Happy birthday, Abe Lincoln.

Happy birthday, Charles Darwin.

Today is not only the 200th anniversary of the birth of the American president who saved the union, but also the 200th anniversary of the birth of the British naturalist who established evolution as the dominant scientific explanation of life on the planet.

So President Barack Obama is traveling to Springfield, Ill., today, for a celebration of Lincoln. But who's going to the Galapagos Islands?

Sarah Palin, "daughter of a science teacher,'' might consider making that journey, as part of a necessary reconstruction of the popular perception created in the presidential campaign that perhaps the Republican governor of Alaska believes that dinosaurs and her great-great-great-grandparents trod the earth at the same time.

Now, Palin already has attempted to refute the myths about her: Did she only want to teach creationism in school and not evolution? "No,'' she told FOX News last year. "In fact, growing up in a school teacher's house with a science teacher as a dad, you know, I have great respect for science being taught in our science classes and evolution to be taught in our science classes.''

She had, however, told the Anchorage Daily News that schools should not fear teaching creationism alongside evolution: "Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information.... Healthy debate is so important and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both. And you know, I say this too as a daughter of a science teacher."

The full rehabilitation of Palin's image on the question of evolution shouldn't take nearly as long as Darwin's five-year journey aboard HMS Beagle.

But 2012 might be a useful goal.

Not only is today Darwin's birthday, but this year will mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species. He was 51 at its publication. He also lived somewhat longer than Lincoln - Darwin died on April 19, 1982, the photo here taken shortly before he passed away.

PHILADELPHIA-- As Barack Obama prepared for his Saturday arrival in Washington, he embraced the same historical imagery that he used to kick off his presidential campaign: the spirit of Abraham Lincoln.

Obama was traveling to the capital by retracing the final stages of the train trip Lincoln made to assume the presidency, beginning the fanfare for an inaugural celebration in which the Great Emancipator will be an unmistakable presence. With an official theme for the festivities taken from the Gettysburg Address, Obama will appear at the martyred president's memorial for a televised concert, take the oath of office on a Bible used by Lincoln and even attend an inaugural luncheon that will feature favorite Lincoln foods.

Lincoln is in some ways a natural fit for a tall, skinny politician from Illinois who, like the 16th president, shows a gift for oratory. And it is all the more so for a president whose barrier-breaking election can be viewed as the fulfillment of the long struggle for racial equality begun by Lincoln's emancipation of the slaves.

Obama's references to Lincoln go back to his presidential campaign announcement speech on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., the site of Lincoln's famous "House Divided" speech.

During the campaign, the Obama operation invoked Lincoln to respond to criticism that the freshman senator had little national political experience and to reinforce the historic nature of his candidacy without emphasizing his race.

Now, a political team that has been unusually adept at associating Obama with historic figures--his campaign also invoked John and Robert Kennedy and, more discreetly, Martin Luther King--is again turning to Lincoln as it sets the stage for the Obama presidency.

It's Wednesday, Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, and the third full day of Hanukkah.

There's not much on the slate in Washington. President-elect Barack Obama has gone to Hawaii and Chief of Staff-designate Rahm Emanuel has gone to Africa.

And this old Swampster (Mark Silva) has gone to Florida. So enjoy your holidays, your time off from work, we hope, wherever you may be. There's a New Year coming on the Christian calendar, and we'll be meeting it with a renewed sense of commitment here.

Stop by during the holidays, however, because we never really go anywhere...

WASHINGTON--Incoming White House senior adviser David Axelrod warned on Sunday that automakers will have to come up with a plan to restructure before the industry receives a federal bailout.

"They're going to have to retool and rationalize their industry for the future. And if they don't do that, then there's very little that taxpayers can do to help them," Axelrod said on ABC News' "This Week."

Former Commerce Secretary Bill Daley, an informal Obama adviser, echoed the point speaking as a surrogate for the Obama team on another Sunday morning news show.

"They have to do it. The responsibility is on the auto industry and the unions to come back with a plan," Daley said on NBC News' "Meet the Press."

WASHINGTON--They arrived early, greeted their hosts genially and took a polite tour of their soon-to-be home.

If only the handoff of the U.S. presidency were as simple as Barack and Michelle Obama's visit to the White House on Monday.

Behind the scenes, aides to President-elect Obama and President George W. Bush were tackling the mammoth task of changeover, including the daunting job of turning over the national security apparatus.

WASHINGTON--They arrived early, greeted their hosts genially and took a polite tour of their soon-to-be home.

If only the handoff of the U.S. presidency were as simple as Barack and Michelle Obama's visit to the White House on Monday.

Behind the scenes, aides to President-elect Obama and President George W. Bush were tackling the mammoth task of changeover, including the daunting job of turning over the national security apparatus.

WASHINGTON--They arrived early, greeted their hosts genially and took a polite tour of their soon-to-be home.

If only the handoff of the U.S. presidency were as simple as Barack and Michelle Obama's visit to the White House on Monday.

Behind the scenes, aides to President-elect Obama and President George W. Bush were tackling the mammoth task of changeover, including the daunting job of turning over the national security apparatus.

The NBC News interview with Sarah Palin concluded this evening with the airing of more ssegments of Brian Wiliams' talk with the Republican vice presidential nominee.

Here's an extended video of the talks, courtesy of NBC.

We'll get out of the way. Take a look.

The NBC News interview with Sarah Palin concluded this evening with the airing of mor segments of Brian Wiliams' talk with the Republican vice presidential nominee.

Here's an extended video of the talks, courtesy of NBC.

We'll get out of the way. Take a look.

The NBC News interview with Sarah Palin concluded this evening with the airing of mor segments of Brian Wiliams' talk with the Republican vice presidential nominee.

Here's an extended video of the talks, courtesy of NBC.

We'll get out of the way. Take a look.

Sen. Hillary Clinton's appearance Tuesday in Omaha, Neb. (or "Obamaha", as several news organizations dubbed it in primary election headlines), is a reminder that even a lone electoral vote in a traditionally blood-red state could be important.

The New York senator spent the day in the state's 2nd Congressional District, attending a fundraiser in the morning, and speaking to the Girls Inc. luncheon and a rally of more than 2,500, according to the Omaha World-Herald.

While winning one of Nebraska's five electoral votes, which are split by congressional district, wouldn't be easy, Clinton said it is possible -- and could make the difference.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Monday, October 20.

The House Budget Committee is holding a hearing on economic recovery options and challenges with Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke testifying.

The Woodrow Wilson Center is hosting a discussion on "McCain, Obama and the Middle East: The Influence of Domestic Policy on U.S. Policy."

The Rand Corp. is holding a briefing on the pros and cons of creating a domestic counterterrorism intelligence service.

Their nearly 2-year-old campaigns are down to the final two weeks, and the time has come for John McCain and Barack Obama to harvest a White House victory or watch a dream wither away.

The outcome will spring from strategies planted months or years ago--images crafted, positions laid out, grass-roots organizations and fundraising networks created--and also from the candidates' responses to the campaign's frantic final storms, including a once-in-a-generation economic crisis.

McCain heads toward Election Day trailing in national polls, needing an even bigger late-October comeback than Ronald Reagan in 1980 or Jimmy Carter in 1976. His campaign has retreated to states President George W. Bush carried in 2004, which the Arizona Republican must sweep to narrowly win the Electoral College.

Obama, a freshman Democratic senator from Illinois, is using a fundraising advantage to overwhelm his rival with television ads in Florida, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado and several other "must-win" states for McCain. His party appears poised for major gains in the House and Senate. If Obama's poll numbers hold up, Democrats could win a sweeping mandate.

Still, the numbers suggest McCain's window has not closed completely. About a fifth of voters remain undecided or willing to switch allegiances, the latest Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll suggests. Those voters tend to be older, white, independent, Catholic men who lean moderate-to-conservative--a group Obama often struggled to attract in his primary battle with Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Frank Newport, managing editor of the Gallup Poll, said McCain is trailing Obama anywhere from 2 to 7 percentage points depending upon turnout assumptions. More traditional models benefit McCain. Obama does better assuming hordes of new voters will turn out. A pollster.com average of national polls on Friday gave Obama a lead of nearly 7 points.

"You would give the higher probability to Obama winning because he's been ahead in every poll over the last several weeks that we've done," Newport said. "But it's close enough under certain turnout scenarios that you can't rule out that McCain will win."