politics

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Lincoln's Failings Offer Modern Lesson
Lincoln's Failings Offer Modern Lesson
Opinion

Lincoln's Failings Offer Modern Lesson

Politicians must learn to face their flaws, not exult in strengths

(Newser) - Abraham Lincoln had his dark days. For a while, Lincoln was mercury-pill-popping, sleep-deprived wreck who briefly considered suicide. “Lincoln went Crazy,” wrote friend Joshua Speed. “It was horrible.” Lincoln, of course, grew out of it, facing his flaws in a way today’s leaders ought to...

NASA Was Muzzled on Climate Change
NASA Was Muzzled on Climate Change

NASA Was Muzzled on Climate Change

Bush appointees in press office withheld information, probe finds

(Newser) - Political appointees at NASA withheld scientific results on global warming, NASA's inspector general has determined after an internal probe. Investigators found that the public affairs office, run by Bush appointees, suffered from political spinning that was "inconsistent" with the agency's responsibility to pass full information on to the public,...

Senate Homecoming Won't Be Glorious

Power will not fall in losing candidate's lap

(Newser) - If Hillary Clinton does indeed lose the Democratic nomination, her Senate homecoming won’t be a glorious one, the New York Times reports. Clinton is still a junior senator, ranking 36th out of 49 Democrats, and would need to leapfrog a lot of people to become a committee chair—much...

Politics Battles Tech for Soul of Digg

Election pulls big traffic —and big discontent among nerderati

(Newser) - With election season in full swing, the political junkies have come for Digg.com, making Hillary, Barack, et. al. fixtures on the social news site. That’s been great for traffic, but it’s also angered the tech nerd early adopters who made Digg a success, CNET reports. At a...

SNL Launches Political Satire Site
SNL Launches Political
Satire Site

SNL Launches Political Satire Site

Site serves as storehouse of show's long-running satire

(Newser) - Saturday Night Live has unveiled a new website to showcase the program’s political humor, Broadcasting and Cable reports. Visitors can check out clips of the show’s political sketches and candidate appearances at http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/politics, or vote for their favorite president/candidate impersonator—dating back from Dana Carvey's...

Alec Baldwin Weighs Political Career

Actor hits the big 5-0, tells 60 Minutes he's learned tact

(Newser) - Outspoken actor Alec Baldwin is reconsidering his decision never to run for political office now that he's hit the half-century mark. The scrutiny he came under during his nasty divorce from Kim Basinger and the custody battle over their daughter has helped him learn the tact needed to survive in...

Ex-Bishop Wins Paraguay's Presidency in Historic Vote

Ends 61 years of single-party rule

(Newser) - Opposition leader Fernando Lugo won Paraguay’s presidential election yesterday, ending 61 years of one-party rule, Reuters reports. With nearly all votes counted, the former bishop beat Paraguay’s first female presidential contender by 41% of the vote to 10%. “We've made history,” the center-leftist Lugo told a...

Lieberman Campaign, Not Opponents, Crashed Site

Site was 'overutilized and misconfigured'

(Newser) - The FBI found accusations by Joe Lieberman’s campaign that challenger Ned Lamont’s supporters crashed the Connecticut Senator’s Web site on primary eve in 2006 to be unfounded, reports the Stamford Advocate after obtaining federal documents. Instead, it was probably Lieberman’s camp itself that brought down a...

Obama Preacher's Words Keep Resurfacing

Inflammatory comments from past may haunt candidate

(Newser) - In the latest campaign preacher flap, TV networks are airing clips from sermons in which the former pastor of Barack Obama's church condemns "racist" US society and compares the candidate's experiences to Jesus' struggles, the Guardian reports. "God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human,...

Pa. Governor a Risky Ally for Clinton

Blunt, gaffe-prone Rendell could make or break campaign

(Newser) - Ed Rendell could be Hillary Clinton’s greatest asset in Pennsylvania—or he could explode in her face, Politico reports. Pennsylvania’s governor is popular and authentic, and he knows how to raise money and find the state’s voters. But Rendell shoots from the hip, and often hits his...

Clinton Revives Campaign With Wins in Texas, Ohio

She also won in Ohio to snap Obama's winning streak

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton brought her campaign back from the brink tonight with primary wins in Texas, Ohio, and Rhode Island, NBC reports. "For everyone who's ever been counted out but refused to be knocked out, this one's for you," she told jubilant supporters in Columbus. Obama won Vermont in...

McCain Clinches; Huckabee Out
McCain Clinches; Huckabee Out
UPDATED

McCain Clinches; Huckabee Out

Front-runner racks up four easy wins to secure the GOP nomination

(Newser) - John McCain officially clinched the Republican nomination for president tonight, the Washington Post reports. Mike Huckabee conceded after McCain racked up easy wins in Texas, Ohio, Vermont, and Rhode Island to surpass the necessary number of delegates—1,191. He is expected to go to the White House tomorrow to...

Political Cartoons No Longer Front and Center

Power of the pen left behind in 20th century

(Newser) - Political cartoons remain, but they lost front page power and heft long ago, says U.S. News & World Report. Cartoonists like Thomas Nast could once sway elections—Ulysses S. Grant credited Nast's pencil to helping him win the presidency—but the ranks of full-time pen-and-paper satirists have thinned to...

Poisoned Arrows Riddle Kenya
Poisoned Arrows Riddle Kenya

Poisoned Arrows Riddle Kenya

Peace has come, but edgy populace stocks deadly new weapon

(Newser) - Kenya has struck a peace agreement, but its people are still stockpiling a new weapon of choice: poisoned arrows. A primitive arms industry is supplying ethnic warriors with the projectiles to replace their time-tested machetes, Time reports. “This is obviously something very wrong and very new,” said one...

Dems Square Off in Texas
Dems Square Off in Texas
UPDATED

Dems Square Off in Texas

Clinton tries to stem Obama's momentum in sometimes contentious debate

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton tonight declared that "actions speak louder than words" as she sought to stem Barack Obama's political momentum in a Texas debate. She razzed him for using another politician's words in recent speeches—calling it "change you can Xerox"—and called his health plan inadequate. Obama...

Deal on Stimulus Package Puts Heat on Senate

Bush, Congress bask in the brief glow of cooperation, but can it last?

(Newser) - The $150 billion package of tax breaks for consumers and businesses rolled out yesterday was the first show of bipartisan cooperation sans bloodletting since the  Democrats won control of Congress a year ago, the Washington Post observes. It took panic over a looming recession to make it happen, and it...

Liberals Set to Bash Bush to Finish Line

$8.5M campaign aiming to keep president's approval ratings in the toilet

(Newser) - A liberal advocacy group plans to spend $8.5 million to keep President Bush's approval rating low, the AP reports. Americans United for Change will focus on what it perceives as Bush's failures in Iraq and at home, a move the group hopes will benefit Democrats in the upcoming election...

Thailand Axes Anti-Monarchy Website

Critical postings, government shutdown may spark legal fight

(Newser) - A Thai ministry has shut down a website critical of the country's monarchy, the AP reports. Postings on Sameskybooks.com questioned news accounts that all citizens mourned the king's sister, who died Wednesday, and criticized officials. "I think we're one of the few sites posting remarks against the monarchy,...

Not So Noble After All
Not So Noble After All
OPINION

Not So Noble After All

Chavez tried to fix results, demanded margin of error be shrunk

(Newser) - Why was Hugo Chavez so princely in defeat last week, never demanding a recount after losing at the polls? Because he did try to fix the vote behind closed doors, and relented only when officials slimmed the margin of defeat to help him save face, writes Newsweek's Jorge Castaneda.

Loser Sues Winner for Falsifying Sex

Defeated Georgia challenger says 'transgender' incumbent defrauded voters

(Newser) - A defeated city council candidate is accusing the victorious incumbent, Michelle Bruce, of deceiving voters by identifying herself as female. Plaintiff Georgia Fuller’s lawyers say voters in Riverdale, Georgia, tend to favor female candidates. “It gives her an unfair advantage, it’s not just sour grapes,” said...

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