One in 4 candidates ended the campaign season in debt
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/POLITICS/12/21/clinton.debt/art.clintondebt.gi.jpg caption="Hillary Clinton says she hopes to have her campaign debt paid before her possible confirmation as secretary of state."](CNN) - Hillary Clinton isn't the only former candidate still fundraising long after Election Day: an analysis released this week found that one out of every four prospective officeholders this year ended the campaign season in the red.
The non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics found that 665 out of 2,339 candidates for political office still don't have enough to pay off their campaign debts - a combined deficit of roughly $144 million.
But many won't face much pressure from their creditors: $125 million of that debt is money candidates lent their own campaigns. "Eight out of the top 10 debtors reached into their own pockets for more than 40 percent of their campaign funds," CRP reported.
Obama picks Bible for inauguration, but what verse?
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/POLITICS/12/24/inauguration.scripture/art.bible2.cnn.jpg caption="The 1861 Lincoln Inaugural Bible against the backdrop of the Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress."] (CNN) - While President-elect Barack Obama will certainly be making history when he takes the oath of office on January 20, he'll also be repeating it - by placing his hand on the same Bible that Abraham Lincoln used during the inauguration of 1861.
The Constitution does not require presidents to be sworn in on a Bible, though almost every chief executive since George Washington has chosen to do so. Presidents have differed greatly, however, on the question of which passage the Bible should be opened to during the swearing-in ceremony.
It brings up the question of what - if any - biblical passage Obama will emphasize.
If what is past is prologue, as Shakespeare famously wrote (a quote now engraved in front of the National Archives), he might opt for the popular presidential theme of repentance.
Obama's intelligence choice
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/12/25/art.blair.gi.jpg caption="Dennis Blair is a former Navy admiral."]
Watch: CNN's Barbara Starr reports on the challenges facing Barack Obama's pick as director of national intelligence
Bush re-examines pardon
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/12/25/art.bush25.gi.jpg caption="Bush (above, leaving for his last Christmas at Camp David) is re-examining clemency for Isaac Toussie."]
President Bush ordered one of 19 presidential pardons issued this week to be re-examined. CNN's Elaine Quijano reports.
New inauguration plans place thousands of additional buses in DC
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/12/25/art.capitol.gi.jpg caption="Preparations are non-stop for the January 20 event."](CNN) - Big sections in the heart of Washington, D.C. will be converted into giant parking lots next month, with District officials are now planning to allow as many as 10,000 charter buses - carrying an estimated 200,000 passengers - to park in the city itself for the presidential inauguration, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
The move - which represents a dramatic shift from earlier plans that would have placed most of these buses at sites outside Washington - comes amid concerns the Metro system would be overwhelmed by the massive wave of visitors, and thousands stranded in parking lots miles from the city.
Bush announces new appointments for 24 aides and supporters
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/12/19/art.bushbailout.gi.jpg caption=" Bush announced new appointments for two dozen aides and supporters Christmas Eve."]WASHINGTON (CNN) - Christmas came a few hours early for two dozen White House officials and supporters Wednesday, who were appointed to three- to six-year positions on government committees and councils.
The full list released by the White House – which includes Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Karl Rove deputy Israel Hernandez – after the jump.
Obama Christmas to include turkey and ham dinner
(CNN) - President-elect Barack Obama's traditional Hawaiian Christmas includes opening presents with his family this morning, and dining on turkey and ham tonight.
The Obamas had spent past Christmases with the president-elect's grandmother Madelyn Dunham, a Hawaiian native, who died earlier this year. Obama attended a memorial service for Dunham earlier this week.
Schneider: Obama's 'honeymoon' follows Bush's 'failed marriage'
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/12/25/art.obama25.gi.jpg caption="Obama’s poll numbers have given him something to smile about lately."](CNN) - How's the honeymoon going?
Very well. In fact, better than the country's previous honeymoons.
Watch: The new Obama approval numbers
When it comes to honeymoons with new Presidents, Americans have, shall we say, been around the block a few times. But this new guy is really sweeping people off their feet.
Eighty-two percent of Americans are happy with the way President-elect Obama is handling his transition. Even 61 percent of Republicans like him - and they're the in-laws in this marriage. He's not supposed to be good enough for them.
Santa has officially signed out for the year, says U.S. military
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) - which has tracked Santa's travels for more than half a century - partnered with Google Maps to offer curious children a chance to follow St. Nick's journey around the globe this year.
The military command, which monitors potential threats over North American airspace, said Santa's 2008 trip began Wednesday at the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean. Above: a map of this year's journey, now complete, on the agency's Santa Tracker Web site.
One in 4 Americans 'gung-ho' over Christmas
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/12/25/art.tree.gi.jpg caption="The White House is ‘gung-ho’ about Christmas – so are 1 in 4 Americans."]
How do you celebrate the Christmas season? A recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll found most Americans fit into four basic groups:
GUNG-HO (27 percent): These are the people who go all-out for the holidays. Past surveys indicate that nearly all of the people in this group have a Christmas tree and put up Christmas lights or other decorations on the outside of their homes. They consider Christmas the best time of the year and most of them attend church weekly. If you have kids under 18 in your household, you're probably in this group.
HO-HO-HO (32 percent): This group definitely has the Christmas spirit, but may not go all-out during the holidays. Polls in previous years show that the people in this group are the most likely to indulge in cookies and other holiday goodies. They're not weekly church attenders but they're fairly religious. Half are married but only one in three have young children.
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