Las Vegas Reality Politics

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Bipartisan Ideas

In last night's press conference, President Bush vowed to listen to ideas from either side of the aisle on the issue of Social Security reform. But The Washington Times (search) reports that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (search) told Democrats not to attend a bipartisan meeting with Republicans and the AARP (search) on the issue this week, insisting that "one thing we have to have on Social Security is a united front."

A spokesman for the Republican congressional committee charged that Pelosi is playing politics with social security. And Ed Case (search) of Hawaii, a Democrat who broke ranks to attend the meeting, says that while some in party are against it, "I think talking is worthwhile."

Time for a Change

After a bitter debate, Indiana lawmakers decided to reverse 33 years of state history, passing a bill to observe daylight-saving time. The debate over the time change began in 1949, when the state's rural lawmakers claimed that switching clocks was "unhealthy for the cows." Indiana was declared exempt from daylight savings in 1972. But Republican Governor Mitch Daniels (search) has pushed for the time change in Indiana, hoping being in sync with other states will boost the state economy. The landmark measure passed late last night, after failing earlier in the day by just one vote. Republican lawmakers called the vote an "emotional," one.

Reality Star

The mayor of Las Vegas is about to join the reality TV universe. Oscar Goodman (search) has chosen from among five proposals to star in his own reality program showcasing his day-to-day life governing the famous city. Goodman, who created a stir when he told a group of fourth graders that the one thing he'd want to have on a desert island was a bottle of gin, says he picked this particular deal because it allowed him more control over the show's content and promised, "I'm not going to let anything embarrassing to the city on the air."

Pitching the Pope's Wheels

Now that the bulletproof pope-mobile will transport Benedict XVI (search) from point A to point B, he'll have little use for his old car, so one of his German countrymen is auctioning it off on eBay. The metallic gray 1999 Volkswagen Golf, which comes complete with a registration in the name of “Joseph Kardinal Ratzinger,” received 300 bids in the first day and a half, with the bidding topping out at more than $1.3 million dollars. EBay determined that most of the bids were fraudulent, however, and brought the price down to a more reasonable $54,000. The seller says that at that price, the car is a steal — he claims it "rides like heaven."

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report