Administration Canning 'War on Drugs'?

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Word Play

The Obama administration continues to change the way it describes some of the nation's toughest problems. The latest phrase to go: "the war on drugs."

The Wall Street Journal says drug czar Gil Kerlikowske feels it is a barrier to dealing with the nation's drug issues: "Regardless of how you try to explain to people it's a 'war on drugs' or a 'war on a product,' people see a war as a war on them. We're not at war with people in this country."

Kerlikowske says the administration is likely to deal with drugs as a matter of public health rather than criminal justice alone — favoring treatment over incarceration.

The president has already shelved the phrase "global War on Terror." And we reported back in March on Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano's avoidance of the word "terrorism" — in favor of "man-caused disasters."

Savage Nation

Lawyers for conservative radio host Michael Savage have appealed to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in hopes of getting Savage removed from the United Kingdom's list of banned individuals.

In an article in USA Today, British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith says Savage was on the list for "seeking to provoke others to serious criminal acts and fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence."

Quoted in The San Francisco Chronicle, the letter to Clinton says Savage was listed among radical "Muslim clerics, convicted criminals and Russian skinheads." The letter also asks Clinton to find out how Savage's name ended up on the list.

On WorldNetDaily, Savage says he would consider legal action against the British official: "She's linking me with mass murderers who are in prison for killing Jewish children on buses? For my speech? The country where the Magna Carta was created?"

Palin' Around

Alaska Republican Governor Sarah Palin has jumped into the controversy involving Miss California USA.

Carrie Prejean finished second in the Miss USA competition after answering a question by stating that she believes marriage is between a man and a woman. Palin released a statement on Wednesday saying, "The liberal onslaught of malicious attacks against Carrie Prejean for expressing her opinion is despicable... I can relate as a liberal target myself... our Constitution protects us all — not just those who agree with the far left."

Palin applauded pageant owner Donald Trump for choosing not to fire Prejean after racy modeling photos surfaced.

— FOX News Channel's Lanna Britt contributed to this report.