LIGHTNING ROUND: THE WAR ON CHRISTMAS HEATS UP (AND OTHER CONTROVERSIES).

• Joe Biden seems determined to be an assertive vice president, telling George Stephanopoulos he will oversee a "middle-class task force" that gauges how well the policies of the Obama administration are helping working Americans. Tim asks whether this is nothing less than Biden promoting himself to "labor czar" while Dick Cheney thinks Biden will weaken the office. Also, what Obama promised Biden for the VP slot.
• Paul Krugman has acknowledged that he is "in communications" with the Obama transition team, but declined to elaborate further. The Nobel laureate has repeatedly stated that he lacks the proper temperament to be in politics, but I wouldn't put it past him to advise the incoming administration in some sort of unofficial capacity, especially since Krugman would be inclined towards -- as he has in the past -- disagreement with the president-elect.
• The Washington Post asks whether Howard Dean, mastermind of the "50-state strategy," is a victim of his own success, and Politico looks at the rise of California politicians in shaping the Obama administration and Democratic caucus. Seems more a more worthwhile subject to explore than the non-issue of a lack of Southerners in the Obama cabinet.
• Speaking of manufactured controversy, Tech President looks at the latest tinfoil hat fashion trend storming through the right-wing blogosphere: Obama using a .gov domain for his transition web site.
  
• If you're confused about this whole Matt Yglesias/CAP/Third Way "controversy" (must be one of those days), Steve Benen has a useful synopsis and roundup of opinion, including Ezra's sage remarks that "CAP is not a blog publisher. They are a think tank. They are the nerve center of the Democratic governing class. Their president has led Obama's transition effort. It's fairly uncharted territory for a think tank of that prestige -- indeed, of any prestige at all -- to hire a young progressive blogger and let him retain his voice on their site." See also The Atlantic's special editorial correction.
  
• Weekend leftovers: History repeats itself in Minnesota, the true motivation behind Southern GOP Senators' opposition to the auto bailout, the would-be indispensability of Ted Kennedy to health care reform, Pew's "final verdict" on the Bush years, the many pardons of Rob Blagojevich, and what RNC chair Mike Duncan really thinks about the state of his party.

--Mori Dinauer