Today we honor our veterans, all those who've died for this country in war. And Barton Gellman, reporter for The Washington Post and the author of Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency ,” joins us to discuss his book (and the explosion of Cheney books) . . . oh, the dark secrets we can now answer about him . . .

Plus your calls

866 – 303 – 2270 IS THE NUMBER TO CALL-IN FOR YOU LISTENERS OUT THERE.

From Ron Reagan:

We're talking about the Obama/Bush meeting & Obama's potential efforts to undo Bush's executive orders, including the announcement today that the Obama transition team plans to close Gitmo prison. You'll hear from Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU, on this topic. The ACLU argues "(this proposal) underscores what human rights and civil liberties groups have been saying all along -- it is possible to try the detainees in a federal or military court that adheres to the rule of law."

Followed by a conversation with historian and author, Rick Pearlstein on whether we're a center-left or center-right country. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller "Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America". His first book, "Before The Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus," won the 2001 Los Angeles Times Book Award for history.

And your calls.

866 – 303 – 2270 IS THE NUMBER TO CALL-IN FOR YOU LISTENERS OUT THERE.

From Ron Reagan:

With the Rahm Emanuel pick today for White House chief of staff and David Axelrod also announced as White House senior advisor, the new administration is getting its ducks in a row. On the line with more details will be Sam Stein, Politics Reporter at the Huffington Post... followed by your calls on how aggressively progressive you think the new team should be

Do you think, as David Corn writes this week that, "maybe an agent of change needs someone who can move the bureaucracy (and the trash) to get change done," -- ?

And, John Cusack, producer, writer, actor will be talking with us about WAR, INC, his political satire about who profits from chaos and war. His film opened last year and is now out on DVD.

866 – 303 – 2270 IS THE NUMBER TO CALL-IN FOR YOU LISTENERS OUT THERE.

Every moment presents us with an opportunity to change for the better, as individuals, as a nation. Some moments are more significant – at least more noticeable – than others. This is one of them.

Election night reminded us how far we have come as a nation: less than 150 years ago, the Obama family might have been somebody’s property; only 20 years ago, a black man serving in the White House as something other than a steward would have been, practically speaking, unimaginable. Yet, here we are.

None of this means we have arrived at that “more perfect union” our founders envisioned through their own imperfect lens. Bigotry and intolerance still weigh on us – witness the success of Prop. 8 in California. Economic injustice remains an unfortunate reality. The environment suffers grievously.

But we now have a chance to be a better version of ourselves. In driving the monsters from the castle, we have given ourselves an opportunity we can’t afford to squander. The monsters still lurk, thwarted and angry, itching for revenge. We dare not let them back in. Above all, we must not let the temptations of power turn us into the very thing we deplore. We are better than that.

Now, all we have to do is prove it. Let’s get to work!

RR

From Ron Reagan:

Victory.

How sweet it is.

Catch us an hour early today -- I'm hosting The Rachel Maddow Show starting at 7 pm ET, followed by our regular broadcast

Hour 1: An update on the controversial ballot initiative, Prop 8, which passed yesterday with Rev. Susan Russell (Prop 8)
And behind-the-scenes details on team Palin, McCain and Obama with Newsweek reporter, Nick Summers

And stick around for hour 2 : John Nichols, from The Nation, on the obstacles ahead and the historical nature of the Obama win
And Darcy Burner (running for Washington State’s 8th Congressional District) on the yet undeclared results this local race

Plus your calls throughout the show

866 – 303 – 2270 IS THE NUMBER TO CALL-IN FOR YOU LISTENERS OUT THERE

From Ron Reagan:

Our condolences to the Obama family for their loss. According to the NYT, Senator Barack Obama’s grandmother, a central figure in his life who helped raise him during his teen-age years, died in Hawaii today.

On the show tonight: Mark Blumenthal, editor and publisher of Pollster.com will bring us up to speed on the latest polls and any late breaking trends in the crucial battleground states. Followed by your calls: Do you believe the polls? What are you seeing and hearing in your town/city/neighborhood?

Plus, my thoughts on being a sometime campaign insider & and the meaning behind my support of Obama

866 – 303 – 2270 IS THE NUMBER TO CALL-IN FOR YOU LISTENERS OUT THERE.

A message from Chris Owens:

This weekend:

With our regular and urgent report on voter protection: Benjamin Todd Jealous, NAACP President & CEO, on the NAACP’s legal ground work to protect votes before and after the election.

** If you have problems voting call 866-OUR-VOTE and a legal expert will be there to take your call, answer questions and if necessary, come down to your voting station. **

And Ludovic Blain, Project Director, StopDogWhistleRacism.com, based in Oakland, California, joins me to explain how campaigns have often been shaped by the “dog whistle” tactics that seek to divide and spread fear. StopDogWhistleRacism.com is a non-partisan research project of the Center for Social Inclusion, which seeks to examine the ways that race figured implicitly in the 2008 campaigns, ballot initiatives and policy debates.

That’s this weekend on Black Politics.

From Ron Reagan:

Happy Halloween, I've finished carving my holiday pumpkins, seriously. Who doesn't like Halloween? -- I want to hear from you today

And big news: I have an endorsement to make . . .

Plus, comic Joy Behar, feisty co-host of The View on why she thinks Bill O'Reilly has trouble making friends

And it wouldn't be Friday without Newsweek's Jonathan Alter, on The Week That Was

We're taking your calls. 866 – 303 – 2270 IS THE NUMBER TO CALL-IN FOR YOU LISTENERS OUT THERE.

Tonight, from Ron Reagan:

Rachel Maddow on her BIG get: Obama!

Plus Sonja Eddings Brown, Rev. Susan Russell, Chris Carlson, on some of the more controversial ballot proposals:

- Prop 8 California Constitutional Amendment to eliminate same-sex couples from marriage.

- Prop 1000 in Washington State "Right to Die"

Plus, linguist George Lakoff & filmmaker Eugene Jarecki later in the show on framing talk about war and politics.

And your calls.

866 – 303 – 2270 IS THE NUMBER TO CALL-IN FOR YOU LISTENERS OUT THERE.

From Ron Reagan:

Rachel Maddow on her BIG get: Obama!

Plus Sonja Eddings Brown, Rev. Susan Russell, Chris Carlson, on some of the more controversial ballot proposals:

- Prop 8 California Constitutional Amendment to eliminate same-sex couples from marriage.

- Prop 1000 in Washington State "Right to Die"

Plus, linguist George Lakoff & filmmaker Eugene Jarecki on framing talk about war and politics.

And your calls.

866 – 303 – 2270 IS THE NUMBER TO CALL-IN FOR YOU LISTENERS OUT THERE.