Over the weekend

Over the weekend, Barack Obama officially resigned his Senate seat, and some new appointees were chosen:

Washington lawyer Gregory B. Craig will be White House counsel, according to a person involved in the transition, and Obama's Senate chief of staff, Peter M. Rouse, 62, was officially announced as a senior White House adviser. Two deputy chiefs of staff were also announced: Jim Messina and Mona K. Sutphen.

Thus far, Obama's selections have been mostly a mix of Washington veterans -- many with ties to the Clinton administration -- and trusted campaign aides. Late last week, the president-elect named close friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett as a senior White House aide. Campaign strategist David Axelrod will also hold a senior advisory role.

Gregory B. Craig defended Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial.

Rahm Emanuel

Barack Obama's first big decision after winning last Tuesday was to designate Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff. That appointment should put to rest any notion that Obama's got some kind of anti-Israeli agenda in mind. Emanuel's also a notoriously pushy asshole, which makes him a perfect bad-cop enforcer to Obama's good-cop. And while his experience in the fledgling Clinton administration doesn't ensure a mistake-free early presidency, it does at least ensure that the Obama administration probably won't repeat the exact same mistakes.