Obama Briefed On Mumbai By Condoleezza Rice
President-elect Obama spoke by phone yesterday with Secretary Rice to get an update on the Mumbai situation, an Obama aide says. He also received an intelligence briefing on the attacks and is getting regular updates from the State Department Ops Center and the National Counter Terrorism Center.

No Public Events For Obama Today
Here's his Thanksgiving message:

Congressional Leaders Aiming To Have Big Initiatives Ready When Obama Takes Office
Dem leaders in Congress are vowing to have economic, spending and health care legislation waiting on Obama's desk when he enters the Oval Office for the first time as President. Top Obama economic adviser Jason Furman met with fiscally conservative Blue Dog Dems to persuade them that the Obama team views fiscal responsibility as a core goal, a hint that Obama advisers may recognize the potential for opposition from those Dems to their more ambitious and expensive economic rescue initiatives.

Gates And Obama Have Common Ground On Defense Issues
The New York Times reports that Barack Obama and his Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, have more common ground on defense questions than one might think: Gates has argued internally for the closing of Guantanamo Bay and is more inclined towards troop reductions than some of his colleagues. Indeed, he is already looking with senior commanders at how significant reductions can be achieved next year, the paper says.

GOP Incumbent Leads In Georgia Senate Race
A new Research 2000 poll shows GOP incumbent Senator Saxby Chambliss leading Dem challenger Jim Martin among likely voters, 52%-46%. As Taegan Goddard notes, the key finding of the poll is that "the likely-voter model for the runoff election will be substantially different from the turnout model for the November election" and that many black voters who supported Obama will "stay home for the runoff."

Chris Matthews' Run For Senate In Pennsylvania Inches Forward
This week he met with Democrats in the state to discuss his plan to try and knock off GOP Senator Arlen Specter, who is rated by The Cook Political Report as one of the four most vulnerable Senators up for re-election in 2010. If he runs, who would replace "thrill up my leg" Matthews as MSNBC's resident Obama hagiographer?