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- Barack Obama visited the White House today, meeting privately with president Bush in the Oval Office, the president-elect's first time in the Executive Mansion's most famous room.
- Howard Dean is stepping down as DNC chairman, leading, naturally, to speculation about who is to replace him. Traditionally, the incoming president, as de facto head of the party, makes this decision. Sam Stein reports that MO Sen. Claire McCaskill could be on Obama's short list (she would remain a senator while someone else handled the day-to-day operations of the DNC). Meanwhile, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Newt Gingrich would be willing to serve as RNC chair -- if the GOP wants him. To heck with that, I want him!
- The Republican Governors Association meeting kicks off this week in Miami, FL, and the attendees read like a virtual who's who of potential 2012 nominees, including Govs. Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Bobby Jindal and Charlie Crist. In fact, if you throw in Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, the GOP is almost certain to nominate a sitting or former governor for president in four years.
- John McCain and Sarah Palin (maybe) will campaign on behalf of embattled incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss in Georgia as he faces a runoff election next month. Meanwhile, Roll Call reports that the outstanding races in Alaska might not be called for two more weeks.
- Paul Krugman argues in his New York Times column that Barack Obama shouldn't just push hard to be the next FDR -- he should be more of a Keynesian than Dr. New Deal. Jonathan Cohn makes a similar argument for taking bold action but suggests Obama ought to channel a far different president -- George W. Bush: "Bush understood political opportunity when it presented itself and he seized it. And while I’d hate to see Obama systematically ignoring policy experts and manipulating intelligence -- or deliberately stoking partisan division for the sake of winning elections -- I wouldn’t mind if, like Bush, Obama showed the same sort of singular focus."
- It remains to be seen whether Obama will be as bold as Bush, but it's clear that the president-elect will be taking a substantially different course than 43, promising to undo about 200 executive orders and at least being open to making substantial cuts to the Defense Department's more superfluous spending initiatives.
- Move over John Kerry: Ed Espinoza (A.K.A. Mr. Super) makes the case for Bill Richardson as Secretary of State in the Obama administration. Discuss.
- Glenn Thrush reports on Joe Biden's role in the Obama administration: "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." Yeah, maybe. But didn't VP Lyndon Johnson attempt this only to promptly be shown the Senate door? Sure, that was 48 years ago, but has the World's Greatest Deliberative Body really changed all that much in half a century?
- In other Senate news, Barack Obama is reportedly open to letting Joe Lieberman keep his Homeland Security chair in exchange for staying in the Democratic caucus with reduced seniority on other committees. See Ezra, Steve Clemons and Steve Benen on Lieberman's unsuitability for holding any Senate chairs.
- Hilzoy makes the case for ignoring right-wing cranks now that they have lost their grip on real (i.e. governing) power: "Until last Tuesday, I felt I had to take arguments made at, say, The Corner somewhat seriously. They were, after all, arguments that were likely to be taken seriously by people in charge of our government, and by some voters. Starting now, though, that changes." I agree that it's important to know what's going on in the conservative movement (or lack thereof) but the need to comment on every black helicopters post that crops up in the 'winger blogosphere distracts not only from the musing of serious conservatives, but also from the more important work of making a new progressive agenda work in America now that it has a modicum of a mandate behind it.
--Mori Dinauer
