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...

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