George W. Hoover?  —  Last week, assembled at Miami's InterContinental Hotel for a meeting of the Republican Governors Association, the governors seemed cheerful.  The G.O.P. had lost only one statehouse on Election Day.  The prospects for a Republican pickup in Virginia in 2009 were decent …

Rather's Lawsuit Shows Role of G.O.P. in Inquiry  —  When Dan Rather filed suit against CBS 14 months ago — claiming, among other things, that his former employer had commissioned a politically biased investigation into his work on a “60 Minutes” segment about President Bush's National Guard service …

NO UAW BAILOUT  —  Jim Manzi has done some of the best analysis of the proposed bailout of GM, Ford and Chrysler—or, one should more properly say, bailout of the United Auto Workers, otherwise slated for extinction.  Here, he addresses the theory that the Big Three are in the midst of a turnaround …

A Giddy Sense of Boosterism  —  Perhaps it was the announcement that NBC News is coming out with a DVD titled “Yes We Can: The Barack Obama Story.”  Or that ABC and USA Today are rushing out a book on the election.  Or that HBO has snapped up a documentary on Obama's campaign.

Clinton Vetting Includes Look at Mr. Clinton  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama's advisers have begun reviewing former President Bill Clinton's finances and activities to see whether they would preclude the appointment of his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, as secretary of state, Democrats close to the situation said Sunday.

Road to GOP redemption: Roll back the bailouts, draw a line in the sand  —  While Republican strategists and Beltway blowhards convene VIP retreats and meetings and save-the-party parties, the road to GOP redemption starts right now.  There is opportunity to be seized right now.

Republicans ask: Just how bad is it?  —  Party leaders agree that the GOP has had a rough go of it at the polls in recent years.  —  How could they not?  —  Since 2004, they've gone from 55 Senate seats to no more than 43 once this year's last winners are determined …

Obama Courted Federal Employees With Letters Before Election  —  Workers at Seven Agencies Got Detailed Letters Before Election  —  In wooing federal employee votes on the eve of the election, Barack Obama wrote a series of letters to workers that offer detailed descriptions of how he intends …

California fires could burn for days, official says  —  LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — Firefighters will need at least until midweek to get control of wildfires that have destroyed more than 700 homes in Southern California, a Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman says.

Huckabee, Finally, Settles His Campaign Scores  —  The former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee  —  Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is not the sort of politician who likes to bite his tongue.  But that's just what he has found himself doing over eight months since he ended his surprising and colorful presidential campaign.

Don't Believe Spending Cut Rumors  —  Before the presidential election, reports began to circulate that the Pentagon was planning to propose a defense spending increase of roughly $450 billion over five years.  That's in addition to the increases in the base budget already laid out in the 2009 Future Years Defense Plan.

Scoop: Palin book deal could rake in $7 million  —  Plus: Kanye West defends himself, stars don't help ‘30 Rock’ ratings  —  One McCain-Palin ad tried to paint Barack Obama as a celebrity, but it's Palin who's on the verge of a celeb-sized book deal.  —  The Scoop  —  msnbc.com

Obama On Economic Crisis, Transition  —  Also Discusses National Security, Iraq, And His Cabinet In 60 Minutes Interview  —  (CBS) The full video version of tonight's broadcast will be made available online at 11 p.m. EST.  —  Since Barack Obama was elected the 44th president …

Mormon Church feels the heat over Proposition 8  —  The church, which has long sought to be seen as part of America's mainstream, joins with other religious organizations to back California's ban on gay marriage.  But now it has become a political targe  —  Reporting from Salt Lake City …

For Obama, a Scouting Report on Athletic Heads of State  —  Barack Obama still moves with the ease of an athlete and has the left-handed jump shot to prove it, along with a state high school basketball championship to his credit, as a senior at Punahou School in Hawaii in 1979.