Shooting high, bouncing back: Yao Ming

Houston Rockets basketball player Yao Ming is China's most famous sports icon.

Nor do you have to be a sports buff to recognize his giant physique and square countenance, dominating television commercials and billboards everywhere in China, advertising everything from Apple monitors to Visa cards to Coke.

This summer, Yao will lead the national Chinese basketball team against the U.S. for a historical showdown between the Games' most ardent rivals.

Yao's injuries earlier this year were followed meticulously, so much that the Chinese Basketball Association had mapped out with military precision two scenarios for the Olympic match -- one with Yao, one without.

By now we know that Yao will play, but how much will his performance suffer? While some have speculated about exactly how many inches he will lose on his high jump, Yao himself bounces back with confidence:

"I am a little worried about my conditioning stuff," he admits, "but as for my foot injury, there is no problem."

Does that mean he will carry the torch in Beijing?

"That's top secret for our country," he tells CNN. "That's such a big honor. That would be a one time in my life."

Yao was born on September 12, 1980 to 2-meter tall Yao Zhiyuan and 1.9-meter tall Fang Fengdi, both basketball players themselves.

So expectant were China's high sporting authorities of the newborn baby boy that his "engineered" birth inspired a book by Brook Larmer titled "Operation Yao Ming," published in 2005.

Although the shy primary school student was more inclined to recite vivid details of China's great historical military battles, his 9-year-old, 1.7-meter frame could hardly be ignored by the nation's sports officials, who promptly recruited him to play basketball.

By the age of 17, Yao debuted in the playing for the Shanghai Sharks, and it wasn't long before he led the team to the CBA championship, most famously making all 21 shots in a single playoffs game.

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Saturday , August 2

1500 (All Regions)

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But Yao's real leap into the limelight came after he was selected first overall in the 2002 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets, and subsequently pursued his career out of the U.S. state of Texas.

Only 22 years old at the time, Yao tells CNN of his ambiguous feelings about his move overseas, beginning with all the cameras flashing him at the Shanghai airport:

"You are blind, and you really want to step back and turn back home. Because you don't know what will happen in the future, in Houston waiting for you. To be honest, I was a little afraid, but I knew there was only one way I could go."

Ever since that decisive No. 1 draft in the NBA, Yao has become China's most famous sports icon, projecting an image of youth, vigor and greatness to a Western world that had long viewed the Chinese as "inscrutable".

In the United States, Reebok contracted Yao for a rumored $100 million, thought to be the largest-ever endorsement contract between a shoe company and an athlete.

Meanwhile in China, Yao was endorsing the Beijing-made Yanjing beer, and appeared in television commercials for telecommunications company China Unicom.

In 2003 he returned home to play on the Chinese national team, and also hosted a multi-national telethon that raised more than $300,000 to help researchers seeking a cure for SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).

But Yao was even more affected by the recent earthquake that hit China's Sichuan and Gansu provinces, donating $2 million to relief work and creating a foundation to help rebuild schools destroyed by the quake.

"Before the earthquake, we just were thinking the Olympics is a great opportunity for us to know the world, and let the world to know China," Yao tells CNN.

"Now we play the Olympics for those people who we lost in the earthquake. The recovery for the earthquake zone [may take] 10 years, maybe even longer. We continue, we need a lot of help. I think we will [be] more open to the world."

U.S., China lead way in tapping wind power

Texan energy companies are investing heavily to build wind turbines following a landmark ruling last week.

Several Texan transmission companies announced Monday they were forming a consortium to invest in the $5 billion cost of building new power lines to take advantage of the state's vast wind power.

The consortium, comprised of existing transmission operators, includes Dallas-based Oncor, the state's largest power delivery company, Electric Transmission Texas (ETT) and units of American Electric Power Co. among others.

Those new lines, dubbed by Oncor as a "renewable energy superhighway," will accommodate about 18,500 megawatts of wind generation by 2012-- enough energy to power 4 million homes.

Texas currently leads the nation in wind capacity at about 5,500 MW.

The companies are hoping to take advantage of a landmark ruling on Friday that gave Texas preliminary approval for a $4.9 billion plan to build transmission lines to carry wind power from West Texas to urban areas.

It is said to be the largest investment in clean, renewable energy in U.S. history. Texas citizens will have to assist with the plan's construction; paying an extra $3 to $4 per month on their bills for the next few years.

However, they stand to recoup these costs in what they will save in energy bills later.

Not surprisingly, energy companies are eager to jump on the bandwagon to build a large part of the superhighway.

Oncor Senior Vice President of Transmission Charles Jenkins said in a news release: "At Oncor we want to be an important part of the solution. Texas is already a leader in wind energy and this is the next step in maintaining that leadership position.

The wind energy industry has benefited from the support of billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens, who is planning to build the world's largest wind farm on about 200,000 acres in the Texas Panhandle.

When completed, his 2,700 turbines will be capable of producing enough electricity to power 1.3 million homes.

Pickens spoke to CNN about his plans to increase reliance on natural resources like wind and solar.

He said: "What I want to do is to fold in the great resource we have in the central part of this country, which is wind. And then you have resource from Texas west to California.

"You've got solar. Those two resources have to be developed. So when you develop the wind, you can then remove natural gas from power generation and put it into a transportation fuel market.

"Wind power is ... clean, it's renewable. It's everything you want. And it's a stable supply of energy. It's unbelievable that we have not done more with wind."

Meanwhile, China could well be on its way to blowing the U.S. out of the water when it comes to harnessing wind energy.

This is a rare energy success story for a country whose carbon emissions were recorded as the highest in the world last year, according to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.

But the Chinese energy revolution has been quietly gaining strength, observers say.

Like their American counterparts, Chinese tycoons are increasingly directing their investment into renewable power.

Zhu Yuguo, ranks at 102 on the Forbes China Rich List, with a personal fortune of 5.71 billion Yuan and has invested heavily in the wind power industry.

Steve Sawyer of the Global Wind Energy Council said: "China's wind energy market is unrecognizable from two years ago."

"It is huge, huge, huge. But it is not realized yet in the outside world," Sawyer said in an interview with London's Guardian newspaper.

China's wind generation has increased by more than 100 percent per year since 2005 and 20 per cent of the power supply to the venues of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will come from wind generators, according to the official state agency, Xinhua.

It was initially hoped the country would generate 5 gigawatts of wind by 2010, but that goal was met three years early in 2007. The 2010 goal has now been revised to 10 gigawatts but experts say this could well hit 20 gigawatts.

The Guanting Wind Farm in Beijing has installed capacity of 64.5 megawatts and has supplied 35 million kilowatts of electricity to Beijing so far.

The wind farm is estimated to supply 100 million KWH per year to Beijing, or 300,000 KWH per day, enough to satisfy the consumption of 100,000 households.

However, China still relies heavily on using coal, which supplies 70 per cent of China's energy needs.

But Junfeng Li of the China Renewable Energy Industries Association has a more optimistic outlook.

In a paper last month, he wrote: "China is witnessing the start of a golden age of wind power development and the magnitude of the growth has caught policymakers off guard.

"It is widely believed that wind power will be able to compete with coal generation by as early as 2015."

Getting to grips with Google Earth

Reaching out to the world: LM3LABS' floating holographic globe.

Less well-traveled beings, in the form of researchers in Germany, are now doing something similar, only using Google Earth and the Wii Balance Board.

In their project, users stand on the board, which is placed before a large-screen projection of Google Earth.

To move forward or to the side, users simply lean on the board in the corresponding direction. The sensation, say the researchers, is indeed like being the Silver Surfer on his ride.

The Balance Board, of course, was never intended for this use. It's sold by Nintendo as an accessory for the Wii console and used in skiing, fitness and other video games.

But for the researchers, the board is simply another interesting low-cost input device for enabling new user interactions, says Matthieu Deru.

Deru and his partner, Simon Bergweiler, work at the Advanced Tangible Interface Lab at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence. They do all kinds of intriguing research there, but this particular project involves analyzing and interpreting the data of the Wii Balance Board and making the results usable.

The project is part of a broader trend: Innovative consumer hits, like the iPhone, Google Earth, Second Life, and the Wii remotes and accessories, are increasingly put to unexpected -- and often unauthorized -- uses by outside researchers and tinkerers.

Sometimes the experimenters combine these products. There's no shortage of examples.

The Wiimote has been put to dozens of quirky uses, from corporate training programs in Second Life to turning the human body into a musical instrument.

Such experiments will likely increase in number after Nintendo releases its upcoming MotionPlus add-on adaptor, which will help the Wiimote detect an even greater range of motions (think sword play).

The German duo are also working on an intelligent touch-screen terminal for iPhones. Place the latter on the kiosk and the phone's media files are displayed on the terminal screen. Users can then use gestures to, say, rotate or scale pictures.

Meanwhile Google Earth, though it works just fine with a regular mouse and keyboard, cries out for experimenters to devise cooler navigation techniques. After all, zooming and zipping around the planet deserves more than the same tools used for opening and closing windows.

The cry was answered partly by a new breed of mouse made specifically for navigating virtual worlds. 3D Connexion's SpaceNavigator, for instance, features a knob you can push in any direction to fly around, with your speed depending on how hard you push.

But more interesting, if less accessible, ideas have cropped up. A startup called LM3LABS, based in Tokyo and France, has created a large, floating holographic version of Google Earth whereby users can "spin" the ghostly globe and use gestures to zoom in and out on it.

Founder Nicolas Loeillot describes the experience as being far more rich and "tangible" (despite the lack of touch) than the desktop experience. Stereo vision is used to track the finger in the air.

The company is working on something similar for computers, so you can, say, point and click your way around the screen without touching anything.

Museums are interested in the globe, says Loeillot, because no learning is required: "Customers want slick and invisible technologies."

The globe set-up is not priced for consumers, though.

For Deru and Bergweiler, surfing came to mind for Google Earth once the Wii board went on sale in Europe. But after posting a video of their project online, the feedback they received made them realize their idea was merely a springboard.

Hospitals expressed an interest in the board as a rehabilitation device, where patients could do balance training after an injury.

And game ideas, of course, blossomed. Could a first-person shooter incorporate the board? A surf game?

In a popular PC-based skate-boarding game, the German duo have used the board for a "jump" feature. They've incorporated it into World of Warcraft, too, as well as Second Life.

With a semi-circular screen and 3D glasses, they note, users could be completely immersed in the virtual worlds they're surfing through.

They've also looked into putting the board to more mundane uses, such as under a desk to, say, let users scroll back and forth through a Word or PDF document. That way users wouldn't have to lean forward or reach for the keyboard to do something basic, like go to the next page.

Ergonomics specialists take note. Many a sufferer of carpal tunnel syndrome have wished for just such a feature.

What do companies like Nintendo, Apple and Google think about outside researchers taking their products in unexpected directions?

In a way, it doesn't matter. These days any company that puts out an innovative, low-cost product has to realize that once it leaves the store shelves or is downloaded, it becomes a potential new tool for tinkerers.

But whatever their official line -- frowning upon or encouraging this experimentation -- companies are well-advised to keep an eye on what the independent researchers are up to.

For the German researchers, a certain satisfaction can be had in simply knowing their project has spurred further experiments that will likely lead to yet others.

"We are pretty sure this will give new interaction ideas we have never thought about" says Deru. "That's one interesting part of our research."

Solar trees get to root of energy crisis

Ross Lovegrove's 'Solar Tree' at night. The second generation tree will be fully automated and able to follow the sun.

more photos »

The energy intensive lamps are quite literally, and figuratively, getting a green makeover and may be sprouting on a street near you soon.

Lovegrove's innovative lighting project, the "Solar Tree," is a solar-powered streetlamp that also serves as a piece of modern art, infusing a bit of nature into the usually gray urban landscape.

He believes that putting complex natural forms in a city can benefit all of society.

The "Solar Tree" has a striking green trunk and ten branches with solar panels that radiate light on the street below.

"The light looks pretty good when it's off. Most of the other lights out there have no life in them when they are off. I've seen more life in an old guy sleeping on a park bench then I have in some of those other streetlamps," Lovegrove told CNN.

The lamps were first planted, to much acclaim, on the Ringstrasse in Vienna in October 2007 in collaboration with MAK, the Museum of Applied Arts.

During their stay in Vienna the lamps were still able to give off light after four days without direct sunlight, making them an effective form of lighting.

"When we were setting up the tree outside it was quite wonderful," Lovegrove said.

"Even when we had one stem, it was incredible, it seemed so insignificant but actually it really stood out and it proves this point that modern technology and design can really lift people's spirits, it becomes an eye catcher because it's sort of out of context.

"The Solar Tree is just a streetlamp but actually some of the small things which can have a big impact on our life are all open for reinterpretation."

Since their debut in Austria, the trees have been seen budding on some of Europe's most famous streets: Milan's Piazza della Scala, Paris's Champs Elysees and during Frankfurt's Light+Building 2008.

But this success is not enough for Lovegrove; he is already working on the second generation Solar Tree; one that takes even more inspiration from Mother Nature's perfect designs.

Called the "Adaptive Solar Tree," it will be fully automated and have robotic features. This new design is not only modeled after real trees but also sunflowers. Like a bunch of sunflowers, whose heads are trained on the sun all day, the adaptive solar tree follows the sun to optimize energy.

Lovegrove Studios told CNN exclusively about their new project: "The branches will follow the sun, responding and adapting to the architectural environment, escaping the shadows and following the sun to optimize energy income."

When the sun goes down the solar trees will return to their original position to give off a full spectrum of light to the street and pedestrians below.

The new tree will also be able to respond to different weather, for example the branches will come together if the wind is too intense. Lovegrove also hopes to integrate an air purification bubble into the new trees, enabling them to clean the air around them, much like a real tree.

Christina Werner, director of the program in Vienna, said: "Someday soon solar trees could well be the main form of street lighting in Europe."

The award-winning Welsh designer has always had a strong relationship with nature which can be seen, not only in the "Solar Tree," but in many of his other designs.

Lovegrove considers himself a designer and an "evolutionary biologist."

"One of the clues towards our future survival is the concept of bio-mimicry, where we study nature, learn from its intelligence and copy it one way or another."

Lovegrove's quest for nature inspired design does not end with the 'adaptive solar tree': "The things that you see here at the MAK are just the beginning of all these other visions that I have like the solar assisted train.

"Nature is a big part of my work and always has been. I've never seen it as a trend or a fashion," he said. "It's fundamental to life. Nature has a magic to it."

Designer DNA: Should we be able to reprogram our genes?

A digital representation of the human genome.

Yet as scientists gain a greater understanding of biological processes, they're also learning how to manipulate them, including the very essence of what makes us human -- our DNA.

Biotechnology advances are already helping scientists find groundbreaking ways to create personalized medicine, detect illnesses and eradicate disease.

And this, according to futurist Ray Kurzweil, is only the beginning. In the future, humans will be able to reverse the aging process, replace dying organs with younger ones grown from an individual's own DNA and even genetically engineer unborn children, he said.

But some, like the UK-based group Human Genetics Alert, worry the ability to reprogram our biochemistry could lead mankind into unknown territory with dangerous ramifications for the future, including genetic discrimination and even a redefinition of what it means to be human.

We want to hear your views. To what extent should we be able to alter our genetic makeup? Should there be a limit? And how should it be determined exactly what that limit is?

Post your comments in the Sound Off box below. We'll publish the best.

Kerala stars in Santosh Sivan's English debut

Director-cinematographer Santosh Sivan on the set of "Before the Rains"

"As a kid I used to travel to all these fantastic hills which had all the spices and there used to be these beautiful curving roads going deep into the jungles," he remembers.

In "Before the Rains" Sivan has managed to conjure up the Kerala of his childhood recollections -- and there can be few films that evoke India's natural beauty more breathtakingly.

"I got to know that these [roads] were made by the British people and it always interested me how British people must have interacted with my forefathers because we never had a chance to interact with them," Sivan continues. Watch a clip of Santosh Sivan talking to CNN about "Before the Rains."

It is in the dying days of the Empire among the colonialists of the 1930s -- the ambitious men who hacked paths through the Keralan jungle to their fortunes in the spice plantations -- that Sivan sets his tale of passion and nationalism.

English spice baron Henry Moores (Linus Roach) and faithful aide T.K. (Rahul Bose) are racing to finish the road to his cardamom and clove plantation before the torrential rains of the monsoon hit.

Complicating matters is Moore's affair with a village woman (Nandita Das) which ignites colonial tensions and pushes T.K. -- a man caught between two cultures -- to the limits of his allegiance.

The film's original premise comes from a short film set in Israel called "Red Roofs" by little-known writer-director Dany Verete. It concerns the affair between an Israeli and his housemaid, the Bedouin assistant who is forced to deal with it and the tragic outcome.

Sivan liked the idea but not the setting: "We discussed the possibility of maybe making it into a feature film and setting it in a colonial kind of past in India." Sivan and screenwriter Cathy Rabin then set about transforming the basic story into a 'hothouse of lust, empire and guilt.'

It comes as no great surprise that the film is presented by Merchant Ivory, the production company famous for beautifully-crafted period dramas like "A Room with a View" and "Howard's End."

But the inevitable comparison is with "A Passage to India," Merchant Ivory's arid and frightfully pukka evocation of 1920s colonial India.

Both films deal with some of the syndromes characterized in the days of the Raj -- the Indian who thinks he is equal with the Englishman only to discover he is not and the ways in which India was both subjugated by the Empire and able to use the lessons of its rule to gain independence.

David Lean's Oscar-winning film is probably more successful at dealing with the political issues and some critics have said it is a more accomplished film.

In a review, The Hollywood Reporter said "Before the Rains" was: "Lacking the emotional power necessary to fuel its contrived plot elements, the film is a minor entry in the Merchant Ivory canon."

In his film's defence, Sivan says: "I thought the film had a very universal appeal because it is what happens in a place like New York or any metropolitan place where people from different cultures are together."

"Each culture is very curious about the other... it makes them attracted to each other and then you find all these other problems that each culture has of its own, so the film also resonates in that way."

But to anyone who remembers the dust and parched mountains of "A Passage" the awe-inspiring beauty of the landscapes rendered by Sivan will seem like another country. They are the film's great achievement.

"The visual language, the camera as such and the way you do things has such a fantastic universal appeal. So, I think the visual language is the film," he says of the attention lavished on the film's imagery.

Sivan who played the role of both director and director of photography on "Before the Rains" started his film career as a cinematographer and has credits on 45 films. He has received India's national award for best cinematographer five times.

"Before the Rains" is Sivan's eighth film as a director -- he has since directed "Tahaan: A Boy with a Grenade" a Hindi-language terrorism drama which premiered at Cannes this year -- an indication of the Indian expatriate community's growing appetite for films that deal with controversial or sexual themes without falling back on musical dance routines.

A household name in India, international acclaim came in 1998 when "The Terrorist," Sivan's ultra-low budget Tamil-language thriller about a girl suicide bomber won the Best Director, Best Actress Awards and the Golden Pyramid Award at the Cairo International Film festival.

John Malkovich, the actor known for roles in "Dangerous Liaisons" and "Being John Malkovich," was a member of the Cairo jury that gave Sivan the top award.

During the director's last trip to the U.S. -- to promote "Before the Rains" at the Tribeca film festival in New York -- Malkovich asked Sivan to direct him in the screen adaptation of Nobel Prize-winning author J M Coetzee's 1980 masterpiece "Waiting for the Barbarians."

"I met him and we had a long chat and he offered me a new film and it was a great meeting," says Sivan, although he does not confirm if will take Malkovich up on his offer.

Whatever he decides, it is likely international audiences will be hearing a lot more of this Keralan director with an eye for a beautiful shot, even if he remains superstitious about success: "I think sometimes it is just plain lucky," he shrugs.

Commentary: Candidates should computer date their VP choice

Rollins says no one votes for president based on the VP choice, so candidates should pick quickly.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- One of the great dilemmas of modern romance is computer or Internet dating. Put in all the qualities you think you want in a future mate or date and out pops "Mr. or Ms. Whoever!" More often than not, it turns into a big disappointment. Picking vice presidents has also become a form of computer dating.

A recent political version of all this was Dan Quayle in 1988. George Herbert Walker Bush ("41," or the "good Bush," as he is referred to in some circles), was tired of being overshadowed by Ronald Reagan, and he wanted his own man as veep. Someone he could overshadow.

He instructed the computer (or his team): Give me someone like my primary opponents, a senator from the Midwest like Bob Dole and/or a young conservative like Jack Kemp. To the surprise of nearly everyone, most of all himself, out popped Dan Quayle.

In the end, the country survived; Bush got elected, and unfortunately the only one who got hurt was Dan Quayle, a decent man who could have thrived in the Senate as a future committee chairman and conservative leader. Instead, he is now mentioned as a potential candidate on "Dancing with the Stars."

In 2000, the man operating the computer and putting in all the data was Dick Cheney. After careful machinations and reviewing all the candidates and criteria, the most qualified guy Dick Cheney could find was Dick Cheney. The only hurdle in that process was Cheney needed to change his residency from Texas back to Wyoming. The constitution doesn't allow two oil executives from the same state in the White House. (Well, not exactly; the 12th amendment forbids a state's electors from voting for both a president and vice president from that state.)

We are in the computer dating mode again. The obvious choice for Sen. Barack Obama is Sen. Hillary Clinton. The problem is, try as hard as he can, there "just ain't no love there!" Besides, she's married to a guy who's already been president.

The obvious choices for Sen. John McCain are former Govs. Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee. They both were tested in the primaries and have constituencies that McCain hasn't solidified. Same problem as above: "Just no love!" In Romney's case, maybe not even any "like."

So now we are left to the "chattering class" (of which I am a dutiful member) speculating 24 hours a day on cable television about who will be picked or who should be picked.

Not a one of us has a real clue as to whom it will be or when he or she will be chosen or whether anyone really can help the ticket more than those mentioned above.

My only advice to the prospective nominees: Let's get it over with! No one votes for vice president. Get this distraction out of the way so voters can focus on you and your programs.

Crank up the computer, throw in all the data about whom you think you want, and look hard at the choices. Whomever you pick, you will be second guessed, so please yourself first and foremost. You live with your choice. Always remember, a campaign is a long, hard date! If you win, a four-year administration is a marriage with no break or "do over."

Find somebody you love and respect (or at least like) and want to have at your side every day sharing your intimate thoughts and decisions. Also pick someone who will give you good counsel.

Most of all, remember this is your first big decision, the most important person you will pick, win or lose. You will be judged on it by party activists, the media, pundits and the American public. And "personnel set policy."

Just remember the consequences of Cheney picking Cheney.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.

CNN analysis: Who'll win the Obama veepstakes?

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine is being mentioned as a potential running mate for Sen. Barack Obama.

Predicting whom a presidential candidate will pick as a running mate, though, is a dangerous game.

A headline in the New York Post on July 7, 2004, announced "Kerry's choice," showing a picture of Sen. John Kerry and former House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt.

However, Kerry had picked former Sen. John Edwards as his 2004 presidential running mate.

With the Democratic convention less than a month away, Obama remains mum.

"The next time I talk about my vice presidential selection, it will be to introduce the selection," Obama told CNN's Candy Crowley in Berlin, Germany, last week.

But Washington being Washington, political junkies just can't help themselves.

Before the 1980s, presidential candidates typically did not unveil their running mates until the convention, often on its very last day.

Democrats broke this trend in 1984, when Walter Mondale announced his pick of Geraldine Ferraro four days before the start of the San Francisco convention.

The Democrats continued this practice through 2004, when Kerry announced Edwards as his running mate 20 days before the convention. Republican candidates did not start announcing their vice presidential picks ahead of their convention until 1996.

There are odds-on favorites for Obama's pick, as of now, including Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.»

The most buzz, however, is around Kaine, who's been campaigning for Obama for the last year and a half. He is also the Obama campaign's national chairman.

Asked directly whether he's being courted, Kaine remained coy Tuesday.

"It's flattering to be mentioned; my mom loves it; she calls when she sees it. But, you know, it is just -- that is for the campaign to decide," he told WTOP radio.

CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider said there are several advantages: "He's young; he's fresh; he's new; he's an outsider."

And the downside?

Both Obama and Kaine are young and very new to the national stage, with little or no national security experience.

The two Democrats, however, are comfortable with each other. Kaine was the first governor to endorse Obama outside Illinois, when most of the Democratic establishment was still supporting Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Demographically and geographically, Kaine is the full package.

Kaine, a Roman Catholic, once worked as a missionary in Central America. He can speak about religious values, something Obama wants more Democrats to do. Kaine also speaks fluent Spanish, another target group for Democrats.

Kaine was also born in Minnesota and went to college in Missouri, two swing states in the Midwest.

Stu Rothenberg of the Rothenberg Political Report said Kaine "makes a lot of sense" for Obama.

"Virginia is going to be one of the two or three key states for Obama," he said.

Just as Al Gore did for President Clinton, Kaine helps re-enforce the central theme: The Democratic Party is new and different.

Biden, who is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is a good pick in terms of experience, Rothenberg said.

"He's a grown-up; foreign policy, national security, been around a long time," Rothenberg added.

The Democrat's political experience will help counter GOP arguments that Obama is inexperienced on foreign policy.

Biden is also a scrappy campaigner and would almost certainly revel in the traditional attack-dog role of the running mate.

On the downside, Biden is more apt to wander off script more than once during a general election campaign. In addition, Delaware's three electoral votes are safely in the Democratic column.

Picking Bayh -- originally a big Clinton supporter during the Democratic primaries -- would help unite Democrats during a lengthy, heated primary campaign.

"Evan Bayh is not the kind of person to make mistakes. He is loyal; he's trustworthy; he's smart; he looks terrific in a photo op," Rothenberg said.

On the plus side, Bayh's service on the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services Committees would help shore up Obama's weak spots.

Running with this centrist Democrat would counter GOP critics that Obama is a typical liberal. Indiana's 11 electoral votes wouldn't hurt, either.

However, Bayh's support of the war in Iraq could put him at odds with his running mate, who has repeatedly brought up his opposition to the war during campaign rallies.

And then there's Sebelius, who could either help or hurt the women's vote.

"Kathleen Sebelius ... might evoke such a scream of anger from Hillary Clinton supporters that a Sebelius pick wouldn't be worth it if you're just going for a woman," Rothenberg said.

The popular two-term governor of Kansas could help Obama carry the state for the first time since 1964.

Sebelius, who chose a former state GOP chairman as her running mate in 2006, would reinforce Obama's image as someone who transcends the normal partisan divide.

The veepstakes spotlight on Clinton, however, has diminished.

"Normally, the presidential nominee doesn't want to be overshadowed by the veep or the veep's husband, and Sen. Clinton brings some considerable baggage and controversy," Rothenberg said.

That controversy includes the perception that she is one of the most divisive politicians. Obama may not want to put a polarizing figure such as Clinton on a ticket aimed at bridging the partisan divide.

On the plus side, there's no better way to unite the Democratic Party than by putting her on the ticket.

Clinton also has the ability to win older voters, Roman Catholics and women, three groups that have remained noticeably cool to Obama.iter.

Commentary: Still looking for a candidate I can support

By

Glenn Beck says he can't vote for Obama and doesn't think McCain is a conservative, so he's still looking

NEW YORK (CNN) -- I believe this election has put a lot of people in a strange place. It's a place that I've never personally been before. Put simply, I couldn't care more, and I couldn't care less.

When I sit back and objectively look at the times we're in, with our economic problems, gas prices hovering around four bucks, banks failing, the border out of control, the rise of China, the re-rise of Russia, Islamic extremism, the dollar weakening, (even lots of Bennigan's restaurants closing down!), this may very well be the most important election we've ever faced. But this year just feels different. I'm equal parts enraged, indecisive and disaffected.

One thing that I have decided is that Democratic contender Sen. Barack Obama isn't the guy for me. If you watch my show on Headline News, you may have picked that up already. Don't get me wrong, I want hope and change just as much as the next guy, but I think Barack and I are hoping for different kinds of change. To me, his vision for America appears to be somewhere between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Karl Marx. Being a conservative, that's definitely not what I'm looking for. iReport.com: Tell us why you are an undecided voter

But the frustrating thing is no one else seems to be what I'm looking for either. While I like Republican candidate Sen. John McCain on certain issues, he's not really a conservative. He's put his name on too many pieces of legislation that are downright antagonistic to the right. McCain-Kennedy on illegal immigration. McCain-Feingold on campaign finance reform. McCain-Lieberman on global warming. He's massively frustrating on far too many things to make voting for him anything other than an excruciating-eating-a-spider-Fear-Factor type of experience. You close your eyes, you pull the lever and you cringe when you think back about it.

Some of my friends say that McCain is simply the lesser of two evils. He's not great, but he's all we've got. And when you're up against Barack Obama, not so bad looks really good. While, by my standards, I don't doubt McCain would be less damaging for the next four years, he might be worse for the next four decades.

The scenario that keeps running through my head goes like this: John McCain somehow wins; the major problems we're likely going to face regardless of who is elected kick in; McCain gets blamed; and conservative ideals take the fall for McCain's decidedly nonconservative policies. Plus, it's always been my theory that you should be voting for something, not against something. Trying to win an election by just being against something is usually fruitless; see John Kerry.

But what are the other options for someone like me? Should I vote for a third-party candidate? While this year's election doesn't appear to be providing one big third-party candidate who will approach 20 percent of the vote like Ross Perot, it might be the broadest collection of candidates in quite a long time.

In case you're having trouble keeping track; here's a primer. There's the ever-present Ralph Nader, who is usually good for a percent (and a laugh) or two. Bob Barr, the former Republican congressman, will likely get more votes than any libertarian in history. While he might make the difference in a state or two, the biggest libertarian figure on the planet, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, seems equally likely to endorse Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution party candidate. Confused yet? Well, don't forget former Rep. Cynthia McKinney, whose Green Party candidacy I fully and unequivocally support just based on its sheer entertainment value. You can even find candidates for the Socialist Party USA, the Socialist Workers Party and the Prohibition Party. Solely for the fun factor, I support at least one debate (or cage match) with all of them.

But with more information, and more candidates than ever before, I find myself in some ways less interested. With no clear answer for what's best for the country, part of me has a strong desire to just withdraw from it all. Washington is so eternally and impossibly mangled, even if I found the perfect candidate who agreed with everything I believe in, would I be dumb enough to think that they wouldn't fall victim to the beltway? It's like going to see a Ben Affleck movie: I'm walking in knowing I'm going to be disappointed.

So, what does all of that tell you? I don't know. For an opinion column, I realize I'm offering up more questions than answers. In the end, the only true answer I can find keeps me coming back to the beginning: We the people. That's where the founding fathers placed the power in this country. No matter who wins the election, they have to remember they work for us. That's the principle that has given us such a remarkable past, and it's what we must remember to ensure an even more promising future.

As far as who to vote for -- I'm not sure. Hopefully, I'll come up with an answer or two by, say, early November.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.

White House aides not immune from subpoenas, judge says

Former White House Counsel Harriet Miers is not immune from congressional subpoenas, a judge ruled Thursday.

The House Judiciary Committee has been seeking to force former White House Counsel Harriet Miers to testify before Congress about the firing of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006. The White House has been resisting, claiming she cannot be compelled to appear.

But the White House position "is without any support in case law," Judge John D. Bates wrote in a 93-page opinion released Thursday.

He said the notion that "Miers is absolutely immune from compelled congressional process" is "unprecedented."

But, Bates added, the ruling does not mean that Miers and Joshua Bolten, the White House chief of staff from whom House Democrats have demanded White House documents, could not assert executive privilege during congressional testimony.

The court "resolves, and again rejects" the notion that senior White House aides are absolutely immune from subpoena, but the "specific claims of executive privilege that Ms. Miers and Mr. Bolten may assert are not addressed -- and the court expresses no view on such claims," Bates wrote.

In a hearing in June, Bates had urged the White House and Congress to resolve their dispute via negotiations.

He also expressed concern the clock would run out because he expected an appeal of his ruling no matter which way he decided. That could keep the dispute in the courts until a new Congress is elected in November. The subpoenas expire when this Congress leaves office.

Rep. John Boehner, an Ohio Republican and the House minority leader, appeared to agree on Thursday.

"I'm sure it'll be appealed and it'll go on into next year and it'll become a moot issue," he said.

Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the senior Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, called the ruling a "victory for Congress," but urged congressional Democrats and the administration to "seek a reasonable compromise" rather than continue to fight the matter in court.

The House Judiciary committee filed suit against Miers and Bolten in March after the Department of Justice said it would not pursue contempt charges against them for failing to obey the subpoena.

The White House has insisted the firings of the nine U.S. attorneys were legal. But Democrats said the central questions behind the dismissals -- who decided the prosecutors should be ousted, and why -- remain unanswered.

The position is supposed to be an apolitical one. Democrats accuse the administration of political motives in replacing the nine officials.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said the administration is reviewing Thursday's ruling.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said she was "pleased" by the ruling, though she said had not had a chance to study it.

GOP lawmakers want special session on energy crisis

Several Congressional Republicans are calling for a special session of Congress.

President Bush called on Congress Wednesday to allow offshore oil drilling, saying the need to lower crude and gas prices made it urgent.

Lawmakers are debating legislation to allow drilling for oil along the U.S. coastline, particularly in Florida and California.

The Senate, which is set to begin summer recess after this week, has been gridlocked for days on various energy bills.

Congressional Republicans said they want an open debate and accuse Democrats of trying to limit amendments to avoid a vote on offshore drilling -- an assertion the Democrats deny.

Most Republicans want to lift a 1981 ban on offshore drilling, saying it will increase domestic oil supplies. But the Democratic leadership wants to keep the ban in place, arguing that more offshore drilling will have little effect on prices and could threaten the environment.

Republicans also want to legalize drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and allow the processing of oil shale on public lands in the West -- two actions Democrats also oppose. Oil shale is sedimentary rock with oil in it that has historically been considered too expensive to process. Several environmental risks are associated with extracting oil shale.

Rep. Mike Pence, R-Indiana, said it's not fair to Americans who "won't get a vacation from high gasoline prices so Congress shouldn't take a vacation until we vote to lessen our dependence on foreign oil."

Pence said that if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wouldn't keep the House in session to vote, he urged the president to call an immediate special session of Congress.

"It's a shame on Congress that we are going in recess when we have to deal and have not dealt with the issue of high energy prices," said Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, on Thursday.

In the Senate, Missouri Republican Sen. Kit Bond criticized Democrats for stalling an energy fix.

"It appears the Democrats are desperate to deny real gas price relief ... they are apparently united behind the misguided policy of the presumptive Democratic nominee for president who says don't provide any new sources of supply," he said.

Democrats, meanwhile, are fighting back against the Republicans' criticism.

"This isn't about production as Republicans keep wailing on the floor. ... This is about Republicans protecting record oil company profits, not production," said Rep. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey. "This is not about helping the American consumer, it's about one last chance to give out more handouts to Big Oil."

The New Jersey Democrat also hit back on Sen. John McCain's position on off-shore drilling -- a policy McCain now supports.

"All of a sudden after a lifetime opposing offshore drilling now you are for drilling and $1.1 million dollars ends up in your coffers ... I think the oil companies understand very clearly where their bread is buttered."

Pelosi on Wednesday said the president was perpetrating a "hoax" by pushing for more offshore oil drilling.

"The president has failed in his economic policy, and now he wants to say, 'but for drilling in protected areas offshore, our economy would be thriving and the price of gas would be lower,'" Pelosi said. "That hoax is unworthy of the serious debate we must have to relieve the pain of consumers at the pump and to promote energy independence."

A new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Thursday indicates that about two-thirds of Americans believe that U.S. oil companies and foreign countries that produce oil are major causes of higher gas prices.

Just over half say that the Bush administration and the war in Iraq are major causes of high fuel prices. Just as many cite the ban on additional offshore drilling.

But one group gets relatively little blame. Only about one in three Americans, 31 percent, say that the Democrats in Congress are a major cause for gas prices.

The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Bush criticized Democrats who he said are refusing to allow a vote on legislation to expand domestic oil drilling.

"American drivers are counting on Congress to lift the ban and so are American workers," Bush said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said Wednesday that Democrats must allow Republicans to offer amendments that would increase domestic oil production.

"Senate Republicans feel that we both need to find more and use less, and that in order to have ... a piece of legislation that actually passes the Senate, we need to have an open process," McConnell said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, had offered a proposal to Republicans that would allow a vote on a measure that would lift the drilling ban.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Reid said the Senate should not take advice from "the president with the worst energy record in generations."

Reid suggested the president instead focus on releasing oil from the strategic oil reserve, speeding up production in areas already open for drilling and cracking down on oil traders.

"He has shown no interest in doing anything but continuing more of the same failed policies that have produced the highest oil and gas prices ever," Reid said.

Reid on Monday offered Republicans a chance to vote this week on four GOP-backed amendments, including one that would expand offshore oil drilling.

Indicted Alaska senator pleads not guilty

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, says he is innocent of the charges a grand jury handed up on Tuesday.

The trial will begin with jury selection September 24, Judge Emmet Sullivan announced.

Stevens' lawyer had requested that the trial be held as soon as possible because Stevens is up for re-election in November.

"I want to make a request if at all possible that the trial be in October so that he can clear his name before the general elections," attorney Brendan Sullivan said, adding light-heartedly that it was the first time he had ever asked for a speedy trial.

He also proposed moving the trial to Alaska because a majority of the witnesses are there and the events in question took place there.

The judge, who is not related to Stevens' attorney, said that he thought Washington was an appropriate location for the trial but that he would entertain a motion to move it to Alaska.

Stevens was indicted Tuesday on seven counts of filing false reports on his mandatory Senate financial disclosure forms.

The federal indictment says Veco Energy paid for hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of work on Stevens' home over a period of about seven years, and Stevens failed to report it. It also says that Veco asked Stevens to intervene on its behalf in Washington and that he sometimes did so. Read the full indictment

The government is not offering to let Stevens make a deal, said a Justice Department lawyer prosecuting the case .

"There are no plea offers available at this time," Brenda Morris of the Public Integrity Division said during Stevens' arraignment hearing at the federal district court in Washington.

The government is not accusing Stevens of accepting bribes, said Matt Friedrich, the acting assistant attorney general. He said Tuesday that such a charge "requires proof of a specific quid pro quo," or a specific action in return for a specific payment. "This indictment does not allege that."

But it does accuse Stevens and his staff of receiving requests from Veco for help in Washington and acting on some of them.

If convicted, Stevens could face five years in prison for each of the counts, although he could get a lighter penalty.

Stevens, 84, the longest-serving Republican in Senate history, did not speak during the hearing. His attorney entered the not-guilty plea on his behalf.

Dressed in a light gray suit, Stevens seemed relaxed before the hearing began and smiled after he sat down at the defense table to chat with his legal team.

Two benches in the federal district courthouse were filled by reporters from television, radio and wire services.

The veteran lawmaker had appeared a day earlier for a pretrial interview with court authorities, outfoxing journalists who had expected him to appear Thursday morning.

There apparently were no media present at Wednesday's visit, in contrast to the gaggle of reporters and cameras awaiting Stevens' arrival Thursday at all four court entrances.

"I am innocent of these charges and intend to prove that," Stevens said in a written statement.

The senator has been a lightning rod for critics of pork-barrel spending in recent years.

In 2005, he backed a project to build what was derided as a "bridge to nowhere." The proposal called for construction of a $223 million bridge to connect Alaska's Gravina Island -- population 50 -- to the mainland. Congress later rescinded the earmarked funding for the bridge.

After the indictment was announced Tuesday, Barbara Boxer, D-California, the Senate Select Committee on Ethics chairwoman, and Vice Chairman John Cornyn, R-Texas, issued a statement: "The Senate Ethics Committee does not comment on pending matters or matters that may come before the committee. Absent special circumstances, it has been the longstanding policy of the committee to defer investigation into matters where there is an active and ongoing criminal investigation and proceeding so as not to interfere in that process."

On Wednesday, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the "American people have every right to expect the highest ethical standards from every member of Congress. ... The American people deserve better, and I would hope that all members would exhibit the kind of ethics the American people expect."

The indictment against Stevens follows a wide-ranging investigation into ties between Veco Energy and lawmakers in Alaska.

Stevens issued a statement saying he has "never knowingly submitted a false disclosure form required by law as a U.S. senator."

He stepped down from leadership positions on Senate committees after the indictment.

"In accordance with Senate Republican Conference rules, I have temporarily relinquished my vice-chairmanship and ranking positions until I am absolved of these charges," he said.

The government charges that Stevens "knowingly and willfully engaged in a scheme to conceal ... his continuing receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of things of value" by failing to report them on his annual financial disclosure forms.

The indictment says home improvements provided by Veco and its chief executive officer, Bill Allen, whom the indictment calls a "personal friend of Stevens," included a first floor, a garage, a first- and second-story wraparound deck, plumbing and wiring.

Allen pleaded guilty in May 2007 to paying out more than $400,000 "in corrupt payments" to Alaska officials, the Department of Justice said in announcing the Stevens indictment. Allen is cooperating with the Department of Justice as part of his plea agreement, Friedrich said. Veco was acquired by another company, CH2M Hill, in September.