Good morning. I am at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars this morning for an event discussing President-elect Barack Obama's transition and giving advice for journalists on covering this dynamic time.

The panel features speakers such as longtime political journalist David Broder, Lee Hamilton, the president and director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and Jeanne Cummings of the Politico. They'll talk about how much Democrats will be able to get done in the Obama administration and how well the Obama team has conducted its transition, just over two weeks after Election Day.

Stay tuned to Transition Tracker for more updates throughout the day.

----

12:05 p.m.: And event concludes. Journalists are heading for the sandwich platters. Thanks for joining us!

11:55 a.m.: Both Wolfensberger and Cummings emphasizes reaching out to freshmen lawmakers for information. "They are in the room. They are courted by everyone," Cummings says.

11:48 a.m.: This blogger's Google Docs crashes; she loses all her notes. Good thing this event is being recorded by the National Press Foundation.

11:46 a.m.: Wolfensberger says the Hispanic population is also a big winner in this election. "There is a larger percentage that went for Obama" and they are waiting to see if that surge in support will be reflected in presidential appointments, he added. Also emphasizes that immigration will be a big issue during Obama's first term. "It's not going to be an issue in the first year, but we can expect to see it in the second year," Wolfensberger says. It's "something that needs to be revisited."

11:42 a.m.: Johnson asks about winners and losers in this election with regards to lobbyists. Wolfensberger says it's not yet too clear. Adds that while people thought unions were big winners, but they are "rebuffed now in the auto bailout." Cummings disagrees; she says she thinks labor is a huge winner.

11:39 a.m.: Another Dick Cheney-related surprise this morning: he loved talking to reporters when he was the House Minority Whip, Tolchin says. "Not recently," he adds.

11:34 a.m.: Tolchin tells reporters to always ask for home numbers of sources. "I always assured them I will never call after 3 in the morning," Tolchin says. Laughter. "Now you know where those 3 a.m. phone calls are coming from that Hillary was talking about," quips Wolfensberger, to more laughs.

11:29 a.m.: Cummings points out that Obama "foot soldiers" in every states would be an "enormous" source of information for reporters. "Find them and develop them," she said.

11:23 a.m.: So what are the big issues now? Tolchin says Iraq. Obama "made a pledge, he's got to move on it," he says. Cummings is talking about energy legislation and economic recovery. Says health care doesn't seem like it will be a top priority for Obama early on. "If you look at his language on health care ... it's gotten softer and softer as we have gotten closer to inauguration," she says.

11:19 a.m.: Johnson, who is moderating, adds that the whole Capitol is a gift to reporters. "Don't cover the Hill from C-SPAN," she says.

11:18 a.m.: A great gift to Washington journalists? The Speaker's lobby, Tolchin says. "You'll find out things that you didn't even know were in the hopper."

11:14 a.m.: Tolchin says he used to write letters to Cabinet leaders, requesting interviews. Much to his surprise, many granted them. Tolchin also once sent letters to every congressman from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, requesting financial statements, income tax returns and a list of assets and liabilities. A third gave Tolchin all the information, another third gave him parts of it, and "one-third told me to drop dead." Former New York Senator James Buckley even called for a press conference, denouncing Tolchin's request as an invasion of privacy.

11:07 a.m.: One seeming similarity between the Bush administration and the Obama administration: their relationship with the press. Obama has seemed to have "taken some lessons from the Bush administration, regrettably for us, by keeping the media at an arm's length. That could be challenges for the White House press corps," Cummings says. She tells journalists here that during the campaign, Obama's relationship with the press was mixed. Limited access to the candidate, even for the journalists who were traveling with him. "Reporters on the plane itself were probably in the worst possible spot to cover a campaign," she says.

11:03 a.m.: And to find those leaks, Tolchin (who founded the The Hill and Politico) guides reporters to Congress. There are essentially 535 "independent contractors" there, he says.

11:01 a.m.: Cummings says transitions are "basically hell." Leaks, bureaucratic messes, and the like. "Given the fact that these were supposed to be newcomers, [the Obama administration has] managed the process particularly well."

10:58 a.m.: Back in session. Now we have a panel of speakers including Sandra Johnson, the former Washington bureau chief for the Associated Press; Jeanne Cummings, chief lobbying reporter for The Politico; Martin Tolchin, a longtime New York Times reporter who is now a public policy scholar at the International Center for Scholars; and Donald Wolfensberger, director of the Congress Project.

10:47 a.m.: Journalists are treated to an unscheduled break. This blogger will take a brief break to rest her hands.

10:39 a.m.: A reporter asks about possible holdovers from the Bush administration. Doesn't mention any names, but a likely allusion to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Pfiffner says such talks always happen, and Obama's administration doesn't seem to be much different than previous administrations. "These people are arguably qualified," Pfiffner says. "People in an agency can tell you whether they're legitimate or not."

10:36 a.m.: Despite the very complex transition process, Pfiffner says he hasn't noticed too many missteps from the Obama team so far.

10:26 a.m.: Pfiffner brings up the issue of earmarks. He says Obama shouldn't spend too much time and precious political capital weeding out these earmarks from federal spending, which amount to about $18 billion of the country's budget. If Obama does that, it's "going to irritate members of Congress and distract from his agenda."

10:22 a.m.: Fun fact of the day: President Lyndon B. Johnson needed 72 pens to sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Pfiffner says.

10:17 a.m.: Another reference to Clinton and Carter's struggles at the beginning of their presidencies, even with a Democratic Congress. Lots of warnings to Obama this morning from our speakers, not to let the Democratic majorities go to his head.

10:10 a.m.: Rahm Emanuel, Obama's pick for chief of staff, will need to be tough, Pfiffner says. That shouldn't be an issue for him. Pfiffner: "The only problem is if you let the power go to his head." Adds that the danger of the chief of staff position is if that person becomes too powerful. Believe it or not, Dick Cheney was a great chief of staff for President Gerald Ford, Pfiffner says. He was "very businesslike, very smart and civil. He got done what Gerald Ford wanted to get done."

10:06 a.m.: Pfiffner says President Ronald Reagan's transitions was very effective. His personnel operations were already going by April 1980 -- seven months before the election. Pfiffner adds that Obama seems as well prepared, pointing out that the Obama team started vetting people back in June.

10:03 a.m.: No break for the caffeinated journalists here. We fly right into the second panel with James Pfiffner, a professor of public policy at George Mason University.

9:58 a.m.: Final question. It's about how Obama's heavily legislative background -- rather than an executive one, in the tradition of recent presidents -- will affect his term. Hamilton references President Lyndon Johnson, who was a "legislative master ... his background had an enormous impact in getting through. He understood that institution as very few people do."

9:54 a.m.: In a question about the Republicans' role in such a Democrat-heavy government, Broder says Republican candidate Sen. John McCain could be a "potential helper" for Obama in the Senate, especially on immigration. That issue, Broder says, will be an "absolute litmus test" for the Republican party in whether it "does or does not want a future in national politics."

9:50 a.m.: How about how Obama energized a certain base of the electorate? How does that carry over? Broder points out the massive efforts that Team Obama took in new-media communications during the campaign. Recollects that there were a handful of desks "devoted to us dinosaurs in the old media" and a "huge array of people on computers, ready to talk to the new media across America." If those efforts carry over into his administration, that can have a "direct effect" on the members of Congress, Broder says.

9:42 a.m.: In response to a question about Obama's mandate, Broder said he anticipates a "real push" for internal school reform, especially in large urban districts. Reminds us that Valerie Jarrett, one of Obama's closest advisors, has a deep background in school reform issues in Chicago. But Broder says: "There is obviously not going to be money for anything of [the scale of the Great Society], and any new programs will have to be phased in very damn slowly to fit into a semi-plausible budget."

9:40 a.m.: A Gannett News Service reporter asks about Vice President-elect Joe Biden's role. Hamilton quickly responds, "Joe's been kind of quiet, hasn't he?" Laughter.

9:36 a.m.: Broder also adds that at this time, economic stimulus bills are "urgently needed," and Obama will get "substantial Republican support" for some of those bills.

9:31 a.m.: A journalist asks how Obama's popularity will affect the legislative agenda, alluding to the popularity of President Ronald Reagan and his ability to get things done. "I don't think we can tell yet," Hamilton said. But Obama, Hamilton says, is a person of "pretty firm views but likewise, generally pretty conciliatory. His initial instinct to a problem is to understand it better ... his instinct is to try to find an acceptable solution."

9:28 a.m.: Broder and Hamilton now taking questions.

9:26 a.m.: But Broder says Obama seems to have learned lessons from Carter and Clinton's presidencies. One good step is that Obama seems to have figured out his White House staff first, instead of Cabinet positions, which tend to be "dominated by constituency satisfaction." Also points out that because Obama's tenure in the Senate was so short, "he is not terribly well-equipped with personal alliances up there. He has come away with very good political leverage from the fact that he won a serious majority in the country and helped Democrats win a serious working majority in Congress."

9:22 a.m.: David Broder now at the podium. He's giving journalists a history reminder: the last two Democratic presidents who were elected with Democratic Congresses -- Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton -- both "damaged themselves seriously in the first months of the transition and the presidency by their inability to work with and figure out how to work with Democratic Congresses."

9:18 a.m.: Hamilton is getting at the hearts of the 40 or so journalists in the audience and expressing concerns about the cutbacks in the industry. "Congress needs the media. The country needs the media ... looking into every nook and cranny of what the government does."

9:16 a.m.: Hamilton points out that the real fight over the federal budget will come in the White House's Office of Management and Budget, not in Congress. He adds that there needs to be "genuine tension" between the president and Congress for the best national policies to emerge.

9:10 a.m.: Hamilton is concluding his remarks and emphasizes how much Obama must work with Congress. He "can't be too confrontational. He has to reach out." Hamilton reminds attendees that how President George H.W. Bush's nominee for defense secretary, John Tower, opened up a "hornet's nest" and instigated a "terrific fight" with Congress.

9:04 a.m. Hamilton paints a sober situation for Obama and the budget he's going to have to submit almost immediately after the Democrat is sworn into office: "He's going to have to learn how to say no." Hamilton says the current fiscal situation is going to "hugely constrain" Obama.

8:59 a.m. Lee Hamilton says Obama's team has received more than 75,000 applications for 3,000 jobs in the new administration. "What you have are hundreds of transitions taking place in every department, every agency, every board, every bureau of U.S. government," said Hamilton, a former longtime congressman from Indiana. "It's almost beyound your imagination."