The Washington Post’s Tumulty: “‘American exceptionalism’ is a phrase that, until recently, was rarely heard outside the confines of think tanks, opinion journals and university history departments. But with Republicans and tea party activists accusing President Obama and the Democrats of turning the country toward socialism, the idea that the United States is inherently superior to the world's other nations has become the battle cry from a new front in the ongoing culture wars. Lately, it seems to be on the lips of just about every Republican who is giving any thought to running for president in 2012.”

“Some, however, wonder whether Obama's conservative critics are sounding an alarm about the United States' place in the world - or making an insidious suggestion about the president himself.”

There is now just one uncalled House race remaining -- NY-1, where Democrat Tim Bishop narrowly leads Republican Randy Altschuler by 235 votes with 2,051 yet to be counted. Republicans are a net-gain of 63. Both parties will appear in a local courtroom on Tuesday to address all challenged ballots, and a state Supreme Court justice which of the challenged ballots will be counted and which will be set aside.

CALIFORNIA: “Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, has been re-elected to a third term, fending off a challenge from Republican David Harmer,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports. “His re-election means no California congressional seat changed party hands.”

MASSACHUSETTS: “An Associated Press review of town-by-town election returns shows Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick gained re-election in part by winning back more than two dozen cities and towns [Scott] Brown had captured in the Senate race” although the chairwoman of the state Republican party “cautioned against drawing too many parallels between the two campaigns, saying Brown was a stronger candidate than [Republican gubernatorial nominee Charles] Baker.”

MINNESOTA: “Minnesota hit the reset button Monday in another close election as workers began the tedious task of reviewing more than 2.1 million ballots in the governor's race — one at a time and under the watchful gaze of volunteers and lawyers for Democrat Mark Dayton and Republican Tom Emmer,” the AP writes.

Sarah Palin introduced herself to hundreds of potential Iowa political supporters Saturday, but kept them guessing as to whether she plans to seek the 2012 Republican nomination for president,” the Des Moines Register writes of Palin’s book-signing trip to the state. She “deflected” when asked about her 2012 plans. “Oh my goodness,’ she said, and turned to a woman who asked to have her book signed. ‘Thank you for changing the subject for me.’”

Palin was upset that some harped on her flub mixing up North and South Korea (she mistakenly called North Korea an “ally.”) She, in fact, posted a Facebook headline, entitled, “A Thanksgiving Message to all 57 States.”

“With midterm elections wrapped up, all eyes are beginning to turn toward the Granite State where GOP powerhouse Sarah Palin is lagging far behind despite her popularity,” the Boston Herald reports. Neil Levesque, executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, said that as of yet Palin has “shown no love for the swing state” although she’s made a point to visit voters in Iowa.

Sarah Palin’s recent media appearances -- her TV show, her daughter’s Dancing With the Stars run, and her new book tour -- have whipped perennially high media interest in Palin to a froth. That all provides a pretty pleasant position for the former Alaska governor to be sitting in the week that her new book hits stores at the opening of the holiday shopping season. But, as always, the spotlight – and her recent spate of slaps at her critics – has its pitfalls for Palin.

Combine the extra publicity (including today’s new developments in the back and forth between Palin and the ‘blue blood’ Bush family, as she described it) with a pre-holiday week that’s notorious for its political news blackout, and an unintentional-but-fairly-glaring geopolitical tongue twister garners national headlines.

That’s what happened in a radio interview with Glenn Beck Wednesday, when Palin briefly mixed up North and South Korea in discussing the boiling tensions in the region.

“Obviously we gotta stand with our North Korean allies," she said, after expressing her concern that the White House would fail to react aggressively enough to the situation.

Beck quickly corrected the former Alaska governor, who had previously correctly identified North Korea as the aggressor, and the interview moved along.

The mixup certainly doesn’t help Palin’s efforts (see: her recent tackling of fiscal policy) to be perceived as an informed and serious leader on policy issues as she mulls a possible run at the White House.

That said, had 2012 possibles Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee (who memorably developed a reputation for a hazy understanding of some foreign policy issues back when he was making his first run at the White House) made the same slip, it’s unlikely anyone would have paused from their Turkey Day festivities to notice.

From NBC's Ali Weinberg
When Sen.-elect Mark Kirk (R) defeated Alexi Giannoulias (D) earlier this month in Illinois, he won not only the general election, but also a simultaneous special election intended to fill the roughly 40 days left in the Senate seat President Obama once held.

So why wasn't Kirk sworn in last week along with his fellow special election winners, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Chris Coons of Delaware?

Answer: Even though Kirk is the clear winner, the results of the special election were not certified until yesterday, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. This lag allowed all military absentee ballots to arrive during the permitted two weeks after Election Day, and then they were processed and counted, according to Illinois law.

"The court’s deadline was the earliest date that the court estimated that complete results -- that did not disenfranchise the military voters -- could be reliably expected to be ready for certification," the Elections Board executive director Daniel White wrote in a memo on the board's Web site.

West Virginia and Delaware do not have that same two-week absentee processing provision in their election laws, White added, meaning the results of those special Senate elections were certified earlier.

White also said the Nov. 23 certification date is actually sooner than the date mandated by the Illinois Election Code, which would have been Dec. 3 (31 days after Election Day).

Now that Kirk has officially won the race (by just over 36,000 votes, per the elections board), he will join his new colleagues in the Senate after being sworn in on Monday, Nov. 29.

Kirk's swearing-in will leave another seat in electoral limbo: his old congressional district, which Rep.-elect Robert Dold (R) will take over in January.

In the meantime, that seat will be overseen by the clerk of the House of Representatives to deal with payroll and constituent services, according to the Committee on House Administration.

From NBC's Scott Foster
President Obama today took a break from the serious challenges of the Oval office to pardon Apple and Cider, a pair of 21-week old, 45-pound turkeys in a White House Thanksgiving tradition that goes back to the days of Harry Truman.

*** UPDATE *** Doh. As one of us wrote earlier, the it-started-with-Truman story is incorrect. It began with JFK.

Standing alongside daughters Sasha and Malia, his "trusted assistants" as he called them, the president clearly relished the moment. It was a ceremony he jokingly called "one of the most important duties I carry out as president".

Obama described the selection process for Apple and Cider, laughing as he said it involved "strutting their stuff before a panel of judges, with an eclectic mix of music playing in the background." And to the laughs from the audience, he called it "a turkey version of 'Dancing with the Stars' -- except the stakes for the contestants was much higher."

After giving what he called a "new lease on life" to the turkeys, he chatted with their handler, asking "explain to me what the waddle is?" and he told Apple to "have a good life, man."

And in a jab at Democratic losses in the midterm elections, Obama jokingly admitted, "Let me say, it feels pretty good to stop at least one shellacking this year."

Turning serious, he thanked U.S. troops serving overseas and spoke of the American spirit of giving, saying: "We look after one another, and we pitch in, and we give what we can. And in the process, we reveal to the world what we love so much about this country."

From here, the turkeys will be driven to George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate, where they'll be on display for visitors during "Christmas at Mount Vernon."

Later today, the first family will deliver two not-so-lucky turkeys to Martha's Table, a charity and volunteer center in Washington.

From NBC's Alexandra Moe
Here's the scenario: Governor of the state runs for the United States Senate with two years left in his gubernatorial term. Then he wins a seat in the Senate. Now who takes over?

In most states across the country, it would be the lieutenant governor. But in West Virginia -- and six other states -- there is no LG, which makes the path of gubernatorial succession is a little more unclear.

This is the current situation the state of West Virginia faces.

After Gov. Joe Manchin was elected to fill the seat of the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D) earlier this month, West Virginia Senate President Earl Tomblin was sworn in as the state's 35th governor on Nov. 15. The state's constitution calls for an election to replace Manchin but does not detail when the election must take place - leaving open the option that Tomblin may serve until 2012.

Many critics, including fellow Democrats, are concerned about the current succession. Tomblin now serves as both governor AND senate president, meaning that he can vote on bills in the legislature but then also holds veto power over the same body.

What do voters think of the situation? According to a recent survey conducted by Mark Blankenship Enterprises, 49% support a special election with 45% favor Tomblin serving out the rest of the term through 2012.

Last week, the West Virginia Citizen Action Group filed a motion with the State Supreme Court seeking a speedy special election for governor. The court, which went in recess today, refused the motion to expedite the petition. Now, other parties may file motions to intervene by Dec. 15 and the attorneys for Gov. Tomblin have until Dec. 27 to file a response to the petition.

As a side note to the court dealings, Chief Justice Robin Davis will not take part in the case as she has political intentions of her own. Davis, according to The Charleston Gazette, said, "I have announced publicly my intention to be a candidate, in some capacity, on the 2012 election ballot ... I believe it is of the utmost importance that even appearances of conflicting interests should be avoided whenever possible."

The court resumes Jan. 12.

The focus then turns to the future: How will West Virginia handle gubernatorial successions moving forward?

Indeed, a state interim committee is discussing several proposals to deal with this issue in the future.

Here are how other states handle this: The lieutenant governor is next in line for governor in 43 states; the elected secretary of state takes over in Arizona, Oregon and Wyoming; and in Maine, New Hampshire, and Tennessee, the leader of the Senate gets the job.

Even though West Virginia falls into this last category of succession plans, the state's constitution does not suspend the senate president's duties or give a firm timeline for a special election.

The Interim Judiciary Subcommittee looking at solutions to the succession problems is drafting separate provisions that would allow the senate president to becomes governor but suspend his/her legislative powers; create an office of the lieutenant governor; fill the vacancy with another state officer; or add a timetable for a special election.

The subcommittee, according to one of its co-chairs, plans to meet in the coming months to choose the best proposal for West Virginia to present before the full judiciary committee.

For now, Tomblin will serve as governor until 2012 unless the court determines otherwise.

A few names are surfacing in the blogosphere today on some wide-ranging topics: will Joe Lieberman go red? Was Jon Kyl's home-state project request an earmark? Did Bristol Palin's loss on Dancing With the Stars give the lie to a Tea Party conspiracy?

On Sen. Lieberman, the left and right both responded to a Politico item today on his 2012 prospects.

The Connecticut senator and Democratic exile hasn't made up his mind whether to seek a fifth term, Lieberman and those close to him say. But if he does, the GOP ticket appears to offer his best shot at reelection.

Writers on both sides of the spectrum concluded that if he does switch, he should do it soon.

Liberal blog Balloon Juice's John Cole:

Knowing Joe, he would not be content to switch to the GOP without a grand pronouncement that the party left him, so if he does switch, it will probably be early next year, and he will just cherry-pick some issue that he knows the Democrats are going to win on, whine about it, and then announce that he can in good conscience no longer remain a Democrat. The only question is what the issue will be…

Conservative blogger Jim Geraghty at NRO:

Would Connecticut Republicans even want another six years of Joe Lieberman? They may have embraced him in 2006 against vehemently antiwar Democrat Ned Lamont when their own nominee was a long-shot also-ran, but that was a stimulus, a TARP, and an Obamacare ago. Republicans are in a different mood now, and the issue matrix motivating the public has changed.

Considering how many were willing to embrace Linda McMahon, how many of Connecticut’s GOP primary voters would prefer a genuine Republican, and urge Lieberman to hang up his hat after a long and distinguished career? (Lieberman is 68.)

If Lieberman is going to switch parties, probably better to do it sooner rather than later.

On news that Jon Kyl received $200 million to settle an Indian tribe's water rights claim against the government, Liberal bloggers like Daily Kos' Susan Gardner expressed mock surprise that the much-touted conservative earmark ban is already showing cracks.

Prediction: The next two years are going to see endless disputations about what the word "earmark" means. It's going to look like a convention for the Oxford Freakin' Dictionary in Republican congressional press offices, and it's all going to be staged in order to convince the Tea Party gang that no, really, this particular goodie brought back home is most definitely NOT a dreaded "earmark." It's an … um … "project" or "expenditure" or "investment"….

Both Gardner and the Washington Monthly's Steve Benen point out that the spending would seemingly benefit the state's economy. According to the AP, the project "in Kyl's measure would be used to construct and maintain a drinking water project on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, including a dam, reservoir, treatment plant and delivery pipelines."

But, Benen concluded, that's not the point.

Kyl just threw his support to a sweeping moratorium on earmarks, which apparently didn't quite last a week. And the larger point is that we're likely to see this quite a bit.

And conservative blogs paid lip service - sometimes reluctantly - to the outcome of last night's Dancing With the Stars finale.

Hot Air blogger Allahpundit's post, which he called "Sadly Obligatory," last night (before the results came in):

I don’t want to post it, I have to post it. For three reasons: (1) After multiple HA items about the idiotic excesses of anti-Bristol sentiment, you deserve closure; (2) the prospect of war on the Korean peninsula is attracting a few dozen comments per post while the prospect of war among DWTS voters is attracting a few hundred, in which case let’s go where the traffic action is; (3) the possibility of Bristol winning and ushering in some sort of media/liberal rage apocalypse is real, and therefore newsworthy. Anything could happen if she pulls it off — Twitter crash, major metropolitan riots, maybe even an impromptu White House presser in which The One calls for calm and proposes a beer summit between Bristol and Jennifer Grey.

And NRO blogger Katrina Trinko led her post with this headline - giving voice to rumors that Tea Bag/Sarah Palin supporters were voting in droves to keep Bristol in the competition: "Rightwing Conspiracy Fails to Give Bristol DWTS Win."

Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro take on another topic that First Read readers want to know about. The rumors that emerged during the health care debate were an example of what happens when false information is reported by some as fact (see: panels, death). So how do news organizations avoid reporting blatantly false information as truth? Plus, who in the political unit is leaving D.C. for Thanksgiving, and who is taking a "staycation?”

Thanks to Jody, Iowa for today's topic.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Don't forget to submit questions for the Boiler Room segments next week. Write questions below, post them on our Facebook page, or tweet it, to @NBCFirstRead or @mmurraypolitics or @DomenicoNBC.

Edited by Ali Weinberg. Video was shot by Alex Moe and Ali Weinberg.

ABC has released excerpts of Barbara Walters' interview with the president and first lady, which will air on Friday night. Per the excerpts, President Obama says he doesn't think about Sarah Palin -- and instead spends his time trying to be the best possible president he can be. On the conflict in Korea, Obama said that South Korea is the U.S.'s ally, and he strongly affirmed the U.S.'s commitment to defend the nation.

Vice President Biden has an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal calling for the ratification of new START. "Our uniformed military supports it. Our European allies support it. Our national security interests are at stake. It is time for the Senate to approve New Start."

Per a USA Today/Gallup poll, "The large majority (71%) of air travelers who have flown at least twice in the past year say any potential loss of personal privacy from the full-body scans and pat-downs is worth it as a means of preventing acts of terrorism."

"Only three days after GOP senators and senators-elect renounced earmarks, Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, the No. 2 Senate Republican, got himself a whopping $200 million to settle an Arizona Indian tribe's water rights claim against the government," the AP writes. "Kyl's office insists the measure is not an earmark, and the House didn't deem it one when it considered a version earlier this year. But it meets the know-it-when-you-see-it test, critics say."

And Talking Points Memo reports that the chief of staff to Rep. Steve Rothman (D-NJ), "was arrested in Gaithersburg, Md. last Friday on charges of soliciting sex from a minor." Rothman fired his chief aide.

Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro answer another question from First Read readers! Will Democrats take a stand against Republicans? Will President Obama ever toughen up? Plus, what could this mean moving forward? Thanks to Sandi-2708173 for today's topic.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Don't forget to submit questions for the Boiler Room segments next week. Write questions below, post them on our Facebook page, or tweet it, to @NBCFirstRead or @mmurraypolitics or @DomenicoNBC.

Edited by Alexandra Moe. Video was shot by Ali Weinberg and Alexandra Moe.

If the health-care "death panel" was the political falsehood of 2009, then "Obama is bad for American business" might win that award for 2010.

The New York Times writes:

American businesses earned profits at an annual rate of $1.66 trillion in the third quarter, according to a Commerce Department report released Tuesday. That is the highest figure recorded since the government began keeping track over 60 years ago, at least in nominal or non-inflation-adjusted terms.

Corporate profits have been going gangbusters for a while. Since their cyclical low in the fourth quarter of 2008, profits have grown for seven consecutive quarters, at some of the fastest rates in history.

(Hat tip: Taegan Goddard).

The Syracuse Post-Standard reports that incumbent Rep. Dan Maffei (D) conceded to Ann Marie Buerkle (R) in their still-undecided House race in Upstate New York.

Ann Marie Buerkle will be Syracuse's next representative in Congress, its first woman in the U.S. House.

U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei, the Democrat, called Buerkle today to concede, ending three weeks of ballot inspections, recounting and court wrangling.

From NBC's Mark Murray
At the end of the midterm season, the Obama White House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and a large part of the left railed at the unlimited, anonymous donations that groups like the Karl Rove-backed Crossroads GPS was able to collect and spend on races.

Here was President Obama on the campaign trail:

And thanks to a gigantic loophole, these special interests can spend unlimited amounts without even disclosing where the money is coming from. We don't know where it’s coming from. We don't know if it’s from the oil industry. We don't know if it’s from banks. We don't know if it’s insurance companies. Could be coming overseas -- we don't know. They won’t tell you. They don’t want you to know. They won't stand behind what they do.

This isn’t just a threat to Democrats. This is a threat to our democracy.

While that argument didn't help Democrat in the midterms, it did lay the groundwork -- potentially -- for 2012 in portraying the GOP as the party of corporate interests, and attributing its 2010 success to these shadowy interest groups.

But can Democrats rail against anonymous, shadowy interests when they're beginning to build their own?

As today's New York Times reports, David Brock of Media Matters is helping to create a counterweight to Rove's American Crossroads -- called American Bridge -- and that it might also utilize a subsidiary like Crossroads GPS that can collect unlimited and anonymous donations.

Certain to set off debate ... is that Mr. Brock appears to be positioning his new organization so that fund-raising consultants can raise money for Democratic-oriented media efforts not just through American Bridge but also via one of the nonprofit organizations Mr. Brock currently runs, Media Matters Action Network, which does not disclose its donors.

The action network, which tracks conservative politicians and advocacy organizations, is organized as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit group and is set to take on an expanded role in the 2012 elections, including potentially running television ads, according to an internal draft concept paper about American Bridge’s and Media Matter Action Network’s plans obtained by The New York Times.

The Times article continues:

White House officials have signaled in recent weeks that the Obama administration would not object to Democratic-leaning outside groups getting involved in the 2012 elections, a change from the Obama campaign’s attitude toward such groups in 2008. But they have also indicated that they would prefer that the names of donors be disclosed.

*** UPDATE *** Brock sends this statement to First Read:

American Bridge, the organization headed by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, is a 100% transparent organization and will disclose all donors to the FEC as required by law.

Media Matters Action Network, which I am chairman of, is a completely separate organization operating under a different set of rules.

Many Americans, including me, were deeply troubled by the new rules of the road given to us by a Republican-controlled Supreme Court in Citizens United. Subsequently, the wave of rightwing money created a right-wing wave. There is no right-wing wave. There was a wave of Republican money that was not in any way matched in the cycle by Democrats. Only by making our elections a fair fight will the people really be heard.

We do not make the rules. We must make 2012 a more equal contest than 2010. We cannot surrender everything -- health care, the environment -- because of the Citizens United decision.

Sarah Palin’s latest tour of the Lower 48 has launched a thousand headlines comparing the 16-stop circuit to a general election campaign swing.

But a look at her schedule of promotional events for "America By Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag" shows that the former Alaska governor will mostly be visiting areas where her fans are already plentiful – and where she’s already enjoyed success on with her name on the presidential ticket.

While it does have some hallmarks of presidential ambitions -- visits to donor-rich Dallas and Houston, primary state stopoffs in South Carolina and Iowa, and events in a few swing states -- Palin’s latest tour still looks less like a battleground barnstormer than her 2009 roadtrip for “Going Rogue.”

As we noted at the time, 11 of 13 pre-Thanksgiving stops on her 2009 trip were in states considered up for grabs in the presidential election. Those included a number of Bush ‘04 states -- Florida, Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina – that Democrats turned blue in 2008.

This time around, she’ll be hitting states that are a deeper shade of red.

During her 16-stop tour, she’ll visit just three states (Ohio, Iowa, and Indiana) won by Barack Obama in 2008.

But most of her other events are in places where the McCain/Palin ticket came out on top by wide margins in 2008, like Oklahoma (+32), Kansas (+15), and Arkansas (+20). In eight of the 13 states she'll visit before Dec. 3, Obama lost by double digits.

In all, Palin's stops will be in states that her 2008 ticket won by an average of 11 percentage points.

(The numbers at the county level are similar -- she’ll visit especially heavily red areas in Tennessee, Indiana, and Kentucky – putting her in counties that went Republican in 2008 by an average of about 9 points.)

From NBC's Scott Foster
White House spokesman Bill Burton, briefing reporters today aboard Air Force One on the flight to Indiana, said President Obama plans to speak with South Korean President Lee over what Burton called an "outrageous act" by North Korea.

Earlier today, North Korea carried out an artillery attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, killing two South Korean marines. South Korea was conducting military drills in the area at the time of the attack.

Burton said the U.S. is working with South Korea and the international community "on the best way forward to ensure peace and security."

The White House released an early morning statement to condemn the attack and demand North Korea "halt its belligerent action and to fully abide by the terms of the Armistice Agreement."

The President spoke by phone this morning at 3:55 am ET with National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, and Defense Secretary Gates spoke with his South Korean counterpart earlier today, the White House says.

At noon today, Gates and Secretary of State Clinton will attend a meeting in the White House Situation Room with Donilon -- a meeting that had been previously scheduled.

At this point, there are no plans for the president to make public remarks on the incident.

Mark and Domenico are about to do another Inside the Boiler Room, but we're a little light on questions. What do you want to ask... about politics?

Political dates to remember over the next six weeks… Economy grew at 2.5% pace in 3rd Q… War games between North and South Korea… Obama and Biden go down to Kokomo (IN) and speak there at 1:35 pm ET… Joe Miller files lawsuit in state court to challenge the results in Alaska’s Senate race… Republicans now at +62 in House races… And Happy Thanksgiving; our morning dispatch will return on Monday, Nov. 29.

From Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Dates to remember: With the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays approaching, with the real fights in the lame-duck Congress still to come, and with the 2012 presidential race not yet underway, here's a list of the political dates to remember over the next six weeks:
Nov. 23 (today): Sarah Palin’s book, “America by Heart,” is out; she kicks off her book tour tonight in Phoenix. Then over the next several days, she heads to Tulsa, OK (11/26); Norfolk, NE and Des Moines, IA (11/27); Andover, KS and Dallas (11/28); Houston and New Orleans (11/29); Baton Rouge, LA and Little Rock, AR (11/30); Brentwood, TN and Lexington, KY (12/1); Spirit Lake, IA and Carmel, IN (12/2); and Cincinnati, OH and Columbia, SC (12/3).
Nov. 29 (Monday): Illinois Sen.-elect Mark Kirk is sworn in; the Senate considers the Food Safety act; the Minnesota gubernatorial recount begins; and Alaska hopes to certify the results from its Senate race.
Nov. 30 (Tuesday): President Obama meets with bipartisan congressional leaders at the White House to try and get a deal done on START and the Bush tax cuts; the military’s report on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is released; and unemployment benefits will expire if Congress doesn’t act.
Dec. 1 (Wednesday): The deadline for Obama’s debt-reduction commission to offer its final recommendations.
Dec. 3 (Friday): The Labor Department releases its jobs report for November.
Dec. 7: Most Minnesota counties hope to complete their recounts
Dec. 8-10: The Minnesota canvassing board meets to deal with any potential recount issues.
Dec. 14: Minnesota hopes to certify its gubernatorial winner.
Jan. 1: The Bush tax cuts expire.
Jan. 3: The 112th Congress convenes, with the GOP controlling the House and John Boehner as its new speaker.

*** Steady as she goes: According to the AP, the U.S. economy grew at 2.5% pace in the 3rd quarter, up from the 2% estimate last month. “More brisk spending by American consumers, especially on autos and other big-ticket goods, and stronger sales of U.S. exports to foreign customers were the main reasons for the upgrade.”

*** War games: Just in case you didn’t think there was enough going on in the world… “North Korea on Tuesday fired dozens of artillery rounds onto a populated South Korean island, killing two and injuring 19 others,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “The Seoul government later called North Korea's artillery attack a ‘clear military provocation’ and warned that the secretive regime would face ‘stern retaliation’ should it launch further attacks.” Late last night, the White House said it strongly condemned the attack and called on North Korea “to halt its belligerent action and to fully abide by the terms of the Armistice Agreement.”

*** There's a place called Kokomo, that's where you wanna go to get away from it all… : President Obama and Vice President today travel to Kokomo, IN, in their latest “White House to Main Street Tour.” At 1:20 pm ET, the two will visit a Chrysler transmission plant. And then 15 minutes later, they’ll deliver remarks to workers there. Per the White House, Kokomo is a city benefiting from both the stimulus (in revitalizing its downtown) and the auto bailout (saving thousands of jobs). Obama last visited Kokomo in April 2008.

*** Don’t stop … believin’: Yesterday in Alaska, Joe Miller filed a lawsuit in state court challenging the election results in Alaska’s Senate contest. The Anchorage Daily News writes, “Miller's 21-page lawsuit in Fairbanks Superior Court mostly mimics his earlier claims in federal court: that election officials improperly counted too many write-in votes for the apparent winner, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and failed to count legitimate votes for him. But he added two new allegations. He said that in unnamed precincts, voters may have been allowed to take ballots even if they didn't have identification or weren't personally known to election officials… And he said that ‘in several precincts,’ handwriting samples indicate that the same person or a small group of people wrote in names on multiple ballots.”

*** The uncalled House races -- GOP +62: Republicans are now +62 in net House gains -- and could get to +63 -- as incumbent Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D) conceded to Blake Farenthold (R) in TX-27, a 71% Hispanic district. Farenthold, a Tea Party favorite, is also a self-described local talk radio “sidekick,” per the AP. According to the exit polls, Texas had the highest percentage of people who said the supported the Tea Party (48%) of any of the states polled. There remain four uncalled races: CA-11, CA-20, NY-1, and NY-25. Republicans lead in NY-25.

*** Programming note: MSNBC's "Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" interviews GOP Rep. Greg Walden tonight.

*** Happy Thanksgiving: Today is our final morning First Read dispatch of the week. We'll return on Monday, Nov. 29, but we’ll update the blog as news warrants. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday.

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Here’s the White House’s statement on the North Korea-South Korea attack: “Earlier today North Korea conducted an artillery attack against the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong. We are in close and continuing contact with our Korean allies. The United States strongly condemns this attack and calls on North Korea to halt its belligerent action and to fully abide by the terms of the Armistice Agreement. The United States is firmly committed to the defense of our ally, the Republic of Korea, and to the maintenance of regional peace and stability.”

Per the New York Times, “The Obama administration issued new federal rules on Monday that will require many health insurance companies to spend more on medical care and allocate less to profits, executive compensation, marketing and overhead expenses.” More: “While some states have had such requirements, Monday’s announcement is the first such mandate by the federal government and grows out of the new national health care law. ‘Millions of Americans will get better value for their health insurance premium dollar,’ Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, said in issuing the rules.”

The AP: “The regulation unveiled by the Health and Human Services Department calls for insurance companies to spend at least 80 cents of the premium dollar on medical care and quality. For employer plans covering more than 50 people, the requirement is 85 cents. Insurers that fall short of the mark will have to issue their customers a rebate.”

“Rep. Charles Rangel yesterday offered ‘heartfelt apologies’ for his embarrassing ethical misconduct yesterday, while his New York colleagues distanced themselves from the looming censure vote against the disgraced Harlem Democrat,” the New York Post writes. “‘There is no excuse for my acts of omission,’ Rangel wrote in an e-mail to supporters. ‘All of this has been brought upon me as a result of my own mistakes.’”

The New York Daily News: “Rep. Charles Rangel offers apology to supporters for ethics shenanigans.”

The Washington Post chronicles Mitch McConnell’s past work to obtain earmarks for his state of Kentucky.

“House Republican leaders will have an array of options at their disposal to try to pass a debt limit increase next year, but avowed opposition from the tea party means none will be a slam dunk,” Roll Call writes.

“An influential U.S. senator is checking up on South Carolina doctors who have billed millions of dollars in prescriptions to the financially struggling, taxpayer-funded Medicaid program,” the Charleston Post and Courier writes. “U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, requested data from each state this year listing which doctors write the most prescriptions for eight common drugs covered by Medicaid, the federal health program for the poor… Among the doctors getting the most reimbursements were a Columbia psychiatrist who wrote about 3,900 prescriptions for the drugs in question in 2008 and 2009.”

“Prosecutors in the money laundering trial of Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader, made a final pitch to jurors yesterday to connect the dots among the mounds of circumstantial evidence and find him guilty,” the AP writes. “DeLay’s lawyers said prosecutors needed jurors to infer DeLay’s guilt because they had presented no proof that the former lawmaker committed a crime. Jurors deliberated for about three hours after closing arguments without reaching a verdict. They will resume their deliberations today. Prosecutors had focused on summarizing the volumes of e-mails and other documents they presented during DeLay’s three-week trial in an effort to prove he used his political action committee to illegally channel $190,000 in corporate money into 2002 Texas legislative races through a money swap.”

ALASKA: “Alaska's bitterly contested Senate election went to state court Monday when Republican Joe Miller sued the state over the way write-in ballots for his GOP rival have been counted,” the AP writes. “Miller is trying to stop the state from using discretion in determining voter intent on write-in ballots cast for Sen. Lisa Murkowski… Miller's lawsuit was originally filed in federal court, but U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline ruled Friday it was a matter for a state court to decide… The target date for certifying the election is Nov. 29. A re-count can then be requested by Dec. 4.”

MINNESOTA: The Minnesota Supreme Court denied Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer's petition “to force local election officials to compare voter signatures with vote tallies on Election Day,” Minnesota Public Radio reports. “Now, attorneys for Emmer are expected to ask the five member State Canvassing Board to do what the Supreme Court didn't -- require local elections officials to match up the number of ballots cast with the number of voters who signed in on Election Day.”

Left-leaning blog Talking Points Memo writes: “Minnesota law provides for, if a precinct is found to have an excessive number of votes beyond the number of people who are recorded as having voted there, to randomly remove votes from the tallies. The big questions, then, are how to properly determine what the right number is, and whether any true over-voting occurred. Team Emmer argues that the law can only allow for the people who signed the register to be the proper measurement, while the Secretary of State's rules (which go back to the 1980s) have directed precinct workers to count up the number of separate voter receipts.”

NEVADA: Sharron Angle told the Lahontan Valley News Saturday, per the AP, that “she was shocked by her Nov. 2 loss to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, but in looking forward has "lots of options" to weigh as she decides her next political step. ‘I will always be involved in politics. I have a lot of options next cycle,’ Angle told the Lahontan Valley News. ‘Lots of options.’ Nevada's other U.S. Senate seat is up in 2012 and as many as four congressional seats could be in play by then. Angle, a former state representative, said she also could seek a term in the Nevada Senate… Jarring to Angle were the handful of Nevada Republicans who endorsed Reid. She singled out Reno Mayor Bob Cashell and Sparks Mayor Gino Martini. ‘That was the most surprising blow,’ she said. ‘I always thought in the end there is some kind of loyalty, but they shifted loyalties to the fellow who could deliver the pork."

There are now four uncalled House races, with Republicans leading in one. Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-TX) conceded last night in TX-27, moving the GOP’s net gain up to +62.

CA-11: Rep. Jim Costa “widened his lead over the Hanford cherry farmer [Andy Vidak] to 3,031 votes. With only 1,000 votes left uncounted in Fresno County it is now impossible for Vidak to catch up,” the Bakersfield Californian writes.

NY-1: “On the eastern tip of Long Island, Democratic incumbent Tim Bishop has a 17-vote lead over Republican challenger Randy Altschuler,” the New York Observer reports. Bishop’s campaign claims a 206-vote lead.

NY-25: “Out in western New York, it appears as if Democratic congressman Dan Maffei is headed for defeat,” the Observer adds. “Republican Ann Marie Buerkle, a Tea Party favorite, has a 567-vote lead as of this afternoon. A court hearing is set for Tuesday, where Maffei's lawyers may ask for a hand-recount, which could continue on until January. The Buerkle campaign seems cautiously optimistic.”

TX-27: “Democratic Texas Congressman Solomon Ortiz has conceded defeat to Republican newcomer Blake Farenthold,” the AP reports. “Ortiz's concession came late Monday, after a South Texas recount confirmed he had lost a House seat he held for nearly three decades.”

The Democratic counterweight to American Crossroads? The New York Times: “In what may prove a significant development for the 2012 elections, David Brock, a prominent Democratic political operative, says he has amassed $4 million in pledges over the last few weeks and is moving quickly to hire a staff to set up what he hopes will become a permanent liberal counterweight over the airwaves to the Republican-leaning outside groups that spent so heavily on this year’s midterm elections. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a former Maryland lieutenant governor and the eldest of Robert F. Kennedy’s 11 children, has agreed to serve as the chairwoman of the group, which will be called American Bridge, lending to the still extremely nascent undertaking the weight of what remains one of the most significant families in Democratic politics.”

IOWA: “The Minuteman Patriots, an Iowa citizen group opposed to illegal immigration, has started a petition drive aimed at encouraging Gov.-elect Terry Branstad and state lawmakers to approve an Arizona-style immigration law for Iowa,” the Des Moines Register reports.

VIRGINIA: “When Virginia Republicans gathered last weekend in Northern Virginia, the hot topic of discussion was the 2012 Senate race and former Sen. George Allen’s political comeback,” Roll Call reports.

An ABC/Washington Post poll shows by a 64%-32% margin, Americans favor airport body scanners, but by a 50%-48% margin they say the pat-downs go too far.

Velma Hart, the woman who questioned President Obama at a CNBC forum, has lost her job, the Washington Post's Singletary reports:

Nobody is safe.

Velma Hart, who burst onto the media scene after telling President Obama she was scared about her financial future, has been laid off. Hart was let go as the chief financial officer for Am Vets, a nonprofit Maryland-based veteran services organization.

Hart has become another casualty of the tough economy in which so many people have lost their jobs.

"It's not anything she did," said Jim King, the national executive director of Am Vets. "She got bit by the same snake that has bit a lot of people. It was a move to cut our bottom line. Most not-for-profits are seeing their money pinched." ...

Hart's comments to Obama became political fodder as proof that the president was losing his die-hard supporters - African American voters. Hart told me at the time that she still supported Obama but that she had expected more changes by now. ...

When contacted Monday, Hart would not discuss the matter.