Good (TGI) Friday morning. Barack Obama and Joe Biden officially became prez- and vice prez-elect yesterday, as VP Dick Cheney announced the official Electoral College vote tallies during a joint session of Congress.

**Economic Recovery News
*Wonder if President-elect Obama expected to be facing so much trouble from his own party this week. The latest clash comes over Obama's economic recovery plan, with several key Senate Dems going on record with their concerns. Per the New York Times, "Senate Democrats complained that major components of his plan were not bold enough and urged more focus on creating jobs and rebuilding the nation's energy infrastructure rather than cutting taxes." David Axelrod downplays it, however, saying: "These folks are not potted plants. They're elected officials, and they're doing their jobs."

*In National Journal's Congressional Insiders Poll, Democratic members rate infrastructure spending as the most effective way to stimulate the economy, while Republican members say tax cuts for businesses is the best way.

*Treasury Secretary-designee Timothy Geithner and other members of Obama's economic team "are urgently overhauling the embattled" $700 billion Wall Street bailout. "Much of the work by Obama's team has focused on establishing principles that would clearly define the program's course and the conditions of government aid to financial firms," the Washington Post reports.

**Transition News
*This morning Obama is expected to officially announce Leon Panetta as his choice for CIA director and other key intelligence posts. He¹s also expected to take questions at the press conference in his transition offices (several reporters bristled when he did not do so yesterday at the announcement of Tim Kaine as DNC chair).

*CIA veteran John Brennan will be tapped as Obama's top adviser on counterterrorism, according to the Washington Post.

*Later, Colin Powell will speak at a press conference hosted by the Presidential Inaugural Committee "about President-elect Obama's call to national service."

*Politico reports that Howard Dean's absence from yesterday's DNC announcement was no accident, and the story quotes several unhappy Dean allies who think he's not being paid his due by the incoming Obama team.

*Today, Rep. Hilda Solis will have her confirmation hearing for Labor Secretary.

**Blago Watch: The Illinois House Investigations Committee unanimously recommended impeaching Gov. Rod Blagojevich yesterday, ³paving the way² for an impeachment vote by the full house today, according to the Chicago Tribune.

**Biden News: Vice President-elect Joe Biden concluded a visit to Kuwait, according to his Senate office. The CoDel lost several members and now just includes Biden and Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), who was one of John McCain¹s most loyal surrogates in 2008, and coined the phrase ³Joe the Biden² during the campaign.

*Meanwhile, check out this quote from Karl Rove on Biden's trip: "This is a time when he ought to be preparing to become vice president of the United States. It's almost as if he wanted to get a jump, or a leg up, if you will, on Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton."

**Campaign News
*Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) announced yesterday from the floor of the Missouri House of Representatives that he will not seek re-election to a fifth term in 2010. Before coming to the Senate in 1986 -- the same year as John McCain and Harry Reid -- Bond served two non-consecutive terms as governor.

Marc Ambinder reports on who may run for the seat: For the GOP, Rep. Roy Blunt, former Sen. Jim Talent and former Rep. Kenny Hulshof (who lost the 2008 governor race); for the Dems, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan and Attorney General Chris Koster.

Missouri Trivia: If history is any indicator (and it probably isn't), Hulshof will be the next senator of Missouri. The last two losers in the race for governor have gone on to serve in the Senate: Talent lost the 2000 race and two years later won a special election to the Senate; Sen. Claire McCaskill lost the 2004 race and knocked Talent out of his seat in 2006. The problem for Hulshof is that he lost the race for governor by 19 points, which may give Republican primary voters pause when deciding their nominee.

*In the "race" to be appointed to the NY Senate, ABC News catches Gov.
David Paterson admitting that Caroline Kennedy "has pluses and minuses." He plans to speak with 10 candidates, but hasn't met in person with Kennedy yet.

*Catching up on some of the key races in 2009: Terry McAuliffe is off and running for Virginia governor, with his kick-off tour hitting southern Virginia yesterday. In Bristol, he said: "I promise you, I'll create more jobs than 49 other governors or I'll consider myself a failure," he said. Meanwhile, Brian Moran finished up his "Virginia Values Tour" this week, ending with a big drop of Arlington County elected officials' endorsements.

*Big news in New Jersey, where former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie ended "years of speculation" and answered "the prayers of more than a few Republicans" by telling supporters he'd enter the race.

*A new Fairleigh Dickinson poll shows Gov. Jon Corzine with a 7-point lead over Christie as the race just gets going; the Democrat leads 40-33, and has just a 45 percent approval rating.

*The New York Post reports that Mike Bloomberg is looking to get the Republican ballot line for his bid for a third term. He famously became an independent in 2007, before term limits were ditched. Republicans have some gripes, but the Post says he¹ll likely get it anyway. One source: "Let's be real. He's got $20 billion."

*And last but not least, Kennedy is but one of the topics in the online video interview with Sarah Palin. She also fights back against the SNL crew, Katie Couric, and even her handlers on the McCain camp. "I knew it didn't go well the first day, and then we gave her a couple of other segments after that," she said of the CBS interview. "And my question to the campaign was, after it didn't go well the first day, why were we going to go back for more; going back for more was not a wise decision either."

**Sports Alert: And once again, Florida is at the center of a disputed championship.

--Mike Memoli and Kyle Trygstad