Here's a money-saving idea making the rounds for the political parties come 2012, when we’ll be nominating presidential candidates again. Instead of trying to find a geographically correct big city with enough hotel rooms to house 4,000 delegates and media, the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee should pick one city and one venue for the events. Not only would it be easier to orchestrate, but the cost savings would be huge, especially to the U.S. Secret Service and media who have to set up two separate operations. It's been done before and was almost done in 2004 in New York City, but the Democrats and GOP couldn’t agree.

The girls stole this weekend’s Human Rights Campaign 12th Annual National Dinner. Sure, Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden was to be the headliner, but he canceled because of the illness of his mother-in-law. That left the evening to Sen. Hillary Clinton, who filled in via video for Biden, and National Equality Award winner Suze Orman, who accepted it with life partner Kathy K. T. Travis. Orman revealed she was a lesbian in the New York Times in February 2007, and the duo were clearly pleased with the award, as these pictures show. To cheers, as she endorsed Sen. Barack Obama, Orman said, “I’ve never been as honored as I am tonight, and I’m honored because I’m honored by people that I know you know what it takes to be who we are. It’s not easy to stand up and to say I’m a lesbian.” She added: “It may not be easy, but it certainly is the right thing to do.” The dinner in presidential years is always a huge event, made more so each year with the political and financial muscle the Human Rights Campaign has.

As we posted this item, the Human Rights Campaign pulled down the pictures of Orman and her partner as well as the YouTube video of her 16-minute speech. Said a Human Rights Campaign spokesman: "Unfortunately, we did not have a licensing agreement to run the video of her speech." However, we're in luck. Another, separate, site has great pictures of the event and a few of Orman here.

His polls have been among the most favorable to Sen. John McCain, but pollster John Zogby doesn’t see the Republican’s latest assault on Sen. Barack Obama’s past friends as a winner on Election Day. Talking to Whispers while on a book tour to promote his latest, The Way We’ll Be, Zogby said that McCain should get back on message and off his campaign’s latest hot-button issue: slamming Obama for long-ago ties to a Weather Underground radical, Bill Ayers. “McCain is off message, and this Bill Ayers stuff, it just doesn’t cut it with people, not with their pocketbooks looking the way they are. Nobody cares about this stuff,” said Zogby, whose latest poll had Obama up, 47-45, against McCain. He also stated what’s fast becoming conventional wisdom: that only an Obama stumble can stop the Democrat from becoming the first black to win the presidency. “It’s entirely up to Obama from here on in,” Zogby told Whispers.

Is there anything cooler for political junkies this presidential election season than posing for pictures with their candidate? Well, we want to see them. And we want to post them on our site. That’s right: If you’ve had a picture taken with Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain, or Sarah Palin, send that digital shot to campaignphotos@usnews.com. Since we began this contest, the pictures have started to flow in. But they’re mostly from Obama fans. What, doesn’t anybody want to stand next to McCain or Palin? Come on, you Republicans. The Democrats are showing you up. Consider this your challenge: Pull out your camera or phone, and snap a rope-line shot of you with the candidates.

Photos courtesy of Clary Tepper and Aimee Roseborrough

The Federal Communications Commission has begun notifying several TV military analysts that it is probing congressional complaints that the pundits did not properly disclose their ties to the Pentagon when reviewing the war in Iraq on air. According to a copy of the October 2 FCC letter to one of the pundits, the probe was prompted by Reps. John Dingell and Rosa DeLauro, who filed a complaint with the agency after the New York Times reported that some of the pundits were working on or bidding on Pentagon contracts and had also taken free military trips to Iraq. "When seemingly objective television commentators are in fact highly motivated to promote the agenda of a government agency, a gross violation of the public trust occurs," the duo wrote to the FCC. Copies of their May 6 complaint, above, and the FCC letter were provided to Whispers. The Times story discussed the so-called military analysts program, where many former military officials were briefed about the war in Iraq by the Pentagon.

At issue is that some of them were also linked to Pentagon contracts, raising the issue of conflict of interest. In its letter signed by the chief of the investigations and hearings division enforcement bureau, the FCC suggests that TV stations and networks may have violated two sections of the Communications Act of 1934 by not identifying the ties to the Pentagon that their military analysts had. The FCC is so far reaching out to the analysts mentioned in the New York Times article and asking for each to respond to the allegations of wrongdoing within 30 days.

We wrote about this recently when we reported that the Defense Department's inspector general was looking into the program, also at the request of Congress.

They can't vote, but if the foreign diplomats in New York for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly late last month could do so, they'd go for Sen. Barack Obama. They see him as a fresh start after 9/11 led to sour relations with world capitals. Many of the diplomats tuned into the race closely for the first televised debate between Obama and GOP Sen. John McCain. "There's no question most people here want to see Barack Obama win," says a senior U.N. diplomat. "Obama is an American story. He generates excitement that he will put America back on the right path." Of McCain? "You hear a lot of references to McCain being old and militaristic," says the diplomat, who still threw Mac a bone. "McCain is a real friend of the world when it comes to climate change."

It's not as if they're going to pose for a "Girls of Foggy Bottom" Playboy spread, but the female-heavy press corps of the State Department is relishing its girlness nonetheless. Some 11 major news organizations have women covering Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice —the highest number ever.

"The majority of correspondents at the State Department are women," cheers CNN's Zain Verjee. And that's led her and others to dub their girl squad "Diplobabes." Says Verjee: "It's a fun, lighthearted way of referring to ourselves"—and their outings, such as a recent U.N. gathering. "For instance," she says, "in New York, we planned a 'diplobabe' dinner one night." The AP's Anne Gearan says she and the female reporters for Reuters and AFP call each other the "Three Graces."

He was the president when the conservative Washington Times started. And Ronald Reagan loved it. But the paper's politics may be changing in a direction the Gipper wouldn't approve. Insiders say the Times, now headed by two ex-Washington Post-men, is considering endorsing Sen. Barack Obama. Times lifers doubt Obama will get the nod, but just considering it is news—and a blow to Sen. John McCain.

In a very odd legal twist that his lawyers plan to milk, disgraced former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay may soon find himself free of money-laundering charges. The Texas turn: In a related case, judges found that in old money-laundering cases like the one DeLay faces, the law applied only to cash—not check—transactions. DeLay's potential lucky break: His case involves a check, not cash. It may be a technicality, but associates of the Texas political powerhouse say they plan to make it stick, and then use it to assail Ronnie Earle as an out-of-control prosecutor.

This isn't easy, but it's time to call out some of our nation's political heroes for a dastardly deed: pilfering the Senate's warehouses. That's right; LBJ, Harry Truman, and others. It's time for your heirs and museums to cough up the goods, including rare mahogany and walnut desks, swivel chairs, and leather sofas made nearly a century ago just for the Russell Senate Office Building, which turns 100 in March. "We'd like them back," says Associate Senate Curator Melinda Smith. To prepare for the birthday, the curator's office is conducting an in-house search for the 3,109 Russell pieces, largely made by subcontractor S. Karpen Brothers of Chicago for the winning bidder, Geo. W. Cobb Jr. Back in 1908, Cobb won with his bid of $61,715 to build the first batch of 14 different office items for senators and their secretaries. So far, a remarkable 1,130 have been found in the Senate and, says Smith, "I really anticipate finding more." That's because a lot is likely in private hands, the result of some sticky finger work by senators and their aides. Let's be clear: Until a few years ago, there were no rules prohibiting taking furniture. It's most likely that ex-senators wanted them as keepsakes, especially the massive desks. Exactly 131 desks were made, and 72 are now accounted for in the search Smith compares to the thriller National Treasure. The curator's office says the Truman library has one, and two LBJ historical facilities in Texas have a desk each: A third was returned last year. Washington auction houses have also seen some of the rare pieces that have an elevated value because of the history. To make it easier to identify the Karpen furniture, Smith says she might make a wanted poster of the 14 types of furniture to put on the curator's website. As for past senators who have the relics, she says, "We can't tell members what to do, but we would like to excite them to restore our stuff."

Illustrations by Joe Ciardiello for USN&WR

Arkansas could go blue if left up to the Clintons. It hasn't since 1996, when native son Bill Clinton was up for re-election, but Democrats are giving it their all. Hillary Clinton returns to Arkansas October 10 for a rally and a $1,000-a-couple fundraiser reception for Barack Obama at old pal Kaki Hockersmith's Italian-style mansion. You might remember Hockersmith; she's the interior designer who refurbished the White House and the Oval Office in 1992. She also designed Clinton's penthouse at his presidential library. Hockersmith and her husband, Max Mehlberger, are longtime Hillary supporters and hosted a fundraiser for the New York senator during the primary season. They have hosted numerous Democratic fundraisers over the years, including one for John Kerry in 2004. Hockersmith was listed as a Hillary bundler this year, having raised more than $100,000 for Hillary.

One of the event's cohosts, Lisa Ferrell, a Little Rock attorney and former state legislator, was an Obama supporter when being one in Arkansas was not cool. "It's exciting for longtime Obama supporters and longtime Clinton supporters to join together," Ferrell tells our Suzi Parker. Ferrell knows Obama. They attended Harvard Law School together, and she remembers him as a leader. "He would walk into a room with people, and people would look to him to be a leader—not that he would assert himself but that he could mediate. His leadership qualities were evident." Ferrell, who attended the Democratic convention in Denver, has kept up with Obama through mutual friends.