As first reported by Politico.com, the man who led Barack Obama’s communications team during his campaign will become the new president’s first White House press secretary.

Robert Gibbs became a familiar face to political junkies during the campaign season. Now he’s bound for the coolest job in the world.

Gibbs is a 1989 graduate of Auburn High School, as editorial page editor Joe McAdory reports for Friday’s edition.

It’s awesome to have a local connection to the famed mansion on Pennsylvania Avenue.

I’m sure that at some point, Gibbs will be invited back to his alma mater to speak or accept some sort of recognition for his accomplishments.

And when he does, I’ll be clamoring for a sit-down with him.

... Or maybe I’ll hold out in hopes that I can crash one of his gaggles someday.

P.S. Mike McCurry was the best WHPS ever. Read more about him here.

My fellow blogger Danny over at the Political Parlor apparently hasn’t had sick kids or a laundry room disaster this week: He’s compiled a handy list of winners and losers from Tuesday’s elections here in Alabama.

U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, who really, really wants to run for governor in 2010, actually made both lists: His candidates won in CDs 2 and 5, and he’s forged a good relationship with the president-elect. But Obama’s poor performance statewide on Tuesday raises doubts about whether Davis can be competitive in a Democratic gubernatorial primary against an established opponent—say, someone named Folsom.

I agree with just about all of Danny’s observations—especially his pick for No. 3 on the winners list.

It’s Josh Segall, who unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers in the Third Congressional District. Plenty of politicians who began their careers with almost-wins have gone on to become successful public servants; Segall proved himself a capable, articulate and thoughtful candidate in his tough battle with the incumbent, so there’s every reason to believe he may join their ranks. He’s already being mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright, who’s headed to Washington after winning the 2nd CD showdown with Jay Love. I’ll be looking to talk with Segall in the coming weeks about his plans for the future and whether he sees more campaigning on his horizon.

Read Danny’s “Winners and Losers” list over at the Parlor. 

So if you read the blog on Tuesday, you know that we planned to host a live webcast and chat during election returns.

Thanks to the dutiful, ambitious work of OANow.com site coordinator John Walker, I co-hosted the event with Opelika-Auburn News editorial page editor Joe McAdory. The event was simulcast on OANow.com and WRBL.com. It was a group effort—WRBL reporter Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield joined us, and News publisher Jim Rainey even hung out and pitched in with results of local and state races from around the area.

In addition to watching the numbers come in, we were able to host live interviews with U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, who won re-election to his seat in the Third Congressional District, and his challenger, Josh Segall. Rogers gave us a window into his plans for working with the expanded Democratic majority in the House (more on that here later).

Overall, we had a great time during the chat, and I hope you were there. We hope to be doing similar events from time to time in the future, so stay tuned. If you have suggestions for topics you’d like covered in that format, please let me know.

While we were hosting the webcast, the News had reporters stationed all over the area to cover the impact of the election. Of particular note is the work reporters Donathan Prater and Brittany Whitley produced on those assignments.

Don spent time with an 80-year-old Opelika resident, a veteran of the segregated U.S. Army, who shared his reflections on Barack Obama’s historic win. The story is a great read. I can’t say enough for Don’s thoughtful treatment of the moment. The entire piece—but especially the last sentence of the story—is worth your time.

Brittany was dispatched to Auburn University to cover the participation and reaction of young people who came to vote. A recent college graduate herself, Brittany provides a great look at how young people finally lived up to their promise at the polls.

Both are excellent pieces. Read Don’s story here; read Brittany’s story here.

And if you appreciate their commentaries as much as I did, e-mail them and let them know how well they did on Tuesday night. You can reach Don at dprater (AT) oanow.com and Brittany and bwhitley (AT) oanow.com.

No, I’m not protesting the election results.

I’m still here. But between sick children and a laundry room disaster, I’ve had no time to opine on what happened Tuesday.

Until now.

So get ready for a blog blitz. I’ll try to get a few posts done tonight; then we’ll sprint tomorrow.

We’ve got a lot to talk about.