CHICAGO (AP) — Sounding every bit the presidential candidate, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour used President Barack Obama’s hometown as a backdrop Monday to blame the Democrat for enacting policies that “created economic uncertainty or directly hurt the economy” — and argue that he could do better. “The policies embraced by this White House show little understanding of how our economy actually works,” Barbour tol ... Jump to full article >>

Barely an hour after President Barack Obama invited congressional Republicans to post-election talks to work together on major issues, the Senate’s GOP leader had a blunt message: His party’s main goal is denying Obama re-election. In a sign that combat and the 2012 elections rather than compromise could mark the next two years, Sen. Mitch McConnell on Thursday called for Senate votes to repeal or erode Obama’s signature health ... Jump to full article >>

Just before Thanksgiving 1998, John A. Boehner hit bottom. The Ohio congressman, once a comer in the Republican Party, was unceremoniously removed from his post in the House leadership. Boehner’s colleagues had a win-at-all-costs mind-set; he saw no point in antagonizing the Democratic minority just because he had the power to do so. That night, Boehner commiserated with his closest friends at Sam and Harry’s steakhouse in downtown ... Jump to full article >>

Is the Obama Administration serious about enforcing our gun laws? It is now beyond doubt that the Administration is determined to say as little as possible about the plague of gun violence that inflicts death and injury on 300 Americans every day. When forced to comment on proposals to strengthen our anemic federal gun laws, the President and his representatives typically fall back on the gun lobby’s canard, “We don’t need new ... Jump to full article >>

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has rejected appeals by the Obama administration and the nation’s largest tobacco companies to get involved in a legal fight about the dangers of cigarette smoking that has stretched more than 10 years. The court’s action, issued without comment Monday, leaves in place court rulings that the tobacco industry illegally concealed the dangers of smoking for decades. But it also prevents the administratio ... Jump to full article >>

The results of President Obama’s latest trip to the doctor revealed last week that he has been unable to completely kick his smoking habit. But if he relies on the advice of his doctors, as well as his own Food and Drug Administration (FDA), he’s likely to remain frustrated and vulnerable to illness. The FDA’s current recommendations for helping smokers quit are woefully ineffective. Cigarettes are uniquely addictive, and Obama ... Jump to full article >>

America’s first black president Barack Obama’s triumph was not inevitable. In fact, he might never have run for the presidency had he not secured his wife Michelle’s backing by agreeing to quit smoking and spend Sundays with family, a new book has revealed. According to the book, ‘The Race of a Lifetime’, it was only after Obama promised to give up puffing, be home on Sundays and attend his daughters’ parent-t ... Jump to full article >>

The smoking ban that takes effect in Virginia restaurants today resulted from “an accidental stroke of genius” on his part, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Monday. The General Assembly approved the ban on smoking in most restaurants after several key legislators had voted against a Kaine-proposed tax on cigarettes last winter. The tax proposal itself was just a political maneuver, Kaine told The News & Advance’s editorial board Monday. He ... Jump to full article >>

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Philip Morris International joined with U.S. tobacco industry groups on Thursday to ask President Barack Obama’s administration to challenge Canada’s new law banning flavored cigarettes and small cigars. Their request comes even as the administration takes its own steps to ban candy, clove and other flavored cigarettes. “Canada’s ban on blended cigarettes violates its WTO (World Trade Organization ... Jump to full article >>

Canada has banned the manufacture, importation and sale of most flavored cigarettes and small cigars, which have been slammed as little more than an enticement to get children to start smoking. The law, which came into effect on Thursday, was backed by both government and opposition lawmakers. It also bans tobacco advertising in newspapers and magazines, closing a loophole that had allowed ads in publications that claimed they were read only by ... Jump to full article >>