Obama Ally Launches Bid for Ala. State House

(NEWSER) - In the post-Obama political landscape, a young congressman is attempting a feat perhaps more difficult than putting a black man in the White House, writes Robbie Brown in the New York Times. That would be putting a black man in the Alabama governor’s mansion. “Yes, it will be hard,” said Artur Davis, a four-term congressman and a star of last year’s Democratic convention. “But God has blessed us through that which is hard before.” More»

(NEWSER) - A small, mostly black county in Alabama that delivered Barack Obama 70% of the vote has declared the second Monday of November “Barack Obama Day,” the AP reports. The state itself went convincingly for John McCain, but Perry County wanted to make a point about opportunity and the possibility of change. County offices will close, and workers will receive a paid holiday. More»

Plus: Guess who's the most popular president ever?

(NEWSER) - In honor of Presidents' Day, pollsters have ranked the most popular presidents ever—and it turns out George W. Bush is slightly more popular than our current leader, at least by one measure. Some 46% of Americans see President Obama favorably, and 49% have a negative view of him, marking a 3-point favorability gap. Bush has just a one-point gap, with 45% approving and 46% disapproving of him, Public Policy Polling reports. Indeed, Republicans despise Obama more than any other demographic hates any other president—12% to 84%. More»

Ex-Prez Bush says bailout his idea, and a good one

(NEWSER) - Three years ago, Mitt Romney wrote that President Obama should " Let Detroit Go Bankrupt ," instead of bailing out the struggling auto industry, in a famous New York Times column. And today? Even with the American auto industry on the rebound, Michigan's GOP primary looming on Feb. 28, and Rick Santorum breathing down his neck in the polls , Romney still thinks bankruptcy would have been better than the president's "crony capitalism," he writes in the Detroit News . "I believe that without his intervention things there would be better," he writes. More»

Budget would institute 'Buffett Rule,' boost infrastructure

(NEWSER) - President Obama officially unveiled his $3.8 trillion budget today, and as expected it draws a 2012 battle line, calling for higher taxes on the wealthy combined with spending measures intended to bolster the economy, the AP reports. "We built this budget around the idea that our country has always done best when everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules," Obama said, according to CNN . "This is not about class warfare. This is about the nation's welfare." More»