Per Obama's transition office, the president-elect will lay a wreath in Chicago this morning to honor the nation's fallen veterans. In addition, in DC,  John Podesta, co-chair of the Obama-Biden transition team, will hold a pen and pad briefing to provide an update on the presidential transition.

Unlike the FDR-Hoover model, Obama apparently did ask Bush to intervene on one key economic decision: the auto industry. Bush wanted something in return: the Colombia free trade deal. "Bush indicated at the meeting that he might support some aid and a broader economic stimulus package if Mr. Obama and Congressional Democrats dropped their opposition to a free-trade agreement with Colombia, a measure for which Mr. Bush has long fought, people familiar with the discussion said. The Bush administration, which has presided over a major intervention in the financial industry, has balked at allowing the automakers to tap into the $700 billion bailout fund, despite warnings last week that General Motors might not survive the year. Mr. Obama and Congressional Democratic leaders say the bailout law authorizes the administration to extend assistance."

"Obama took another significant step toward assuming power yesterday when President Bush greeted him at the White House, then gave Obama an extended, private briefing on the myriad of challenges awaiting him when he takes office in January."

"Obama's transition aides have approached Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's former campaign manager about taking a senior White House post," the AP reports. "These officials say Patti Solis Doyle is considering taking the job, although she worries about the effect it would have on her two young children. She was contacted about possibly becoming Cabinet secretary, a job that involves coordinating the efforts of the White House and cabinet-level agencies." 
 
Yet don't expect any announcements this week.

As a high-profile female surrogate for Obama who doesn't risk a partisan power shift by leaving office, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm seems like a prime candidate for a cabinet position. But which one?

Michelle Obama was searching for schools in DC. "She headed first to the tony Georgetown Day School, an ultra-progressive prep school where students and their teachers are on a first-name basis. The school, which is pre-K through 12th grade, is brimming with the offspring of several key Obama aides, and a rumored future attorney general, Eric Holder, is a trustee. The Obamas are widely believed to be deciding among three schools -- and the contest has Washington's prep-school parents riveted. The other two contenders are Sidwell Friends and Maret."

OBAMA CABINET SPECULATION LIST:
CoS: Emanuel NAMED / Deputy: Pete Rouse
Press Secretary: Gibbs
Biden CoS: Ron Klain

POTENTIAL CABINET MEMBERS:
Agriculture: Tom Vilsack, Tom Buis (Natl Farmers Union), Charlie Stenholm, Jim Leach
Commerce: Penny Pritzker, Kathleen Sebelius, Jason Furman, John Thompson (Symantec)
Defense: Robert Gates, Richard Danzig, Chuck Hagel, Sam Nunn, Jack Reed, Colin Powell, John Hamre
Education: Joel Klein (NYC), Linda Darling-Hammond, Kathleen Sebelius, Colin Powell, Jim Hunt, Arne Duncan, Inez Tenenbaum.
Energy: Kathleen Sebelius, Philip Sharp, Ed Rendell, Arnold Schwarzenegger (has said no), Al Gore, Jeff Bingaman, Jennifer Granholm
HHS: Tom Daschle, Howard Dean, Eric Whitaker
Homeland Security: Tim Roemer, Ray Kelly, James Lee Witt, Tom Kean Sr, Jane Harman, Janet Napolitano
HUD: Jim Clyburn, Valerie Jarrett, Shirley Franklin (Atlanta mayor)
Interior: Bill Richardson, Inslee, Kitzhaber, Tony Knowles, Ken Salazar
Justice (AG): Eric Holder, Janet Napolitano, Charles Ogletree, Deval Patrick, James Comey, Patrick Fitzgerald, Artur Davis, Tim Kaine, Jamie Gorelick (but was vice chair of Fannie), Ken Feinberg
Labor: Andy Stern (SEIU), Richard Gephardt, George Miller, David Bonior
State: John Kerry, Bill Richardson, Richard Lugar, Chuck Hagel, Richard Holbrooke, Chris Dodd, Hillary Clinton
Transportation: Ed Rendell, Jane Garvey, Mortimer Downey, Earl Blumenauer, Steve Heminger, James Oberstar
Treasury: Larry Summers, Tim Geithner, Paul Volcker, Robert Rubin, Jon Corzine, Warren Buffett, Michael Bloomberg, Laura Tyson, Jamie Dimon, Jacob "Jack" Lew, Sheila Bair
Veterans Affairs: Max Cleland, Tammy Duckworth

OTHER POSITIONS:
CIA: Tony Lake
FEMA: James Lee Witt
EPA: Ian Bowles (MA), RFK Jr, Sebelius, Kathleen McGinty (former secretary of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection), Mary Nichols (chair of California's Air Resources Board)
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.)
Natl Economic Council: Furman, Goolsbee, Laura Tyson
NSA: Jim Steinberg, Dennis Ross, Greg Craig, Susan Rice, Tony Lake
OMB: John Spratt Jr, Gene Sperling, Furman

The Washington Post curtain-raises Obama's Afghanistan strategy -- a war that Obama may own more than he does Iraq since it is Afghanistan where Obama has pledged to send more troops. "The emerging broad strokes of Obama's approach are likely to be welcomed by a number of senior U.S. military officials who advocate a more aggressive and creative course for the deteriorating conflict. Taliban attacks and U.S. casualties this year are the highest since the war began in 2001."

"Some military leaders remain wary of Obama's pledge to order a steady withdrawal of combat forces from Iraq, to be completed within 16 months -- an order advisers say Obama is likely to give in his first weeks in office. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has called a withdrawal timeline 'dangerous.' Others are distrustful of a new administration they see as unschooled in the counterinsurgency wars that have consumed the military for the past seven years."

"But conversations with several Obama advisers and a number of senior military strategists both before and since last Tuesday's election reveal a shared sense that the Afghan effort under the Bush administration has been hampered by ideological and diplomatic constraints and an unrealistic commitment to the goal of building a modern democracy -- rather than a stable nation that rejects al-Qaeda and Islamist extremism and does not threaten U.S. interests. None of those who discussed the subject would speak on the record, citing sensitivities surrounding the presidential transition and the war itself."

"Stem cell advocates and researchers are eagerly awaiting the moment next year when president-elect Barack Obama rescinds a directive that limits federal funding of human embryonic stem-cell research. ... The result should be a surge of funding and interest, said David Greenwood of Geron Corp., whose shares were up more than 10 percent on Monday along with those of other companies with a heavy interest in the field."

Howard Dean will step down as DNC chair in January and not seek a second term.

The New York Times looks at the swath of Southern vote that didn't just support McCain over Obama, but did so in greater numbers than Bush did over Kerry. "By voting so emphatically for Senator John McCain over Mr. Obama — supporting him in some areas in even greater numbers than they did President Bush — voters from Texas to South Carolina and Kentucky may have marginalized their region for some time to come, political experts say. The region's absence from Mr. Obama's winning formula means it 'is becoming distinctly less important,' said Wayne Parent, a political scientist at Louisiana State University. 'The South has moved from being the center of the political universe to being an outside player in presidential politics.'"

Here are some numbers we crunched:
-- Obama received approximately 34,000 fewer votes in Ohio than John Kerry. McCain received nearly 350,000 votes less than Bush in 2004.
-- In Florida, McCain received about 25,000 fewer votes than Bush in '04, but Obama found another 540,000 votes over the Kerry total.
-- In Wisconsin, McCain received 220,000 fewer votes than Bush, while Obama outperformed Kerry by about 180,000 votes.
-- In Virginia, McCain received 10,000 more total vote than Bush in 2004, but Obama found another 500,000 votes over the Kerry '04 performance.
-- In North Carolina, McCain outdid Bush by about 150,000 votes from 2004, but Obama bested the Kerry number by nearly 600,000.
-- In New Mexico, McCain received about 33,000 fewer votes than Bush, while Obama outdid Kerry by close to 100,000 votes.
-- A similar story in Nevada, where McCain received 7,000 fewer votes than Bush in 2004, while Obama surpassed the Kerry total by approx. 135,000 votes.
-- In Iowa, McCain came up about 74,000 votes short of the Bush total, while Obama soared passed Kerry's vote total by about 70,000 votes.
-- In Colorado, both McCain and Obama surpassed the '04 vote totals: McCain beat Bush by about 18,000 votes, while Obama topped Kerry by about 215,000 votes.

So, it was a one-sided rise in turnout. Had McCain's turnout risen at the same rate as Obama's in many of the battleground states, we would have topped 140 million which was the argument some in the McCain campaign were making. They needed a HUGE turnout -- anything under 140 million or 135 million meant it was a one-sided rise in turnout as these stats in key battleground states indicate. 

David Brooks divides the fight for the soul of conservatism into two camps: traditionalists and the reformers. "In one camp, there are the Traditionalists, the people who believe that conservatives have lost elections because they have strayed from the true creed. George W. Bush was a big-government type who betrayed conservatism. John McCain was a Republican moderate, and his defeat discredits the moderate wing. To regain power, the Traditionalists argue, the G.O.P. should return to its core ideas: Cut government, cut taxes, restrict immigration. Rally behind Sarah Palin."

More: "The other camp, the Reformers, argue that the old G.O.P. priorities were fine for the 1970s but need to be modernized for new conditions. The reformers tend to believe that American voters will not support a party whose main idea is slashing government. The Reformers propose new policies to address inequality and middle-class economic anxiety. They tend to take global warming seriously. They tend to be intrigued by the way David Cameron has modernized the British Conservative Party. Moreover, the Reformers say, conservatives need to pay attention to the way the country has changed. Conservatives have to appeal more to Hispanics, independents and younger voters. They cannot continue to insult the sensibilities of the educated class and the entire East and West Coasts."

Brooks concludes, "In short, the Republican Party will probably veer right in the years ahead, and suffer more defeats. Then, finally, some new Reformist donors and organizers will emerge. They will build new institutions, new structures and new ideas, and the cycle of conservative ascendance will begin again."

Jonah Goldberg asks this question: Was Bush a conservative president? In answering the question, Goldberg also delves into this battle between traditionalists and reformers and concludes, "The irony is that both camps agree on a lot more than they disagree. The reformers are committed to market principles and reducing the size and role of government, and so are the back-to-basics crowd. The problem is that an elephant named George in the room is blocking each side from seeing what the other is all about. But hopefully not for much longer."

The New York Times previews the upcoming Republican Governors Association meeting, which is fueling tons of 2012 speculation. "The session will showcase a roster of governors positioning themselves as leaders or future presidential candidates, including Sarah Palin of Alaska, Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, Charlie Crist of Florida, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Haley Barbour of Mississippi and Mark Sanford of South Carolina. At the same time, Republicans representing diverse views about the party's direction are preparing to fight for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, a prominent post when the party is out of the White House. The current chairman, Mike Duncan, has signaled that he wants to stay on after his term expires in January, but he is facing challenges from leaders in Florida, Mississippi and South Carolina, among other states."

"Palin says she thought the Election Day contest between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain would be closer. But she added that, in retrospect, 'it's really not so much a surprise" that Obama's margin of victory was so large." In an interview on NBC's TODAY she said Obama 'did a great job articulating his ability to usher in change. Our ticket represented too much of the status quo.'" 
 
"Palin, amid speculation she'll run for president in four years, blamed Bush administration policies for the defeat last week of the GOP ticket and prayed she wouldn't miss 'an open door' for her next political opportunity. 'I'm like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door,' Palin said in an interview with Fox News on Monday. 'And if there is an open door in '12 or four years later, and if it is something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I'll plow through that door.'"
 
On those clothes, "I did not order the clothes. Did not ask for the clothes," Palin said. "I would have been happy to have worn my own clothes from Day One. But that is kind of an odd issue, an odd campaign issue as things were wrapping up there as to who ordered what and who demanded what."

RNC chairman Mike Duncan has unveiled a new initiative called RepublicanForAReason.com.

ALASKA: The Los Angeles Times writes, "Ted Stevens, the felonious Republican senator from Alaska who refuses to give up his seat or acknowledge that he was convicted, continues to lead Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich by 3,257 votes -- 106,594 to 103,337 votes for the challenger. But six days after the polls closed, more than 90,000 ballots have not been counted. That means nearly 29% of the vote in the race has yet to be tallied."

"The Alaska division of elections intends spend Wednesday counting most of the early votes and absentee ballots that were verified on election day, according to Alaska officials… The department will count the remaining ballots on Friday -- though it's all obviously subject to change. There could be enough ballots left after Wednesday's count for the race to still go either way. Overseas ballots must be received by Nov. 19. Election officials plan to certify the election on Nov. 25."

GEORGIA: The National Republican Senatorial Committee is up with Web video that warns that Jim Martin (D) beating incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R) could give Obama a rubberstamp Senate.

Are Obama aides being dispatched to Georgia? That's what Huffington Post is reporting.

Meanwhile, the big guns on the GOP side may be gearing up. "Republican presidential nominee John McCain was scheduled to return to the campaign trail to stump for Chambliss on Thursday, following up a visit from Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) on Wednesday," per Politico. "The Chambliss campaign also extended invites to GOP stars Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee." More: "Martin reached out to Barack Obama's camp in hopes that the president-elect would stump for him, but so far has not gotten a response."

And Chambliss plans on going up with new TV ads in the state this week.

From NBC's Jim Miklaszewski
In 10 weeks, Obama will be sworn in as president, the Bush Administration comes to an inglorious end, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates could finally retire to his home overlooking Big Lake in Washington State. To remind him, Gates carries a thin plastic business-like card embedded with a digital clock counting down the days.

But will he go?

Speculation is mounting that Obama will ask Gates to remain at the Pentagon -- at least temporarily -- to provide some "continuity" while US military forces remain bogged down in two wars. Although Gates has never rejected the idea outright, he did say at first he thought the prospect was "inconceivable." Since then, however, Pentagon sources tell NBC News that he's said privately that "if asked," he'd consider it his "patriotic duty" to say yes. But under what conditions?

Sources familiar with the game plan for the transition say the Obama Administration would want Gates, who has earned widespread respect and praise from both sides of the aisle, to stay on the job for nine months. Obama would name a Democrat as deputy secretary of Defense, who would be charged with assembling a largely Democratic staff of political appointees for critical positions as Undersecretaries and department heads. After nine months, that same deputy secretary would then slip into the top job as Gates makes a graceful exit. Having served under seven Presidents, Gates fully understands the political realities and the need for Obama to assemble his own team, but may ask to retain a small number of his current staffers for his own continuity.

Sounds good on paper, right? Maybe not.

A Defense official says Gates would not want to be seen as simply a "transitional" or "holdover" secretary of Defense. The official says if the Obama Administration imposed a specific timetable for a departure, Gates could immediately be labeled a "lame duck" secretary, whose authority could be easily dismissed or even undermined by the new team of Democratic appointees. If anyone could pull it off, it would be Gates. But to make sure, Gates would likely ask that the timetable for any extended term in the Pentagon be loosely defined as "under four years" -- giving both Obama and Gates the necessary wiggle room for a gradual but smooth and orderly transition. And that has always been Gates' ultimate objective, whether he leaves or stays.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell says Gates well remembers the rocky transition between the Ford and Carter Administrations, which setback critical talks on nuclear weapons with the Soviets for a year. "And that was during a COLD WAR," said Morrell, not two active ground wars the Obama Administration is about to inherit.

Of course, it's still not certain that President-elect Obama will ask Gates to stay. Obama's Pentagon transition team is expected to get to work later this week. With 10 weeks to go, the clock is ticking.

From NBC's Andrea Mitchell
A source familiar with today's White House meeting tells NBC News that President-elect Obama focused on three economic issues during his conversations with President Bush this afternoon. The top topics: a stimulus package in the lame duck session, aid to the auto industry, and help for homeowners with adjustible-rate mortgages in order to prevent more foreclosures.

According to the source, Obama told Bush that action is needed on a stimulus package now - in a lame duck session - and cannot wait until after the inauguration.

Obama also urged help for automakers and encouraged the acceleration of the disbursement of $25 billion dollars for the industry.

On his third focus - housing - Obama voiced his concern that homeowners whose mortgage rates are about to go up will need aid to prevent more Americans from defaulting on home loans.

The source would not that Michelle Obama had private visits to one or more Washington DC schools today, saying "we want to keep that completely private."

From NBC's Mark Murray
Stephanie Cutter, the Obama-Biden transition spokeswoman, released this statement about Obama's meeting with President Bush at the White House:

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

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

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

From NBC's Mark Murray and Patricia Martell

The AP reports, "Former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe signed papers Monday signaling a possible run for governor next year in Virginia. McAuliffe told The Associated Press he set up a campaign committee and will tour Virginia for the next 60 days before making his candidacy certain."

McAuliffe adviser Mo Elleithee tells First Read that McAuliffe will make his decision official on January 7. "Terry is very seriously considering a run, and is going to take the next 60 days to travel around the state and talk to Virginians, and will make a decision on January 7. He wants to not only share his vision for Virginia, but more importantly hear what they're thinking. He knows not every good decision comes from Richmond, and is looking forward to hearing from Virginians as he explores a run."

From NBC's Mark Murray
First Read has learned that Sarah Palin will attend this week's Republican Governors Association meeting in Miami, where she will hold a press conference and deliver a speech.

Video: In a news conference held with reporters late Friday, Gov. Sarah Palin answered some of the controversy generated during the last weeks of the presidential campaign. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

This RGA event is drawing particular interest because 1) it will start the conversation about what the GOP needs to do to get its groove back after losing last week's presidential contest; and 2) it will kick off the speculation about the 2012 presidential race.

Other attendees at the meeting include: Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford. (California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hasn't been confirmed.)

Below is a schedule of the open-press events at the meeting:
WEDNESDAY.
1:15-1:45 p.m. Governors Luncheon featuring Governor Tim Pawlenty.
2:00 - 3:30 p.m. Plenary Session I: "An in-depth evaluation of the 2008 election cycle." Featured speakers include Governor Bobby Jindal, Governor Haley Barbour, Governor John Hoeven, Byron York, Dr. Frank Luntz, and Dr. William Bennett.
4:10 - 5:00 p.m. Press Roundtable featuring Ambassador Rob Portman, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, Gov. Tim Pawlenty, and Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.
7:30 - 8:30 p.m. Welcome Reception featuring Governor Haley Barbour.

THURSDAY.
9:40 - 10:00 a.m. Press avail with Governor Sarah Palin.
10:00 - 11:45 a.m. Plenary Session II: "Looking Toward the Future." Remarks by Governor Sarah Palin. Featured speakers include General Tommy Franks (U.S. Army-Ret.), Rep. Mike Pence, Dr. William Kristol, Governor Tim Pawlenty, Governor Mark Sanford.
12:30 Press Roundtable: Discussion with Governors Charlie Crist, Rick Perry, Haley Barbour, and Mark Sanford.
7:00 - 9:00 p.m. State Dinner: Speeches delivered by Governor Rick Perry and Governor Charlie Crist.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann
*** 43 meets 44: At 2:00 pm ET, the current president and first lady welcome the incoming president and first lady at the White House. Then, minutes later, Bush and Obama will meet together. The fact is, Obama owes much of his success to Bush. Without the president's low approval ratings and his damage to the Republican Party's brand, it's doubtful that the nation would have taken a chance on someone named Barack Obama who was just four years removed from the Illinois state Senate. And it's equally doubtful that Obama's constant message of change would have resonated with the electorate. Keep in mind that presidents from opposing parties sometimes have better personal relationships than presidents from the same party: See Bush 41-Reagan, Carter-Clinton and Clinton-Bush 43. There's something about dealing with a president from the opposing party that's sometimes liberating for presidents. As far as today's meeting goes, it's the fly-on-the-wall stuff that we all want to know -- for instance, will Bush make a case for keeping Gates at the Pentagon?

VIDEO: NBC's Chuck Todd gives his first read on today's meeting between Bush and Obama.

*** Obama at 365? The AP wrote over the weekend that the single electoral vote tied to Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District will likely go to Obama. Douglas County Election Commissioner Dave Phipps "says Obama currently holds an 8,430-vote lead in Douglas County. Phipps still has about 5,300 provisional ballots to count. Based on historical trends, he expects about half of those to count. Uncounted ballots in Sarpy County leave some uncertainty, but Phipps said he believed only a few hundred remained." Note: NBC News has not yet called that electoral vote, but is monitoring the situation. And as soon as we're satisfied with the vote count, we'll call it officially. But the bigger challenge for networks is how to present the red-blue map. Do we now have a blue dot where Omaha is? A blue circle? 

*** Palin watch: Beginning on Friday, Palin began holding interviews with the media, in which she began to defend herself from some of the damaging leaks about the shopping spree and her knowledge of world affairs, as well as simple geography. Yet it's possible that geography -- being thousands of miles away in Alaska -- could be her biggest impediment in defending herself against Republicans who want to blame her for the McCain ticket's shortcomings. It takes hours for her to catch up to a news cycle out East, and sometimes the damage is done before she even wakes up in Alaska. Of course, Palin could eliminate that geographic problem if Stevens ends up winning re-election and she runs for his seat…

*** The first Web president: What FDR was to radio and JFK was to TV, Obama could be to the internet? The Washington Post has a great piece this morning about the Obama Administration's attempts to harness the internet for their governing purposes. The incoming administration has a real chance of turning the blogosphere into the 5th Estate, which can both be a good thing if the administration needs amplifying of a policy init -- but it could end up being a bad thing if Obama ends up on the wrong end of a policy disagreement with the liberal blogosphere. But whatever the eventual effects on Obama, the bottom line is that Obama's will be the first Web presidency, and that will create a media paradigm shift that we can't necessarily foresee right now other than to note it's something that's coming. 

*** So the McCain folks were right -- turnout was 130 million: Turnout expert Mike McDonald at George Mason University has revised down his turnout estimate to 130.4 million. That would represent a 61.2% turnout rate, which is 1.1 points higher than 2004, but short of the 62.5% of 1968.

*** Blaming Republicans, not Democrats: Not only did Democrats win the White House and pick up additional House and Senate seats, they also accomplished this feat: For a second-straight cycle, not a SINGLE incumbent Democratic senator lost. In fact, the Cook Political Report's Jennifer Duffy points out that this is the first time since at least 1908 (before the direct election of senators) that a party has gone through two consecutive cycles without losing a seat. What's more, after zero Democratic House members lost re-election in 2006, just four lost last Tuesday. And all four incumbents -- Nancy Boyda, Don Cazayoux, Tim Mahoney, and Nick Lampson -- were incredibly endangered. At a time when just some 10% approve of Congress' job, voters clearly blamed Republicans and the GOP, even though Democrats have controlled Congress for the past two years.

*** Just askin': Is it surprising to anyone that the first sitting US senator to be elected president since 1960 served only four years in the Senate?

*** Tracking the transition: Below, we are keeping a list of all the different names that have been floated for possible cabinet jobs in an Obama Administration. And we'll update it daily (even hourly) as soon as we hear new names.

Countdown to Electoral Vote Count: 59 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 71 days

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The New York Times raises the curtain on today's Bush-Obama meeting. "In a time-honored tradition of American democracy, Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, will receive a tour of their new home from Mr. Bush and the first lady, Laura Bush. Then the men will split off to begin the formal transfer of power, all the more urgent this year because of the financial crisis. Mr. Obama has said he expects a 'substantive conversation between myself and the president.'"

VIDEO: President Bush will meet his successor today at the White House.  NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

"But there will also be a subtext to the session: the personal chemistry between two leaders whose worldviews are miles apart. The ritual visit is occurring uncommonly early this year, less than a week after Mr. Obama handily defeated Senator John McCain of Arizona, who was the Republican nominee and Mr. Bush's preferred candidate. Emotions may still be raw."

The New York Daily News: "It will be all smiles at the White House Monday when Barack Obama pays a visit - but behind the handshakes is friction over his plan to reverse many of President Bush's edicts on controversial matters like abortion and stem cells. Obama's legal eagles have targeted more than 200 unilateral Bush moves made in the past eight years for overturning. A team of lawyers has pored over the administration's records for months, preparing for the changes."

John Harwood writes in the New York Times that Obama has Bush to thank for. "The encomiums greeting Barack Obama's victory last week presented a reverse image of the darts for John Kerry after his 2004 defeat. But Kerry campaign veterans could not help noticing a surprise in the returns. In the battleground state of Ohio, where Mr. Kerry lost the presidency to George W. Bush, the 2.74 million votes he received almost precisely matched Mr. Obama's 2008 total. Mr. Obama won because John McCain received 300,000 fewer votes than Mr. Bush did."

"That points to a cautionary reminder for Mr. Obama and his team: the election turned partly on what they did right, but also on what Republicans did wrong. And there is no assurance that Democrats will confront a similarly star-crossed opposition in elections to come." 

AP's Pickler and Fouhy: "His 10-week transition period cuts both ways. Obama has the luxury of looking and sounding presidential without being held accountable for decisions. But the economy could keep sliding as he stands by helplessly, building tremendous pressure from frustrated Americans impatiently wanting the change he promised. He wants to reassure the country that his campaign pledges are sincere and that he can heal the economy, eventually, as president. But he won't be president for another 70 days, as he has noted, and he cannot jump in and start dictating policy now."

Politico says that with Rahm Emanuel as Obama's tough-guy enforcer, expect Joe Biden to play good cop. "The Democrats' apparent failure to win the 60 Senate seats necessary to halt a GOP filibuster has created the need for inter-party ambassadors like Biden who are practiced at the art of aisle crossing. In his 36-year Senate career, Biden was never considered a bomb-throwing ideologue, and he still has plenty of chits to cash in with Republicans on the Hill. 'He's probably got more friends among Senate Republicans than John McCain does, and that's a huge plus for Barack Obama, who is committed to breaking the partisan roadblock of recent years,' said Biden spokesman David Wade shortly before Election Day." 

Kerry's campaign for Secretary of State is not going over well with one columnist who thinks he was disingenuous during his '08 reelection campaign.

Michelle Obama has her own transition to work on.

"Top advisers to Barack Obama sent a strong message yesterday that Republicans will play a vital role in his administration, even as looming questions over healthcare and the economy are poised to stir partisan debate -- and debate within the Democratic party -- about the best way forward."

Below is a list of names that have been mentioned for possible cabinet slots (in no particular order):

Agriculture: Vilsack, Leach, Tom Buis (Natl Farmers Union), Stenholm, Jim Leach
Interior: Richardson, Inslee, Kitzhaber, Tony Knowles, Salazar
Commerce: Pritzker, Sebelius, Furman, John Thompson (Symantec)
Justice: Holder, Napolitano, Ogletree, Deval Patrick, Comey, Patrick Fitzgerald, Artur Davis
Defense: Gates, Danzig, Hagel, Nunn, Reed, Powell, John Hamre
Labor: Andy Stern, Gephardt, George Miller, Bonior
Education: Joel Klein, Darling-Hammond, Sebelius, Powell, Jim Hunt, Arne Duncan, Inez Tenenbaum
State: Kerry, Richardson, Lugar, Hagel, Holbrooke, Dodd
Energy: Sebelius, Philip Sharp, Rendell, Schwarzenegger, Gore, Bingaman
Transportation: Rendell, James Garvey, Mortimer Downey, Blumenauer, Oberstar, Steve Heminger
HHS: Daschle, Dean, Eric Whitaker
Treasury: Summers, Geithner, Volcker, Rubin, Corzine, Buffett, Bloomberg, Laura Tyson, Dimon
Homeland Security: Tim Roemer, Ray Kelly, James Lee Witt, Tom Kean Sr., Jane Harman
Veterans Affairs: Cleland, Duckworth
HUD: Clyburn, Valerie Jarrett, Shirley Franklin

OMB: Spratt, Sperling, Furman
EPA: Ian Bowles, RFK Jr, Sebelius, McGinty, Mary Nichols
FDA: Nissen; Sharfstein, Woodcock, Wood, Zuckerman
NSA: Jim Steinberg, Dennis Ross, Greg Craig, Susan Rice, Tony Lake
FEMA: James Lee Witt
USTR: Cal Dooley (American Chemistry Council president), Daniel K. Tarullo (Georgetown University law professor), Lael Brainard (Brookings Institution vice president)

Other mentions for various White House staff posts: David Wilhelm, John Rogers, Bill Daley, Cass Sunstein

Biden chief of staff: Ron Klain

The AP also has a list of potential cabinet members.

The Washington Post front-pages, "President-elect Barack Obama plans to push ahead with a middle-class tax cut soon after taking office, his choice for White House chief of staff said yesterday. Rahm Emanuel also hinted that Obama would not postpone a tax increase for families earning more than $250,000 a year despite the deepening economic gloom. He said Obama's proposals would reduce taxes for 95 percent of working Americans by an average of $1,000 each, resulting in 'a net tax cut' for the overall economy." 

The New York Times suggests that some executive orders are going to get signed pretty quickly. "As Mr. Obama prepared to make his first post-election visit to the White House on Monday, his advisers were compiling a list of policies that could be reversed by the executive powers of the new president. The assessment is under way, aides said, but a full list of policies to be overturned will not be announced by Mr. Obama until he confers with new members of his cabinet."

More: "In January 2001, on his first full day in office, Mr. Bush reinstated the so-called global gag rule, initiated during the Reagan administration and overturned by President Bill Clinton, which prohibited taxpayer dollars from being given to international family planning groups that perform abortions and provide abortion counseling. After Mr. Obama's victory last week, the Center for Reproductive Rights delivered a 23-page memorandum to his transition team, calling for "bold policy change," including a repeal of the gag rule. On Sunday, in a sign that the presidential campaign had definitively ended and that the fast-forming administration had become the focal point, the faces of Mr. Obama's new team appeared across the spectrum of Sunday talk shows, a changing of the guard more than two months before he officially assumes power."

The AP notes the likely change in Cuba policy that's coming and how the Cuban hard-liners are worried about their political power because of it. "Cuba's communist leadership has long cast itself as David standing up to the U.S. Goliath and the crippling force of America's punitive trade and travel embargo. Now they have a problem: If Barack Obama follows through on campaign promises to ease restrictions on the island, he could chip away at the Castro brothers' best case for staying in power."

"A senior Pentagon advisory group, in a series of bluntly worded briefings, is warning President-elect Barack Obama that the Defense Department's current budget is 'not sustainable,' and he must scale back or eliminate some of the military's most prized weapons programs. 'Business as usual is no longer an option,' according to one of the internal briefings prepared in late October for the presidential transition, copies of which were provided to the Globe. 'The current and future fiscal environments facing the department demand bold action.' ... Pentagon insiders and defense budget specialists say the Pentagon has been on a largely unchecked spending spree since 2001 that will prove politically difficult to curtail but nevertheless must be reined in." 
 
Does Obama owe no one? So claims the Boston Globe. "Interest groups are furiously drawing up wish lists for the incoming Obama administration, many of them hoping to cash in on the investments they made - in volunteers, political support, and campaign contributions - in Obama's commanding win. But given the nature of Obama's victory, which was propelled more by a grass-roots army of millions than by traditional Democratic constituencies, is the president-elect really indebted to anybody?

"Some analysts and Washington veterans say no. 'He owes nothing to anyone except the people who elected him,' said Democratic strategist Steve McMahon. Norman J. Ornstein, a scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said that the unprecedented ground organization and campaign infrastructure that Obama built left him less reliant on groups such as labor unions to get voters mobilized and to the polls. As a result, he said, Obama is less obligated to them now."

"President-elect Obama will enter office with an immediate opportunity to begin shaping the federal courts by filling four dozen openings on trial and appeals courts. Federal judges, with lifetime appointments, can be a president's most enduring legacy. President Bush receives uniformly high marks from Republicans for his selection of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito."

NEW CONGRESS: McCain's role?
Would John McCain return to Capitol Hill as the leader of the loyal opposition? Probably not, writes CQ. "A likelier scenario, observers say, is that McCain will revert to his role as a bipartisan broker of compromise -- and, depending on Barack Obama 's enthusiasm for courting the aid of his presidential rival, McCain could serve as a critical liaison to Senate moderates as the new administration works with a Senate majority just shy of the 60-vote, filibuster-resistant supermajority."

Obama is staying out of the Lieberman fight.
 
Meanwhile, Chris Van Hollen plans to stay one more term as DCCC chair. This cycle will be all defense.

Roll Call: "On the Republican side, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.) is running for a second term despite losing about 20 seats last week. But Rep. Pete Sessions (Texas), who is also running for the post, has received strong public backing from Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio)." 
 
"A House leader who had seen his party lose more than 50 seats in two election cycles might expect to get the boot -- or at least a major challenge," writes Roll Call, "but House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) has not only emerged unscathed, he has been consolidating his hold on power by hand-picking a new team underneath him." 

Below is a county-by-county look at Obama's improvement over Kerry in key battleground states:

COLORADO: Obama flipped three swing counties Bush won in 2004 -- Arapahoe, Jefferson and Larimer -- and overperformed Kerry in every county in the state. Obama also flipped Ouray, which had gone 52%-47% for Bush, but went 53%-45% for Obama.

FLORIDA: In the swing counties we were watching, Obama flipped two and made improvements in all but one. McCain showed strength on the Northern Gulf coast and the Panhandle, but Obama made necessary improvements in the swing Tampa/St. Petersburg area and the Atlantic coast, as well as making huge improvements in Orlando. Obama flipped Hillsborough (Tampa), which went 53%-46% for Bush, but 51%-48% for Obama; Pinellas (St. Petersburg), which was decided by about 200 votes in 2004 in favor of Bush, but Obama won it by nine percentage points, 54%-45%. In central Florida, Obama made big improvements, flipping Osceola from 52%-47% Bush to 60%-40% Obama. Orange County (Orlando) was won by Kerry, but just barely, 49.8%-49.6%. Obama won it 59%-40%. Of the swing counties we were watching, only in Hernando did McCain improve.

INDIANA: Obama flipped 11 counties here, winning a total of 15 in all. By comparison, Kerry won just four. In Tippecanoe, Obama improved by 32 points (Bush won it by 19, Obama won it by 12); In Delaware, Obama improved by 29; Madison by 26; Perry by 23; Vanderburgh and Spencer by 20; Vermillon by 16. And that's not counting Marion (Indianapolis), which Kerry won by just two points and Obama won by 26.

MICHIGAN: Michigan is yet another state where Obama outperformed Kerry in every single county in the state. Obama strength was not limited to just the cities/urban areas. His victory was sweeping. He showed strength even in rural Northern Michigan. Obama won 46 counties overall; Kerry won just 15 -- meaning Obama flipped 31 Bush-won counties. In the six swing counties we were watching, Obama won all of them. Obama also improved margins in Wayne (Detroit) and got 56,000 more votes out of it.

MINNESOTA: Obama did better in every county in Minnesota but two -- Lac qui Parle (in the West, bordering South Dakota) and Morrison (Central), which only have 20,000 votes between them. Obama still won Lac qui Parle though. Kerry won just 24 counties, Obama 42. Of the five populous Bush-won swing counties First Read was watching, Obama flipped three (Dakota, Olmstead and Washington). Out of Hennepin (Minneapolis) Obama got almost 40,000 more votes than Kerry.

MISSOURI: Though Obama came up short in Missouri, he improved in nearly every county, including the Southwest. Obama won nine counties to Kerry's four, including flipping Jefferson, Washington (by just eight votes) and Iron in the East and Boone (Columbia) and Buchanan in the Northwest. McCain, however, won by wider margins than Bush in 14 counties, including a handful of bordering Iowa and in the Southeast corner bordering Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas. McCain got 4,000 more votes out of those counties than Bush. Obama lost the state by 5,859 votes, or 0.2 percentage points, making it the closest contest of all.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Incredibly, in the state that saved McCain over and over again, Obama won every single county, including Carroll and Belknap, which haven't gone for a Democrat as far back as we could find county data (to 1960). Obama overperformed Kerry and flipped four counties Bush had won – Carroll and Belknap as well as the populous Hillsborough (Manchester, Nashua) and Rockingham (Portsmouth).

NEW MEXICO: Obama improved here in every county also. He flipped Sandoval (+15), Los Alamos (+12), Hidalgo (+14), Luna (+16), Colfax (+14), and Valencia (+19). Obama also significantly improved on Kerry's margins winning places like Cibola County by 23 more points, Bernalillo (Albuquerque) by 17 more, McKinley by 16 more, San Miguel by 17 more, Mora by 24, Taos by 15 more, Rio Arriba by 20 more, Guadalupe by 24 more, and Santa Fe by 12 more.

NEVADA: It's another state where Obama outperformed Kerry in every single county. Obama bested Kerry in Clark County (Las Vegas, Henderson) by roughly 90,000 votes. In 2004, Clark accounted for 67% of Kerry's overall vote total, but he lost the state, as he won no other counties and got blown out in more rural ones like Elko. In 2008, Obama was not only fueled by higher numbers in Clark (which this time accounted for 71% of the Democrats' total vote in the state), but he also flipped traditionally Republican Washoe County (Reno) and also got neighboring Carson City County. He won Washoe -- which hadn't gone Democratic since 1964 -- by an incredible 12.6 percentage points. Kerry lost it 51%-47%. Carson City County had gone for Bush 57%-41%, but Obama won it 49%-48%. Also, Obama shrunk the margins in Elko. Bush won it 78%-20% in 2004; McCain won it 69%-28%. Obama very nearly flipped the tiny Mineral County, which went for Bush by 17 points, but McCain by just 2.

NORTH CAROLINA: Obama's win in North Carolina was fueled by huge gains in the Research Triangle, Charlotte, Asheville, and Fayetteville. Obama flipped Wake County (Raleigh), which went for Bush 50%-49%. Obama won it 57%-42%. He also flipped Buncombe (Asheville), winning it 57%-43%; and Cumberland (Fayetteville), which Bush won 52%-48%, but Obama took 58%-41%. He blew out Kerry's margins in Guilford (Greensboro) and elsewhere. Overall, Obama won 35 counties; Kerry won 20.

OHIO: The key to Ohio for Obama was flipping Hamilton County (Cincinnati), shrinking margins in Northwestern Ohio and expanding in the Northern part of the state generally. Obama beat McCain 52%-47% in Hamilton; Bush won it 53%-47%. Obama won all of the counties Kerry won and flipped six others for a total of 22 counties won. Tuscarawas County, in Eastern Ohio, Bush won 56%-44%; Obama though took it 50%-48%. Obama also took three counties around Toledo -- Sandusky, Ottawa and Wood. Bush won Sandusky by 12 points, but Obama won it by four. Obama really shrunk margins in Northwestern Ohio. He may not have won some of those counties, but he made them much closer. He gained 21 in Henry County, 20 in Williams, 17 in Fulton, 17 in Hancock, 15 in Wyandot, 15 in Seneca, 14 in Huron (which Obama lost by just 3). McCain did do better than Bush in Eastern border (near Pennsylvania) counties and Southern border counties (Kentucky), but it wasn't enough.

PENNSYLVANIA: The trend in Western Pennsylvania away from Democrats over the past 16 years continued, as Obama did better in every county in Pennsylvania except in the Southwest. In fact, McCain flipped three counties -- Beaver, Fayette and Washington -- that Kerry won in 2004. But they weren't enough as Obama expanded margins in the Eastern part of the state and won more counties overall than Kerry did. In 2004, Kerry won 13 counties; Obama won 18. Obama flipped Centre County, which is literally bulls-eye dead center of the state. In 2004, it voted 52%-48% for Bush, Obama won it 55%-42%. He also flipped Cambria, which is always tight, in Central Southwest and Elk in Central Northwest. But Obama ran up the score in Eastern PA, as he flipped five Bush-won counties and expanded his margins in Philadelphia and the suburbs.

VIRGINIA: Except in the far Southwest corner of the state, Obama improved on Kerry's 2004 margins. Northern Virginia fueled Obama's victory, as he flipped Loudon and Prince William counties and expanded his margins in Fairfax, Arlington, and Alexandria. But he also made big inroads in the Hampton Roads areas and the Virginia Beach area. Bush won Accomack County 58%-41% in 2004, but McCain won it by less than a point. Kerry won Northampton by two, but Obama built that out to 17. Bush won Virginia Beach by 19, but McCain won it by just two. Kerry won Norfolk by a convincing 24 points, but Obama blew that out to 42. And Obama flipped Chesapeake County, which Bush won by 15, and Obama eked out by 1. Obama also flipped Henrico (Richmond suburbs), a 20-point turnaround. Obama also picked up four of the swing counties bordering Southern Maryland, north of Richmond. McCain flipped just two counties -- Dickenson and Buchanan in the Southwest, but there are only about 16,000 votes in both counties combined. Obama made up about 20,000 out of Loudon alone from 2004.

WISCONSIN: It's hard to believe that Wisconsin was the closest state in 2004. Just 0.38 percentage points separated Kerry and Bush. The state was mostly red in 2004, but it is almost entirely blue in 2008. Obama improved in every single county, rural, urban, North, South, East, West, everywhere. Kerry won 27 counties in 2004, but they were some of the most populous. But this time, Obama won 60. He flipped everything, including the Green Bay region, leaving McCain with just 13 total counties.

The Politico's Charlie Mathesian puts the microscope to Obama's performance in the country's 100 fastest growing counties, where Obama dramatically cut into the GOP's past margins this cycle. "Four years after George W. Bush underscored the Republican dominance of these places by winning 97 of the 100 fastest-growing counties, Obama won 15 of them in 2008 and dramatically scaled back the GOP's margin of victory in many more, according to a Politico analysis of unofficial election results in the Census Bureau's 100 counties that grew the fastest between April 2000 and July 2007." 

Some key Florida Republicans believe Obama's changed the dynamics in the state for good, and that the Dems are now very competitive in the state.

The Miami Herald has what they claim is the inside story on how Obama won Florida.

The nonpartisan National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials estimates that between 9.6 million and 11 million Hispanics voted in the election, compared to a U.S. Census estimate of 7.6 million in 2004. Latinos comprised 9 percent of all voters this year, compared to 7 percent in 2004, according to Associated Press exit polls."

Politico's Martin starts looking ahead to 2012. "Too early? Too bad -- just look around. Two potential candidates will be in Iowa before month's end, multiple prospects -- almost certainly including Sarah Palin -- will make high-profile appearances this week at the Republican Governors Association meeting, and Newt Gingrich's name has already been floated in a Bob Novak column."

More: "Huckabee, winner of the 2008 Iowa caucuses, returns to the Hawkeye State Nov. 20 for stops in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines to hawk his new book, 'Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America.' … Jindal, elected governor of Louisiana in 2007 after serving in Congress and holding health care posts in state and federal government, makes his first trip to Iowa on Nov. 22. He's keynoting the statewide banquet of the Iowa Family Policy Center, a Christian conservative group, in suburban Des Moines and will tour flood-ravaged Cedar Rapids, offering his insights as a hurricane-state governor to state and local officials."  

The Washington Post's Cillizza handicaps the candidates for RNC chair. From inside the committee, the candidates include current RNC Chair Mike Duncan, South Carolina GOP Chair Katon Dawson and Michigan GOP Chair Saul Anuzis. Other big names include: Michael Steele and Newt Gingrich. Some wildcards: Jim Nussle and Huckabee campaign manager Chip Saltsman.

Bill Kristol is nervous "It will be tougher yet if they underestimate Obama. His selection of Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff suggests that Obama's not going to be mindlessly leftist, and that he's going to shape a legislative strategy that is attentive to Congressional realities while not deferring to a Congressional leadership whose interests may not be his own. Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton were both tripped up in their first two years by their Democratic Congresses. Obama intends for Emanuel to ensure that that doesn't happen. And Obama has the further advantage of inheriting a recession that will give him a very tough first year or two (for which he won't be blamed), but that should be followed by a recovery well timed for his re-election bid."

"So Obama will be formidable. But conservatives should welcome the challenge. It's good for conservatism that conservatives will have to develop refreshed ideas and regenerated political skills to succeed in the age of Obama. And it wouldn't hurt for Governors Sarah Palin, Mitch Daniels, Bobby Jindal and the other possible 2012 G.O.P. nominees to begin bringing some puppies home for their kids."

Jennifer Rubin writes about the awful post-mortems for the GOP and notes, "It is not completely bleak, after all. Unlike drubbings which the GOP took in 1964 or 1974, this defeat still leaves a wealth of resources at the disposal of conservatives -- think tanks, the blogosphere, and talk radio, to name a few. If the remnants of the GOP care to look, they will find a plethora of interesting policy ideas and a vibrant, engaged political audience eager to revive their once-dominant party.

VIRGINIA: Rep. Virgil Goode says he may fight for a recount in VA-5. His opponent, Democrat Tom Periello, has declared victory and is building a transition team.

WASHINGTON: The Seattle Times: "U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert has survived a second Democratic-wave election, bucking a national trend that flipped at least 24 Republican congressional seats to Democrats." The Associated Press called the race for Reichert on Friday night.

From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones
CHICAGO -- In his first press conference as president-elect, Obama talked about the enormity of dealing with the financial crisis facing the country and the importance of a bipartisan approach to it, repeated his call for passage of an economic stimulus package and said he would be careful in choosing the members of his Cabinet.

Notably, he did not respond directly to a question about whether he would still seek the tax increases for the wealthiest Americans that he proposed on the campaign trail and whether they would go into effect in 2009.

The roughly 20-minute press conference began with a prepared statement about the new jobs numbers. Obama noted that 240,000 jobs had been lost in October, marking the 10th consecutive month of job losses that have left 10 million Americans unemployed. 

Obama -- who was flanked by his Transition Economic Advisory Board and who spoke at a podium to which was affixed a sign with a small presidential seal and the words "The Office of the President Elect" -- said the government must work quickly to deal with economic crisis, but he emphasized, as he has throughout the campaign, that there is one president at a time.

"Immediately after I become President, I'm gonna confront this economic crisis head-on by taking all necessary steps to ease the credit crisis, help hardworking families, and restore growth and prosperity," he said.

"I do not underestimate the enormity of the task that lies ahead. We have taken some major action to date, and we will need further action during this transition and subsequent months," he continued, adding as he did many times on the stump in the final weeks of the campaign and in his victory speech Tuesday night that solving the crisis would not be easy or quick. "But America is a strong and resilient country and I know we will succeed, if we put aside partisanship and politics and work together as one nation. That's what I intend to do."

The press conference followed a meeting with Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and the Transition Economic Advisory Board, which included former Rep. David Bonior, former SEC Commissioner Roel Campos, former Commerce Sec. William Daley; former SEC chairman William Donaldson, former Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Roger Ferguson, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Xerox Chairman and CEO Anne Mulcahy, Time Warner Chairman Richard Parsons, his campaign's finance Chairwoman Penny Pritzker, former Labor Sec. Robert Reich former Treasury Secs. Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers, Google CEO Eric Schmidt, former National Economic Council Chairman Laura Tyson, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker. Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway participated by speakerphone.

In his opening remarks, Obama laid out some of the same points he has been making on the trial, including the need for an economic stimulus package, extension of unemployment benefits, help for homeowners, small businesses and state and local governments and for the auto industry. On the matter of a second economic stimulus package, he said it  was long overdue.

"The one thing I can say with certainty is that we are going to need to see a stimulus package passed either before or after inauguration," he said. "want to see a stimulus package sooner rather than later. If it does not get done in the lame-duck session, it will be the first thing I get done as president of the United States."

In response to questions about how quickly he would fill key Cabinet positions like Treasury secretary and Secretary of State, OBama said he would proceed carefully.

"There is no doubt that I think people want to know who's going to make up our team and I want to move with all deliberate haste, but I want to emphasize "deliberate" as well as "haste," he said. "I'm proud of the choice I made of vice president, partly because we did it right. I'm proud of the choice of chief of staff, because we thought it through and I think it's very important, in all these key positions, both in the economic team and the national security team, to -- to get it right and not to be so rushed that you end up making mistakes. I'm confident that we're going to have an outstanding team, and we will be rolling that out in subsequent weeks."

When it came to ending the Bush tax cuts for wealthy Americans, Obama's answer was indirect. First he focused on the small businesses and the 95 percent of Americans that would receive a tax cut under his plan, which he said was designed for job growth, but he seemed to leave the door open to a review of other aspects of the proposal, including ending the tax cuts for those making over $250,000.

"My priority is going to be, how do we grow the economy? How do we create more jobs?," he said. "I think that the plan that we've put forward is the right one, but, obviously, over the next several weeks and months, we're going to be continuing to take a look at the data and see what's taking place in the economy as a whole. But, understand, the goal of my plan is to provide tax relief to families that are struggling, but also to boost the capacity of the economy to grow from the bottom up."

Obama said he had spoken to all living former presidents and had re-read some of Abraham Lincoln's writings, would need to get a hypoallergenic dog for his two daughters and said his wife Michelle was scouting schools for the girls in Washington.

When asked how he would respond to the letter of congratulations sent by Iran's President Mahmood Ahmadinejad, Obama said he would be reviewing the letter and would respond appropriately and repeated earlier statements that allowing Iran to develop a nuclear would be unacceptable and that the country must be dealt with carefully, before reiterating that there was only one president at a time.

The first post-election meeting with journalists included a bit of humor. Obama expressed surprise when reporters stood as he entered the room, at one point he joked about his mixed heritage, calling himself a "mutt," and he responded to a French reporter's cries to be allowed to ask a question with a simple "Bon jour." When asked about his preparations for taking office, he joked that he had only spoken to living former presidents because "I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about, you know, doing any seances."

*** UPDATE *** NBC's Tom Winter points out that when Obama left the podium following the presser the market was up 136 points, to 8,828. It had been up 250 points when the press conference began.

From NBC's Ken Strickland
Majority Leader Harry Reid was notified today that Sen. Robert Byrd, who turns 91 later this month, will step down as chairman of the powerful appropriations committee next year. 

Excerpt of written statement from Byrd's office below:
A new day has dawned in Washington, and that is a good thing. For my part, I believe that it is time for a new day at the top of the Senate Appropriations Committee.  I will step away from the Chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee effective January 6, 2009.

I want to stress that this is a decision I made only after much personal soul searching, and after being sure of the substantial Democratic pickup of seats in the Senate.  I am now confident that stepping aside as Chairman will not adversely impact my home state of West Virginia.

God willing, I will continue to serve on the Appropriations Committee.  I will continue to chair the Homeland Security Subcommittee, and I will work to help my state and the people of our great country in those roles. 

Senator Daniel Inouye has stood in line for many years and now his time has come.  He is my friend.  He is a genuine American hero.  He will be a skillful and fair Chairman of the Appropriations Committee because he is a man of outstanding character and great wisdom. 

From NBC's Ken Strickland
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman have been talking, according to McConnell's spokesman. While the spokesman couldn't give details of the conversation, McConnell and other Senate Republican leaders have previously said they'd welcome Lieberman into their caucus. An aide to Lieberman also confirmed the conversation with McConnell. 

Talks with McConnell apparently came in the wake of Lieberman's discussions yesterday with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. In that session, according to the Lieberman aide, Reid wanted Lieberman to give up his chairmanship of the Homeland Security Governmental Affairs Committee for a lesser position.  Lieberman, who was part of the commission that established the panel in 2005 (previously called the Governmental Affairs), considered the proposal "unacceptable" the aide said. 

Lieberman also cited that it was his membership within the caucus that allowed Democrats to hold their one-seat majority in the Senate for the past two years.  And though he voted against Democrats on Iraq and other national security issues, Lieberman had voted with the party more than some Democrats.

In a written statement yesterday, Reid said, "While I understand that Sen. Lieberman has voted with Democrats a majority of the time, his comments and actions have raised serious concerns among many in our caucus." 

Reid was obviously referring to Lieberman's criticism of then-Democratic nominee Obama and Lieberman's campaign appearances for the opponent, McCain.

Lieberman's "preference is to stay in the Democratic caucus," the aide said, but the Connecticut senator told Reid he'd "would explore other options." 

Because neither conversation yielded any resolution, the talks will continue, all sides agreed.   

From NBC's Doug Adams
The Democrats' road to 60 Senate seats isn't dead yet.

Yes, it's a long road, with a lot of twists and turns and "ifs," but it's still possible.

With the win in Oregon yesterday, they now have picked up six, and control 57 total seats.

In Minnesota, Sen. Norm Coleman leads Al Franken by a scant 237 votes, and NBC's John Yang reports that Democrats are hopeful Franken can make up that difference in a recount. If the Democrats can pull out a squeaker in Minnesota, they'd be sitting at 58.

In Alaska, the race isn't over yet either -- Democrat Mark Begich trails embattled Ted Stevens by 3,400 votes, but there are 55,000 absentee and provisional ballots that won't be counted until next week. So if the Dems pull that one out too, then they're at 59.

If both of those things happen, then it gets really interesting. That would leave the potential 60th seat as the Georgia runoff next month.  Official word should come early next week, but that runoff would be scheduled for Dec. 2nd.  

The conventional wisdom is that incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss would win any runoff, because African Americans likely won't turn out in the same numbers for a runoff. And national Republicans would be motivated to win this one after the stinging losses this week. 

But if Georgia is the magical 60th seat for Democrats -- would that prompt Obama to invest time, attention and campaign resources to the Democratic effort?

That would change the equation. Should be fascinating.

From NBC's Ken Strickland
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Independent Senator Joe Lieberman have been talking, according to McConnell's spokesman. While the spokesman couldn't give details of the conversation, McConnell and other Senate Republican leaders have previously said they'd welcome Lieberman into their caucus.

An aide to Lieberman also confirmed the conversation with McConnell.

*** UPDATE ***  Talks with McConnell apparently came in the wake of a Lieberman's discussions yesterday with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.  In that session, according to the Lieberman aide, Reid wanted Lieberman to give up his chairmanship of the Homeland Security Governmental Affairs Committee for a lesser position.  Lieberman, who was part of the commission that established the panel in 2005 (previously called the Governmental Affairs), considered the proposal "unacceptable" the aide said. 

Lieberman also mentioned that it was his membership within the caucus that allowed Democrats to hold their one-seat majority in the Senate for the past two years.  And though he voted against Democrats on Iraq and other national security issues, Lieberman had voted with the party more than some Democrats.

In a written statement yesterday, Reid said "While I understand that Senator Lieberman has voted with Democrats a majority of the time, his comments and actions have raised serious concerns among many in our caucus."  Reid was obviously referring to Lieberman's criticism of then Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama and Lieberman's campaign appearances for Obama's opponent, Senator John McCain.

Lieberman's  "preference is to stay in the Democratic caucus," the aide said, but the Connecticut Senator told Reid he "would explore other options."  Because neither conversation yielded any resolution, all sides agreed that the talks will continue.

.. to vote? In his latest blog, NBC's Luke Russert breaks down the youth vote from Tuesday's election and finds good news for the Democratic Party. 

"In swing states, the youth turnout greatly helped Barack Obama beat John McCain," he writes. "Latino youth went for Obama 76%-19%, showing that Democrats have firmly entrenched themselves with the nation's fastest-growing voting bloc. And Obama's margin of victory in the 18-29 demographic was astronomical (66%-32%), and suggests that the Millennial generation is convinced by the policies and direction of the Democratic Party."

Read more at Luke's blog over at NBC's iCue.com.

From NBC's John Talty
Meeting less than a day after the announcement that Barack Obama would become the country's next president, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan had vastly different moods and opinions on this election.

At a luncheon at the National Press Club, the two national party chairs met to discuss the election and also the future of the parties. In an election in which the Democratic Party easily won the presidential election, picked up five seats in the Senate, and 18 House of Representative seats, it's not hard to see why Duncan would not be enthused to talk about this election's results.

"It hurts too much to laugh, but I'm too big to cry," said Duncan, referencing the Billy Walker song.

Even though McCain did not win the presidential election, Duncan was still able to find some solace in Obama becoming president-elect.

"While it was a tough night for Republican campaigns, it was a historic night for the Republican Party," Duncan said. "The election of the nation's first black president, 100 days before Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday, has realized the vision of the color-blind society that first inspired the Republican Party."

Dean was in a better mood than Duncan, the day after a successful election night for the Democratic Party. Part of the success could be attributed to Dean's grassroots experience and the success of raising so much money from Internet donations. While Duncan lamented that Republican candidates were outspent in battleground states and claimed the rue of public financing, Dean -- who was the first candidate to raise unprecedented amounts of money via the Internet -- wasn't one to complain.

"I understand frustration competing against that kind of money," said Dean, who does not think public financing is dead. "But the RNC always has a fundraising advantage."

Many of the storylines preceding the actual election dealt with Obama's 50-state strategy, in which the candidate tried to make the party more of a national brand by campaigning in each state. The effort seemed to work wonders, as Obama was able to win typically Republican states, such as Virginia, Indiana and Florida.

"Barack Obama was right in 2004, when he said there are no red or blue states; only American states," said Dean, who employed a "50-state strategy" while heading the DNC. "You can't be a national party if you are writing off states."

After losses in the 2006 and 2008, the Republican Party finds itself at a time where it may have to rethink its identity. Not only does the GOP have to reconsider how they approach elections and run campaigns, but also, from an ideological standpoint, whether the party will become more moderate or even more conservative.

Duncan and the RNC are hoping to learn what people think and are doing so by starting a Web site called Republican for a Reason. The site will allow people to write why they are Republicans, but also what they would like to see improved and what the party has failed at.

"Republicans will take a deep breath and listen to the people," Duncan said. He added that America does still need a "strong two-party system."

With a good amount of talk during this election paid to the topic of McCain's age, Duncan seems to understand the idea that young is good. He was quick to rattle off names of younger Republican politicians, such as Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal and Eric Cantor, among others, who he labeled the "future of the party."

With so much change happening on Capitol Hill, a topic likely to be discussed a lot will be how well these two parties can work together. Duncan vowed that the GOP will work Obama if he keeps his promises of tax cuts and other moderate positions, but if the President-elect sides with the "Nancy Pelosis, Barney Franks, and Ted Kennedys of Congress," the Republicans will stand against him.

"Republicans for the next four years will demand accountability," Duncan said. "I speak for Republicans everywhere that it's time to put loyal back into loyal opposition."

From NBC's Mike Viqueira
The notion that the House of Representatives is going to come back in this year for a lame duck session to enact a second stimulus or to send yet more money Detroit's way has always been a dubious proposition.

And it remains so this morning.

The votes in the Senate are simply not there in what remains of the 110th Congress, with its 49 Republican seats. Even if they were, the current president is not supportive of what the Democrats want to do. If that's the case, then what's the point of calling the House back in?

It's not likely to happen, Pelosi comments in today's Wall Street Journal notwithstanding. Her premise on this topic has always been predicated on IF the Senate and White House will go along.

It's simply not likely that lame-duck Republicans on their way out the door are suddenly going to turn around and change their votes on items like and expansion of food stamps and unemployment benefits. It could be argued that the results of Tuesday's election make it an even longer shot, as we can expect a conservative retrenchment on fiscal restraint.

The new year with a new administration and new Congress, that's when tax cuts and renewable energy tax credits are likely to be moved, along with the infrastructure spending, food stamps, unemployment insurance, etc., that Dems have been clamoring for since early in the year.