The election over, Barack Obama readies for the future

by J. Scott Orr/Star-Ledger Washington Bureau
Wednesday November 05, 2008, 5:53 PM

A day after he made history as the first African-American to capture the White House, Barack Obama took a day off.

The Democratic senator from Illinois held no public events today, his marathon race to the White House suddenly a memory. Behind the scenes, though, his transition team began making plans for an Obama administration that will confront the nation's deep woes come January.
Obama is expected to return to Washington Thursday to receive his first top-secret daily briefing from Bush administration intelligence officials. He also is expected to meet with reporters for the first time as the president-elect. A White House meeting with President Bush could also happen soon.

Rahm Emanuel, a Democratic congressman from Obama's home base of Chicago, chairman of the Democratic Caucus in the House and a former advisor to President Clinton, reportedly has accepted the job as Obama's chief of staff.

And Obama announced that his transition team would be headed by former Clinton chief of staff John Podesta, Obama's Senate chief of staff Pete Rouse and campaign advisor Valerie Jarrett.