NAMED, David Axelrod NAMED
-- Political Director: Patrick Gaspard NAMED
-- Assistant to the president for legislative affairs: Phil Schiliro NAMED
-- White House counsel: Greg Craig NAMED
-- Press secretary: Robert Gibbs NAMED
-- Communications Director: Ellen Moran NAMED (Deputy: Dan Pfeiffer NAMED)
-- Biden chief of staff: Ron Klain NAMED
-- Staff secretary: Lisa Brown NAMED
-- Cabinet secretary: Chris Lu NAMED
-- Michelle Obama's Chief of Staff: Jackie Norris NAMED / Deputy: Melissa Winter NAMED
-- Special Asst to the President/White House Social Secretary: Desirée Rogers NAMED

POTENTIAL CABINET MEMBERS:
Agriculture: Tom Vilsack, Tom Buis (Natl Farmers Union), Charlie Stenholm, Jim Leach, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Marshall Matz, John Boyd Jr. (pres, Natl Black Farmers Assn)
Commerce: Bill Richardson CONFIRMED BY NBC NEWS, Penny Pritzker (reportedly turned down the position), Kathleen Sebelius, John Thompson (Symantec), Ron Kirk (former Dallas mayor), Scott Harris (Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis fndr)
Defense: Robert Gates, Richard Danzig, Chuck Hagel, Sam Nunn, Jack Reed, Colin Powell, John Hamre, Tim Roemer, Thomas Pickering, Anthony Zinni, Max Cleland, Michele Flounoy, Gen. James Jones
Education: Joel Klein (NYC), Linda Darling-Hammond, Kathleen Sebelius, Colin Powell, Jim Hunt, Arne Duncan, Inez Tenenbaum, Michael Bennett, George Miller, Gaston Caperton (fmr WV gov), Bambi Cardenas (pres, U TX-Pan Am, Susan Castillo (OR supt), Michael Cohen (pres, Achieve), Christopher Edley (dean, UC-Berkeley), Michael Johnston (dir, Mapleton Expeditionary Schl of the Arts), VA Gov. Tim Kaine, Michelle Rhee (DC), Sharon Robinson (pres, Assn of Colls for Tchr Ed), Andrew Rotherman/Jonahtan Schnur (fmr Clinton advisers), Diane Shust (dir, NEA govt rels), Paul Vallas (supt, New Orleans Recovery Schl Dist), Bob Wise (fmr WV gov), Ray Mabus (fmr MS gov)
Energy: Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris, Kathleen Sebelius, Philip Sharp, Ed Rendell, Arnold Schwarzenegger (has said no), Al Gore, Jeff Bingaman, Jennifer Granholm, Steve Westly, Frederico Pena, Dan Reicher, Jason Grumet, Ray Mabus (fmr MS gov)
HHS: Tom Daschle CONFIRMED BY NBC NEWS, Howard Dean (reportedly ruled out), Eric Whitaker, John Kitzhaber, Kathleen Sebelius
Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano LIKELY, PER NBC NEWS, Ray Kelly (NY), William Bratton (L.A.), Tim Roemer, James Lee Witt, Tom Kean Sr, Jane Harman, Artur Davis, Richard Clarke, Manny Diaz, Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, Lee Hamilton (though he said he's too old), Jamie Gorelick
HUD: Manny Diaz (Miami mayor), Shirley Franklin (Atlanta mayor), Saul Ramirez, Jim Clyburn (reportedly not interested)
Interior: Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Bill Richardson, Jay Inslee, John Kitzhaber, Tony Knowles, Ken Salazar, Jamie Rappoport Clark, Brian Schweitzer
Justice (AG): Eric Holder CONFIRMED BY NBC NEWS, Janet Napolitano, Charles Ogletree, Deval Patrick, James Comey, Patrick Fitzgerald, Artur Davis, Tim Kaine, Jamie Gorelick (but was vice chair of Fannie), Ken Feinberg, Cass Sunstein, Kathleen Sullivan (Stanford Law prof, possible Solicitor General. Also possible SGs: Beth Brinkmann-DC Atty; Preeta Bansal-Skadden, Arps; Elena Kagan-Harvard law dean; Pamela Karlan-Stanford; Teresa Wynn Roseborough-MetLife litigation counsel)
Labor: Kathleen Sebelius, Andy Stern (SEIU) (said not interested), Richard Gephardt, George Miller, David Bonior (said he's not interested, suggested: American Rights at Work Executive Director Mary Beth Maxwell), Xavier Becerra, Linda Chavez-Thompson, Antonio Villaraigosa
State: Hillary Clinton CONFIRMED BY NBC NEWS, Jim Steinberg (deputy) CONFIRMED BY NBC NEWS,  John Kerry, Bill Richardson, Richard Lugar, Chuck Hagel, Richard Holbrooke, Chris Dodd, Thomas Pickering, Al Gore, Colin Kahl (CNAS fellow), Tom Daschle
Transportation: Ed Rendell, Jane Garvey, Mortimer Downey, Earl Blumenauer, Steve Heminger, James Oberstar, Peter DeFazio, Federico Pena, Jeanette Sadik-Khan, Tim Kaine,  John Hickenlooper (Denver mayor), Ron Sims (King County (WA) Executive), Doug Foy (Fmr pres, Convservation Law Fndtn), Parris Glendening (Fmr Gov MD)
Treasury: Tim Geithner CONFIRMED BY NBC NEWS, Paul Volcker, Robert Rubin, Jon Corzine, Warren Buffett, Michael Bloomberg, Laura Tyson, Jamie Dimon (JP MorganChase), Jacob "Jack" Lew, Sheila Bair, Indira Nooyi, John Thain (Merrill Lynch)
Veterans Affairs: Max Cleland, Tammy Duckworth, Chet Edwards, Arnold Fisher (fmr Fisher House Fndtn chair), James Peake, William Bratton, Anthony G. Brown (MD Lt Gov)
 
OTHER POSITIONS:
National Economic Council Director: Larry Summers NAMED
Council of Economic Advisers: Christina Romer (chair), NAMED, Dan Tarullo, Jacob "Jack" Lew, Jason Furman, Austan Goolsbee, Laura Tyson
Natl Sec Adviser: Gen. James L. Jones (Deputy: Tom Donilon) CONFIRMED BY NBC NEWS, Jim Steinberg, Rand Beers, Susan Rice, Greg Craig
NSC: Dennis Ross, Greg Craig, Susan Rice, Tony Lake
OMB: Peter Orszag CONFIRMED BY NBC NEWS, John Spratt Jr, Gene Sperling, Jason Furman
White House Domestic Policy Council Director: Melody Barnes NAMED (Domestic Policy Council Deputy Director: Heather A. Higginbottom NAMED)
CIA: Tony Lake, John Brennan, Chuck Hagel, Michael Hayden, Jami Miscik (fmr CIA dep dir for Intel)
DNI: Tony Lake, John Brennan, Tim Roemer, Rand Beers, Jane Harman, John Abizaid, Evan Bayh
FEMA: James Lee Witt
EPA: Howard Learner (Pres, Exec. Dir, Environmental Law and Policy Center), Ian Bowles (MA), RFK Jr, Kathleen Sebelius, Kathleen McGinty (former secretary of Pennsylvania's Department of Env Protection), Mary Nichols (chair of California's Air Resources Board), Robert Sussman, Dan Esty, Lisa Jackson (NJ environ commission)
FBI: Robert Mueller (term expires 2011)
Fed Chair: Ben Bernanke (at least for first year)
FDA: Steven Nissen (Cleveland Clinic), Joshua Sharfstein (Baltimore health commissioner), Janet Woodcock (Big Pharma's choice), Susan Wood (GWU occupational and environmental health professor), Diana Zuckerman (president, National Research Center for Women & Families) Joint Chiefs: Michael Mullen (term ends in late 2009, can expect to be appointed for second term, per tradition)
Peace Corps: Chris Shays
UN Ambassador: Caroline Kennedy, Susan Rice, Ray Mabus (fmr MS gov)
USTR: Cal Dooley (American Chemistry Council president), Daniel K. Tarullo (Georgetown University law professor), Lael Brainard (Brookings Institution vice president), Thomas F. "Mack" McLarty (fmr Clinton White House chief of staff)
Climate: Terry Tamminen (climate change, adviser to Schwarzenegger), Al Gore, Carol Browner (Audobon Society), Jonathan Lash (World Resources Inst), Kathleen McGinty, Janet Napolitano, Mary Nichols, Kathleen Sebelius
Auto Czar: Jennifer Granholm
Secretary of the Army: Mortimer Downey
 
Other mentions for various White House staff posts: Patti Solis Doyle, David Wilhelm, John Rogers, Bill Daley, Cass Sunstein, Bob Bauer, Michael Froman, Federico Pena, Lawrence J. Korb, Carol Browner (Clinton's EPA head), Thomas Perrelli, David Ogden

A note from all of us at First Read:

For the Thanksgiving holiday, we are suspending our morning note (including First Thoughts) for next week.

Don't fret too much, though. We will still be doing updates as usual throughout the day on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Patrick Gaspard will be named Director of the Office of Political Affairs, or political director, the Obama transition team announced this afternoon.

Also Jackie Norris will become Michelle Obama's chief of staff. Other announcements: Catherine M. Russell as chief of staff to Jill Biden; Cynthia Hogan as counsel to the vice President; and Moises V. Vela, Jr. as director of administration for the office of the vice president.

"This group of public servants will bring decades of expertise to my administration, and I'll rely on their counsel and hard work as we fix our struggling economy and meet the great challenges of our time," President-elect Obama said in a statement. "Vice President-Elect Biden and I look forward to continuing our work with these outstanding individuals who have dedicated their careers to a better America."

Biden's quote: "These individuals all possess incredible integrity and an unmatched commitment to public service. Cathy Russell has a unique blend of policy and management experience, combined with an ardent commitment to ending injustices around the world. Cynthia Hogan is a brilliant lawyer who was instrumental in guiding the Senate Judiciary Committee though some of its most important challenges in both crime control and judicial selection, and has shown incredible legal acumen and integrity over her career. I'm grateful to have Moe Vela, a man with experience in White House management and broad outreach skills on my team. Their combined experience, diverse leadership and esteemed counsel will be essential in helping the Obama-Biden Administration bring the change we need to America."

Bios, per the transition team, after the jump:

Patrick Gaspard, Director of the Office of Political Affairs
Gaspard currently serves as the Associate Director of Personnel for the Presidential Transition Team and served as National Political Director for Obama's presidential campaign.  Previously, Gaspard served as the Executive Vice President of Politics and Legislation for Local 1199 SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East, the largest local union in America, where he helped coordinate political activity and government relations on behalf of 300,000 members. In 2006, Gaspard served as the acting political director for SEIU International during the national union's successful effort to help Democrats capture majorities in the House and Senate. In 2004, Gaspard was the National Field Director for America Coming Together. Gaspard worked for Governor Howard Dean's presidential campaign and numerous congressional candidates, and campaigns going back to the historic Mayoral election in New York in 1989.  Gaspard is a former community organizer around school reform issues. He is married with two children.

Jackie Norris, Chief of Staff to the First Lady
Norris joined Obama's presidential campaign in January 2007 and served as the Iowa Senior Advisor during the caucus campaign, later serving as the Iowa State Director for the successful 2008 general election campaign in Iowa. Originally from Ossining, New York, Norris started her career in the office of Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter. She later served as Vice President Al Gore's scheduler and events planner and as Director of Scheduling and Advance for HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo. Norris served as finance director for Governor Tom Vilsack's 1998 gubernatorial campaign and as Gore's political director during the Iowa caucuses during his 2000 presidential bid.  In 2002, Norris became a classroom teacher for high school history and government at three high schools in Perry, Ames and Johnston, Iowa. Norris, a 1992 graduate of SUNY: College at Geneseo, obtained secondary education teacher certification in 2002 from Iowa State University and Masters in Political Science in 2008. Norris is the 2005 award recipient of the James Madison Fellowship and serves as Vice Chair of the Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa Freedom Fund Board. Norris and her husband John are residents of Des Moines, Iowa and have five-year-old twin boys, Hunter and Cole, and a two-year-old son, Sam.

Catherine (Cathy) M. Russell, Chief of Staff for Dr. Jill Biden
Cathy Russell is a long time advisor to Dr. Biden and advocate for the prevention of violence against women, both at home and abroad.  During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Ms. Russell served as Chief of Staff for Dr. Biden.  Previously, she has been a Senior Advisor to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on international women's issues.  In the Clinton Administration, she served as Associate Deputy Attorney General.  On Capitol Hill, she was Staff Director of the Senate Judiciary Committee and also served as a senior counsel to Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT).  She received her J.D. from George Washington University.

Cynthia Hogan, Counsel to the Vice President
Cynthia Hogan has been a legal advisor to Vice President-elect Biden for nearly 20 years, first joining his staff in 1991 as his Counsel for Constitutional Law on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, then as Staff Director and finally as Chief Counsel, during his tenure as Chairman.  During her time working for then-Chairman Biden (1991-1996), the Committee successfully passed the landmark 1994 Violence Crime and Control Act and the Violence Against Women Act.  She also advised Chairman Biden during the Supreme Court nominations process for both Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.  Cynthia Hogan is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio.  She graduated in 1979 from Oberlin College and received a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1984, where she served as an editor on the Virginia Law Review.  She clerked for the Honorable Edward Cahn on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and was an associate at the Washington, DC law firm Williams & Connolly.  She currently lives in Bethesda, Maryland with her husband Mark Katz and their two children.

Moises (Moe) V. Vela, Jr., Director of Administration for the Office of the Vice President
Moe Vela will bring a wealth of business management skill and outreach experience to the Obama-Biden Administration.  From 1996-2000, he served as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Advisor on Hispanic Affairs for Vice President Al Gore.  Most recently, Vela was the founder and a partner at The Comunidades Group, a multi-family acquisition and operations company headquartered in Denver, Colorado.  Vela is a graduate of the University of Texas with a B.A. in Government, received a J.D. from St. Mary's Law School and is a member of the State Bar of Texas.  He currently resides in Denver, Colorado and is a Denver Civil Service Commissioner, appointed by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.  Vela is a native of the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and hails from a pioneer South Texas family.