Should Bush Tap Strategic Petroleum Reserve?

House and Senate want no more sent to national reserve

(NEWSER) - The House and Senate voted today for a pause in deposits to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to stem rising prices, the Los Angeles Times reports. The White House expressed skepticism about the measure, but the Senate backed it 97-1 and the House passed a similar bill 385-25. It is expected to be sent to Bush within days. More»

Weird doings with Hillary, Huck and a chucked shoe

(NEWSER) - Oh-eight was a banner year for politics, and half the time it was a really strange banner. Politico looks back on the weirdest moments in a topsy-turvy year.

• Mike Huckabee holds a news conference to announce he won’t run a negative ad, then plays the ad for everyone.
• Desperate for blue collar cred, Hillary Clinton awkwardly downs a whiskey shot in an Indiana bar.
• San Francisco tries to rename a sewage plant after George W. Bush.

Obama, McCain ditch candor in glossing over tough road ahead

(NEWSER) - Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are each touting a plan to save America from the looming energy crisis, but they're providing too many sunny outlooks and not enough tough candor, Walter Shapiro writes in Salon. "The Ten Commandments of politics now began, 'Thou shalt not talk honestly to the American people about sacrifice,'" says Shapiro. More»

Campaign avoids state's Hillary-loving, white Democrats

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama has a novel strategy in Arkansas, a Southern state that likes Democrats: He's not there. The presumptive nominee has no Arkansas office and hasn't even visited in 2 years. Yet analysts aren't surprised, noting that conservative Democrats heavily favor Hillary Clinton and backed President Bush the past two elections. Arkansas also skews whiter than other Southern states, with only a 16% black population. More»

Republican needs the publicity; convention trump card could benefit Democrat

(NEWSER) - Timing the unveiling of one's running mate is a crucial publicity challenge, David Von Drehle writes in Time—and John McCain would be best served by playing his card soon, while Barack Obama should keep his ace up his sleeve. Obama could run into trouble from rabid Hillary Clinton fans at the Democratic convention, and might need “to hold a headline in reserve." More»