What the Candidates Should Be Talking About

Poll finds 53% believe US will succeed; McCain stands to benefit

(NEWSER) - Americans' support for the Iraq war is at its highest since the summer of 2006, with some 53% believing the 6-year-old US mission will succeed in bringing stability to the country—up from 42% in September, Politico reports. A February Pew Research Center poll found 48% of Americans believe the war is going well, up from 30% in February 2007. More»

Hillary Clinton, as 'buyer's remorse' plagues a third of the country

(NEWSER) - The most popular politician nationwide is the one that got away: Hillary Clinton. Nearly two-thirds of the country sees the secretary of state favorably, and a third are battling what Bloomberg terms “buyer’s remorse” over not electing her president. Just over a year ago, only a quarter of Americans felt that way. “Looking back, I wonder if she would have been a stronger leader, knowing the games and the politics and all that goes on,” says a Florida woman. “I don’t think she would have bent as much.” More»

And yes, there's a Sarah Palin character

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama's 2008 campaign is the subject of Hope!, a musical set to premiere Jan. 17 in Frankfurt. The production features musical-theater versions of the major players: Michelle, Hillary—looking quite young—John McCain and even Sarah Palin, who sings a solo surrounded by scantily clad dancers. Writer and composer Randall Hutchins, who is American, tells Der Spiegel he got the idea for the production "right at the start of Obama's electoral campaign. I found the atmosphere exciting and that was my inspiration." More»

Film will look at events from candidates' perspectives

(NEWSER) - HBO Films has picked up Game Change, a book about the 2008 election, to adapt for the small screen. The book, to be published next year, takes a character-driven look at the campaigns from the perspectives of the candidates and their camps, says Variety. The option continues the network’s recent interest in timely political material, a la last year’s 2000 election saga Recount. 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.