Obama vs. Pelosi  —  The president-elect meets the enemy.  —  Barack Obama obviously has thought carefully about mistakes made by previous Democratic presidential winners who wrongly believed a Congress controlled by their own party would help make them a success.

Obama Positioned to Quickly Reverse Bush Actions  —  Stem Cell, Climate Rules Among Targets of President-Elect's Team  —  Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone …

McCain Campaign Autopsy  —  Chief strategist Steve Schmidt talks about the moment—back in September—when he knew McCain was doomed.  Plus, his surprising view on gay marriage, and more scoop on leaks.  —  Reached on a long-planned vacation outside the country, former McCain campaign chief …

America's First Transgender Mayor  —  Stu Rasmussen Became Mayor With Implants, Dresses and Ideas for Improving Her Town  —  The first time Stu Rasmussen was elected mayor of Silverton, Ore., he wore shirts and pants.  This time around, after a landslide victory, he will be stepping into office donning a dress and makeup.

Sarah Palin blamed by the US Secret Service over death threats against Barack Obama  —  Sarah Palin's attacks on Barack Obama's patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign.

It Still Felt Good the Morning After  —  ON the morning after a black man won the White House, America's tears of catharsis gave way to unadulterated joy.  —  Our nation was still in the same ditch it had been the day before, but the atmosphere was giddy.  We felt good not only because we had breached …

Stinging Talk About Obama?  Never Mind Now  —  That whole anti-American, friend-to-the-terrorists thing about President-elect Barack Obama?  Never mind.  —  Just a few weeks ago, at the height of the campaign, Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota told Chris Matthews of MSNBC that …

Obama Team Weighs What to Take On in First Months  —  WASHINGTON — With the economy in disarray and the nation's treasury draining, President-elect Barack Obama and his advisers are trying to figure out which of his expansive campaign promises to push in the opening months of his tenure and which to put on a slower track.

High Court May Consider Legality of Detention  —  Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri was close to going on trial for fraud when prosecutors marched into an Illinois courtroom with a demand.  Dismiss the charges, they said, because President Bush had just designated the defendant an enemy combatant.

Palin and Africa, Etc.  —  I talked to Steve Biegun, the former Bush NSC aid who briefed Sarah Palin on foreign policy, and he considers the leaks against her on the international stuff “absurd.”  —  He says there's no way she didn't know Africa was a continent, and whoever is saying she didn't must be distorting “a fumble of words.”