Daniel Stone

Every president has made the room his own. While Obama vacationed, his staff completely revamped the cornerless room.

The crashing demise of climate and energy legislation in the Senate last month spelled significant defeat for the environmental movement. With several weeks to reflect on what happened, environmentalists are wondering: What went wrong? And what's next?

Ask those who showed up at Glenn Beck's rally in Washington this weekend and they'll likely tell you that in their dream world, Beck would run for president. And he would do so on a ticket with Sarah Palin. Those two together would be unstoppable, you'd hear, and are the only pair who can, to borrow a phrase from Beck, "restore America."

As Democrats prepare for considerable losses in the November elections, there's reason to believe the party in power may not be headed for the bloodbath it might expect. According to a new NEWSWEEK Poll, President Obama's approval rating—47 percent—indicates that the party is better off this year than Republicans were in 2006, when the GOP lost 30 House seats, and than the Democrats were in 1994, when they lost 52 House seats.

Economists trying to map the global economic recovery tend to focus on demography. The key players at the moment, says former Indonesian finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, are women.

A new poll suggests Iraqis now have more confidence in their own leadership than that of the U.S. Here's why that's good news.

The state that loves to criticize Washington for too much taxing and spending coincidentally accepts more federal money per capita than any other state.

Obama visits five states, travels 7,300 miles, and does nine fundraising events—all, Democrats hope, for millions of dollars in the bank.

Long-shot candidate Alvin Greene has been indicted by a judge on an obscenity charge—making his bid for South Carolina's Senate seat even more unlikely.

Despite Republican optimism of winning big in November, Democrats are still viewed better—but only slightly.

Another round of state contests doesn't spell trouble for either party, but does show the increasing liability of being considered an insider.

The ethically challenged congressman makes a defiant address on the House floor. His message: I may have been stupid, but I'm not corrupt.

After inflaming the president's base, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says his comments were "inartful" and tries to put the issue to rest.

A series of contests in Colorado and Connecticut includes almost no insiders. How the campaign lines signal what's to come in November.

When pressed on whether extending the tax cuts could could add to the deficit, House Minority Leader John Boehner shows off what one might call the Washington two-step.

The controversial gay-marriage ruling has reverberated across the country. But in the Golden State, top candidates know there isn't much ground to gain on either side.

Maybe it's unreasonable that first-family travel has gotten so big and expensive. But a four-day trip to Europe hardly seems like a grave offense.

A former CIA director and a former Senator argue that America's current energy policy is a recipe for a less safe world.

Four months after the oil spill that still rattles the gulf, Democrats postpone a set of drilling reforms until after the August recess—or later. Why? Good ol' party politics.

The high-court nominee will be confirmed. But not before Senate Republicans make one last stand about her thin judicial record. Here's a look at what the Republicans will gripe about.

New numbers from Gallup this morning paint an interesting ideological picture of the country. Over the past year, Wyoming and Mississippi have come to share the mantle of the most conservative states in the union—an apparently sought-after title with about a dozen states close behind. The most liberal may not surprise you that much.

Citing reduced violence, Obama pushes ahead on plans to bring home all combat troops at the end of this month. But does that mean the country is won? Far from it.

A week after the Shirley Sherrod saga that thrust the USDA employee into the national spotlight, the conservative blogger who started it all tells NEWSWEEK he wants to meet with her in private.

Motor City was once wheezing on its side. But Obama's trip to Detroit was designed to show that the government bailout may have actually worked—and is even on schedule to be paid back.

Charles Rangel, the powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee will stand trial in the House for 13 ethics violations—a trial that, Democrats hope, won't infect the entire party.

An hourlong interview on a daytime talk show is unprecedented for a sitting president. But under the studio lights and in front of a giggly crowd, Obama showed that cracking jokes and pandering to a friendly audience can certainly be strategic.

Polls show the embattled Arizona senator poised to win over his far-right opponent. Did the maverick actually fool us all?

After a week of speculation, the Bush brother says he's not running. Too bad, really. His moderate stances could have attracted valuable independents. And for Democrats, nothing quite fills the coffers like the four-letter B word.

Even if the flood of leaked documents doesn't contain a bombshell—which it doesn't seem to do—the ongoing focus on fledgling U.S. efforts in Afghanistan is enough of a headache for the White House.

Even though no GOP politician has formally declared a run for president in 2012, gauging how much money potential candidates have raised for their political action committees--and what they're doing with it--reveals something about their game plans: key endorsements they're trying to secure and volunteer networks they're aiming to harness. Some of these pols are starting to rev up. Others, not so much. Here's a rundown.