Where there is a celebrity, a politician, a public macher, there is a power behind that person, be it a spouse, a friend, or a paid lobbyist.http://www.newser.com/2008 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorThu, 20 Nov 2008 3:25:50 CSThttp://www.newser.com/story/34148/cheney-likely-to-skip-gop-convention.html?refid=rss_all_defaultJohn McCain’s desire to keep his distance from the Bush Administration is expected to keep Dick Cheney away from the Republican Convention, say GOP officials. There is a “mutual understanding” between Cheney and McCain’s staffs that the unpopular VP is “unlikely” to attend, one official noted, though another said the two teams are “trying to work it out.”http://www.newser.com/story/34148/cheney-likely-to-skip-gop-convention.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 05 Aug 2008 8:31:13 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/33648/insiders-pick-as-mccain-running-mate-portman.html?refid=rss_all_defaultEx-Congressman and ex-OMB director Rob Portman has much to offer John McCain as a running mate, writes Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza. "If Washington-based political operatives picked the vice president, Portman would have it hands down" because he's "that rare breed of politician who is equally conversant—and skilled—at policy and politics."http://www.newser.com/story/33648/insiders-pick-as-mccain-running-mate-portman.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 05 Aug 2008 8:31:13 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/32639/creative-bush-order-shields-cheney-from-plame-probe.html?refid=rss_all_defaultPresident Bush has invoked an unprecedented executive privilege claim to bar FBI interviews with Dick Cheney from a congressional committee probing the leak that exposed Valerie Plame as a CIA agent, Newsweek reports. The Bush order argues that turning over the records of Cheney's grilling concerning the scandal would violate the president's right to confidential communication with his advisers.http://www.newser.com/story/32639/creative-bush-order-shields-cheney-from-plame-probe.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 05 Aug 2008 8:31:13 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/32326/snow-was-the-best-cheney.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTony Snow, economic policy, veepstakes, and the Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae crisis sparked conversation on the Sunday talk show circuit today. Time sums them up: Fox News Sunday paid homage to late newscaster and press secretary Tony Snow; Dick Cheney called him "the best" he's known. Arnold Shwarzenegger applauded John McCain's bipartisanship and Iraq policy on This Week , but dismissed the idea of working at a McCain White House .http://www.newser.com/story/32326/snow-was-the-best-cheney.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 05 Aug 2008 8:31:13 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/32293/bush-library-donors-gain-access-to-rice-and-cheney.html?refid=rss_all_defaultAn undercover probe has confirmed rumors that donors to President Bush's $200 million library are gaining access to his inner circle, the London Times reports. Bush lobbyist Stephen Payne offered an undercover reporter face-to-face meetings with Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice, among others, for payments of $600,000 to $750,000. “Cheney’s possible, definitely the national security adviser" Stephen Hadley, Payne said.http://www.newser.com/story/32293/bush-library-donors-gain-access-to-rice-and-cheney.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 05 Aug 2008 8:31:13 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/32165/israel-to-us-iran-threat-bigger-than-you-think.html?refid=rss_all_defaultIn the wake of Iranian missile tests, Israel’s defense minister will visit the US for talks next week to press the case that Tehran poses a serious nuclear threat, the Jerusalem Post reports. Yesterday, Ehud Barak suggested that Israel is ready to attack. "We have proven in the past that we are not deterred from acting when our vital interests are at stake."http://www.newser.com/story/32165/israel-to-us-iran-threat-bigger-than-you-think.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 05 Aug 2008 8:31:13 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/32124/rove-obama-copying-my-strategy-with-nod-to-nixon.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFor all Barack Obama's shots at the Bush Administration, the Democrat's campaign "has cribbed an awful lot from the Bush-Cheney playbooks," their author writes in the Wall Street Journal . Karl Rove sees his own winning strategies at work, from Obama's “army of persuasion,” to Internet efforts, to electoral “microtargeting,” to attempts to bring red states back into play. But there's a problem, Rove hints.http://www.newser.com/story/32124/rove-obama-copying-my-strategy-with-nod-to-nixon.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 05 Aug 2008 8:31:13 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/31936/cheneys-staff-cut-testimony-on-climate-epa-official.html?refid=rss_all_defaultAides to Vice President Dick Cheney censored congressional testimony on climate change by a top government official, a former official at the Environmental Protection Agency charges. Jason Burnett claims Cheney’s office, fearing testimony would lead to greater regulation of greenhouse gases, excised six pages of text regarding the health risks of global warming by the director of the Centers for Disease Control last fall, the AP reports.http://www.newser.com/story/31936/cheneys-staff-cut-testimony-on-climate-epa-official.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 05 Aug 2008 8:31:13 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/31563/washingtons-war-drums-beating-loudly.html?refid=rss_all_defaultIs Washington, or its Israeli allies, really ready to attack Iran? "The threats, counterthreats, and counter-counterthreats … have reached new levels of hysteria in recent days," Dana Milbank writes in the Washington Post . Rumblings of an Israeli strike prompted Tehran threats to close oil-shipping lanes. That would be an “act of war,” declared one US admiral—a statement superiors didn't back down from.http://www.newser.com/story/31563/washingtons-war-drums-beating-loudly.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 05 Aug 2008 8:31:13 CDT