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WASHINGTON – Roland Burris failed to capture President-elect Barack Obama's old Senate seat Tuesday in a wild piece of political theater, but the Democrats' opposition cracked when a key chairwoman said seating him was simply the legal thing to do.

AFP/Getty Images/File – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid(R), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi(L) addressing reporters on Capitol Hill

Democratic leaders, set to meet with Burris on Wednesday, were searching for a way to defuse the dispute before it further overshadows the 111th Congress. Knowledgeable Senate officials of both parties widely predicted that the saga would end with Burris being seated. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Seating Burris seemed more likely late Tuesday, when Sen. Dianne Feinstein rejected the reasoning that all of the chamber's Democrats, herself included, had cited in a letter last week — that corruption charges against Burris' patron, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, tainted his appointment.

"Does the governor have the power, under law, to make the appointment? And the answer is yes," said Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, which judges the credentials of senators.

Burris marched into the Capitol earlier Tuesday, declaring himself "the junior senator from the state of Illinois." But Secretary of the Senate Nancy Erickson rejected his certification, as he knew she would, saying it lacked Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White's signature and the state seal.

Late Tuesday, Feinstein urged the Senate to settle the matter.

"If you don't seat Mr. Burris, it has ramifications for gubernatorial appointments all over America," the California senator said. "Mr. Burris is a senior, experienced politician. He has been attorney general, he has been controller, and he is very well-respected. I am hopeful that this will be settled."

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier, Reid had said, "Mr. Burris is not in possession of the necessary credentials from the state of Illinois."

Burris, meanwhile, pivoted from his rejection at the Capitol to the Illinois Supreme Court, asking it to order White to certify his appointment.

Burris was expected to meet with Reid on Wednesday.

It would be his second appearance at the Capitol in as many days. His first included an escort by Capitol police officers to Erickson's third-floor office for what was described as a highly cordial, 21-minute meeting.

Burris, 71, then led a small mob of lawyers, consultants, police and reporters across the street in pouring rain, to a news conference which Burris aides said Reid had tacitly allowed.

Erickson, Burris reported, had advised him that "I would not be accepted, and I will not be seated, and I will not be permitted on the floor."

The former Illinois attorney general said he was "not seeking to have any type of confrontation" over taking the seat. In addition to his court filing late in the day in Illinois, Burris said he was considering a federal lawsuit to force Senate Democrats to seat him.

It was a distraction for majority Democrats eager to project an image of progress with Obama on an economic stimulus package estimated to cost as much as $800 billion.

Democrats and Obama have said that the corruption charges against Blagojevich would strip credibility from anyone he appointed to the seat.

Blagojevich denies federal accusations that he tried to sell the seat Obama has given up for the presidency.

In a written statement Tuesday, the governor said allegations against him shouldn't be held against Burris, whom he called a "good and decent man."

"The people of Illinois are entitled to be represented by two senators in the United States Senate," Blagojevich said.

An attorney for Burris, Timothy W. Wright III, said that "our credentials were rejected by the secretary of the Senate. We were not allowed to be placed in the record book. We were not allowed to proceed to the floor for purposes of taking oath. All of which we think was improperly done and is against the law of this land."

Some of Burris' supporters have bemoaned the fact that Democrats would stand in the way of the Senate gaining its only black member. Burris himself downplayed the issue of race, telling reporters: "I cannot control my supporters. I have never in my life, in all my years of being elected to office, thought anything about race."

"I'm presenting myself as the legally appointed senator from the state of Illinois. It is my hope and prayer that they recognize that the appointment is legal," he said on CBS' "The Early Show."

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus said Tuesday that Burris should be seated.

"A lot of people want to talk about race or the governor and his problems, but the bottom line is you have a sitting governor who has certain legal rights and authorities and he's made an appointment," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md. "This is an issue that goes beyond race."

WASHINGTON – Late on Christmas Eve, one last wish was sent, by e-mail: Please let NASA Administrator Michael Griffin keep his job. It was from his wife. Rebecca Griffin, who works in marketing, sent her message with the subject line "Campaign for Mike" to friends and family. It asked them to sign an online petition to President-elect Barack Obama "to consider keeping Mike Griffin on as NASA Administrator."

AP – In this Wednesday, March 26, 2008 file photo, NASA administrator Michael Griffin, speaks to reporters

She wrote, "Yes, once again I am embarrassing my husband by reaching out to our friends and 'imposing' on them.... And if this is inappropriate, I'm sorry."

The petition drive, which said the President George W. Bush appointee "has brought a sense of order and purpose to the U.S. space agency," was organized by Scott "Doc" Horowitz of Park City, Utah, an ex-astronaut and former NASA associate administrator.

A cash-strapped NASA last week also sent — by priority mail costing $6.75 a package — copies of a new NASA book called "Leadership in Space: Selected Speeches of NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, May 2005-October 2008."

And just before the presidential election, Griffin sent a letter to Obama saying, "I am deeply grateful to you, personally, for your leadership" on the vote to allow NASA to use Russian spaceships.

Efforts by those close to Griffin lobbying on his behalf are unusually bold, even for ego-heavy Washington. Past efforts on behalf of job hopefuls have been more behind-the-scenes so plausible deniability can be maintained.

"It sounds like the only thing left is to stencil Mike Griffin on the side of shuttle," joked Paul Light, a professor of public policy and a presidential transition expert at New York University. "I've never heard of a campaign to keep one's job that goes beyond the edge of private discussion. ... Maybe he should be texting next."

David Goldston, a former chief of staff for the House Science Committee and a lecturer on science policy at Harvard University, said, "This kind of public campaigning to keep a job is unusual and usually tends to backfire in new administrations."

Griffin's press secretary, David Mould, said that Griffin is not campaigning to keep his job and figures that Obama will name a new NASA chief. However, Griffin would be "honored" to be asked to stay on the job.

"A lot of people seem to like and support Mike and think he's doing a good job," Mould said. He said he couldn't speak for the administrator's wife and she did not answer an e-mail from The Associated Press.

As for Griffin's book of speeches, it was a natural for the NASA history office and coincides with the end of the presidential term, Mould said. NASA printed 2,500 books at a cost of $57,000 with the ability to produce more, NASA spokeswoman Sonja Alexander said.

NASA did not publish a book of collected speeches for Griffin's two predecessors, said spokeswoman Ashley Edwards. The agency did produce a compact disk of speeches by Dan Goldin, NASA's longest-serving boss, just before he left in 2001.

Griffin, a rocket scientist who holds seven degrees, has been on the job since 2005. His background is strikingly different from his predecessor Sean O'Keefe, a former budget office official. Griffin oversaw the successful return to space flight two years after the 2003 Columbia tragedy when seven astronauts were killed.

He's used his scientific smarts in making hands-on crucial decisions about shuttle flights, but he's ruffled feathers with some of his choices involving the design of next-generation spacecraft for a return to the moon. Some engineers both inside and outside of NASA question the whole concept of the new spacecraft, which Griffin calls "Apollo on steroids."

Petition-drive organizer Horowitz, who used to be in charge of NASA's return-to-the-moon program that is Griffin's signature project, said Griffin had nothing to do with the petition effort.

"This is other people campaigning for him," Horowitz said. "There's a lot of things people should change, but the NASA administrator isn't one of them."

Several hundred people have signed the online petition, including astronaut Mike Fincke who e-mailed his signature from the international space station. Some of the signatures are false names and some are anonymous. Horowitz said he has removed the names of people who added comments saying Griffin should NOT be kept on.

Horowitz's effort also spurred a "remove Mike Griffin" counter-petition, which has just a few dozen signatures, mostly anonymous and personal, including some nasty comments. A few criticized the new space vehicle design.

Only a few weeks ago, Griffin had a public disagreement with Obama's NASA transition chief, Lori Garver, a former NASA associate administrator, about the transition team's efforts to get more information. The dispute wasn't too heated and voices weren't raised, said Smithsonian scholar John Logsdon, who was holding a book signing for his latest volume on space history when Griffin and Garver had their spat.

That conversation led some in the tight-knit space community to speculate that Griffin figured he would not be kept on. Garver has not been available for comment, and Griffin's spokesmen say he is not available until after the new year.

Former NASA Deputy Administrator Hans Mark, who recommended Griffin to the Bush administration, said Griffin and his friends are handling this wrong.

"Mike ought to play it the way (retained Defense Secretary) Bob Gates is playing it, which is to shut up," Mark said.

CHICAGO – His career in shreds, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich clung defiantly to power Wednesday, ignoring a call to step down from President-elect Barack Obama and a warning that Senate Democrats will not let him appoint a new senator from the state.

"Everyone is calling for his head," said Barbara Flynn Currie, a leader in the Illinois House and, like the governor, a Democrat.

AP – Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, center, leaves his home through a back alley Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008

One day after Blagojevich's arrest, fellow Illinois politicians sought to avoid the taint of scandal-by-association.

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. said at a news conference in Washington that he was Senate Candidate 5 in the government's criminal complaint — a man Blagojevich was secretly recorded as saying might be willing to pay money to gain appointment to Obama's vacant Senate seat. Jackson said he had been assured by prosecutors he was not a target of the investigation, and he emphatically said he had not engaged "whatsoever in any wrongdoing."

Other Democrats in Washington edged away from calls for a special election to fill Obama's place in the Senate, hoping that Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn would soon become governor and fill the vacancy on his own. That would assure the party of holding the seat, and on a far faster timetable than any balloting would allow.

Ensconced in his downtown office, Blagojevich gave no sign he was contemplating resigning, and dispatched his spokeswoman, Kelley Quinn, to say it was "business as usual" in his 16th-floor suite, situated a few blocks from Obama's transition headquarters.

"At the end of the day, the top priority for our office is to serve the people, and we have not lost sight of that, nor will we lose sight of that," Kelley Quinn said.

One day earlier, federal prosecutors released a thick document that included excerpts of wiretapped conversations in which the governor allegedly schemed to enrich himself by offering to sell Obama's Senate seat for campaign cash or a lucrative job inside or outside government.

Blagojevich, whose 52nd birthday was Wednesday, is charged with conspiracy and solicitation to commit bribery, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and 10 years, respectively.

More than 24 hours after the arrest, Obama joined other prominent Democrats from his state in calling for Blagojevich's resignation.

"The president-elect agrees with Lt. Gov. Quinn and many others that under the current circumstances it is difficult for the governor to effectively do his job and serve the people of Illinois," Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said in response to questions from The Associated Press.

Asked whether Obama supports a special election, Gibbs said Obama believes the Illinois General Assembly should consider how to fill the Senate seat and "put in place a process to select a new senator that will have the trust and confidence of the people of Illinois."

Top Senate Democrats were more pointed in a letter circulated among the rank and file for signatures.

Blagojevich's resignation, followed by an appointment made by a new governor, would "be the most expeditious way for a new senator to be chosen and seated in a manner that would earn the confidence of the people of Illinois and all Americans," wrote Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and the party's second-ranking leader, Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois.

They added that if Blagojevich chose to "ignore the request of the Senate Democratic Caucus and make an appointment we would be forced to exercise our Constitutional authority ... to determine whether such a person should be seated."

The Constitution gives the Senate authority to refuse to allow a member to be sworn in.

Top Illinois lawmakers have said they are preparing to call the Legislature into session as early as next week to set a special election to choose Obama's successor. Many officials said Blagojevich should be impeached if he refuses to leave.

Still, it was unclear what incentive the governor had to give up his office.

His attorney said Tuesday that he is innocent, and a resignation might make him appear guilty. The office also gives him a certain amount of clout, which can help him raise money for his defense. And he may need the salary — federal prosecutors say their wiretaps also caught Blagojevich complaining about his financial problems.

"He appears to listen to no one, and his conduct becomes more outrageous as time goes on," said Steve Brown, spokesman for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat.

Brown also said that no matter when lawmakers act, Blagojevich could sit on the legislation and still pick a senator. "Despite our best efforts, the governor could play hide the ball. That is an inescapable reality," Brown said. "I'm hoping that's not the case."

The anger toward Blagojevich came amid more fallout over the scandal and new details about the case.

One of his top deputies, Bob Greenlee, resigned after being tied to the investigation.

The complaint against Blagojevich identifies a "Deputy Governor A" who is deeply involved in an alleged scheme to strong-arm the Chicago Tribune on the orders of the governor and his wife. Greenlee's attorney, David Stetler, did not dispute that his client is "Deputy Governor A."

On more than one occasion during his stunning press conference Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald bluntly said he has found no evidence of wrongdoing by President-elect Barack Obama in the tangled, tawdry scheme that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich allegedly cooked up to sell Obama's now vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder. But for politicians it's never good news when a top-notch prosecutor has to go out of his way to distance you from a front-page scandal. And indeed, there are enough connections between the worlds of Blagojevich and Obama that the whole thing has the potential to grow beyond a colorful Chicago tale of corruption to entangle members of the Presidential transition team, to test Obama's carefully cultivated reformist image and to distract the President-elect just as he is preparing to take office.

The Obama Senate seat scheme is only one of the allegations lodged against the two-term governor, whose administration has been under investigation for alleged "pay to play" patronage practices for years. The complaint claims Blagoevich tried to extort the owners of the Tribune company to fire editors at the Chicago Tribune, and to withhold $8 million of state funds to a children's hospital in hopes of extracting a $50,000 campaign contribution from one of its executives. Blagojevich, who came into office in 2002 with promises to clean up the state's culture of graft, made no comment Tuesday during a bail hearing where he was released on his own recognizance. But late in the day his lawyer Sheldon Sorosky told reporters that the governor "is very surprised and certainly feels that he did not do anything wrong...a lot of this is just politics." (See pictures of who will be in Obama's White House.)

In laying out the federal criminal complaint, U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald said Blagojevich went far beyond the realm of hard-knuckle politics into a "political corruption crime spree." The central allegation is that the governor schemed to extort money and jobs for himself and his wife from the Obama transition team in exchange for naming Obama's preferred candidate (unnamed in the charges) to the open Senate seat. The complaint details Blagojevich's attempts to contact intermediaries to the transition and in one case shows him soliciting favors from a union official he identifies as an "emissary." All this alleged activity was taking place, amazingly, at a time when Blagojevich had every reason to believe he was being closely monitored by the U.S. Attorney's office.

For the time being, Obama and his aides have declined to comment on the complaint. Asked about the matter at a photo op Tuesday afternoon, Obama himself said he was "saddened and sobered" by the news but that he had not been in contact with Blagojevich and was "not aware of what was happening." But in the coming days and weeks the campaign will have to address whether Blagojevich or any of his representatives actually talked to an Obama adviser or other emissary on the matter. The transition team will also, undoubtedly, try to distance Obama from a man whom he helped first elect back in 2002 and supported for reelection in 2006, as well as from a brand of corrupt Chicago politics that John McCain tried unsuccessfully to link him to during the presidential campaign.

Blagojevich appears to have started thinking about approaching the President-elect's transition team almost immediately after the election, according to the FBI complaint unsealed Tuesday in Chicago, which is based on wiretapped conversations. In a discussion with his deputy governor Nov. 5, Blagojevich talks about getting an ambassadorship or a cabinet position (such as Secretary of Health and Human Services) in exchange for the Senate seat. The same day he said, "I've got this thing and it's f------ golden and, uh, uh, I'm just not giving it up for f------ nothing. I'm not gonna do it."

Things don't appear to have gone well over the following days, however. On Nov. 10, Blagojevich allegedly held a conference call with his wife, close aides and a handful of Washington-based advisers in which he complains that the advisers are telling him he has to "suck it up" and give this "motherf----- [Obama] his senator. F--- him. For nothing? F--- him." At this point in the complaint, it's not clear whether Blagojevich, his advisers or any other representatives have actually approached the Obama transition. Over the next two days, however, Blagojevich steps up his efforts. On Nov. 11, Blagojevich told his chief of staff and fellow defendant in the complaint, John Harris, that he knew that Obama wanted someone identified in the complaint only as "Senate Candidate 1" for the Senate seat. But, Blagojevich said, "they're not willing to give me anything except appreciation. F--- them." (See the Top 10 unfortunate political one-liners.)

That did not deter the governor, apparently. The same day, Blagojevich suggests starting a non-profit lobbying organization, known as a 501(c)(4), where he could eventually go to work, and proposes getting Obama's friend "Warren Buffett or some of those guys to help us on something like that." In a separate conversation the same day, he suggests that Obama and his associates "can get Warren Buffett and others to put $10, $12 or $15 million into the organization," and then suggests he could retire from the governorship to go over to the organization. (See the Top 10 scandals of 2008.)

Blagojevich then tries to use a union official as an intermediary to the Obama transition and "Senate Candidate 1." On Nov. 12, Blagojevich discusses the open Senate seat with an official of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). During the conversation, Blagojevich says he understands the SEIU official is an "emissary to discuss Senate Candidate 1's interest" in the seat, according to the complaint. Blagojevich said he would be interested in the 501(c)(4) arrangement, and the SEIU official agreed to "put that flag up and see where it goes." Late Tuesday an SEIU spokesperson said in a statement that "we have no reason to believe that SEIU or any SEIU official was involved in any wrongdoing," though the organization wouldn't discuss any specifics of the allegations.

The following day Blagojevich attempts yet another contact with the Obama transition in hopes of floating the 501(c)(4) idea. He says he wants to tell an unidentified adviser to the President-elect that he wants money to be raised for the (c)(4). The same day, he says in a phone conversation that mentioning the (c)(4) to the President-elect's adviser would be an unspoken way of raising the question of Senate Candidate 1, and others. In the same conversation, Blagojevich suggests using an unidentified individual as an intermediary to the President-elect's adviser.

As Illinois reels from the lurid revelations about its governor, the state's politicians are scrambling to figure out what to do about Obama's replacement in the Senate. Despite all the damning charges, Blagojevich still currently has the power to appoint that person. Unless he steps down, is impeached or convicted, the state constitution gives him, and him alone, that authority. Though it's possible that the Senate could simply refuse to seat anyone Blagojevich chose, no one wants to let it get that far. By late Tuesday, it seemed likely that the state legislature would convene a special session to pass an emergency law setting up a special election for the open seat.

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has turned down an emergency appeal from a New Jersey man who says President-elect Barack Obama is ineligible to be president because he was a British subject at birth. The court did not comment on its order Monday rejecting the call by Leo Donofrio of East Brunswick, N.J., to intervene in the presidential election.

Donofrio says that since Obama had dual nationality at birth — his mother was American and his Kenyan father at the time was a British subject — he cannot possibly be a "natural born citizen," one of the requirements the Constitution lists for eligibility to be president.

Donofrio also contends that two other candidates, Republican John McCain and Socialist Workers candidate Roger Calero, also are not natural-born citizens and thus ineligible to be president.

At least one other appeal over Obama's citizenship remains at the court. Philip J. Berg of Lafayette Hill, Pa., argues that Obama was born in Kenya, not Hawaii as Obama says and Hawaii officials have confirmed.

Berg says Obama also may be a citizen of Indonesia, where he lived as a boy. Federal courts in Pennsylvania have dismissed Berg's lawsuit. Federal courts in Ohio and Washington state have rejected similar lawsuits.

Allegations raised on the Internet say the birth certificate, showing that Obama was born in Hawaii on Aug. 4, 1961, is a fake. AP – President-elect Barack Obama listens to a reporter's question during a news conference in Chicago, Sunday

But Hawaii Health Department Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino and the state's registrar of vital statistics, Alvin Onaka, say they checked health department records and have determined there's no doubt Obama was born in Hawaii.

The nonpartisan Web site Factcheck.org examined the original document and said it does have a raised seal and the usual evidence of a genuine document.

WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama said Sunday the economy will get worse before it gets better, pledged a recovery plan "equal to the task" and warned lawmakers that the days of pork barrel spending are over. AP – President-elect Barack Obama speaks during a news conference in Chicago, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008.

Less than six weeks before his inauguration, Obama declined to say how large an economic stimulus plan he envisions. He said his blueprint for recovery will include help for homeowners facing foreclosure on their mortgages if President George W. Bush has not acted by Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.

"We've got to provide a blood infusion to the patient right now to make sure that the patient is stabilized. And that means that we can't worry short term about the deficit. We've got to make sure that the economic stimulus plan is large enough to get the economy moving," he said.

Obama made his comments on NBC's "Meet the Press," in his most extensive interview since winning the White House more than a month ago, and later at a news conference in Chicago.

The president-elect said it is important that domestic carmakers survive the current crisis, although he accused the industry's executives of taking a "head in the sand approach" that has prevented their companies from becoming more competitive.

Play Video AP – Obama: Nation will meet economic challenge

"Congress is doing the exact right thing by asking for a conditions-based assistance package that holds the industry's feet to the fire and gives the industry some short-term assistance," he said.

In addition to the policy issues, Obama avoided a direct answer when asked whether he has quit cigarettes as he prepares to move into a no-smoking White House.

"I have done a terrific job, under the circumstances, of making myself much healthier. And I think that you will not see any violations of these rules in the White House," he said.

Obama called the news conference to introduce retired Gen. Eric Shinseki as his choice to head the Veterans Affairs Department. Shinseki, who was a four-star general, was forced into retirement five years ago by the Bush administration after saying the president's plans to invade Iraq required more troops.

Shinseki pledged to build a "smooth, error-free, no-fail benefits-assured transition" back to civilian life for veterans.

Twice in the opening moments of the NBC interview, the president-elect said the economic situation "is going to get worse before it gets better," an unspoken plea with voters to have patience as the incoming administration tries to grapple with the issue.

He announced plans Saturday for the largest public works spending program since the creation of the interstate highway system a half-century ago, although he said aides are still debating among themselves how much it should cost.

"What we need to do is examine, what are the projects where we're going to get the most bang for the buck? How are we going to make sure taxpayers are protected? You know, the days of just pork coming out of Congress as a strategy, those days are over," he said.

Some lawmakers have mentioned an economic aid plan in the range of $500 billion or higher, and Democratic leaders say they hope to have legislation ready soon after Jan. 20.

The economic indicators have darkened since Obama's election, and Friday's report that 533,000 jobs were lost in November was the worst performance in more than 30 years. Unemployment stands at 6.7 percent, retailers are reporting weak holiday sales and the credit markets have yet to recover from the freeze that led Congress to approve a $700 billion bailout before the election.

Turning to foreign policy, the president-elect sidestepped a question about the pace of a troop withdrawal from Iraq, saying he would direct U.S. generals to come up with a plan "for a responsible drawdown." He said in the campaign he wanted most U.S. troops withdrawn within 16 months, but did not say then, nor has he now, how large a deployment should be left behind.

"We are going to maintain a large enough force in the region to assure that our civilian troops or our civilian personnel and our embassies are protected, to make sure that we can ferret out any remaining terrorist activity in the region" and providing training support for Iraqi personnel.

He did not respond directly when asked whether he believes India should have the right to pursue terrorist targets inside Pakistan in the wake of the deadly attacks in Mumbai. He also said he wants to "reset U.S.-Russian relations" following the Bush era.

"They are increasingly assertive and when it comes to Georgia and their threats against their neighboring countries I think they've been acting in a way that's contrary to international norms," he said of Kremlin leaders.

The president-elect declined to comment on the possible appointment of Caroline Kennedy to New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's seat in the Senate. Obama tapped Clinton recently as his secretary of state.

WASHINGTON – Democrats carrying significant campaign debt after winning a string of House and Senate races are grumbling about President-elect Barack Obama's financial reserves, saying the party's leader is sitting on a pile of cash while Democratic leaders are broke.

AP – President-elect Barack Obama listens to a question at a news conference in Chicago, Wednesday, Dec. 3, …

Obama's organization retains some $30 million after his successful presidential bid, but it's unclear how the Democratic president-in-waiting might use the money. Members of his party are doing their best to appeal for the funds without appearing greedy, ungrateful or hostile to their new leader.

"If I was a top adviser to the president elect, I wouldn't necessarily be advocating saving those dollars," said Raymond Buckley, chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. "It was critically important that we not repeat what happened in '93, '94," when President Bill Clinton held the purse strings and Democrats lost 54 U.S. House seats and eight senators during midterm elections.

"We need the resources to build the national grass roots network for the Obama agenda. We need to make sure the president is successful and that the administration fulfills his promises," Buckley said.

The Democratic National Committee is carrying about $5 million in debt, with almost $12 million cash on hand. DNC officials say they expect to have the debt paid by the end of the year. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee carries some $19 million in debt and less than $3 million on hand. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is nearly $13 million in debt.

Obama raised more than $745 million during his marathon campaign, more than twice the amount obtained by his rival, Republican John McCain. In his latest finance report, Obama reported raising $104 million in more than five weeks immediately before and after Election Day.

"This is the first presidential candidate and president who has not been publicly financed in the general election," said Ken Gross, a former Federal Election Commission lawyer. "Every other president since Jimmy Carter has not had excess funds."

Obama opted not to participate in public funding system. In exchange, he was able to continue raising money, while McCain accepted $84 million in taxpayer money, and the spending restrictions that went with it, through the public financing system.

"The only example that comes to mind is John Kerry," Gross said. "He finished his primary campaign with a $15 million surplus. That created some grumbling, since he lost."

Democrats blamed Kerry's loss, in part, on a campaign hierarchy that didn't spend wisely or aggressively. Kerry's own campaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe, called it "gross incompetence to hoard that money when the race was bound to be so close."

Obama aides are aware of the stigma and don't want to appear inelegant or selfish. They are weighing whether to keep the money to build a massive grass roots program to support his agenda, or to cycle that money to the party apparatus. Both ideas have strong advocates, but it's unclear to those involved which way Obama will go.

"We aren't in a position to announce what the next steps for our organization are today, but are continuing a dialogue with our supporters about their vision for how we move forward," said Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt.

Party officials around the country say the campaign leaders have signaled they shouldn't expect the money to come to them directly, if at all. Instead, many party officials expect Obama to use his funds to advance his own priorities, to support his massive Internet-based organization and to have cache for special causes. With almost 4 million donors, Obama's fundraising list could prove golden for future Obama-backed drives.

"Right now, it looks like the sky is the limit," Gross said.

Obama aides emphasize the campaign expects to continue having expenses, along with tax obligations and political operations. They also say Obama has little interest in bankrolling state committees or individual candidates. Those involved say the logical option is the Democratic National Committee, although no one is pressing for a quick transfer.

On Wednesday, Obama send a fundraising e-mail to his supporters asking them to help retire that debt by buying coffee mugs or fleece sweat shirts. Obama and Democratic aides alike say they would use similar efforts going forward, but were aware that asking too often could dilute the effectiveness of the list.

Legally, Obama can donate the extra money to charity, transfer it to another political campaign, or dole it out in $2,000 increments to local candidates, Gross said.

WASHINGTON: President-elect Barack Obama will on Wednesday nominate New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson as commerce secretary, in the latest addition to his rapidly filling cabinet, a Democratic official said. Obama is set to roll out Richardson, a former diplomatic troubleshooter and ex-envoy to the United Nations at a news conference in Chicago.

Richardson's new post is the latest in a long string of official and ad hoc assignments, which included a spell in the House of Representatives.

Once dubbed the "Indiana Jones" of US diplomacy, Richardson is famed for daring head-to-head encounters with strongmen leaders on the US pariah list, including Iraq's executed president Saddam Hussein and Cuba's Fidel Castro.

The Commerce secretary position he has signed on to has, in recent years, been second fiddle to Treasury in terms of domestic economic policy and international trade matters, but is, nonetheless, a cabinet-level position.

Commerce manages a host of statistical operations including census, and also the International Trade Administration which can bring actions on dumping and unfair trade.

The department also manages telecommunications and intellectual property issues through its agencies, among other functions.

One of the more colorful if rumpled members of the Clinton years, Richardson stormed through public life in a trademark blue blazer and was remembered as a resourceful lawmaker and consummate deal maker.

Critics however have complained he hogged the media spotlight, and took his eye off administrative responsibilities.

Over the years Richardson emerged as a favored go-between for North Korea's Stalinist regime in successive nuclear showdowns with Washington.

He was no stranger to the idiosyncrasies of North Korean negotiators: in 1994, he was on a congressional fact-finding trip to the isolated communist state when a US Army helicopter was shot down after straying across the iron curtain with South Korea.

Richardson negotiated the release of the surviving pilot and the return of the body of his dead co-pilot. A year later, he faced down another mortal US enemy, Saddam Hussein, persuading him to hand over two US businessmen jailed after they accidentally crossed into the country.

In 1996, Richardson was back in North Korea, liberating an American missionary who swam across a river from China and was accused of being a spy.

In his packed career as an unofficial envoy, Richardson also found time to negotiate with Cuba's Castro, lobby Myanmar's military rulers on behalf of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and persuade former Haitian military ruler Raoul Cedras to cede power.

He once reportedly closed a deal with Sudanese rebels holding three Red Cross workers by offering four-wheel-drive jeeps, medicine, rice and a tractor, in place of a 2.5-million-dollar ransom demand.