Bill Would Polish US Image for Hill

Democratic race offers a competing views of the presidency

(NEWSER) - The choice between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama boils down to two fundamentally different views of the presidency, writes the New Yorker's George Packer—the political pragmatism of Clinton or the inspiration of Obama. Clinton embraces nuts-and-bolts governance and scoffs at political naivety. Obama has a far more visionary view, and Packer finds that even some longtime Clinton backers can't resist. More»

Enough already with Harvard and Yale: blogger

(NEWSER) - The Supreme Court and White House may as well be decorated in ivy, complains David Bernstein. "Once Elena Kagan gets confirmed, every Supreme Court Justice will have attended Harvard or Yale law schools," he writes. And Kagan—whose bachelor's degree, for the record, is from Princeton—was nominated by a Harvard-educated president who beat Yale and Harvard opponents to succeed a Yalie who himself succeeded ... oh, you get the picture. More»

Heilemann and Halperin drop plenty of 'spicy' bombshells

(NEWSER) - From Bill Clinton’s rumored affair to Harry Reid’s “negro voice” quote, John Heilemann and Mark Halperin’s Game Change is already making headlines. The book delivers a “spicy smorgasbord of observations, revelations, and allegations,” writes Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times . Some parts of it reveal “impressive legwork and access,” while others are essentially gossip or spin from particularly cooperative sources, many of whom are unnamed. More»

Bill Clinton enraged Kennedy, lost endorsement for Hillary

(NEWSER) - John McCain and Sarah Palin had their well-publicized differences on the campaign trail, but things were no better over in Camp Obama-Biden, reports Politico in a look at further details emerging from Mark Halperin and John Heilemann's new book. Game Change reports that the prez and his veep were barely speaking, and that Obama aides hid conference calls from Biden, while others "kept a tight rein on him." Elsewhere in political gossip emanating from the book: More»

Her 'war room' feared disclosure at any time

(NEWSER) - Harry Reid's comment about candidate Obama not having a "Negro dialect" is grabbing the headlines today, but an upcoming book on the 2008 election has other salacious tidbits. Marc Ambinder got an advance copy of Game Change and has highlights at the Atlantic :

• Bill Clinton was involved in a long-term affair, and Hillary's campaign set up a "war room within a war room" to deal with the feared disclosure and all problems related to Bill's "libido." The book doesn't identify the woman.