For It or Against It?

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Bill Clinton has jumped to the defense of the United Arab Emirates in the deal to hand over control of some U.S. port operations — or has he? Clinton tells the National Governor's Association that he has "a very high opinion of UAE and Dubai in particular,” calling the country, "a good ally to America" and saying "They're trying to build a new Middle East."

But the New York Post reports that Clinton also supports his wife Hillary's opposition to the deal and says, "I do not buy this argument that all the people who are questioning this are xenophobic."

Unusual Job Description?

Two former staffers are accusing leading Democrat John Conyers of Michigan, the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, of repeated ethics violations including forcing staffers to baby-sit his kids. Deanna Maher and Sydney Rooks wrote the House Ethics Committee and the FBI in January saying their jobs included campaigning for Conyers' wife when she ran for state senate in 2002 — along with tutoring, feeding and chauffeuring his two sons, without additional compensation.

The Hill newspaper reports that the Ethics Committee has been aware of allegations against Conyers for two years, but is still evaluating which investigations to pursue after being shut down in 2005.

OPEC Was Listening

President Bush's State of the Union proposal to reduce America's dependence on oil may not have gained much traction with the media or Congress, but it sure got OPEC's attention. The oil cartel — which controls 40 percent of the world's oil supply — says the move would be a disaster for energy security and the global economy.

OPEC argues that heeding the president's call to reduce the U.S. "addiction" to oil by 75 percent by 2020 would make it harder for oil producing countries to invest the billions needed to meet future demands arguing in its monthly magazine that the move "could ultimately affect security of both demand and supply and perpetuate volatility."

California Dreaming

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is calling on the California Democratic congressional delegation to press for the impeachment of President Bush. Seven of the city's 10 supervisors agreed that the president had failed to perform his duties by leading the country into war in Iraq and eroding civil liberties.

Mayor Gavin Newsom says he hasn't decided whether he'll sign the non-bonding resolution, but tells the San Francisco Chronicle, "On the list of 1 to 3000, it's not even on that list of priorities for me to sign a resolution that will have no force and effect."

— FOX News' Aaron Bruns contributed to this report