CQ Politics' Web Picks

New York Times: For Obama and Family, a Personal Transition

Life for the newly chosen president and his family has changed forever. Even the constraints and security of the campaign trail do not compare to the bubble that has enveloped him in the 10 days since his election. Renegade, as the Secret Service calls him, now lives within the strict limits that come with the most powerful office on the planet.

Huffington Post: Obama's Team of Rivals

If Barack Obama asks Hillary Clinton to become Secretary of State, it would be a brilliantly audacious political move. But would it be good for American foreign policy? Would it be consistent with the kind of change Obama promised on the campaign trail? Clinton's record is markedly different than Obama's. Clinton represents, or has represented, what I would call the Lieberman wing of the party -- Democratic neocons.

Washington Post: Obama's Wide Range of Economic Advisers

They include free traders and "fair traders," deficit hawks, Wall Street executives, corporate moguls and labor advocates. Together, they represent the broad range of thinking that Obama promised to tap to combat the deepening economic slump and fix an economy in which wages have stagnated for most workers. But they also are emblematic of the sharp differences in economic policy that have divided the Democratic Party in years past.

Los Angeles Times: Vast Obama Network Becomes a Political Football

Some Obama advisors want to blend his campaign operation with the Democratic National Committee. Others worry that such a move could cause the grass-roots organization to unravel.

Foreign Policy: The Dark Art of Cyberwar

Earlier this summer, the two U.S. presidential candidates--by then accustomed to jousting their opponents--took another kind of hit. The FBI and the Secret Service told the Obama and McCain campaigns that hackers had tapped into their networks, looking for clues about likely future policies. The attacks probably originated in China. When does a cyberattack become a declaration of war, rather than just a nuisance?

Salon: Can Republicans Come Back from their "Thumpin'"?

Salon asked three experts with a vested interest in the future of the party, two Republican strategists and one conservative intellectual, for their take on where the GOP goes from here. Alex Castellanos, Ron Christie and Reihan Salam offered their thoughts about whether the Republican Party's core principles remain intact, whether Reaganism applies to the 21st century, and who the front-runners might be for the GOP's 2012 presidential nomination.

Wall Street Journal: If Obama Doesn't Connect, More Than the Game is Lost

A week and a half after the election, the idea has settled in that America just threw long. People hadn't heard of Mr. Obama two years ago, they know they don't really know him now, and they just gave him the presidency. America threw long, and America is praying for a dazzling reception. People want him to catch the ball.

New Republic: Why the Auto Industry Deserves to be Rescued

GM, Ford, and Chrysler are taking precisely the sorts of steps everybody says are necessary--or, at least, they were taking those steps until an unexpected trifecta of high gas prices, vanishing credit, and a deep recession hit. Rescuing the auto industry is not, as so many people suppose, a question of giving Detroit one extra shot at transformation. It's a question of giving Detroit a chance to finish a transformation that was already underway.

Reason: The Schnorrer State

The accomplishments Ted Stevens brags about are worse than the crimes he denies.

Weekly Standard: Barack Obama Won't Need Special Effects to Walk on Water

In Hollywood, not only is Obama already a figure of worship, he easily fits an already established Hollywood model: the calm and benevolent black governmental authority figure. Over the past 20 years there has hardly been a courtroom scene in which an African American is not the wise presiding judge. Never have fictional presidents been given such glowing treatment as Morgan Freeman's in the asteroid movie Deep Impact and Dennis Haysbert's on the television series 24.