LIGHTNING ROUND: FULL COURT PRESS.

• Vice president-elect Joe Biden has added Jared Bernstein to his staff as an economic adviser, excellent news for progressives everywhere. Tim has some thoughts on the announcement. I'm wondering if Biden is building an auxiliary circle of policy advisers that could, at Obama's discretion, challenge group-think in the presidential cabinet. And keeping in mind the secrecy and lawlessness that pervaded Cheney's office, how open will Biden's activities be?
• U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan feels like she'd like to stay on in the Obama administration, regardless of what the president-elect thinks: "It doesn't serve justice for all the U.S. attorneys to submit their resignations all at one time. ... I am open to considering further service to the United States." You almost have to admire the brazenness of it. Buchanan is a loyal Bushie who was involved with the U.S. Attorney scandal that led to the resignation of AG Alberto Gonzales in 2007. Weren't these the same people who told us that the fired attorneys served "at the pleasure of the president?" Let's hope Obama's pleasure is kicking these hacks out of office on day one.
• It's almost impossible to conceive, but the U.S. Supreme Court is actually going to consider the wingnuttiest of wingnut lawsuits: challenging Barack Obama's eligibility to be president of the United States on grounds of birthright. If you were in need of another reason to absolutely loathe Clarence Thomas, today's your lucky day: he's the one who made sure this case made it to the high court! Adam has more on Thomas' unique blend of conservative and racial self-victimization and persecution, and don't miss Dave Weigel's piece in Slate on the fringe movement to bring down Obama using any means necessary.
• The Minnesota recount has been completed and the current (though non-certified) tally stands at Coleman +192, with an acknowledged 133 Minneapolis ballots "missing." The tally does not include thousands of challenged ballots, which, along with challenges in court, mean this race might not be decided until well into next year. The Franken camp is claiming, using by their own method of counting, that they hold the lead by four votes.
  
• It appears Caroline Kennedy, an early Obama ally, is being considered to fill Hillary Clinton's vacated Senate seat, according to ABC News. Meanwhile, David "in your face, Spitzer" Vitter plans to run for reelection down in Louisiana.
• Barack Obama raised nearly 750 million dollars in his successful run for the presidency, compared to McCain's $320 million. Even when including funds from the DNC and RNC, Obama still held an advantage of approximately $400 million, nearly $1 billion to $630 million.
• The Kansas City Star names the top three contenders for the next secretary of agriculture: "The three leading candidates for secretary of agriculture in the Obama administration are Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Reps. John Salazar of Colorado and Sanford Bishop of Georgia, according to sources of Agri-Pulse, a Washington-based newsletter on agriculture."
• Question of the day: Why do we need another WWII monument? "President Bush signed a proclamation Friday establishing a new World War II monument. ... The 'World War II Valor in The Pacific National Monument' will incorporate nine separate sites -- five in Hawaii, three in Alaska, and one in California. The California site will be located at the Tule Lake Segregation Center, where Japanese-Americans were detained during the conflict."

--Mori Dinauer