Conservative Identity Crisis
By E.J. Dionne —
There is a second transition under way over which President-elect Barack Obama has no control—the transition of conservatives to minority status. How they do this will have a powerful impact on the new presidency.

A Wal-mart Christmas for a Wal-mart Country
By Marie Cocco —
The giant discounter is the only store where hard-squeezed consumers can afford to buy anything, and so it has kept posting sales gains amid the retail bloodbath