Obama Has Too Many Czars, Critics Complain

But GOP's Collins vows to keep the 'issue' alive with more hearings

(NEWSER) - The anti-czar crusade hit quite the speed bump yesterday, when five constitutional scholars testified in a Senate hearing that it was indeed perfectly legal for the president to have policy advisers. They said the principle dated back to FDR and that, assuming the czars didn’t have any actual legal authority, there wasn’t an issue. “Practical authority is not legal authority,” noted one scholar. More»

President's 32 czars an 'end-run' around Congress: Cantor

(NEWSER) - President Obama has broken his promise to restore the power of Congress “by appointing a virtual army of ‘czars,’” Republican Eric Cantor writes in the Washington Post. The administration now has at least 32 czars—more than Russia ever did—with each spearheading major policy initiatives. That’s an “end-run around the legislative branch of historic proportions,” the House minority whip contends, because the president's czars don’t need to be confirmed. More»

But vows to promote green causes, in or out of White House

(NEWSER) - A foreign-born citizen, Arnold Schwarzenegger can't be US president—but though he's endorsed John McCain, he's open to serving as energy czar in a Barack Obama administration. Asked about it on today on This Week, the California governor called the idea "hypothetical" but showed enthusiasm for green issues. His name would give Obama extra celebrity power and provide a useful across-the-aisle appointment, Politico reports. More»

Chrysler ad a political football

(NEWSER) - God bless America ... and the Chrysler bailout ... seemed to be the message that left football fans misty-eyed after Clint Eastwood's Super Bowl Chrysler ad. It's "halftime" in America, and we're all pulling together for a brighter economic future, says the gravelly-voiced star. But Eastwood was opposed to the bailout that made the Chrysler turnaround possible, and now the ad has become a political football as Dems score points with it and the GOP tackles it, notes ABC News . “Saving the American Auto Industry: Something Eminem and Clint Eastwood can agree on," crowed White House spokesman Dan Pfeiffer on Twitter, referring to Eminem’s Chrysler ad during last year's Super Bowl. "Powerful spot," chimed in Obama re-election strategist David Axelrod. But George Bush's political maven Karl Rove snapped that he was "offended" by the ad, which he argued was orchestrated by the administration to paint a rosy future. More»

Editorials largely take the president to task

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama's decision to reject TransCanada's Keystone XL oil pipeline has set a lot of tongues wagging, with some of the biggest papers in the country devoting today's editorials to it. Here's what they're saying:

• "We almost hope this was a political call," says the Washington Post , "because on substance, there should be no question." Without the pipeline, TransCanada will sell to China, and US refineries will import from the Middle East—resulting in a lot more oil crossing the ocean in tankers.