In the Headlines

"Obama Turns to Building Leadership Team" (Jonathan Weisman and Deborah Solomon, Wall Street Journal) - President-elect Barack Obama offered the key post of White House chief of staff to Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, the first step in building a team that is expected to take shape in coming days.

"GOP in dire straits" (Jonathan Martin,  The Politico) - Thumped convincingly in consecutive election cycles, the Republican Party now finds itself in its worse straits since the rise of the conservative coalition — a minority party without the White House, fewer seats in the House and Senate, only 21 governors and full control of just 14 state legislatures.

"Democrats Vow to Pursue an Aggressive Agenda" (David Herszenhorn and Carl Hulse, New York Times) - Flush with victory built on incursions in the South and West, Congressional Democratic leaders promised to use their new power to join President-elect Barack Obama in pursuing an aggressive agenda that puts top priority on the economy, health care, energy and ending the Iraq war.

"Shape of Chamber Hangs in Balance" (Amy Goldstein, Washington Post) - The final shape of the new Senate lingered in doubt yesterday with a runoff likely in Georgia, recounts pending in Minnesota and possibly Oregon, and uncertainty over whether the longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history had held on to his Alaska seat barely a week after being convicted on corruption charges.