Obama: Economy "Going To Get Worse Before It Gets Better"
In his new interview on Meet The Press, Barack Obama laid out a blunt assessment of the economy, declaring twice that, "The economy is going to get worse before it gets better." He also said he would support the proposed $15 billion loans to save the auto industry from bankruptcy during the lame-duck period, but with conditions for the companies to make changes.

Obama Holding Press Conference, Announcing Shinseki For Veterans Affairs
Barack Obama is holding a 2 p.m. ET press conference in Chicago, at which he will announce his pick of retired Gen. Eric Shinseki -- who was famously ridiculed by the Bush Administration after he accurately predicted in early 2003 that many more troops would be needed for the Iraq War -- to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Obama confirmed the pick during his interview on Meet The Press.

RNC: We Can Still Win Elections
RNC chairman Mike Duncan released a statement last night trumpeting the GOP's victories in yesterday's House elections in Louisiana. "Coupled with the recent Senate win in Georgia, it's clear that Republicans still know how to win elections as we continue to build a solid foundation for the elections in 2010," said Duncan.

It's Official: David Gregory Is New Host Of Meet The Press
NBC News has officially announced that they've picked White House correspondent David Gregory to be the new host of Meet The Press. "I'm filled with a great sense of purpose as I join a superb team to cover Washington and the world from a treasured platform in our country," Gregory said in the press release. "Above all, I want to make Tim proud."

Report: Matthews Inks New Contract With MSNBC, Won't Run For Senate
The Politico reports that Chris Matthews has signed a new contract with MSNBC, set to be announced on Tuesday. If this proves to be true, then Matthews will not be running for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania

Sebelius Withdraws Her Name From Consideration For Cabinet
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who endorsed Barack Obama in the run-up to Super Tuesday and helped deliver him a landslide win in her state's caucuses, has taken herself out of consideration for a cabinet post. Sebelius said she wanted to focus her time on solving Kansas' current fiscal crisis, but her decision has one other effect: It leaves her open and available for a possible run for Senate in 2010.

Obama's Speechwriter Favreau Caught In Facebook Antics
Barack Obama's top speechwriter Jon Favreau just got in a bit of trouble on Facebook, with photos posted that showed him apparently groping a life-size cardboard photo of Hillary Clinton at a house party. The reaction from a Clinton spokesperson: "Sen. Clinton is pleased to learn of Jon's obvious interest in the State Department, and is currently reviewing his application."

Rep. "Dollar Bill" Jefferson (D-LA) has lost his seat in tonight's Louisiana elections to Republican candidate Joseph Cao, giving the Dems their own case of Ted Stevens Syndrome -- that is, a safe and well-entrenched incumbent, who holds a seat that ought to be an easy win for his party, going down to defeat on a corruption scandal.

Jefferson, of course, is the New Orleans Congressman who is currently under a multi-count federal indictment on corruption charges, in a bizarre case that involved, among other things, $90,000 in cash being found in his freezer back in 2006. That scandal wasn't enough for him to lose re-election in 2006, but the indictment that has come down since then appears to have done it.

This is a solidly-Democratic, majority-black district, so the idea of any Republican getting elected here is a real shocker, even under these circumstances. As such, look for the Dems to put up a strong candidate in 2010 -- maybe one who isn't under indictment -- and make this seat their top pick-up target.

Late Update: With 100% of precincts reporting, Cao has defeated Jefferson by a 50%-47% margin, with a little bit under 65,000 total votes cast.

Obama Discusses Economic Recovery Program, Focusing On National Infrastructure
In his newest Presidential YouTube Address, Barack Obama discusses the recent news about job-losses and his own plan for economic recovery, which involves creating jobs through massive investments in infrastructure, ranging from roads to schools and government buildings, plus more access to broadband connectivity:

"When Congress reconvenes in January, I look forward to working with them to pass a plan immediately," Obama says. While a skeptic might think he's sticking too closely to the "one president at a time" rule by delaying the work with Congress until January, there is another important point to consider: The new Congress that will convene in January will have widely-expanded Democratic majorities, and thus be much more likely than the current Congress to pass something like this.

Obama Taping Meet The Press Interview
Barack Obama is taping an interview today with Tom Brokaw for Meet The Press, set to air tomorrow. Joe Biden is in Delaware, and has no public event scheduled.

Tonight: Two House Elections In Louisiana
Louisiana is holding two elections today for the House of Representatives. Rep. Bill Jefferson (D), who is currently under indictment for corruption charges, is expected to win re-election over Republican Joseph Cao in this solid-Dem district. The open seat of Rep. Jim McCrery (R) has a tight race between Republican John Fleming and Democrat Paul Carmouche. The polls close at 9 p.m. ET.

Reid To Keep Biden Out of Dem Caucus Meetings
Harry Reid will reportedly be barring Joe Biden from Senate Democratic caucus meetings, rather than allow him to continue to attend as the nominal presiding officer of the Senate. The move is intended to restore the system of checks and balances between the executive and legislative branches by undoing what had been a common practice for Dick Cheney and the Senate Republicans.

Obama Campaign's Next Question: What To Do With $29.3 Million
The Hill reports that the Obama campaign has ended the race with $29.3 million left on hand, after all remaining bills are paid, and has a variety of options regarding what to do with it. The campaign could do any or all of the following: Save money for the 2012 re-election campaign; give it to national, state and local party committees; give some to individual candidates or PACs, subject to standard donation limits; spend it on issue advocacy; or give some to charity.

Obama Could Announce Veterans Affairs Pick Tomorrow.
Barack Obama is holding a press conference tomorrow in Chicago at 2 p.m. ET, officially billed as an event to honor veterans on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Reuters reports that Obama will also be announcing his pick for Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Ted Kennedy Steps Down From Judiciary Committee To Focus On Health Care Policy
Ted Kennedy is leaving his long-held seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee in order to focus more of his time on health-care policy. Kennedy will have one full chairmanship with the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, plus one subcommittee chairmanship within the Armed Services Committee.

Yes, it is possible to be reelected to Congress while being targeted by a Federal bribery probe. Rep. William Jefferson proved that yesterday, easily winning reelection in yesterday's runoff against fellow Dem Karen Carter. The Associated Press has called the race for Jefferson, reporting that with 44 percent of precincts in, Jefferson leads Carter by a lopsided 61%-39%.

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It sounds odd, but a Democrat is now running an attack ad featuring ominous images of gay people, a fetus, and scientists engaging in cloning research. The new ad from scandal-plagued Rep. Bill Jefferson attacks fellow Dem Karen Carter — his opponent in this Saturday's runoff election — accusing her of supporting gays, late-term abortion and embryonic cloning, all accompanied with the sort of sinister music that we're using to hearing in Republican ads. "Big difference?" the ad asks. "You bet there is."

Late Update: The ad has been pulled from YouTube.

Here's a rundown of the latest developments in the yet-to-be officially decided House races:

Fl-13: Problems still abound in this district, where about 15 percent of all Sarasota County voters using touch-screen machines didn't register a choice in the Congressional race. Lawyers for Dem Christine Jennings recently complained that GOPer Vern Buchahan is purposely stalling the audit of the voting machines by failing to offer up his an expert to participate in the process. A manual recount is underway, but the audit by the state is Jennings only real chance to successfully contest the election. Paul Kiel has more on this race over at TPMMuckraker.

LA-02: The runoff election between two Democrats, Rep. William Jeffereson and Karen Carter, will occur on Dec. 9.

NC-08: GOP Rep. Robin Hayes' lead over Dem Larry Kissell narrowed to 400 votes Friday after six counties reported official election results. Four more counties still need to report their official results. The Hayes campaign has petitioned for the majority of provisional ballots to be thrown out.

NM-01: Republicans are again claiming victory for Rep. Heather Wilson as the final tally is expected to be finished Friday afternoon.

OH-02: Local boards of elections will begin counting more than 8,200 provisional ballots on Monday. Democrats are complaining that confusion of voter ID laws will cause many votes to not be counted.

OH-15: The final count will be delayed until Nov. 27 because of new rules for counting provisional ballots. About 19,500 absentee and provisional ballots remain to be counted in the district. GOP Rep. Deborah Pryce currently leads Dem Mary Jo Kilroy by 3,536 votes.

TX-23: The runoff election between GOP Rep. Henry Bonilla and Dem Ciro Rodriguez has not been officially scheduled yet, but will occur no sooner than Dec. 12.

WY-AL: Dem Gary Trauner has officially decided against seeking a recount solidifying GOP Rep. Barbara Cubin's victory.

For a complete look at all the results of the midterms, check out TPM's Election Central Scoreboard here.

A dozen challengers have filed to take on politically-vulnerable FBI probe target William Jefferson -- eight Dems, three Republicans and one Libertarian.

As per Louisiana law, all the candidates will be on the ballot on Nov. 7. Good luck, Jeff.

Until today, it looked like William Jefferson would glide back into Congress (if he wasn't indicted first). Not anymore. It seems Jefferson--who's still suffering legal woes--will indeed have to fight for his seat: Democratic state Sen. Derrick Shepherd will enter the primary, and state Rep. Karen Carter may jump in, too.

The increasingly damning news about Rep. William Jefferson hasn’t hurt his reelection prospects. The Times-Picayune reports:

Simple logic dictates that U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, who sits squarely in the cross hairs of a sprawling federal corruption investigation, should be considered politically vulnerable as the fall election season draws near.

But with the deadline to sign up for the Nov. 7 congressional race less than three weeks away, the silence on the campaign trail is deafening. In fact, the embattled eight-term New Orleans Democrat has drawn only one announced opponent, a political unknown.

Democrats are keeping quiet until Jefferson is indicted: some say it's loyalty, others say they can't raise the money to fight him. Republicans don't have much of a chance in the overwhelmingly Democratic district. Voters appreciate the money his seniority lets him bring back to the hurricane-battered area.

The only thing Jefferson’s running against is the FBI. He's got an unlikely ally in that battle: House Speaker Dennis Hastert. The Republican representative is challenging the order allowing the FBI to examine the documents they took in the raid of Jefferson's office.

Bad news for Rep. William Jefferson (D).

Update: read the decision.

Rep. William Jefferson (D), who could certainly use a little help with his image, has hired a “crisis communications consultant.” Judy Smith is a lawyer who has done PR for President Bush Sr. (crises like the first Gulf War, the budget debate, and the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas scandal), the D.C. Attorney’s Office (crises like the prosecution of Mayor Marion Barry) and Monica Lewinsky (crises like Monica Lewinsky).

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The House voted to strip Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) of his powerful position on the Ways and Means Committee today. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) instigated the vote after meeting with the Democratic Caucus yesterday. The Democrats voted 99-58 for his removal. In the full House, there was no debate or roll call.

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