As we ask for your pardon on taking a short break, it's fun to take a look at the notion of the presidential pardon. Today, President Bush pardoned the Thanksgiving turkey - two turkeys this year, in fact, named Pumpkin and Pecan. You can watch the ceremony here.

The tradition of pardoning a turkey has only been going on for 61 years, since the first national turkey was given to President Harry S Truman in 1947. But allowing the outgoing president to pardon criminals - that's been going on since George Washington's presidency. This piece from NPR, produced after Scooter Libby's conviction last year, looks at some of the most famous presidential pardons, including President Ford pardoning President Nixon after Watergate and President Clinton pardoning financier Mark Rich. But pardons can also show progress--President Clinton pardoned Freddie Meeks, a sailor in World War II who was convicted in a mutiny case that challenged segregation in the armed forces.

But the pardon allowance does makes you wonder... what did the turkeys do that they needed pardoning?

Have a very happy Thanksgiving from the Vote 2008 team. Watch this space for more updates in the coming weeks.

While some familiar faces from his campaign are certainly popping up, everyone else interested in working for the new president will have a pretty hefty vetting process. Who are the latest picks? Why did Obama choose them and who is likely to fill the remaining openings?

Back in October, attorney general pick Eric Holder spoke with NPR about what he sees as priorities for the new administration.

 
"'When you look at the other issues that I think the next president is going to have to deal with, chief among them is going to be trying to revitalize and remake a Justice Department that has been really sullied in the last four, eight years or so by people who tried to politicize.'"

But Holder's pardon of financier Marc Rich during his years with the Clinton administration may be a sore spot. In February 2001, NewsHour talked to experts about Holder's controversial decision.

Obama's pick for Health and Human Services secretary is a familiar face -Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. Daschle was front and center for most of Obama's campaign, and Frontline's The Choice portrayed him as having a major role in placing Obama in the position to run for president after he arrived in the Senate in 2004.

"I argued that windows of opportunity for running for the presidency close quickly. And that he shouldn't assume, if he passes up this window, that there will be another," Daschle said.

Will Sen. Hillary Clinton be tapped for Secretary of State? What would your Obama administration dream team look like?

While the joke of 'measuring the drapes' is one that comes up often in transition time, watching President Bush and President-elect Obama's meeting at the White House Monday had me wondering what really does change about the house itself.

Starting off at the source itself, you can take a 'virtual tour' of the current conditions at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

 But to get a sense of how the White House has changed since it first opened its doors to John Adams in 1800, the 2001 documentary Echoes From the White House on WNET created a timeline, showing the "Changing White House."

The BBC provides a good look at what has gone on in previous handover meetings at the White House - particularly when a new party is arriving in Washington. The Nixon-Johnson handover in 1968 is one that stands out:

"As we stood together in the Oval Office, he welcomed me into a club of very exclusive membership, and he made a promise to adhere to the cardinal rule of that membership: stand behind those who succeed you," Mr. Nixon said.

Early voting proponents say getting voting out of the way weeks before an election will alleviate the long lines that are expected in many areas on election and help prevent some of the polling problems seen in past elections.

But a lot can happen to sway peoples' decisions in the final days of a campaign. Washington Post columnist Marc Fisher wrote that these new early voting laws put democracy itself at risk.

"Voting is a proud expression of who we are and of our belief in our system and our future. ... It is how we say, "I am part of something larger, and my voice matters, and so does yours." When we chip away at that communal experience, we diminish democracy."

With so many states allowing early voting, getting the most accurate information about laws in your area is key. Pew's Center on the States Election Online project is helping to educate people about early voting and details each state's rules and regulations.

On PBS and YouTube's Video Your Vote channel, people all across the country have already shared their early voting experiences - from drive-through voting in Southern California, to mail-in ballots in Oregon, to waiting in line at early voting places for up to two hours in North Carolina and Virginia.

Have you already voted? Do you think early voting take away from the tradition of going to the polls on Election Day? What's your Election Day routine?