Adam Cohen writes:

Before the election, Senator Russ] Feingold argued that whoever won should make a priority of rolling back Bush administration policies that eroded constitutional rights and disrupted the careful system of checks and balances. Now that Mr. Obama — a onetime constitutional law professor who made this issue a cause early in the campaign — has won the election, there is both reason for optimism and increased pressure on the president-elect to keep his promises.

. . . Many reforms could be implemented directly by the next president. Mr. Obama could renounce Mr. Bush’s extreme views of executive power, including the notion that in many areas, the president can act as he wants without restraint by Congress or the judiciary. Mr. Obama also could declare his intention not to use presidential signing statements as Mr. Bush did in record numbers to reject parts of bills signed into law.

[MORE . .

Flipping through the various broadcast and cable news networks on election night, I was struck by two things. First, the remote control is the greatest technological advancement since indoor plumbing. Second, Chris Wallace and Karl Rove on Fox News, desperate to find a silver lining in the public's wholesale rejection of Republican governance, loudly proclaimed throughout the night that the United States was still a center-right country, based on exit polls showing more voters who identified themselves as conservative than liberal.

The "center-right nation" theme has been picked up by other conservative pundits since November 4 (unsurprisingly, since most of them can't think for themselves and need Uncle Karl to hand them their daily talking points). Turns out, it's not true. [more ...]

The New York Times is asking.

My answer - while "From Russia With Love" and "You Only Live Twice" are two of my favorites, "Goldfinger" is the greatest Bond movie ever - "No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die":

Though of course, the failure to just shoot Bond in every movie is one of the Bond highlights.

This is an Open Thread.

This information gets firmer and frankly, more fascinating:

A Democratic official confirms to the Huffington Post that Sen. Hillary Clinton met with President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday to discuss her role in the new administration. Clinton's trip to Chicago, described in press reports as "personal business," came following a request from Obama, the official said.

Is it about State? Or perhaps HHS to be Obama's Administration point person on health care reform? Is it a play for Doris Kearns Goodwin?

This seems more serious than mere trial balloons.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only?

While I think Barack Obama is right (and if anyone is kidding them self that Obama is not calling the shot on this, well . . ) to look for a way to neutralize Joe Lieberman while keeping him in the Dem caucus, there is certainly a strong argument for not keeping him. Ed Kilgore makes it here. And Rachel Maddow gave the brief last night on her show:

I admit I am more concerned with the John Brennans and Cass Susnteins surrounding Obama than this, but hey, maybe folks are right to pressure on this. It would be more interesting I think if they actually pressured the guy who is calling the shot- Barack Obama.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Via Digby, Newsweek reports:

Although both [intelligence chiefs] McConnell and Hayden expressed a willingness to stay on for some period of time, sources close to the Obama transition say this is unlikely, given that both men zealously defended controversial Bush administration policies-such as the warrantless-wiretapping program-that the incoming Democratic president opposed during the campaign.

Of course Digby is right that Obama voted for expanding the wiretapping program and telco immunity. But just as importantly, Obama's intelligence issues transition chief John Brennan vehemently championed it and McConnell in particular. Something is not right here.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

I drove up to pull into my garage this afternoon around 4pm and thought it was strange the garage door was open. As soon as I opened the door to the backyard, I saw glass all over, and the back door had been punched in. I walked inside, immediately saw my flat screen tv, dvd recorders and my Sony laptop and Macbook were gone, and called 911.

They told me to go outside and wait for the police in case the robbers were still in the house. The police arrived very quickly and were very nice. They had their guns out as they made their way through the house, backs against the wall, just like on tv. No one was in the house. [More...]

Today's political rumor is that Hillary Clinton is on the Obama team's short list for Secretary of State, along with Bill Richardson, John Kerry, and Tom Daschle. Some are wondering why rumors are flowing out of the formerly leak-proof Obama organization. Here's a space to talk about the Hillary Clinton rumor, the leakage, or anything else.

Yes, the application for a job with the Obama administration seems unnecessarily intrusive, but let's remember what happens when the executive branch doesn't screen candidates adequately. The Bush administration's hiring of federal air marshals should leave us wondering whether anyone asked about the character of air marshal job applicants.

[A]n examination of police reports, court records, government reports, memos and e-mails shows that 18 air marshals have been charged with felonies, including at least three who were hired despite prior criminal records or being fired from law enforcement jobs. A fourth air marshal was hired while under FBI investigation. Another stayed on the job despite alarming a flight attendant with his behavior.

[more ...]

Some Obama advisors are proposing a bipartisan commission to study the Bush administration's rendition and interrogation tactics. This balanced report by Mark Benjamin describes a tension between Obama advisors who advocate a criminal investigation and those who believe prompt criminal prosecutions would be ugly, ineffective, and problematic for Democrats who may have been briefed about the administration's actions.

Digby is skeptical that Obama will greenlight an investigatory commission, particularly if President Bush thwarts the possibility of criminal prosecutions by exercising his pardon power. According to Benjamin:

[more ...]

Six people convicted in 1985 of a Nebraska murder have been exonerated by DNA testing that implicates the man police originally viewed as a suspect. The day after the murder, Bruce Smith had scratches on his face. A blood test by the Oklahoma City crime lab seemed to rule out Smith as a suspect. The lab made a mistake. Recent DNA testing places Smith at the scene of the crime and rules out the six wrongly convicted defendants.

The Nebraska Attorney General doesn't want to accuse the police investigators of malice, but they clearly worked to shape the evidence to match their theory of the crime.

[S]ome "unorthodox" interrogation and prosecution interview tactics used on the six have since been discredited, such as helping witnesses construct testimony by showing them tapes of the crime scene, or interrupting videotaped interviews to help refresh a witness's memory.

[more ...]

It appears I am not alone in my concern about John Brennan. Now, according to HuffPo, Russ Feingold is a "concern troll" too:

"For eight years, the current Administration has shown contempt for the rule of law, including in intelligence-related matters, while repeatedly refusing to work cooperatively with Congress. . . . New leadership is needed to move our intelligence policies in the right direction," Feingold's statement concludes.

Feingold -- perhaps the Senate's most indefatigable civil libertarian -- has been a stalwart opponent of the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program, as well as extensive searches of Americans' laptops and other property at airports by the TSA. It would be practically impossible to read his statement as anything but a reaction to a Wall Street Journal report earlier this week that claimed Obama is "unlikely to radically overhaul controversial Bush administration intelligence policies."

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only