Besides local fans blaming QB Jason Campbell for the Redskins' woes and the possibility that there will be no "last call" at bars during inauguration week, Washington is talking about these stories...

The Big Three
Detailed plans for how they would utilize billions of dollars in government assistance were due on Capitol Hill yesterday, while Ford, GM and Chrysler executives will follow for House and Senate committee hearings Thursday and Friday to defend the plans. At a press briefing yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the GAO and Federal Reserve would review the plans first, and that she expects the federal government to intervene in some way, either through legislative action or an executive loan from the Bush administration.

The AP's Davis and Krisher write that the automakers' plans include pledges to "slash workers, car lines and executive pay in return for a federal lifeline."

General Motors said it wouldn't last until New Year's without an immediate $4 billion and could drag the entire industry down if it fails. It is seeking as much as $18 billion to keep afloat.

"There isn't a Plan B," said Fritz Henderson, GM's chief operating officer. "Absent support, frankly, the company just can't fund its operations."

The Transition
POTUS Obama and VPOTUS Biden met with the National Governors Association in Philadelphia yesterday, with some always-fun off-the-cuff remarks from Biden to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, as well as some serious business.

The Washington Post's Montgomery and Shear write that Obama and the governors both stressed that the speed -- not haste -- with which an economic recovery stimulus package is spent on state and local construction projects is crucial.

"With President-elect Barack Obama vowing to plow hundreds of billions of dollars into the nation's infrastructure, some state officials are warning that public works projects will fail to effectively lift the country out of recession unless they are chosen carefully and implemented rapidly. In a private meeting yesterday in Philadelphia with 48 of the nation's governors, Obama stressed the importance of identifying projects that could put people to work quickly, participants said."

The Senate
The Georgia Senate runoff election was called at about 9:00 p.m. yesterday, with GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss winning a second term in the upper chamber and Democrats' hopes of 60 Senate seats dead, for now. With 97% of precincts reporting as of this morning, Chambliss held a 57.4%-42.6% lead over Democratic challenger Jim Martin. It was common knowledge that turning out one's base was key to winning the runoff, and it appears Chambliss did a better job of it.

Chambliss received 650,000 less votes yesterday than he did on Nov. 4, while Martin received 850,000 less votes. In DeKalb County, a heavily-Democratic county, Martin received some 95,000 less votes than he did Nov. 4, while Chambliss lost only 18,000 votes. Martin won the county by 6 points less than he did on Nov. 4. In Gwinnett, another large Atlanta-area county, Chambliss won 64%-36% yesterday, after carrying the county by just 10 points (53%-43%) on Nov. 4.

One Republican senator, up for re-election in 2010, announced yesterday that he won't run for a second term. Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, with relatively low approval ratings and tight ties to the Bush administration, decided that, at 62 years old, he didn't want to spend another two years campaigning and another six years in Washington, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Martinez's retirement also sets off a maelstrom of political intrigue for potential candidates from both parties. The hottest name is Jeb Bush, who told Politico he's "considering" running.