Obama Promises Entitlement Reform, Action On Health Care
In an interview with the Washington Post editorial board, Barack Obama promised that his administration will make tough choices on entitlement spending. "Social Security, we can solve," said Obama. "The big problem is Medicare, which is unsustainable...We can't solve Medicare in isolation from the broader problems of the health-care system."

Obama Hitting The Sort-Of Campaign Trail For Stimulus Plan
Barack Obama is holding an event today in the Cleveland suburb of Bedford Heights, Ohio, where he'll be touring a factory that makes parts for wind turbines, in order to promote his economic stimulus plan. His meeting with factory workers to discuss the benefits of his plan is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET.

Biden's Senate Replacement To Be Sworn In Today
Senator-Designate Ted Kaufman (D-DE) is set to be sworn in today as Joe Biden's replacement. A political unknown, Kaufman served as Biden's Senate chief of staff from 1973-1994, and will only serve as a caretaker and not seek a full term in 2010 -- at which time Biden's son Beau is expected to run for the seat.

Steve King: Obama Can Say "Hussein," But I Can't
In an interview with Politico, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) criticized Barack Obama for saying he will use his middle name when he is sworn into office. King says it's a double standard that people on the right are attacked for referring to "Barack Hussein Obama," but Obama can do it himself: "Is that reserved just for him, not his critics?"

Blago Won't Attend Inaugural
Rod Blagojevich's office says he will not be attending Barack Obama's inauguration next week. Under most circumstances, it would be considered unusual for a governor to not attend the inauguration of his state's favorite son as president, but Blago's spokesman said the governor does not want to be a distraction.

With Small Numbers, House GOP Whip No Longer Whipping
The Hill reports that House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) is refocusing his job away from counting votes and ensuring party loyalty -- the official job of the whip -- and branching out into formulating policies and a party message. The reason: With only 178 members and having lost the presidency, House Republicans aren't in a position to win many votes.

GOPer Has Big Money For Virginia Gubernatorial Race
The new year-end fundraising reports from the candidates for governor of Virginia show that Republican nominee Bob McDonnell has more than $2 million in cash on hand. In the three-way Democratic primary field, state Sen. Creigh Deeds leads with $891,000, former state Del. Brian Moran has $770,000 on hand, Terry McAuliffe has $718,000 on hand -- an impressive amount, considering Terry only just recently got in the race.

Obama Reworking TARP To Reduce Foreclosures -- And Win Over Congress
The Wall St. Journal reports that the Obama transition team is working some key new conditions into the Wall St. bailout, in order to win Congressional authorization for the remaining $350 billion. The bailout would now place new restrictions on recipients, and funds would also be used for additional purposes such as preventing foreclosures.

Obama Meeting With Calderon Today
Barack Obama is meeting in Washington today with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, a customary practice for presidents-elect before their inauguration. A big topic of discussion will reportedly be the Mexico drug war.

Bush Holding Final Press Conference
President Bush is holding a 9:15 a.m. press conference today, which is believed to be his final presser before leaving office.

Voinovich Expected To Announce Retirement
Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) is expected to announce today that he won't be running for a third term in 2010. The new development sets up this big swing state for what should be a very heated open-seat race.

Today: Burris' Lawyers In Washington
Roland Burris' attorneys will be in Washington today to press the Senate leadership on the legality of Burris' appointment to the Illinois Senate seat. This comes after Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White issued a certified copy of Burris' certificate of appointment -- though he did not sign the appointment itself -- and after the state Supreme Court declared that the appointment was legal under Illinois law regardless of White's signature.

The Forecast For Inauguration Day: Cold, But Dry
The weather forecast for January 20, Inauguration Day, currently predicts temperatures in the high 30s in Washington, with sunny skies and no precipitation. The New York Times points out that this is comparable to the sunny and cold weather for Bill Clinton's two inaugurals, and better than the foggy or icy weather that George W. Bush had for his two events.

WaPo: The Audacity Of Terry
The Washington Post reports that Terry McAuliffe's candidacy for governor of Virginia seems to be going against just about every fundamental assumption of state politics: "that successful candidates must have deep roots in Virginia, that they must spend years cultivating support in local and state party organizations and that, if they are Democrats, they must stay connected with conservative-minded Virginians by keeping their distance from the national party."

Bush 41: Jeb Should Run For President -- But Probably Not Right Now
In an interview on Fox News Sunday, George H.W. Bush said that his son Jeb should run for president. That said, Bush the Elder did seem to allude to the current status of the Bush name: "I mean, right now is probably a bad time, because we've had enough Bushes in there."

Obama Family Spending First Full Day In Washington
Barack Obama and his family have now moved to Washington, in order for the children to start school on time. The family have travelled separately and are temporarily staying in a Washington hotel, while Obama himself is preparing to work on his economic stimulus package.

Reid On Blago Phone Call Story: Blago's Behavior "Regrettable And Reprehensible"
Harry Reid released a statement Saturday night tearing into Rod Blagojevich, in the wake of media reports that he had called Blago shortly before the scandal broke and asked him not to appoint Jesse Jackson Jr., Emil Jones or Danny Davis to the Senate. "Gov. Blagojevich appears to be trying to distract attention from his daunting legal problems and damaged credibility by distorting information about private phone calls between himself and other public officials," said Reid. "It is regrettable and reprehensible."

Burris Not Ruling Out Lawsuit, Reid Leaves Senate Door Slightly Open
Roland Burris says he is not ruling out a lawsuit to force the U.S. Senate to seat him in the Senate. Meanwhile, Harry Reid says the Senate is on firm legal ground in denying Burris his place in the Senate -- but did seem to leave the door open to negotiation on this point.

Cheney: "We've Done Some Very Good Things"
In an interview on Face The Nation, Dick Cheney demurred when asked whether the country is better off after the last eight years: "We've done some very good things over the course of the last eight years." Cheney was also asked about warrant-less surveillance, Guantanamo Bay and torture/interrogation techniques, and said he would do it all again.

NYT: Europe More Willing To Work With Obama -- But It Could Still Be Tough
The New York Times reports that European leaders are ready to work with Barack Obama in a much better way than they interacted with George W. Bush, but many challenges still lay ahead. Two major sticking points will be the current American plans to establish missile defense bases near Russia, plus the matter of resettling Guantanamo Bay prisoners in other countries.

McAuliffe Officially Running For Virginia Governor
Terry McAuliffe made it official on Saturday that he is running for governor of Virginia. McAuliffe faces two other Democrats in a contested primary, but could be a very serious candidate, as he is expected to raise tens of millions of dollars for the campaign and to put forward his résumé as a businessman.

Gaza Crisis Posing Tough Questions For Obama And Bush
The fighting in Gaza is shaping up to be the first international crisis facing Barack Obama -- and he hasn't even been sworn in yet, while the Obama transition team is thus far deferring to the Bush Administration on the question. "As the fighting in Gaza shows, however," the New York Times points out, "events in the world do not necessarily wait for Inauguration Day in the United States."

Obama Goes To The Bathroom
The traveling press pool on Barack Obama's attempted Hawaii vacation have thus far documented the president-elect visiting a high school friend, getting some food -- and going to the bathroom.

Klobuchar: Senate Should Seat Recount Winner, Pending Litigation
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is calling for the Senate to provisionally seat the winner of the state's recount -- who at this point looks like it will be Al Franken -- even though the race won't be officially settled due to an expected post-recount election contest in court. Minnesota law officially prohibits a full certification of a victory until a contest proceeding is over, which could prevent the seating of a Senator for weeks or perhaps even a month or two.

Terry McAuliffe -- And His Money -- Making Mark On Virginia Gov Race
The Washington Post reports that Terry McAuliffe's fundraising operation is making a big impact on the Virginia gubernatorial race, with many observers believing that he could spend up to $80 million on the race. Randal Kirk, major state Democratic fundraiser who has committed to supporting McAuliffe, said that McAuliffe can instantly appeal to voters: "He has an astonishingly strong personality."

RNC Members Call Special Meeting To Host Candidates
In the latest sign that the race for RNC chairman is really heating up, committee members have for the first time ever called their own special RNC meeting, without orders from the national party. The meeting is being held as a forum for the candidates now running for the chairmanship, so it shouldn't come as a shock that it was called outside the auspices of the national leadership -- after all, the current party chairman Mike Duncan is in a tough fight for re-election against a wide field of challengers.

Caroline Kennedy: "You Know"
Ben Smith points out that during her interview with the New York Times, Caroline Kennedy used the phrase "you know" to fill in pauses a total of 142 times.

Terry Mac is back.

Terry McAuliffe, the former DNC chairman and (very) enthusiastic national chairman of Hillary Clinton's candidacy, has officially filed papers for a possible run for governor of Virginia in 2009, a move that has been expected for quite some time. McAuliffe will now embark on a tour of the state to make his final decision.

McAuliffe brings a background in business and political fundraising that could potentially make him a strong candidate, but on the other hand he's late into this game -- there are already two Dem candidates officially in the race who have spent a while building up their organizations.

On top of that, Terry might have some problems thanks to the colorful image that he cultivated during the Hillary campaign. Here's our greatest hits from that period:

Tonight: Obama's Acceptance Speech, And Good Weather
Barack Obama will give his big speech tonight at Invesco Field, ceremonially accepting the Democratic nomination before a packed football stadium on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. And Nature seems to be on his side: The weather forecast for Denver tonight predicts mild temperatures and no precipitation that might have ruined his outdoor speech.

Obama And Biden To Embark On Bus Tour After Convention
The full Democratic ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, plus their wives Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, will be heading off on a bus tour through three key swing states after the convention is over. The first stop is tomorrow in Beaver, Pennsylvania, with the tour set to also take them through Ohio and Michigan.

McCain In Ohio Tonight
John McCain will be traveling to Ohio tonight, where he's expected to kick off a pre-convention campaign swing that will include the announcement of his running mate. Press reports indicate that McCain has made his final decision of who his running mate will be, leaving us all to await the announcement.

Report: Rove Worked To Stop Potential Lieberman Veep Pick
Jonathan Martin reports that Karl Rove himself, concerned over John McCain's ability to hold on to the conservative base, approached Joe Lieberman and asked him to tell John McCain not to pick him for vie president. Lieberman reportedly turned down the request.

Connecticut Delegates Demand Lieberman Be Punished
The Hill reports that many Connecticut's delegates to the Democratic Convention are adamant that Joe Lieberman be punished by the Democratic Party for his support of John McCain. "I can't wait until we expand our majority in the Senate so he can be stripped of his committee," said Jennifer Just, a delegate from Woodbridge.

Bobby Rush: Obama Became A Better Pol After I Beat Him
Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush, who easily turned back a primary challenge in 2000 from an unknown state senator named Barack Obama, told Roll Call that the 2000 race made Obama a better candidate: "He took the loss very seriously and the it taught him a little bit about humility. And I believe that it serves him well now -- having a humble spirit."

Terry Mac: I Might Run For Governor Of Virginia
Terry McAuliffe, who made his name this campaign as one of the most vociferous and entertaining spokespeople for Hillary Clinton, is apparently considering a run for governor of Virginia in 2009. If McAuliffe runs he will likely have to face a couple candidates who are already lining up support, but nobody can say he isn't energetic on the stump.