Power Lunch & More

AP: President-elect Barack Obama hailed a rare Oval Office gathering of all U.S. presidents as an extraordinary event on Wednesday as the current occupant, President George W. Bush, reminded his predecessors and successor that the office "transcends the individual."  More...

AP: Lebanese militants fired at least three rockets into Israel early Thursday, threatening to open a new front for the Jewish state as it pushed forward with a bloody offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 700 people.  More...

Politico: Harry Reid is poised to let Roland Burris take a seat in the Senate — an embarrassing about-face for a Democratic leader at the pinnacle of his power.  More...

Politico: Republican Sen. Norm Coleman announced Tuesday that he is filing a lawsuit contesting the results of the Minnesota Senate recount that declared Democrat Al Franken the winner.  More...

McClatchy: The forecast Wednesday of a jaw-dropping $1.2 trillion one-year federal budget deficit will make it harder for President-elect Barack Obama to win broad support for a massive stimulus package that would add even more to the red ink.  More...

AP: The upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama is an attractive target for international and domestic terrorists, but U.S. intelligence officials have no information about specific threats to the Jan. 20 event.  More...

Pearce: The Wall Street Journal has produced a very informative 3-part documentary called The End of Wall Street.  Take 25 minutes to learn what happened, why it happened and what happens next.

AP: Democrats misstepped in handling Burris matter.  More...

NYT: Obama warns about years of trillion-dollar deficits.  More...

Fix: Jeb Bush will not run for Florida Senate seat.  More...

AP: Al-Qaida No. 2 blames Obama for Gaza fight.  More...

Hill: Reid says 'I don't work for Obama.'  More...

Reuters: Salmonella outbreak sickens 388 across U.S.  More...

Telegraph: Terrorists could use 'insect-based' biological weapon.  More...

USA Today: Coming soon to cellphones: Free, over-the-air TV.  More...

WSJ: Bush on His Record: The president defends his democracy agenda and his economic interventionism.  More...

OPINION:

WSJ: Funny Business in Minnesota.  More...

Friedman: The Mideast's Ground Zero.  More...

Friedman: Time to Reboot America.  More...

Rove: President Bush Tried to Rein in Fan and Fred.  More...

The End of 2008: Air Raids in Gaza & More

Reuters: Israel Monday expanded its fiercest air offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in decades and prepared for a possible ground assault, after a three-day bombardment which has killed more than 300 Palestinians.  More...

AP: Investors are preparing to close out the last three trading days of 2008 with Wall Street's worst performance since Herbert Hoover was president.  More...

Politico: Stepping into deeper waters to help the auto industry, Treasury Monday night added $6 billion to the $17.4 billion bailout announced Dec. 19, chiefly to help the financial arm of General Motors Corp.  More...

WSJ: Top Republican lawmakers are positioning themselves for battle over President-elect Barack Obama's economic recovery plan, signaling Monday that they will cast themselves as guardians against excessive spending rather than outright opponents of the Democrats' stimulus package.  More...

Politico: The campaigns of Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) and Democrat Al Franken are far apart in resolving the thorny issue over counting absentee ballots in the disputed Minnesota Senate race.  More...

WSJ: Sen. Reid Hits the Ground Running in Uphill Re-Election Bid.  More...

WSJ: As if Things Weren't Bad Enough, Russian Professor Predicts End of U.S.  More...

AP: Mrs. Bush and Rice say Bush presidency not a failure.  More...

AP: Rice says Obama election encourages people worldwide.  More...

Politico: Top 10 Political Upsets of 2008.  More...

Telegraph: 2008 was the year man-made global warming was disproved.  More...

Chinese Paper: Marked changes in world's political, economic landscape.  More...

Flying Shoes & No Bailout

Reuters: President George W. Bush made an unannounced farewell visit to Baghdad on Sunday, just weeks before he leaves office and bequeaths the unpopular Iraq war to President-elect Barack Obama.  More...

Politico: Welcome to Baghdad. An Iraqi reporter set off pandemonium Sunday by hurling two shoes at President Bush during a news conference that was the centerpiece of his secret good-bye visit.  More...

AP: With Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich defying calls for his resignation, state officials pondered reducing his power or forcing him from office amid an intensifying criminal investigation… a day after he was arrested on charges that he put President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat up for sale.  More...

WSJ: Throwing a lifeline to Detroit's ailing automakers, the White House reversed course Friday and said it would consider using the $700 billion financial-rescue plan to avert a bankruptcy of the Big Three that could deepen the U.S. recession.  The announcement came hours after negotiations collapsed in Congress over a compromise bailout plan fiercely opposed by Senate Republicans.  More...

Politico: President-elect Barack Obama added sweep and meat to his economic agenda… tying his key initiatives – education, energy, health care –back to jobs in a package that has the makings of a smaller and modern version of FDR's New Deal.  More...

Baltimore Sun: On Jan. 20, an unobtrusive military officer carrying a small leather-bound metal briefcase will follow President George W. Bush up to Capitol Hill. After the inauguration ceremony, he will accompany President Barack Obama back to the White House.  Inside the attaché, known as "the football," are the codes to identify and authenticate a presidential order that could launch nuclear weapons and ignite a global holocaust.  More...

OPINION:

WSJ: Mitch McConnell's Finest Hour: The same can't be said for President Bush on the auto bailout.  More...

Friedman: Obama's Iraq Inheritance.  More...

Noonan: The Children Are Watching: America makes history, but the mandate is for moderation.  More...

Rove: Thanksgiving Cheer from Obama: He's assembled a first-rate economic team.  More...

Noonan: Turbulence Ahead: Some things to be thankful for in depressing times.  More...

Barone: The Limits of Success--and Failure.  More...

Rove: How the GOP Should Prepare for a Comeback: Organization and ideas are what matters.  More...

And finally, the quick ducking reflexes of W... watch the clip below.

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...

Weekly Extras

AP: For Bush, last 100 days to feature 'no letting up'

President Bush is down to his final 100 days in office as of Sunday. Don't expect a quiet fade into the Texas night.

AP: Paulson: Protectionism Won't Solve Credit Crisis

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told international leaders on Sunday that isolationism and protectionism could worsen the spreading financial crisis.

Reuters: U.S. gasoline price marks biggest drop ever

The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States recorded its largest drop ever as consumer demand continued to wane and oil prices slid, a prominent industry analyst said on Sunday.

After a week of drama, Congress passes bailout package

Reuters: The U.S. government enacted a landmark $700 billion bank bailout on Friday, but investors questioned whether it could contain a panic that began on Wall Street and spread to become a global financial crisis.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the rescue plan by a vote of 263-171 on Friday. That sent the measure to President George W. Bush, who quickly signed it into law, concluding two weeks of high-stakes haggling over the plan that had roiled and captivated global markets.

More... http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE49267J20081003?sp=true