PRESIDENT-ELECT Barack Obama will meet his senior economic advisers in Chicago today as he puts together his team in preparation for taking office in January. Yesterday Mr Obama chose David Axelrod, his chief campaign strategist, as his senior adviser in the White House while Illinois congressman Rahm Emanuel agreed to become his chief of staff.
Mr Obama received his first classified intelligence briefing yesterday and next Monday he and his wife Michelle will visit the White House for a meeting with the president. "Michelle and I look forward to meeting with President Bush and the First Lady on Monday to begin the process of a smooth, effective transition. I thank him for reaching out in the spirit of bipartisanship that will be required to meet the many challenges we face as a nation," Mr Obama said yesterday.
Mr Bush asked White House staff yesterday to prepare a smooth transition of power so that the new president will "hit the ground running" next January.
"We face economic challenges that will not pause to let a new president settle in. This will also be America's first wartime presidential transition in four decades. We're in a struggle against violent extremists determined to attack us - and they would like nothing more than to exploit this period of change to harm the American people," said Mr Bush.
As late results continued to trickle in yesterday, Mr Obama was confirmed as the winner in North Carolina, bringing to nine the number of states that voted for Mr Bush in 2004 but backed the Democrat this week. With only one electoral college vote still to be determined in Nebraska, which splits its votes, Mr Obama has won 364 to John McCain's 173.
A Senate race in Oregon was decided yesterday in favour of the Democrats, bringing to six the number of Senate seats the party picked up this week. Three Senate races remain to be decided: in Minnesota, where a recount has been called in the contest between Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and former comedian Al Franken; in Georgia, where Republican Saxby Chambliss faces a run-off with his Democratic challenger; and in Alaska, where veteran Republican Ted Stevens looks likely to hold on.
Mr Stevens, who was convicted of seven felonies in a corruption trial before the election, is expected to resign his seat or face expulsion from the Senate.
Alaskan law requires a special election to fill a vacant Senate seat and the state's governor and former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is being tipped as a standard-bearer for her party.
Newsweek reported yesterday on bitter infighting within the Republican presidential campaign over Mrs Palin's role, suggesting that the cost of her new wardrobe was much more than the $150,000 originally reported. The magazine said Mrs Palin also used campaign funds to buy new clothes for her husband and children.
The Republican national committee yesterday criticised Mr Obama's choice of Mr Emanuel as his chief of staff. "Barack Obama's first decision as president-elect undermines his promise to 'heal the divides'. Rahm Emanuel is a partisan insider who played a lead role in breaking Washington," it said.