World Likes Obama Much More Than Bush

Receiver wants the $1.8M Allen Stanford gave to politicians

(NEWSER) - The receiver in charge of recovering money for R. Allen Stanford's fleeced investors is trying to recover some $1.8 million the alleged Ponzi schemer gave to a host of political causes—but they refuse to return the money, Reuters reports. Among the holdouts: President Obama's campaign, and most of the Democrat and Republican parties' national fundraising committees, along with a who's who of other prominent individual politicians. The receiver, Ralph Janvey, got court orders against five campaigns last summer, but all have ignored them. More»

Xi Jinping, China's next president, to meet with Obama

(NEWSER) - The man slated to be China's next president began his US tour today, meeting with President Obama in the Oval Office before having lunch with Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. Biden will serve as Xi Jinping's host in Washington, the New York Times reports. Other stops on the agenda: a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce, and a high-level trip to the Pentagon, where he'll get an honor guard salute and meet with Leon Panetta and the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey. 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»

Two candidates are basically sharing first place at this point

(NEWSER) - Three polls, three declarations about Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum: virtual tie, statistical tie, and essential tie. According to Pew , Gallup , and the New York Times/CBS News , Romney officially has some company at the top following Santorum's wins in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri :

• Pew's poll, released yesterday, puts Santorum at 30% to Romney's 28% among Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters. Santorum easily captures the top spot among Tea Party Republican voters (42% to 23%) and evangelical Republican voters (41% to 23%). One bright spot for Romney: 70% of his supporters believe the GOP would back him if he becomes the nominee; only 54% of Santorum's supporters feel the same.

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»