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

This is a silly parlor game of course but I like Poblano's post about it so I will discuss it here:

If America had woken up last Tuesday morning and magically found Hillary Clinton's name on the ballot in lieu of Barack Obama, might she have won by 11 points? Perhaps. She certainly proved herself to be an exceptionally compelling candidate, even if her execution and staffing decisions were sometimes wanting. But what would Clinton's numbers have looked like if she had actually endured ... you know ... a campaign?

More . . .

I'll be working the rest of the day. Here's an open thread for you. Please try to focus on news and policy.

A timely new ACS Issue Brief urges the federal government to ensure that records from the Bush administration and future administrations, including e-mails, are preserved for public examination, an issue that was in the news this week as a federal court ruled that a lawsuit on that issue could go forward.

More...

The Washington Post examines how President-Elect Barack Obama may overhaul the Justice Department in an attempt to restore confidence. First, the problem, created by the Bush Administration:

The infusion of politics into the Justice Department and an abdication of responsibility by its leaders have dealt a severe blow," Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.), the panel's ranking Republican, wrote in an opinion piece last month. "Great damage has been done to the credibility and effectiveness of the Justice Department."

Next, the possible solutions and reading the tea leaves on what Obama may do: [More...]