Terrorists Strike & Warning in NYC

NYT: Coordinated terrorist attacks struck the heart of Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, on Wednesday night, killing dozens in machine-gun and grenade assaults on at least two five-star hotels, the city’s largest train station, a movie theater and a hospital.  More...

WSJ: Federal authorities are warning law enforcement personnel of a possible terror plot against the New York City subway and train systems during the holiday season, and police are beefing up security in preparation.  More...

AP: President-elect Barack Obama will keep Defense Secretary Robert Gates in that job for at least a year, according to an official familiar the two men's discussions.  Obama is expected to announce the selection of Gates and other members of a national security brain trust next week. Gates has served as President George W. Bush's defense chief for two years.  More...

AP: Russian warships sailed into port in Venezuela on Tuesday in a show of strength as Moscow seeks to counter U.S. influence in Latin America.  More...

AFP: Georgian Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili said Wednesday that Russian forces were erecting a "Berlin Wall" as part of a campaign to cut off rebel regions from the rest of the country.  More...

Fox: Despite bells and whistles, 'Office of President-Elect' holds no authority.  The props that decorate the stage for the Office of the President-elect serve as just that, since Barack Obama will hold no actual authority in the Executive Branch until Jan. 20.  More...

Transition from W to O

NYT: The thaw in the resentful relationship between the most powerful woman in the Democratic Party and her younger male rival began at the party's convention this summer.  By this past Thursday, when Obama reassured Clinton that she would have direct access to him and could select her own staff as secretary of state, the wooing was complete.  More... 

NYT: With the financial crisis looming as a priority of his term, President-elect Barack Obama sought to put his imprint on efforts to stem the turmoil as he introduced his economic team on Monday.  More...

Politico: President-elect Barack Obama has yet to attend church services since winning the White House earlier this month, a departure from the example of his two immediate predecessors.  More...

Fix: The great thing about elections is that as soon as the last one ends, the next one begins.  We are going to start ranking the 10 Republicans to keep an eye on over the coming months and years.  More...

WSJ: With sports fans still getting used to their high-definition television sets, the National Football League is already thinking ahead to the next potential upgrade: 3-D.  More...

OPINION

Romney: If General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye.  More...

Friedman: This is the real “Code Red.” As one banker remarked to me: “We finally found the W.M.D.” They were buried in our own backyard — subprime mortgages and all the derivatives attached to them.  More...

Rove: A Way Out of the Wilderness- We've been walloped in consecutive elections, but we can't just dwell on the past. The future is already here.  More...

Rove: History Favors Republicans in 2010- The 2008 election numbers are not as stark as the results.  More...

The Sit Down & More

Reuters: U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and vanquished rival John McCain met for the first time since the November 4 election on Monday, pledging to work together to face the financial crisis and other national challenges.  More...

Friedman: And so it came to pass that on Nov. 4, 2008, shortly after 11 p.m. Eastern time, the American Civil War ended, as a black man — Barack Hussein Obama — won enough electoral votes to become president of the United States.  More...

Times: Barack Obama is warned to beware of a ‘huge threat’ from al-Qaeda.  He is being given ominous advice from leaders on both sides of the Atlantic to brace himself for an early assault from terrorists.  More...

WP: District and federal officials are preparing for as many as 4 million people for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, a crowd that would be three or four times larger than previous big events on the Mall.  Only a fraction of those people will be close enough to get a good look at the action. But officials are planning extra JumboTrons at the Mall and along the inaugural parade route so that spectators can feel a part of the historic day.  More...

Politico: Hillary Rodham Clinton isn’t certain she would accept the Secretary of State post even if Barack Obama offers it to her, several people close to the former first lady say.  Press reports that portray Clinton as willing to accept the job – once the Obama transition team vets Bill Clinton’s philanthropic and business ventures – are inaccurate, one Clinton insider told Politico.  More... 

AP: Iraq's Cabinet overwhelmingly approved a security pact with the United States on Sunday, ending prolonged negotiations to allow American forces to remain for three more years in the country they first occupied in 2003.  More...

Cook: What did we learn from this election? The results certainly confirmed that Republicans are demoralized. We also learned that there are two Souths. There is a "New South," which includes Virginia, North Carolina, and, to a lesser extent, Georgia. In this South, which has lots of suburbs, transplants, and younger college graduates, Obama and other Democrats won or ran well above the norm for their party.  More...

Friedman: Barack Obama surely has one of the toughest leadership challenges any incoming president has ever faced.  Now is when we need a president who has the skill, the vision and the courage to cut through this cacophony, pull us together as one nation and inspire and enable us to do the one thing we can and must do right now: Go shopping.  More...

WSJ: The chief executives of Detroit's Big Three auto makers appealed in dire language for U.S. taxpayers to help their industry, but couldn't dispel doubts in Congress that have clouded prospects for a government-led rescue.  More...

Roll Call: After much speculation that his failed presidential bid would be his last campaign, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has decided to run for re-election to his Senate seat in 2010.  More...

N&O: A U.S. Senate seat representing North Carolina is looking like an increasingly rickety political perch these days.  Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole's loss to Democratic challenger Kay Hagan is only the most recent failure of an incumbent to win a second term.  More...

**Note: I've added many more news widgets to pearcegodwin.com.  Check out the left side of the page, a one-stop-shop for the latest news from the world's best sources.

BREAKING: Hillary Will Be Secretary of State

Guardian: Hillary Clinton plans to accept the job of secretary of state offered by Barack Obama, who is reaching out to former rivals to build a broad coalition administration, the Guardian has learned.

Obama's advisers have begun looking into Bill Clinton's foundation, which distributes millions of dollars to Africa to help with development, to ensure that there is no conflict of interest. But Democrats do not believe that the vetting is likely to be a problem.

Clinton would be well placed to become the country's dominant voice in foreign affairs, replacing Condoleezza Rice. Since being elected senator for New York, she has specialised in foreign affairs and defence. Although she supported the war in Iraq, she and Obama basically agree on a withdrawal of American troops.  More...

Clinton Possible Secretary of State & More

NYT: The end of the presidential campaign seemed to signal the completion of the Obama-Clinton drama. But now it turns out there could be a surprise ending.  Advisers to the onetime rivals for the Democratic nomination confirmed Friday that President-elect Barack Obama had met with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday afternoon at Mr. Obama’s transition office in Chicago and discussed the secretary of state job.  The prospect of Mrs. Clinton as secretary of state, perhaps the most prestigious cabinet position in any administration, sent people buzzing.  More...

WP: 5 Myths About an Election of Mythical Proportions... The 2008 presidential election ended less than two weeks ago, but the mythmaking machine has already begun to churn. President-elect Barack Obama transformed the face of the electorate! The Republican Party will be a miserable minority in Congress for the next century! Cats and dogs are now living together! We explode the five biggest myths that have already sprung up around the election that was.  More...

NYT: Sorry, Mr. President. Please surrender your BlackBerry.  Those are seven words President-elect Barack Obama is dreading but expecting to hear, friends and advisers say, when he takes office in 65 days.  More...

WSJ: Global leaders showed a united front against the financial crisis at an emergency summit here Saturday, but offered mostly promises of future cooperation to nudge the world out of its economic funk.  More...

AP: Senate will debate $25 billion bailout of the auto industry Monday.  More...

WP: The day after the 2008 election ended, the 2010 cycle began for political junkies.  A quick glance at the playing field, however, suggests that Republicans could -- yet again -- be in for a difficult time in 2010.  More...

Dome: Is U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler gearing up for 2010?  The Waynesville Democrat told the Hendersonville Times-News that he hasn't ruled out running against Sen. Richard Burr in two years.  More...

A Meeting in the Oval & More

NYT: Emotional President George W Bush thought Obama's election triumph was 'pretty cool.'  The outgoing President sees the election of America's first black commander in chief as a "pretty cool" tribute to the strength of American democracy, and believes the image of his successor in charge will help spread freedom around the globe.  More...

The Hill: President Bush on Saturday used his first post-election radio address to praise Democratic President-elect Barack Obama, saying that he “represents a triumph of the American story.”  Bush added that the Illinois senator’s victory is a “testament to hard work, optimism, and faith in the enduring promise of our nation.”  More...

The Hill: White House press secretary Dana Perino said the president described his meeting with Obama as “good, constructive, relaxed and friendly,” adding that the two men discussed both domestic and international issues.  More...

WSJ: President-elect Barack Obama met at the White House Monday with the man he will succeed in January, and pressed President George W. Bush to take immediate action to help stave off the collapse of the U.S. auto industry and to aid the economy more broadly.  More...

Pearce: GM CEO and Duke Dad Rick Wagoner says GM is in dire need of federal aid.  More...

The Hill: “If you look at the roiling global financial situation, if you look at the fact that much of this country distrusts its government, if you look at the fact that we’re still fighting in two wars, I think that the Republicans in Congress will stand ready to work with this new president,” Cantor said on “Fox News Sunday.”  More...

CNN: Palin on running for president in 2012... "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."  More...

WSJ: What would Reagan do... "Our principles can flourish only if our policies resonate with average Americans who deal with concrete problems and who are resistant to radical change. One thing is certain: A conservatism that abandons freedom is not American; and a conservatism that ignores reality will not win."  More...

Duke Chronicle Column: We lost an election, but there's another in two years, and you'll probably live to see it. Most of all, keep in mind the one advantage we have that neither speeches nor platitudes nor rabid fans will ever be able to take away: At the end of the day, we're the ones in the right.  More...

Dome: The aftermath of last week's historic presidential election has led many national commentators to speculate that North Carolina and Virginia are no longer part of "the South."  More...

Obama Makes History; Dems Gain Seats in Congress

Pearce: Election 2008 did not turn out as I hoped; however, there is something special about witnessing history as Barack Obama becomes the first black president of the United States of America.  

North Carolina has lost a great Senator in Elizabeth Dole, and we should all be thankful for her service to our state and nation over her historic career... she is far from finished.

AP: His name etched in history as America's first black president-elect, Barack Obama turned Wednesday from victory's jubilation to the sobering challenge of leading a nation in crisis. The 44th president-in-waiting kept a low profile while Americans and the world took in the enormity of the election.  More...

Carville: A new generation transforms American politics...  The historical significance of electing our first African-American president cannot be lost on me, as I remember what it was like growing up in the segregated South. To say that I never thought I would see an African-American president in my lifetime is to understate what Mr Obama's achievement says about America.  More...

Politico: The 2008 campaign was the costliest in history, with a record-shattering $5.3 billion in spending by candidates, political parties and interest groups on the congressional and presidential races.  More...

AP: Obama wins North Carolina by 13,000 votes.  More...

AP: Democrats fattened their majority control of the Senate on Tuesday, ousting Republican Sens. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and John Sununu of New Hampshire and capturing seats held by retiring GOP senators in Virginia, New Mexico and Colorado.  More...

Salisbury Post: Salisbury's own Elizabeth Dole, a history maker six years ago when she became North Carolina's first woman U.S. senator, lost her seat Tuesday to Democrat Kay Hagan in one of the state's all-time political upsets.  More...

See Senator Dole's concession speech below.

AP: Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole's 40-year tenure in the nation's capital took her from the inner circles of presidents to leading the American Red Cross. Now ousted from Congress, she's been left to plot the next chapter in one of Washington's most storied careers.  More...

Dome: GOP Sen. Richard Burr ought to get crackin’ now for his own re-election bid in 2010, saying this week that Democrats will be infused with new energy with the wins of both Barack Obama and Kay Hagan, who defeated incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Dole on Tuesday.  More...

WSJ: The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time.  More...

Election 2008: The Eve of Election Day

Pearce: This is it... the eve of Election 2008.  This has been the longest campaign season in history and is sure to prove historic tomorrow night.  Everybody pop a sit in front of your TVs and watch it unfold... we've never seen anything like it.  This will be the last posting before the results are in.  I'll be spending election night in Salisbury, North Carolina celebrating the re-election of NC Senator Elizabeth Dole!!

Washington Post: Barack Obama and the Democrats hold a commanding position two days before Tuesday's election, with the senator from Illinois leading in states whose electoral votes total nearly 300 and with his party counting on significantly expanded majorities in the House and Senate.  More...

AP: Barack Obama and John McCain uncorked massive get-out-the-vote operations in more than a dozen battleground states Sunday, millions of telephone calls, mailings and door-knockings in a frenzied, fitting climax to a record-shattering $1 billion campaign. Together, they'll spend about $8 per presidential vote.  More...

Chuck Todd: Is there a more relevant battleground state than the Tarheel state? Not only is the presidential close, but the senate and governor's races are also nailbiters.  More...

Dome: Early voting has closed in North Carolina, and preliminary numbers show that more than 40 percent of the state's registered voters have already cast ballots, more than 2.5 million people, more than 70 percent of all the votes cast in 2004.  More...

Dome: The case for McCain to win North Carolina

Dome: Analysts rank the presidential race in North Carolina.

The Fix: Dole's "Godless" ad, Hagan's response and Dole's response to Hagan's response.  More...

Dome: Dole ad took YouTube by storm.  More... 

Dome: Analysts rank the North Carolina senate race.

Dome: Analysts rank the North Carolina governor's race.

Washington Post: Pundit predictions for Election 2008.

RCP: The latest electoral map.  Virginia and Ohio move from "lean Obama" to "toss up."

NYPost: How to watch the election.

Pearce:  This video is one of the coolest things I've seen this campaign season.  It's the perfect thing to take us into Election 2008.  Please, vote however you like.