Tony Snow, Fashion Plate

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Better Off if Dems Regain House?

Fifty-two percent of Americans say they support the National Security Agency's collection of domestic phone records as a way to detect possible terrorist activity. That according to the latest FOX News poll, which shows that 49 percent think the government is doing a good job protecting the privacy of Americans and 54 percent would be willing to give up some personal freedoms to reduce the threat of terrorism.

Even so, nearly a third — 30 percent — believe the government is listening in on their personal calls.

In the same poll, 46 percent say the country would be better off if the Democrats regain the House and 30 percent of Americans — including 48 percent of Democrats — say the party would be right to try to impeach President Bush over prewar intelligence.

Conflicting Issues

Two liberal issues are interfering with one another at the University of California at Berkeley, where Al Gore has become the latest high profile Democrat to back out of a speech to avoid crossing a picket line for janitors, landscapers and cafeteria workers.

Gore was scheduled to speak next week on global warming, but instead joins DNC Chairman Howard Dean, state assembly speaker Fabian Nunez and former presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, all of whom canceled speeches out of solidarity with the workers.

One worker denied that the union was depriving students of the opportunity to hear the former vice president saying, "The university is the one hurting students and workers because they are paying poverty wages."

Negligent Enough?

The town council in Appalachia, Virginia, has voted to remove mayor Ben Cooper, who's accused of bribing voters with beer and cigarettes during the 2004 election.

Council members must now circulate a petition against Cooper, who is under house arrest after being indicted in March. A judge will then decide whether Cooper displayed enough negligence, incompetence, or misuse of office to warrant removal.

Cooper, meanwhile, says he'll continue to serve, even if he is convicted and has to wear an electronic ankle bracelet to town council meetings.

Tony Snow, Fashion Plate

New White House press secretary and former FOX News anchor Tony Snow received mostly positive reviews for his performance in his first two press briefings this week. But he's also earning raves for his wardrobe.

The Washington Post's Pulitzer Prize winning fashion critic Robin Givhan writes that Snow "dresses like a man who knows he's going to be the center of attention," noting that the satiny sheen of his cherry-red tie "elevated it from banality to personal flourish."

Givhan also praised Snow's pinstriped suit, which she says "made a forceful aesthetic statement" and even the "bright color" and "sportiness" of the yellow bracelet he wears to promote cancer awareness.

—FOX News Channel's Aaron Bruns contributed to this report.