Fun times -- the chairman of the Republican National Committee is trying to argue that GOP Senator Saxby Chambliss' victory in the hard-fought Georgia runoff is proof that Barack Obama doesn't have a national mandate.

Not making this up. RNC chair Mike Duncan writes...

Georgians refuted any notion that the ideology of the country has shifted to the left...

Notably, Chambliss won in spite of strong support by President-elect Obama and Democrat organizations for Jim Martin. Georgians clearly sent a message that any rhetoric about a liberal mandate is nothing but hot air.

This is great news for Democrats! Repubs actually are citing what happened in Georgia, a McCain state that is much more conservative and Republican than the country as a whole -- and where a runoff was nonetheless forced by an initially close vote -- to make the claim that the country overall hasn't granted Obama a mandate.

That seems like a pretty clear sign that they've got absolutely zippo to use as an actual foundation for this argument.

Late Update: It turns out that it gets even sillier than this. I'd forgotten this, but as Steve Benen points out, the RNC chair even used the Georgia race to claim that Repubs have the "momentum" now. Benen:

Republicans have the smallest House minority in nearly two decades, and the smallest Senate minority in nearly three decades. They got trounced in the presidential race, and are now easily outnumbered in the nation's governorships. But they managed, with surprising difficulty, to hold on to a Senate seat in Georgia. Can't you just feel the momentum?

GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss has defeated Democratic opponent Jim Martin in the Georgia Senate runoff, officially ending any lofty dreams the Democrats may have had of reaching 60 Senate seats in this one cycle.

With 79% of precincts reporting, Chambliss has a lead of 60%-40%, wider than any of the polls had predicted in what is a very low-turnout contest. A lot of the remaining votes are from Dem strongholds and could possibly narrow the margin, but it won't have too much of an effect.

Republicans put everything they had into this race hoping to salvage some shred of a victory in the wake of the disaster they went through a month ago, and of course to keep the Dems away from the 60-seat mark. National Democrats were only half-involved, with DSCC staffers traveling here, the committee itself running a lot of attack ads, plus visits by Bill Clinton and Al Gore. But Martin was never able to get the boost he really wanted: A visit by Barack Obama, who might have energized black voters and other members of the Democratic base to come out for the runoff in this red state.

Today: The Georgia Senate Runoff
Today is the big day in Georgia: The runoff election pitting GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who is considered the favorite, against Democratic candidate Jim Martin. The question is whether the polls that have shown Chambliss ahead by several points will have accurately modeled the turnout for the runoff, which is by nature very unpredictable. The polls close at 7 p.m. ET.

Obama And Biden Meeting With Governors In Philly
Barack Obama and Joe Biden are meeting this morning with the National Governors Association in Philadelphia. Obama, Biden, and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell will be making brief remarks to the press.

WaPo: Gates' Top Deputies Might Not Continue Into Obama Administration
The Washington Post reports that the retention of Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense will not result in perfect continuity at the Defense Department -- many of Gates' deputies are now expected to quit their jobs, and be replaced by Obama appointees. It would seem Obama gets the best of both worlds here, with Gates staying on for a smooth transition while also allowing him to put his own stamp on a formerly Bush-influenced Pentagon.

Paterson: No Senate Appointment Until Hillary Resigns
New York Gov. David Paterson says he will wait until Hillary Clinton resigns from the Senate to announce who he is appointing to the seat. For her part, Hillary intends to remain in the Senate until she is officially confirmed as Secretary of State, which might not happen until after Barack Obama officially takes office.

NYT: Napolitano Will Preside Over Real ID Program She Has Opposed
The New York Times points out that Janet Napolitano, in her new role as Secretary of Homeland Security, will be in charge of enforcing the Real ID program -- which she has vigorously opposed as an unfunded mandate on the states, and she's even signed legislation to forbid Arizona from complying with it. "I'm hoping she will see this program from the federal government side and see it with new eyes," said Janice L. Kephart, a staffer for the 9/11 Commission, which recommended the program.

Lieberman Keeps Up Praise Of Obama
The Hill notes that Joe Lieberman is stepping up his praise of Barack Obama, after a campaign season in which he attacked Obama and declared that Democrats didn't take terrorism seriously enough. Lieberman declared in a statement yesterday, "the President-elect has begun to build an administration that can lead America forward on the world stage with purpose and principle."

Here's a sign that Sarah Palin could have some serious grassroots support going into the 2012 primaries: The reporter for the local NBC affiliate in Savannah says that while covering Palin's rallies today for Sen. Saxby Chambliss, she met people from as far away as New Mexico, who had come just to see Palin.

"Many made special plans to be in Savannah to see Sarah Palin, not Senator Chambliss," says WSAV's Randi Hempel, "because they're not even eligible to vote here in Georgia."

It's like the Grateful Dead, only more spaced out.

The Democrats' lofty dream of reaching 60 Senate seats looks like it could end in tomorrow's Georgia Senate runoff, with the final survey from Public Policy Polling (D) giving incumbent GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss a solid seven-point lead over Democrat Jim Martin.

The numbers: Chambliss 53%, Martin 46%, with a ±2.7% margin of error, not significantly changed from a 52%-46% lead in PPP's survey from a week ago, and in line with other polls taken over the last month. Martin doesn't seem to have done much to budge the numbers since Election Day, when Chambliss just barely missed the 50%-plus-one threshold to prevent a runoff.

A key number from the internals: PPP estimates that 35% of the total likely voters have already cast their ballots, and Chambliss is winning this group 58%-41%. So unless turnout from Democratic base voters skyrockets tomorrow beyond all expectations, Chambliss should end up the winner.

Obama Rolling Out National Security Team
Barack Obama and Joe Biden will be holding a 10:40 a.m. ET press conference today in Chicago, where Obama will be rolling out his foreign-policy team: Hillary Clinton as Sec. of State, current Sec. of Defense Robert Gates staying on, and retired Marine Gen. James Jones as National Security Adviser. Obama could also be naming Janet Napolitano as Sec. of Homeland Security, Susan Rice as Ambassador to the UN, and Eric Holder as Attorney General.

Obama To Address Rick Warren's AIDS Forum, Meeting With Dem Governors
Barack Obama will also be addressing Rick Warren's Saddleback Civil Forum on Global Health in Washington, held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, via videotaped remarks. Later tonight, Obama will be meeting with members of the Democratic Governors Association in Philadelphia.

Biden Attending Event Honoring Ted Kennedy
Joe Biden will be in attendance at a special convocation ceremony tonight at Harvard, at which Ted Kennedy will be given an honorary degree.

Sarah Palin Criss-Crossing Georgia Today
Sarah Palin is touring through Georgia today, hoping to fire up the GOP base to come out for Sen. Saxby Chambliss in tomorrow's runoff election. Palin has an 8:30 a.m. ET rally in Augusta, an 11 a.m. ET rally in Savannah, a 1:30 p.m. ET rally in Perry, and a 4 p.m. ET rally in the northern metro Atlanta area.

WaPo: Senate Dems Expect Crossover Votes From GOP Moderate -- But GOP Expects Dem Division
The Washington Post reports that even though Senate Democrats have fallen just short of a 60-seat supermajority, they still think they can pick up votes from Republicans such as Arlen Specter -- and oddly enough, John McCain -- on an issue-by-issue basis. On the other hand, Republicans expect the Dems' newfound position of power to reveal their own internal divisions, with a caucus that ranges from die-hard liberals to a couple genuine conservatives.

NYT: Susan Rice A Strong Voice Against Genocide
The New York Times points out that Susan Rice, expected to be named as Barack Obama's Ambassador to the UN, could end up being a strong advocate for intervention against genocide, and has previously called for strong action in Darfur. The Times quotes Rice from a 2001 interview with the Atlantic, describing her visit to Rwanda after the 1994 genocide: "I swore to myself that if I ever faced such a crisis again, I would come down on the side of dramatic action, going down in flames if that was required."

Iran: "Nothing Has Changed" With Obama
Barack Obama's election doesn't seem to have warmed up Iran to better diplomatic relations with the United States, Reuters reports. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Sheikhuleslam bluntly told the ISNA news agency, "nothing has changed with the coming of Obama."

The Thanksgiving season isn't stopping the attack ads from running in the heated Georgia Senate runoff, in which we'll find out this Tuesday whether the Democrats can pick up another Senate seat from the GOP.

The NRSC is running this new ad, their second spot accusing Dem candidate Jim Martin of voting against crackdowns on crimes against children:

The catch here is that Martin's own daughter was abducted when she was eight years old -- fortunately, she was returned safely -- and he has defended his record on children's safety. The campaign says the votes cited in this ad are cases where Martin voted against particular versions of a bill to toughen penalties for crimes against children, then voted for final passage at the end of the legislative process.

"Another day, another smear from Saxby Chambliss and his allies," Martin spokesperson Matt Canter told Election Central via e-mail. "If Saxby Chambliss had spent more time fighting for Georgia families and less time fighting for corporate interests, maybe he wouldn't be forced to resort to these desperate attacks."

Read more »

A new wrinkle in the Obama-to-Georgia saga: A high-profile adviser to Dem candidate Jim Martin now says that Barack Obama shouldn't come to the state to campaign for Martin in the high-stakes Senate runoff against GOP incumbent Saxby Chambliss.

Here's what the adviser, Donna Brazile, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

"No. I think President-elect Obama is doing what he must do and what he needs to do -- it's to focus on his transition. He has 56 days. He has many challenges.

"While I know and understand and appreciate the desire to see President-elect Obama down in Georgia, I think strategically, he should focus on the transition."

As noted here the other day, Martin advisers say Obama's team privately assures them that he hasn't made a final decision on whether to come to the state or not. This from Brazile, however, suggests that the Martin team may realize it's probably not gonna happen.

Barack Obama has been eerily silent on the question of whether he'll campaign in the high-stakes Georgia runoff, even as pressure is mounting on him to publicly declare whether he plans to stump for Democratic candidate Jim Martin.

And the oddity of Obama's silence is only being exacerbated by the fact that -- whether he likes it or not -- he's the star of the race in a lot of ads, like this latest one from the Martin campaign:

"In the Senate, I'll help Barack Obama pass a middle-class tax cut. Saxby's against it," Martin says. "I approve this message because we need a Senator who's ready to go to work on the economy, not stand in the way."

The GOP has been telling Georgia voters that they should re-elect GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss in order to check Obama's power on Capitol Hill, while Martin is turning that issue right around to say he should be elected so that he'll support the popular president-elect.

A key difference, though, is that Chambliss has big names like John McCain and now Sarah Palin coming into the state to fire up the base for next week's low-turnout runoff. But Obama, who is the real center of attention and could help Martin boost his own message, hasn't shown up.

Sarah Palin is going back on the trail!

Palin will be criss-crossing Georgia this Monday on behalf of GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss, in the final day of campaigning for the very unpredictable Senate runoff, the Chambliss campaign just announced.

Palin will be holding four rallies across the state, in a race that will make the difference in the Dems' efforts to get 60 seats this year, along with the Minnesota recount. This runoff election is all about jazzing up the base -- and whatever her faults, few if any Republicans did as good a job of that this year as Palin.

Chambliss has had some big names coming in for him, like John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. Democratic challenger Jim Martin, who is lagging by a few points in the polls, has had Bill Clinton and Al Gore come in for him, among others, but one huge Democratic name has eluded him: Barack Obama.

The Obama transition team isn't disputing a new report claiming that Obama won't be visiting Georgia to campaign on behalf of Dem challenger Jim Martin in the high-stakes Georgia Senate runoff.

The assertion that Obama won't be hitting the state, which will disappoint the Martin campaign and other Dems, was buried in this piece in The New York Times about the "bipartisan" tone of Obama's emerging administration:

Mr. Obama has shied away from inserting himself in the still-to-be resolved Senate contests in Georgia and Minnesota. While he recorded a radio advertisement for the Democratic candidate in Georgia, advisers said he would not visit there, to avoid appearing to be too political as he works to deliver on his campaign pledge to bridge the partisan divide in Washington.

We asked an Obama transition spokesperson this morning to confirm or deny the report, and thus far have gotten no comment. In other words, for now the transition team is not knocking it down.

There are a couple ways of reading this. If it's true, it suggests that the Obama team doesn't think Martin can win the race. If they thought he could win, it's hard to imagine that they would forgo a chance to help move the Dem Senate majority that much closer to 60 in exchange for the passing appearance of being apolitical.

It's also possible that anonymous Obama advisers are leaking word of his intention not to go merely to get the stories they want right now -- i.e., apolitical Obama putting the need for bipartisan unity before politics, just as during the Lieberman saga -- in the full knowledge that he may change his mind should the race tighten. We'll let you know if we nail this down further.

Late Update: A Martin adviser tells me that the Obama team has assured the Martin campaign that no final decisions have yet been made on whether he'll campaign in the state. So we'll see.

Things are looking a bit grim for Democrats in the big Georgia Senate runoff, with another poll showing GOP Senator Saxby Chambliss hanging on to a decent-sized lead over Dem challenger Jim Martin.

The new numbers from Public Policy Polling (D): Chambliss 52%, Martin 46%, with a ±3.3% margin of error. That said, the nature of a runoff is that it can be be an unpredictable race, and really all about GOTV for both sides.

And on the subject of GOTV, the Republicans seem to have bungled the instructions in their absentee-ballot campaign, with around half the ballot applications being rejected in some pretty populous counties over failure to fill them out completely. Oops.

Late Update: The DSCC has followed up on this poll by releasing their own internal survey that shows Chambliss ahead by only two points, with 48% to Martin's 46%.

Barack Obama is the star of a new robocall from Democratic candidate Jim Martin in the high-stakes Georgia Senate runoff, telling Obama's voters that Martin would give a big boost to Obama's agenda in the Senate.

We've obtained audio of the call, which was first reported by one of Ben Smith's readers, and is essentially a phone version of last week's radio ad:

Click To Play

The interesting thing here is how Obama's instructions to come out and vote on December 2 are followed by another voice on these calls, explaining that there are are X days left in the early-vote period and to call the Martin campaign for more information.

As we've noted before, this runoff is effectively a special election, and so much of the campaigning involves giving a civics lesson to supporters so that they know that there's an election going on and how to vote in it.

There's also one thing Martin would like that would really help with this effort, but that he still hasn't gotten: An in-person visit from Obama.

Now this is really something. The NRSC and Freedom's Watch are now airing ads in the Georgia Senate runoff accusing Democratic candidate Jim Martin of being against cracking down on people who abuse and prey on children.

The problem: Martin's own daughter was abducted when she was eight years old. Fortunately, she was returned safely. When asked for comment by Election Central, the NRSC declined to comment on this little wrinkle in the story.

Here's the NRSC's ad:

And Freedom's Watch has this ad:

The Martin campaign, as one might expect, is rather revolted by this development.

"Jim Martin has never forgotten the horror of coming face-to-face with violent crime. That's why he spent his career working to protect Georgia's children and families," Martin spokesperson Kate Hansen said in a press release. "Georgians will reject Chambliss' false personal attacks because they know that Jim Martin always stands up to protect Georgia families."

The Martin campaign is firing back with this ad, in which Martin speaks to the camera about the experience of his daughter's abduction:

The ad is not yet on the air; decisions are currently being made about when it will go up. "Saxby will have to wait and see," Martin spokesperson Matt Canter told Election Central.

Obama Calls For Major Public Works Initiative
In his newest Presidential YouTube Address, Barack Obama announced a major policy initiative: A massive public-works program in order to simultaneously update the nation's infrastructure and create what he predicted would be 2.5 million new jobs by January 2011.

"These aren't just steps to pull ourselves out of this immediate crisis; these are the long-term investments in our economic future that have been ignored for far too long," Obama said. "And they represent an early down payment on the type of reform my Administration will bring to Washington - a government that spends wisely, focuses on what works, and puts the public interest ahead of the same special interests that have come to dominate our politics."

No Obama Or Biden Public Events today
Neither Barack Obama nor Joe Biden have any public events scheduled for today.

Franken Gains In Recount, But Still Needs More Swing
With 64% of ballots recounted in Minnesota, GOP Sen. Norm Coleman's lead has been cut from 215 votes down to 120 votes, according to the latest numbers from the Star Tribune -- but Al Franken will need a better pace than that for the remaining 36% of ballots, mostly from Democratic areas, if he is to erase the lead. The other remaining issue is the large number of challenged ballots, over 1,600 of them and climbing, that will ultimately decide this race at the state canvassing board.

Martin Out-Raising Chambliss In Runoff, But Still Lags In Cash On Hand
Democratic Senate candidate Jim Martin, who is in a tough fight against incumbent GOP Senator Saxby Chambliss in the Georgia Senate runoff, out-raised Chambliss from October 16 to November 12 by $2.3 million to Chambliss' $1.9 million. However, Chambliss still has a hefty cash-on-hand advantage of $1.5 million to Martin's $617,000.

Bobby Jindal In Iowa Today
Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) is in Iowa today, a state that often sees potential presidential candidates even this early in the cycle. Jindal will be raising money to aid flood victims, and is then off to give a speech before a key social-conservative activist group, the Iowa Family Policy Center.

Verizon Fires Employees In Obama Security Breach
Verizon Wireless has fired an unspecified number of employees believed to have improperly accessed the records on a personal cell phone belonging to Barack Obama. Luckily for Obama the phone account itself had been inactive for months, and it did not provide any access to e-mails or other secure data.

Obama's Books Top Political Chart
Barack Obama's two books, Dreams From My Father and The Audacity of Hopes, have shot to the top of the New York Times' sales list of political books. Audacity is at number one, followed by Dreams, for sales from October 25 to November 15, and the remainder of the list includes quite a few books about the president-elect.

Finally! Barack Obama is now personally getting involved in the high-stakes Georgia Senate runoff, where Democratic candidate Jim Martin has an outside shot of knocking off GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss and getting the Dems that much closer to 60 seats, with this new radio ad:

"I want to thank everybody who turned out and voted for me in November. Together we can get America moving again," Obama says. "But the elections aren't over. In Georgia, there's a runoff on Tuesday, December 2, and I want to urge you to turn out one more time and help elect Jim Martin to the United States Senate."

This runoff is effectively the same as a special election -- held apart from the usual major Election Day, and likely to have much lower turnout. As such, the candidates for the runoff have to accomplish two major tasks: Getting their voters enthusiastic to come out and vote again; and providing the necessary civics lesson to make sure they actually know when to come out. This ad from the new president-elect would seem to accomplish both chores.

Now all Obama has to do is personally campaign in the state.

The Republicans are stepping up their efforts in the heated Georgia Senate runoff, a sign that they may be seriously worried that incumbent GOP Senator Saxby Chambliss could lose to Democratic challenger Jim Martin.

The Republican National Committee has now plowed another $2 million in to the race, giving the money to the NRSC -- an extraordinary sum for an election that is being held in only two weeks.

On top of that, Chambliss is getting help from another major national GOP figure: Rudy Giuliani, who is hosting a big-money fundraiser in Atlanta this Monday. This comes on top of rallies or fundraising help that Chambliss has received from John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and other major Republicans.

It's hard to overstate just how much is on the line for the GOP in this race. In the wake of Ted Stevens' loss in Alaska becoming official and the Senate Democrats' reconciliation with Joe Lieberman, the Dems are now just two seats short of a filibuster-proof supermajority. If they can pull things off in this race and also in the Minnesota recount then they'll have it right there, though this scenario remains somewhat unlikely at this point.

As a national GOP source told us: "Certainly the stakes rise every time the Dems get closer to 60 seats."

Report: McCain To Run For Re-Election In 2010
John McCain will reportedly run for re-election to the Senate in 2010. This could end up being a big race in the coming cycle, after polling from just before the 2008 election showed he could lose against Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano, though we could potentially see an upswing in McCain's positives now that the negativity of the 2008 race is over.

No Obama Or Biden Events Today
Barack Obama and Joe Biden are in Chicago today, again working in private meetings on the transition. No public events are scheduled.

Hillary Still Deep In Debt
CNN reports that Hillary Clinton is still carrying $7.6 million in debt from her presidential campaign, and that the Obama campaign only succeeded in raising about $800,000 to help her retire her debts. If Hillary were to become Secretary of State, it could become ethically impossible for her to actively raise money to deal with this problem.

Report: Bill Offers To Submit Business Activities To Ethics Reviews
The Wall St. Journal reports that Bill Clinton has offered to submit all of his future business and charitable activities to strict ethics reviews if it will help Hillary become Secretary of State. Bill's dealings with foreign businesses and governments have reportedly become a major roadblock to a potential Hillary nomination, due to the need to avoid conflicts of interest.

Bill Clinton Headed To Georgia For Jim Martin Today
Bill Clinton will be campaigning today in Atlanta for Jim Martin, the Democratic candidate in the high-stakes Senate runoff against Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss. If the Dems were to pull off an upset win in this one and also win the Minnesota recount, on top of having already won the Alaska race, this would give them an even 60 seats in the U.S. Senate -- enough to overpower any Republican filibusters if all the Democrats were to vote together.

WSJ: Georgia Runoff Reveals Loophole In Fundraising Limits
The Wall St. Journal reports that the national parties are actively taking advantage of the ability to form joint fundraising committees in order to raise extraordinary amounts of money for just one race: The Georgia Senate runoff. These joint committees enable donors to give as much as $65,000, about 29 times the regular legal limits, for just this one election.

The Minnesota Recount Begins Today
Today is the first day of the manual recount of the Senate race in Minnesota, a process that will last for several weeks, following yesterday's preliminary certification of GOP Sen. Norm Coleman's 215-vote lead over Al Franken. That lead as a percentage is only about 0.007%, well within the margin of error of the voting equipment used in this country, and the Franken campaign will also be maneuvering in court and before canvassing boards to get rejected absentee ballots re-admitted.

GOP Senator Saxby Chambliss, who's fighting a high-stakes runoff in Georgia against Democratic candidate Jim Martin, has unveiled a tough new ad strategy -- he's attacking Barack Obama in his latest spot:

"Barack Obama's new taxes would be a disaster, yet Jim Martin supports them," the announcer says.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attack ad out there that has gone after Barack Obama since he won the election (not counting Fox News promos).

The thing to remember is that this runoff will be all about driving up turnout among the party base for each side. For his part, Martin has tied himself to Obama in order to gin up enthusiasm among Dem voters who are still celebrating the presidential result, so Chambliss has his own response -- attacking Obama in order to rile up Republican voters who are still angry that Obama won the race.

Jim Martin, the Democratic candidate in the contentious Georgia Senate runoff, is getting a big Democratic name coming into the state for him: Al Gore, who will be going to Georgia on Sunday, a Martin campaign source confirmed to Election Central.

Martin is still the underdog against incumbent GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss, but this race remains on the table. The runoff election is expected to have very low turnout -- it's effectively the same as a special election in many ways -- and as such will be all about ginning up turnout among the party base.

Bill Clinton is visiting the state tomorrow, and Gore's entrance should make it even clearer just how seriously the national party is taking this race.

The AFL-CIO, which helped prove labor's organizing muscle with its formidable ground game in the battleground states, is now ramping up big time in the high-stakes Georgia runoff, putting in place an operation that it bills as the largest effort the federation has ever taken for what is effectively a special election.

The AFL is dropping this mailer to more than 80,000 homes later this week, a piece that ties GOP incumbent Saxby Chambliss to Bush by asking voters to send Chambliss packing along with the outgoing president (click to enlarge):

AFL shifted field staff from around the country to the state last week and is aiming to recruit in the neighborhood of 10,000 volunteers between now and the voting early next month. AFL is also hoping to drop over half a million pieces of mail in the next couple of weeks and mounting an aggressive door-knocking operation.

The key here is that the election is expected to be low-turnout, so while Dem challenger Jim Martin is clearly the underdog in this race, its conceivable, though not likely, that he could pull it out with a highly successful turnout operation pulling for him.

Jim Martin, the Georgia Democrat who has an outside shot at picking off GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss in the upcoming runoff election, has a new ad with a very interesting strategy for a red-state Dem: Aggressively tying himself to Barack Obama and attacking the Republican for not supporting the new president-elect.

"No wonder he opposes the Obama economic recovery plan," the announcer says -- in a state that voted 52%-47% for John McCain.

The rub here is that this runoff is similar in many ways to a special election, which is all about mobilizing the base. And Martin sees here an opportunity to capitalize on Obama's honeymoon period in order to get Democratic voters out to the polls for a second time.

Chambliss should still be viewed as the frontrunner, but not by much -- a recent Research 2000 poll has him leading Martin by only 49%-46%. If Martin can effectively leverage economic uncertainties plus the Obama honeymoon into a better base turnout than Chambliss can use right-wing anger at Obama's win, he could very plausibly pull this thing off.

Barack Obama Has Resigned From The Senate
Barack Obama officially resigned his Senate seat today, as he devotes his full time to his White House transition. "But I will never forget, and will forever be grateful, to the men and women of this great state who made my life in public service possible," Obama said in an open letter to the people of Illinois.

No Obama or Biden Public Events Today
Barack Obama and Joe Biden do not have public events scheduled for today.

Obama Announces More Key Staff Appointments
The Obama transition office announced some more top staff appointments: Pete Rouse, who was Obama's Senate chief of staff and was also chief of staff for Tom Daschle before that, will be a White House senior adviser. Mona Stuphen, a top corporate consultant, and Jim Messina, who served as national chief of staff for Obama's presidential campaign and was a long-time Congressional aide, will both be White House deputy chiefs of staff.

Jim Martin Gets Big Dem Name To Campaign For Him: Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton is headed to Georgia on Wednesday, where he'll campaign for Democratic Senate candidate Jim Martin in the runoff election against incumbent GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss. The Dems are definitely getting serious about this race, which for both sides will be all about turnout and mobilizing the party bases.

Report: Greg Craig Picked To Be White House Counsel
Barack Obama will reportedly appoint Greg Craig, an experienced Washington lawyer who served on Bill Clinton's impeachment defense team and also portrayed John McCain during Obama's debate prep, as the new White House counsel.

NYT: Obama May Have To Give Up E-Mail
The New York Times reports that Barack Obama may have to give up the use of e-mail, an ironic twist for the president elected thanks in part to the Netroots: "In addition to concerns about e-mail security, he faces the Presidential Records Act, which puts his correspondence in the official record and ultimately up for public review, and the threat of subpoenas. A decision has not been made on whether he could become the first e-mailing president, but aides said that seemed doubtful."

Robert Gates Working For Smooth Transition
The Washington Post reports that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is working closely with the incoming Obama Administration on the transition process, setting up office space for them right near his own office at the Pentagon and canvassing political appointees to find out which ones would like to leave and which would like to stay on. Gates himself, of course, may very well be one of those employees who wishes to stay on for a while, a matter that still remains to be sorted out.

Rudy Considering Bid For New York Governor, Won't Rule Out Another Presidential Run
Rudy Giuliani told reporters in Dubai that he is considering a run for governor of New York in 2010, and wouldn't rule out another presidential campaign. "No one knows whether you'll do something again until you come to the point of: 'Is it possible to do it again? Would you have a chance of winning?'" said Rudy.