Poll: Favorable opinions of Cheney rise

As Dick Cheney prepares to give a major speech on the battle against terrorism, a new national poll suggests that favorable opinions of the former vice president are on the rise. But the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, released Thursday morning, indicates that a majority of Americans still have an unfavorable opinion of Cheney. Fifty-five percent of people questioned in the poll say they have an unfavorable opinion of the former vice president

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Maybe You Shouldn’t Buy That, Dummy

Not many people get away with calling the Central Intelligence Agency a bald-faced liar, at least not when they’re speaking to a room packed with dozens of national media outlets. And yet that is exactly what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did on Thursday. “Madam Speaker, just to be clear,” stuttered a reporter at a Capitol Hill press conference, “you’re accusing the CIA of lying to you in September of 2002?” “Yes,” Pelosi declared definitively, “misleading the Congress of the United States

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Self-Inflicted Wounds: How Pelosi Got Into the CIA Mess

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi emerged from her offices with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a photo op Tuesday – her first open media event since last Thursday’s disastrous press conference on what the CIA may or may not have briefed her about regarding its interrogation techniques — she was met by a wall of dozens of cameras. There’s always been a lot of media interest in the first female speaker, but Pelosi is learning the hard way that there’s a difference between attention for being a pioneer and attention for fouling up on the job. A lot has been written about Barack Obama’s learning curve in his first 100 days in office — understandably given his rapid ascent.

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When Bibi Met Barack: A Tougher Line on Middle East Peace

It was an odd choice for a gift. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the White House carrying a book for President Barack Obama, an edition of the American humorist Mark Twain’s travels to the Holy Land. Twain didn’t like the place much; he wrote rudely about the Arabs and thought the Jews should not have their own nation

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Obama to Tighten National Fuel-Economy Standards

In a landmark decision on climate change and energy, President Barack Obama will announce tough new vehicle gas-mileage standards on Tuesday, the first ever national limits on greenhouse-gas emissions. The new policy, which was worked out between Washington, state governments and the auto industry, will require automakers to meet a minimum fuel-efficiency standard of 35.5 miles a gallon by model year 2016 — four years earlier than Congress currently requires. Not only could the move potentially kick-start the sputtering U.S

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Commentary: Why Obama should release photos

Justifying his dramatic reversal of the decision to release photos showing abuse of detainees by U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Obama argued publication would "further inflame anti-American opinion and put our troops in greater danger." (CNN) — Justifying his dramatic reversal of the decision to release photos showing abuse of detainees by U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Obama argued publication would “further inflame anti-American opinion and put our troops in greater danger.” In fact, world opinion, particularly that of Muslims, would likely view the release of these horror images as representing a rupture for the better in American politics and foreign policy.

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Obama girds for Supreme Court fight

President Obama has started arming for the possibility of a major Supreme Court nomination battle, pulling a longtime Democratic power player into the White House to help run the confirmation process, senior administration officials told CNN. Stephanie Cutter is leaving the Treasury Department, where she has served as one of Secretary Timothy Geithner’s most senior advisers during the financial crisis, to be the point person for mobilizing public support for Obama’s pick to replace retiring Justice David Souter, three senior administration officials said. Administration officials say Obama is likely to name Souter’s replacement in late May or early June, before the president leaves for Egypt to deliver a speech to the Muslim world.

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Nigerian militants declare ‘all-out war’

A Nigerian militant group tangling with government forces in the country’s southern oil-producing region on Friday declared "an all-out war" after what it said was a deadly bombing raid on civilians. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, in e-mail messages to reporters, said it sank six army gunboats, destroyed three others, and captured three in the restive Niger Delta region. “Many soldiers have been killed and the military has made a hasty retreat,” said the group — which is calling on “men of fighting age to enlist” in its fight against government forces.

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Obama’s Delicate Balance On National Security

While President Obama’s liberal allies are decrying his decision to refuse to release hundreds of additional detainee-abuse photographs, Pentagon officials — and nearly 200,000 troops in Afghanistan and Iraq — are breathing a little easier. Their argument that the photos could endanger soldiers by potentially inflaming anti-U.S.

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