By Catharine Skipp

As the Republican Party struggles to find its footing and craft a message it is in search of new national leader. Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer is considering making a bit for that role along with jockeying from Republican Party chairs Saul Anuzis of Michigan and South Carolina's Katon Dawson. Michael Steele, a self-described Lincoln Republican and the first African-American to hold statewide office in Maryland as Lt. Gov., is also believed to be in the running; he is said to be announcing as early as today.

The choice of RNC head will signal whether the party's emphasis is going to be conservative, following the lead of stars like South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford or Sarah Palin, moderate in the image of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist or Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty or somewhere in between, like Louisiana’s Gov. Bobby Jindal. “We need to discuss within the party who will be the RNC chair and where the philosophy will come from--the North or South, Conservative or Moderate,” Greer says “and what the party should push over the next four years as a message. Someone like Katon believes that the message needs to be more focused on social issues as much as with government issues.” Greer and Gov. Crist are more moderate “live and let live” voices. Greer believes that for the party to grow it needs to nod to the values issues and then move on. “We need to say ‘yes’ loud on pro-life and faith and family issues but then move on and focus on important American issues. No one is sitting at home talking about abortion or the gay movement. We have to be about employment opportunity, economic issues and challenges, the education of our children and retirement. My position is you can’t go either direction [moderate or conservative] without responding to the other group first. You cannot build a house with a weak foundation.”

Charles Ommanney / Getty Images for Newsweek.

Thank you.

When Stumper started a little over a year ago, I'd never covered a presidential campaign--or maintained a blog, for that matter. The thought of writing four or five times a day on a single subject seemed somewhat, well, daunting. Now, 13 months, 18 states, 21 debates, 1,672 posts, 35,416 comments and countless Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches later, it's the thought of not writing four of five times a day that's making me uneasy.

But alas: the stumping has ended, and so will Stumper.  

It's been an incredible year--jamming with Mike Huckabee, pulling an allnighter with John Edwards, following Rudy Giuliani across South Florida, meeting John McCain in a tiny Iowa diner, sitting in section 139 of Mile High Stadium as Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination. But without you guys, the readers, it would've been pointless. So I'd like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude--for the tips, the ideas, the comments, the kudos and, most of all, the criticisms. I've striven to keep Stumper opinionated but impartial--"equal-opportunity skepticism," as I put it last October. If I've at all succeeded it's because you were always telling me when, in your view, I was wrong. From you, I heard every side of every story. Thanks for keeping me honest.

In the weeks and months ahead, I'll be returning to writing for the dead-tree magazine--about politics first and foremost, but also about crime, culture and (hopefully) food. More reporting, less punditry. I'll also be contributing to our (shhh!) forthcoming politics mega-blog alongside such NEWSWEEK luminaries as Holly Bailey, Richard Wolffe, Howard Fineman and Michael Isikoff. If Stumper withdrawal has you itching for a quicker fix, I'd heartily recommend "Powering Up," our new blog about President-elect Obama's ongoing transition process. I'll be popping in there from time to time as well. And I'm even considering posting the occasional column in this space. Stay tuned.

For now, though, it's curtains. I'm always reachable at aromano@newsweek.com; email me whenever. And yes, marriage proposals are still being accepted.

Thanks again for the best year of my life.
Andrew
 

By Eleanor Clift 

Of the five new Democratic senators elected so far (three races are still unresolved), it’s fair to say each one of them has the potential to be a force in their party and in the governing majority Barack Obama is assembling on Capitol Hill. A quick look at some of the new faces who may soon become the men–and women–to see.

First among equals is Virginia’s Mark Warner. A popular former governor, he’s a young moderate with a gangly Jimmy Stewart-goes-to-Washington look. He made a fortune in the cell-phone business, and likes to say that when others find a ringing cell phone a disturbance, he hears ka-ching. As a self-made businessman–he didn’t come up through partisan horse-trading–he’s someone who can help Obama steer a centrist course. He’s also a likely future presidential candidate.

The Udall cousins: Mark Udall in Colorado and Tom Udall in New Mexico. Their last name is synonymous with progressive politics and the protection of natural resources–values they wove together in their respective campaigns to champion a new green-energy economy for the West. Mo Udall (Mark’s father) was the liberal alternative to Jimmy Carter in the 1976 primaries; Stuart Udall (Tom’s father) was Secretary of the Interior in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.

Kay Hagan in North Carolina defeated Republican icon, Elizabeth Dole because of huge support from women. Emily’s List, a pro-choice group that backed Hagan, found the two candidates split male voters 47-47 percent, but women preferred Hagan over Dole 55 percent to 45 percent. Dole’s last-ditch ad suggesting Hagan was godless backfired big-time. Hagan is no novice; she served five terms in the North Carolina Senate where she earned a reputation for effectiveness. She’ll move quickly to establish a more aggressive profile, on behalf of the state, than the genteel Dole, whose infrequent visits home became a campaign issue.

Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire. This was a rematch for Shaheen, who lost to Republican John Sununu in a bitter race six years ago. Shaheen benefited from the changed mood in the state (Democrats control the governor’s office and the legislature) along with a double-digit gender gap. Women are still underrepresented in the U.S. Senate with only 17 women out of 100 senators in the new Congress. Because of their small number, they stick together, often across party lines. Shaheen kept her political preference in the Democratic primary to herself, but her husband was an early co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s campaign, and Shaheen will be a major Hillary ally.

Every four years, NEWSWEEK detaches a team of reporters to follow the presidential candidates from announcement speech to Election Day. The deal is simple. The "Project" staffers won't report what they learn until Nov. 5; in exchange, the campaigns give us unprecedented behind-the-scenes access.

The first four chapters of the "The Project" are finally live on NEWSWEEK.com--and, as expected, they're packed with exclusive reporting and fascinating details.  You can read my favorite tidbits from Chapter One here.

Now for the highlights from Chapters Two, Three and Four:

Bill's Bile: In the days after his wife's back- from-the-brink victory in New Hampshire, Bill Clinton was full of righteous indignation. The former president had amassed an 81-page list of all the unfair and nasty things the Obama campaign had said, or was alleged to have said, about Hillary Clinton. The press was still in love with Obama, or so it seemed to Clinton, who complained to pretty much anyone who would listen. If the press wouldn't go after Obama, then Hillary's campaign would have to do the job, the ex-president urged. On Sunday, Jan. 13, Clinton got worked up in a phone conversation with Donna Brazile, a direct, strong-willed African-American woman who had been Al Gore's campaign manager and advised the Clintons from time to time. "If Barack Obama is nominated, it will be the worst denigration of public service," he told her, ranting on for much of an hour. Brazile kept asking him, "Why are you so angry?"

Obama's Appetites--or Lack Thereof: Obama was abstemious. Indeed, to the reporters following him, he appeared very nearly anorexic. Most candidates gain the Campaign 10 (or 15). Hillary was struggling with her waistline, as she gamely knocked back shots and beers in working-class bars and gobbled the obligatory sausage sandwiches thrust at her in greasy spoons along the Trail of the White Working-Class Voter. Obama, by contrast, lost weight. He regularly ate the same dinner of salmon, rice and broccoli. At Schoop's Hamburgers, a diner in Portage, Ind., he munched a single french fry and ordered four hamburgers—to go. At the Copper Dome Restaurant, a pancake house in St. Paul, Minn., he ordered pancakes—to go. (An AP reporter wondered: who gets pancakes for the road?) A waiter reeled off a long list of richly topped flapjacks, but Obama went for the plain buttermilk, saying, "I'm kind of traditionalist." Reporters joked that if he ate a single bite of burger or pancake once the doors of his dark-tinted SUV closed, they'd eat their BlackBerrys.

(Peter Dejong / AP)

Speaking just now from the White House's Rose Garden, President George W. Bush invoked the memory--and words--of Martin Luther King, Jr.--in describing Barack Obama's historic achievement. "It will be a stirring sight to see President Obama, his wife, Michelle, and their beautiful girls step through the doors of the White House," he said. "I know millions of Americans will be overcome with pride at this inspiring moment that so many have waited so long."

The current era of partisan comity will soon come to end, I'm sure. But that doesn't make it any less refreshing--or any less of an opportunity for Obama, should he choose to seize it. Here's hoping...

Obama, 364: Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Iowa, California, Oregon, Washington, Virginia, Florida, Colorado, Nevada, Hawaii, Washington, D.C., Indiana, North Carolina

McCain, 173: Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, Wyoming, North Dakota, West Virginia, Kansas, Utah, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Idaho, Arizona, Alaska, Montana, Missouri

Popular Vote: 52 percent Obama, 46 percent McCain 

Senate: Democrats 56, Republicans 40

House: Democrats 258, Republicans 177 

Every four years, NEWSWEEK detaches a team of reporters to follow the presidential candidates from announcement speech to Election Day. The deal is simple. The "Project" staffers won't report what they learn until Nov. 5; in exchange, the campaigns give us unprecedented behind-the-scenes access. The information is so hush-hush, in fact, that no one who works on the weekly magazine--including yours truly--is permitted to read the finished product until a winner is officially declared. Which meant I was up until 4:00 a.m., reading away.

Today, the first chapter of "The Project" goes live on NEWSWEEK.com--and, as expected, it's packed with exclusive reporting and fascinating details. Since this is a blog--and not the Library of Congress--I won't post the whole (long) thing here. But I will highlight my favorite tidbits below. You ADD-types can thank me later. 

(The NEWSWEEK Election Project was written by Evan Thomas with reporting from Peter Goldman, Eleanor Clift, Daren Briscoe, Nick Summers, Katie Connolly and Michael Hastings; Holly Bailey and Jonathan Darman also contributed intel.)

I. Obama's 'Certain Ambivalence'

Obama was something unusual in a politician: genuinely self-aware. In late May 2007, he had stumbled through a couple of early debates and was feeling uncertain about what he called his "uneven" performance. "Part of it is psychological," he told his aides. "I'm still wrapping my head around doing this in a way that I think the other candidates just aren't. There's a certain ambivalence in my character that I like about myself. It's part of what makes me a good writer, you know? It's not necessarily useful in a presidential campaign."

These candid remarks were taped at a debate-prep session at a law firm in Washington. The tape of Obama's back-and-forth with his advisers, provided to NEWSWEEK by an attendee, is a remarkably frank and revealing record of what the candidate was really thinking when he took the stage with his opponents.

On the tape, after Obama's rueful remark about the mixed blessings of his detached nature, there is cross talk and laughter, and then Axelrod cracks, "You can save that for your next memoir."

Obama continues: "When you have to be cheerful all the time and try to perform and act like [the tape is unclear; Obama appears to be poking fun at his opponents], I'm sure that some of it has to do with nerves or anxiety and not having done this before, I'm sure. And in my own head, you know, there's—I don't consider this to be a good format for me, which makes me more cautious. When you're going into something thinking, 'This is not my best …' I often find myself trapped by the questions and thinking to myself, 'You know, this is a stupid question, but let me … answer it.' Instead of being appropriately [the tape is garbled]. So when Brian Williams is asking me about what's a personal thing that you've done [that's green], and I say, you know, 'Well, I planted a bunch of trees.' And he says, 'I'm talking about personal.' What I'm thinking in my head is, 'Well, the truth is, Brian, we can't solve global warming because I f–––ing changed light bulbs in my house. It's because of something collective'."

A round-up of this morning's must-read stories.

OBAMA ELECTED PRESIDENT AS RACIAL BARRIER FALLS
(Adam Nagourney, New York Times)
Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday, sweeping away the last racial barrier in American politics with ease as the country chose him as its first black chief executive. The election of Mr. Obama amounted to a national catharsis — a repudiation of a historically unpopular Republican president and his economic and foreign policies, and an embrace of Mr. Obama’s call for a change in the direction and the tone of the country. But it was just as much a strikingly symbolic moment in the evolution of the nation’s fraught racial history, a breakthrough that would have seemed unthinkable just two years ago... To the very end, Mr. McCain’s campaign was eclipsed by an opponent who was nothing short of a phenomenon, drawing huge crowds epitomized by the tens of thousands of people who turned out to hear Mr. Obama’s victory speech in Grant Park in Chicago. Mr. McCain also fought the headwinds of a relentlessly hostile political environment, weighted down with the baggage left to him by President Bush and an economic collapse that took place in the middle of the general election campaign.

A NEW WORLD ORDER
(John F. Harris and Jim VandeHei, Politico)
Nov. 4, 2008, was the day when American politics shifted on its axis. The ascent of an African-American to the presidency — a victory by a 47-year-old man who was born when segregation was still the law of the land across much of this nation — is a moment so powerful and so obvious that its symbolism needs no commentary. But it was the reality of power, not the symbolism, that changed Tuesday night in ways more profound than meet the eye. The rout of the Republican Party, and the accompanying gains by Democrats in Congress, mean that Barack Obama will assume office with vastly more influence in the nation’s capital than most of his recent predecessors have wielded. The only exceptions suggest the magnitude of the moment. Power flowed in unprecedented ways to George W. Bush in the year after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. It flowed likewise to Lyndon B. Johnson after his landslide in 1964. Beyond those fleeting moments, every president for more than two generations has confronted divided government or hobbling internal divisions within his own party. 

OBAMA'S TRANSCENDENCE BEYOND RACE
(Ron Fournier, Associated Press)
The elevation of Barack Obama to the White House is a transcendent moment, for what this election says about a nation where blacks were once considered property. And that might be the least of it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event. At odd intervals — 1800, 1860, 1932, 1980 — the nation reaches a "pivot point," an election that draws the line between the past and the future. And 2008 appears to be just such a line in the shifting sands of our convulsive times. Reagan-style conservative supremacy? Over. The era of baby boomer leadership? Waning. And maybe, just maybe, something new has arrived: a post-partisan approach to governing, founded on the Obama Coalition, fueled by young and minority voters, powered by the 21st century technologies that helped turn a first-term senator from Illinois into a historic lodestone. From the beginning, Obama had his sights on something bigger than the "50 percent plus one" approach championed by Karl Rove. He wanted a larger statement.

HARD CHOICES AND CHALLENGES FOLLOW TRIUMPH
(Dan Balz, Washington Post)
After a victory of historic significance, Barack Obama will inherit problems of historic proportions. Not since Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated at the depths of the Great Depression in 1933 has a new president been confronted with the challenges Obama will face as he starts his presidency. At home, Obama must revive an economy experiencing some of the worst shocks in more than half a century. Abroad, he has pledged to end the war in Iraq and defeat al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. He ran on a platform to change the country and its politics. Now he must begin to spell out exactly how. Obama's winning percentage appears likely to be the largest of any Democrat since Lyndon Johnson's 1964 landslide and makes him the first since Jimmy Carter in 1976 to garner more than 50.1 percent. Like Johnson, he will govern with sizable congressional majorities... But with those advantages come hard choices. Among them will be deciding how much he owes his victory to a popular rejection of President Bush and the Republicans and how much it represents an embrace of Democratic governance. Interpreting his mandate will be only one of several critical decisions Obama must make as he prepares to assume the presidency. Others include transforming his campaign promises on taxes, health care, energy and education into a set of legislative priorities for his first two years in office.