Reports that President-elect Barack Obama will name Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) to his cabinet tomorrow have bloggers crowning Clinton as the nation's newest top diplomat, while Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) fails to satisfy liberals with an explanation of the term "recession."

After weeks of speculation, Townhall.com's Amanda Carpenter declares that "it's going to happen": Clinton, the blogger says, will be named as the next U.S. secretary of state tomorrow morning at a news conference in Chicago. The Obama team has not confirmed it, but Clinton earns congratulations from TalkLeft's Jeralyn after several outlets reported that the announcement will happen.

If reports are accurate that President Bill Clinton has agreed to disclose a full list of donors to his foundation, then the former president has paved the way for his wife's nomination by compromising with the Obama team, AMERICAblog's John Aravosis writes. The list should be a treasure trove of wealthy foreigners, Michelle Malkin predicts, wondering if Obama will release it to the public.

And Chambliss demonstrated that he is uninformed about the economy today when he told Fox News's Chris Wallace that economists disagree on the technical definition of "recession," Think Progress's Ryan Powers claims. Powers notes that the Federal Reserve believes a recession is underway, and Matthew Yglesias calls Chambliss "clueless" after hearing the senator's statement.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Constitution Prohibition on Clinton at State - Dan Spencer, RedState
It's Going to Happen - Amanda Carpenter, Townhall.com
No Dark Cloud without Darker Lining - Devilstower, Daily Kos
Security Team (with Clinton) Announcement - Josh Orton, MyDD
Yes, Clinton Can Be Secretary of State - Stirling Newberry, Firedoglake
Experience You Can Believe In - Abe Greenwald, contentions
Obama's Problem - Michael Crowley, The Stump
Hillary Gets SoS, Bill to Cough Up Donor Names - Michelle Malkin
What Will Schwarzenegger Do? - Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit
Chambliss Still Unsure of Recession - Ryan Powers, Think Progress

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Obama to Roll Out National Security Team Monday - CNN
Clinton to Be Introduced as Part of Security Team - NY Times
GOP Looks to Jindal - Washington Post

Appearing on "Fox News Sunday" this morning, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told host Chris Wallace that there are some "pretty good deals this summer" on BMWs being manufactured in his home state, while Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) plugged Chevrolet Tahoe hybrids.

According to Fox's transcript:

WALLACE: Senators, we have got less than three minutes left. I want to talk about one other area. Senator Graham, the big three automakers are supposed to come back this week with a plan — a better plan as to how they would spend $25 billion in a government bailout.You've got BMW making cars in South Carolina. Is there any…GRAHAM: Pretty good deals this summer…(CROSSTALK)WALLACE: Say again?GRAHAM: Very good deals (INAUDIBLE)…(CROSSTALK)WALLACE: Oh, well, I'm glad to hear that.

McCaskill told Wallace that a Chevy Tahoe hybrid she just purchased is a "terrific car," encouraging consumers to buy American-made autos.

Graham voiced his opposition to bailing out Detroit while McCaskill said Congress needs to know more about the Big Three's finances before a plan should be approved. Wallace told viewers as the interview concluded that "Chevy Tahoe and BMW approved this message."

President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden will announce members of their national security team tomorrow morning at a news conference in Chicago, according to Obama's transition team.

Obama is expected to name Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as secretary of state and Defense Secretary Robert Gates to stay on in his current job, though it is unclear what positions Obama and Biden will announce tomorrow.

The news conference is slated to begin at 10:40 a.m. Eastern at the downtown Chicago Hilton.

President-elect Barack Obama will appear on NBC's "Meet the Press" next Sunday to be interviewed by host Tom Brokaw, according to the network.

Obama's last appearance on the program was July 27 of this year. The program will air from 9-10 a.m. Eastern in most markets; in Washington, D.C. and New York City, it will air from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Eastern.

A slip of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's (D) tongue has liberal bloggers wondering if Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) will replace President-elect Barack Obama in the Senate, while others are surprised that a former critic of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) has found a position in Obama's transition team.

Blagojevich may have revealed his pick for Illinois's next senator on Thursday, Firedoglake's Teddy Partridge suggests after Blagojevich referred to Davis as "senator" while addressing reporters at a Thanksgiving event. Blagojevich's slip might not mean anything, MyDD's Jonathan Singer suggests, but the blogger says Davis could mean a friendly Senate vote for progressives if he is tapped.

It is ironic that former Obama campaign adviser Samantha Power has taken on a role in the Obama's State Department transition operation, given that she resigned from Obama's campaign after calling Clinton a "monster," writes RedState's Pejman Yousefzadeh. With Clinton reportedly offered a job as secretary of state, Kevin Drum says Clinton would do well to promote Power to a meaningful position in a show of unity.

And after The Washington Post today called for Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) to step down as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Townhall.com's Amanda Carpenter points out that pressure is mounting on Rangel to relinquish his gavel following a wave of ethical scandals for the longtime congressman. Cable news stations have not given that pressure much play, Carpenter says, though Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds notes that both the Post and the Albany Times-Union have called for Rangel's committee ouster since news that he helped preserve a tax loophole for a donor to the City College of New York center bearing his name.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Lieberman Damage Control - Daniel De Groot, Open Left
So, Just out of Curiosity… - Pejman Yousefzadeh, RedState
Another Call for Rangel to Step Down - A. Carptenter, Townhall.com
Freedom and Torture - Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish
More Ignorant Questions - Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
Bush through the Obama Prism - Victor Davis Hanson, The Corner
Franken's Sore Loser Strategy - Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
Pick Our Fights and Move to the States - S. Dayton, The Next Right
Danny Davis? - Teddy Partridge, Firedoglake
Surprise! Bailout Oversight Not Happening - Kagro X, Daily Kos

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Trade Deals Will Face More Critics in Congress - Wall Street Journal
U.S. 'Not Getting What We Pay For' - Washington Post
Liberal Groups Feel Welcome Again in Washington - LA Times

After President Bush called Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday, President-elect Barack Obama called the prime minister Friday night to offer condolences of his own for the terrorist attacks that have shaken Mumbai since Wednesday.

Obama called Singh around 10:30 p.m. Eastern time yesterday "to express condolences for those killed in the terrorists attacks in Mumbai and to let him know that his thoughts and prayers are with the people of India and all who were affected by the attack," according to Obama's transition office.

Obama has received updates from Bush's State Department on the Mumbia attacks as they unfolded over the past days.

President-elect Barack Obama offered his condolences today to victims of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, after news that American citizens were killed.

"Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the American citizens who lost their lives in the outrageous terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Our thoughts and prayers are with them, and with all who have been touched by this terrible tragedy," Obama said in a statement issued by his transition office.
 
"These terrorists who targeted innocent civilians will not defeat India's great democracy, nor shake the will of a global coalition to defeat them. The United States must stand with India and all nations and people who are committed to destroying terrorist networks, and defeating their hate-filled ideology," Obama said.

Obama added that he appreciates the updates he has been receiving from President Bush's State Department and that he will continue to monitor the situation closely.
 
"There is one president at a time.  I will continue to closely monitor the situation on the ground in Mumbai, and am grateful for the cooperation of the Bush Administration in keeping me and my staff updated. We fully support the Bush Administration's efforts to protect American citizens and assist the government of India during this tragic time," Obama said.

MSNBC's Chris Matthews appears to be gearing up for a 2010 Senate bid, some speculate after sources told one blogger  that Matthews is hiring campaign staff. The reason for Vice President-elect Joe Biden's low profile, meanwhile, is debated by others.

Multiple sources have told FiveThirtyEight's Sean Quinn that Matthews is staffing up for a 2010 bid to unseat Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the blogger tells readers, noting that Matthews trails Specter in polls on the hypothetical matchup. Matthews's challenge, if he runs, will be to get Pennsylvanians to take him seriously, Hot Air's Allahpundit asserts, while Firedoglake's Jane Hamsher syas Specter could beat Matthews by winning over Democrats.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) reported selection as secretary of state is likely the reason for Biden's low profile in the executive transition, Carol Platt Liebau surmises at Townhall.com. President-elect Barack Obama picked Biden as his running mate to get some foreign policy expertise on his ticket, Liebau says, and with the possibility of Clinton leading the State Department, the blogger thinks Biden had better get used to being out of the limelight. With the campaign over, foreign policy responsibilities will fall on Obama himself and on his new secretary of state, leaving Biden to settle into a low-key role, Jazz Shaw opines at The Moderate Voice.

And Karl Rove's approval of Obama's economic team draws skepticism from MyDD's Josh Orton. The former White House adviser praised Obama's new team in a Wall Street Journal op-ed today, but Orton thinks Rove and other conservatives are feigning approval now so they can turn on Obama later when he tries to move liberal agendas on healthcare and energy.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Can a Non RNC Member Be a Chair? - Matt Lewis, Townhall.com
Mumbai Attacks, the West, and India - Soren Dayton, RedState
Obama Must Deliver on Healthcare - desmoinesdem, MyDD
Coleman Lawyers Up - John Hinderaker, Power Line
Obama Derangement Syndrome? - Andy McCarthy, The Corner
Matthews Hiring Campaign Staff - Allahpundit, Hot Air
Chris Matthew Staffing Up - Sean Quinn, FiveThirtyEight
The Changing Face of Indian Terrorism - S. Subramanian, The Plank
Nobody Likes O'Reilly - Steve Benen, Political Animal
Isn't This a Good Thing - John Cole, Balloon Juice

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Bush on His Legacy: I 'Liberated' Iraqis - ABC News
A Stimulus in His Own Image - Washington Post
Turf Battle Looms over Clinton Protection - USA Today

Georgia Democrat Jim Martin blasts Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) for voting against Sen. Jim Webb's (D-Va.) 21st Century G.I. bill in his latest TV ad.

Martin, a Vietnam veteran, has hit Chambliss for numerous veterans-related votes this week. Yesterday, in a Thanksgiving video message circulated by Martin's campaign, former Sen. Max Cleland (D-Ga.) criticized Chambliss for voting against more leave time for soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Martin and Chambliss will face each other in a Dec. 2 runoff for Chambliss's Senate seat. See the new ad below.

More U.S soldiers would be spending Thanksgiving with their families if Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) had not gotten his way, former Sen. Max Cleland (D-Ga.) says in a Thanksgiving video message circulated this week by Democrat Jim Martin's campaign.

Chambliss voted against an amendment offered by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.)–part of his 21st century G.I. bill–that would have required soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan to get periods of leave time at least as long as their deployments.

"What a shame, what a tragedy," Cleland says. "How many more servicemen and women would be at home for Thanksgiving around their family's table now if my fellow Vietnam veteran's amendment in the Senate to bring our troops home for as much time as they've spent overseas, Jim Webb's amendment, had been adopted? But Saxby Chambliss voted against it."

Martin will face Chambliss in a Dec. 2 runoff election for Chambliss's Senate seat. Chambliss defeated Cleland in a bitter campaign in 2002.