While President-elect Obama does not plan to officially unveil his national security team until after Thanksgiving, one thing seems pretty clear among Washington insiders: Defense Secretary Robert Gates is not going anywhere. For the first time, a Pentagon commander will be asked to keep his post during a transition between presidents of two different parties. The Takeaway talks to Peter Baker ("Obama Plans to Retain Gates at Defense Department " [New York Times]) about Obama’s decision.

The White House announced last night that President Bush would grant 14 pardons and commute 2 sentences before leaving office in January. The pardons did not include any of the high-profile defendants who have previously petitioned the Bush administration for help.

"That took a third out of your grain supply of the food market and that was a big hit." — Paul Collier, Oxford University

"There will be quite a lot of tension in this meeting today because they have different world views." — Sheryl Gay Stolberg, the New York Times

With conditions worsening in Afghanistan, many experts worry that if the transition from President George W. Bush to incoming president Barack Obama doesn't go smoothly, the situation there could spiral out of control.

President-elect Barack Obama will inherit, as he put it, "two wars, a planet in peril and the worst financial crisis in a century." What he failed to mention was the house band he'll inherit. The United States Marine Band, also known as "The President's Own," is the oldest professional musical organization in the country. It's primary function is to serve the musical needs of the president.

President-elect Barack Obama will have a host of important decisions before him in the coming weeks. Among them - what sort of dog should he and his family choose as the new First Pet?

 

"Overwhelmingly, most feel that the new president-elect and his family should adopt a pound mutt." — Meg Frost, author of the blog Cute Overload. She's been polling her readers on the question of what dog best represents America.

Economist and op-ed columnist Jared Bernstein talks with The Takeaway about the Obama administration's challenge in pulling America out of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

President-elect Barack Obama faces a challenge in picking his formal advisers: Does he shun Washington and fill the cabinet with outsiders who personify "change," or does he dip into the pool of insiders and Clinton-era vets with a track record of getting things done?

With just four days left until the election, early voting and new polling numbers are dominating the headlines. But comedian and satirist Harry Shearer doesn't want voters overlook the legacy of President George W. Bush and his administration. His new CD is "Songs of the Bushmen."

Provisional ballots are official election documents usually given to voters when they can't prove their identity or registration on Election Day. The state of Ohio usually uses a lot of these tools: In 2004, more than 150,000 provisional ballots were cast there, and they have a legacy of legal trouble attached to them.

During the primaries, Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton criticized another Democratic presidential hopeful, Senator Barack Obama, for offering "just words." But now it seems the simplicity of his words, and the calm with which he delivers them, could explain why he's ahead in the polls. Has the economic crisis rendered slogans and sound bites obsolete? Writer Steve Almond discusses the power of language on the campaign trail.

Guest: Janet Tavakoli, founder and president of Tavakoli Structured Finance, author of forthcoming book, "Dear Mr. Buffett: What an Investor Learns 1,269 miles from Wall Street"

The surge in voter registration in Georgia is no surprise, but its racial breakdown is. The state has seen a 27-percent increase in black voters when compared to 2004 as the number of white voters has fallen 14 percent.