Please Kill Our Hopes 'Gently,' Obama

Zeituni Onyango granted asylum

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama's aunt, has received permission to stay in the US. An immigration judge granted Zeituni Onyango's plea for asylum today, agreeing with her lawyer's arguments that she would face tribal violence if she returned home to Kenya. Oyanga was not well known to her nephew, but she became a focus of attention during the 2008 campaign after she defied a deportation order and filed for asylum, the Boston Globe reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the "positive signals" coming from Barack Obama's camp could lead to warmer relations between the two countries, Reuters reports. “If these are not just words, if they get transformed into a practical policy, then of course our reaction will be adequate and our American partners will feel this at once,” said Putin, in a marked contrast to heated rhetoric during the Georgia crisis. More»

President, prime minister celebrate alliance in op-ed

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama and David Cameron tout the "special relationship" between the US and Britain in an op-ed for the Washington Post today, writing that the countries' joint efforts have built "the institutions that undergird international peace and security." They note their partnership in a variety of areas: the global economic recovery, the mission in Afghanistan, the care of returning military troops, the pressure on Iran, the support of pro-democracy protesters in the Arab Spring movement, and efforts to improve the lives of those in the developing world. More»

Hillary Clinton, as 'buyer's remorse' plagues a third of the country

(NEWSER) - The most popular politician nationwide is the one that got away: Hillary Clinton. Nearly two-thirds of the country sees the secretary of state favorably, and a third are battling what Bloomberg terms “buyer’s remorse” over not electing her president. Just over a year ago, only a quarter of Americans felt that way. “Looking back, I wonder if she would have been a stronger leader, knowing the games and the politics and all that goes on,” says a Florida woman. “I don’t think she would have bent as much.” More»

First reelection bid outside DC in recent memory

(NEWSER) - President Obama’s reelection campaign will likely be based in Chicago, not Washington—a rare move for a sitting president, and one that his advisers hope will help him rekindle the energy of 2008, Politico notes. Usually, campaigns are kept close to the president’s DC home, where they’re easily accessible, said a Democratic consultant: "In modern presidential history, this is kind of revolutionary." More»