On November 26, President-elect Barack Obama named former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker to head what he calls his Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Volcker was appointed to the Federal Reserve in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter and was later reappointed by President Ronald Reagan.

"Brilliant," "brainy," "super-smart," and "Wall Street smarts" — these seemed to be some of the recurring words used to describe President-elect Barack Obama's two top economic picks — Timothy Geithner, chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, for sectretary of the Treasury; and former Secretary Treasury Lawrence Summers for National Economic Council director. The praise for Geithner and Summers did not just come from Democrats. According to USA Today, "'Brilliant,' 'outstanding' and 'exceptionally talented' were some of the words used to describe [Obama's] two top choices ... and that came from Republicans."

The Republican Party must accept much of the blame for its recent drubbing in the presidential and congressional elections. President Bush and GOP congressional leaders betrayed and alienated their party base, as well as conservative Democrats and independent swing voters by outdoing the liberal Democrats on federal spending, foreign aid, foreign interventionism, foreign wars, border security, immigration, and a host of other issues. And Senator John McCain was rightly identified with most of those discredited policies.

Rahm Emanuel may have been a ballet and dance major at Sarah Lawrence College, but in political circles Obama's choice as chief of staff is infamous as a profane "tough guy." Politicos and pundits frequently reference his reputation as a Chicago-style "enforcer" and his ready use of "sharp elbows" and "brass knuckles."

"Police departments in cities across the country are beefing up their ranks for Election Day, preparing for possible civil unrest and riots after the historic presidential contest," reported The Hill, a Washington, D.C.-based newspaper and Internet site, on October 21.

A coalition of left-wing organizations petitioned the members of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations on October 30 for international election monitors for the November 4 U.S. presidential election.

Barack Obama's longtime association with unrepentant Weather Underground terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn has caused the presidential candidate some serious political problems. In spite of efforts by Obama's friends in the media to suppress, contain, or explain away the issue, more information about the Ayers-Obama ties has continued to come out.

"Most Voters Say News Media Wants Obama to Win." That is the headline of an October 22 story released by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press regarding a recent opinion survey conducted by Pew pollsters. The Pew poll found:

One of the signature songs of the 1960s political radicalism was Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are a'Changin'," which JibJab video productions has used as a theme for an online video spoof of the Obama-Hillary-McCain campaign contest over who was the biggest "change" candidate. Another iconic '60s-era Dylan ballad, "Subterranean Homesick Blues," contained the line, "You don't need to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." Bill Ayers, his wife Bernadine Dohrn, and other members of the radical SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) adopted Weatherman, Weathermen, and Weather Underground as their nom de guerre monikers from the Dylan lyrics in 1969, when they decided to escalate their already violent street demonstrating, agitating, and rioting to full-blown urban guerrilla terrorism.

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) addressed his colleagues from the floor of the House on May 11, expressing his displeasure with the cave-in by Senator Bernie Sanders and other Senators over the proposal to audit the Federal Reserve, an issue that Rep. Paul has been championing for decades. On May 6, Sen. Sanders flip-flopped on his earlier commitment to sponsor an audit amendment identical to the one by Rep. Paul, which had passed in the House with broad, bipartisan support and 319 co-sponsors.