Here in the United States, President-elect Obama stayed mostly out of public view Wednesday, one day after his historic election. In his first major staffing move, Obama has offered Democratic Congress member Rahm Emanuel of Chicago the position of White House Chief of Staff. Emanuel served as an aide under the Clinton administration and has been a key Democratic Party leader in Congress. On foreign policy, Emanuel is thought to represent the right wing of the Democratic Party. He has vocally backed Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and its 2006 attack on Lebanon. Obama’s transition team has begun to prepare for taking office. The group is headed by John Podesta, President Clinton’s former chief of staff and the president of the Center for American Progress.