Specter Backs Pelosi in CIA Torture Flap

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»

The public doesn't like either, but they get election wins anyway

(NEWSER) - Back in 1951, a political analyst came up with the theory that at any time in America there’s a Sun Party, which drives the agenda, and a minority Moon Party that shines by reflecting its rays. But these days, “we are living in the era of two moons and no sun,” writes David Brooks of the New York Times . “Neither party has been able to rally the country behind its vision of government.” More»

If you're more partial to Mel Gibson films, you might be a Republican

(NEWSER) - Not only are lefties and righties split on their politics and what kind of food they like —they're split on their entertainment choices as well. A recent poll for the Hollywood Reporter finds that a whopping 45% of Tea Partiers consider a celebrity's politics before paying to watch his or her movies, compared to 35% of Republicans and 20% of Democrats. Among the differences between the parties:

• Democrats are more likely to go to the theater: On average, they have seen 5.7 movies in a theater in the past six months, compared to less than four for Republicans.
• Democrats don't like Charlton Heston: Many have avoided films starring the National Rifle Association president. They're also not a fan of Mel Gibson: 36% have avoided his films. As for Republicans, about 40% try to avoid Sean Penn and a whopping 60% reject Michael Moore.

Original charges were dropped because suspect was tortured

(NEWSER) - One of the "high-value" detainees imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay has been charged with planning the 2000 terrorist attack on the USS Cole in Yemen that killed 17 US sailors, reports the LA Times . Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, a Saudi of Yemeni descent, faces the death penalty if convicted of planning and orchestrating the attack on the Cole as it was docked in a Yemeni harbor. More»

That could be bad news in the Senate: Nate Silver

(NEWSER) - It can be dangerous to draw broad conclusions from special elections, but last night's results from New York and Nevada make it safe to say that "the special election scorecard is starting to look pretty ominous for Democrats," writes Nate Silver at the New York Times . Coming from Silver the stats guru, his opinion is derived not so much from the gut as from crunching various stats from the special elections last night and two previous ones. More»