By MARSHA MERCER, Media General News Service

Hey, did you hear? Santa Claus is laying off Rudolph after the big night.
Like other employers, Claus has to, ah, rein in costs. He can't afford to keep and feed nine reindeer, even if they are tiny, for another whole year. Rudolph has been a valued employee, but in these tough times, the team will have to pull the sleigh without his red nose.

Talk about tall orders. When he chose Janet Napolitano to head the Department of Homeland Security, President-elect Barack Obama said, "She will be a leader who can reform a sprawling department while safeguarding our homeland."
Oh, really?

President-elect Barack Obama's picks for his Cabinet are reassuring because they have Washington experience -- unless they're disappointing for that very reason.
It depends on where you're standing. Inside-the-Beltway types are relieved to see a familiar cast of characters returning to power, even if they disagree with some previous policies.

WASHINGTON -- The homeless beggar near the office was smoking a cigarette and had a pack in this shirt pocket as he offered his cup for a handout.I figured, if he's got money for cigarettes, his financial need must not be urgent.The chief executives of the Big Three automakers flew in from Detroit on their corporate jets to beg for a $25 billion bailout.

WASHINGTON -- I usually hear from my distant cousin in Italy at Christmastime. The day after the election, though, an e-mail popped up."Many greetings for Obama!!" Paolo's message read.Diann, an American friend who lives in England, e-mailed me a few days later.

WASHINGTON -- In the waning days of the campaign, one presidential candidate promised to "bring America together" to tackle tough problems.He vowed to fix the broken politics of Washington and "inspire and unite" the country. He warned that his opponent is "out of touch with our time and out of step with the American people."

GREENVILLE, N.C. -- On a bright October morning, Laura Burkhead pinned her Obama button to her blouse and went job hunting.Out of work since March, Burkhead has made the rounds of restaurants and shops for months, getting nowhere. She finally began to have a nagging doubt.

WILMINGTON, N.C. -- The presidential election confounds me.Exhibit A: North Carolina, which twice handed George Bush double-digit victories and last voted Democratic for president in 1976. Is it really a presidential toss up, as the polls say?

WASHINGTON -- Now that folksy is in, I don't mind admitting that the first line of Joe Biden's latest e-mail reminded me of my grandmother."The McCain campaign is on the ropes," Biden wrote Wednesday."Don't count your chickens before they hatch," my grandmother used to say.