Pageant Politics

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Ivory Tower Politics

College faculties have long been considered a hotbed of liberalism and a new study has the numbers to prove it. The conservative Randolph Foundation found that 72 percent of college professors call themselves liberal, while just 15 percent say they're conservative. The difference is even more pronounced at elite universities — where 87% of professors identify themselves as liberal.

What's more, 84 percent of college professors said they're pro choice, 67 percent say homosexuality is acceptable, and 88 percent want more environmental protection "even if it raises prices or costs jobs" — while 65 percent of professors say they want the government to ensure full employment.

Biblical Appeal

The Colorado Supreme Court has overturned a death sentence for a convicted rapist and murderer because the jury was caught reading the Bible. Robert Harlan was sentenced to death in 1995, but defense attorneys appealed the decision after learning that jurors had consulted Bible verses on punishment during deliberations.

The court ruled that while there was no evidence that biblical passages such as "eye for eye, tooth for tooth" affected the jury's decision, "at least one juror in this case could have been influenced by those authoritative passages...when he or she may otherwise have voted for a life sentence."

Texas Two-Step

The fight over who's closer to New York Democrat Hillary Clinton continues among Texas Republicans. Last week we told you that governor Rick Perry's campaign staff paid to produce a short video showing Senator Clinton and Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison embracing at a Washington event — after Hutchison expressed an interest in running against Perry in next year's Republican primary.

Now, The Houston Chronicle has turned up a 1993 letter in which Perry, then the state's agriculture commissioner, called Clinton's health care reform plan "commendable." The Hutchison campaign calls Perry's attack on her ties to Senator Clinton "the ultimate in hypocrisy."

Mrs. America Marriage Bias?

Portland, Oregon mayor Tom Potter has refused to endorse the Mrs. Oregon America beauty pageant being held in the city because contestants must be married to a man. Potter, who once drew fire for marching in Portland's gay right's parade in full uniform as the city's police chief, says pageant rules — quote — "fail to recognize the other loving relationships in our community." The pageant's director tells the Oregonian she's disappointed with the decision — since the rule was written to keep politics out of the event. She added that, as far as she knows, no lesbians have entered the pageant.

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report