ISRAELI AMBASSADOR ADDRESSES WOODROW WILSON CENTER

HOUSTON, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Former President George H.W. Bush entered the room from the right front of the stage, with former first lady Barbara Bush close behind. "Do I know you?" she said to me with a Cheshire cat grin as she walked by and sat within earshot and kitty-corner at the neighboring table. "We met in Prague some years ago, ma'am," I said. "Beautiful," she said. "We'll have to talk." And she sat down. It was the gala of the American Friends of the Czech Republic at Houston's venerable J.W. Marriott hotel last week.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- President-elect Barack Obama continues to confound friends and foes alike with his centrist but bold moves. The latest, naming Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. -- his archrival in the presidential primary campaign -- as secretary of state, carries considerable risks. But if it works, it will prove to be a masterstroke.

UPI Almanac for Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008.

UPI Almanac for Monday, Oct. 20, 2008.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Like his predecessors Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, President Dwight David Eisenhower in the 1950s was not bashful about asserting American influence and power, but his wartime experience led him to resist interventions that involved the open-ended commitment of U.S. ground forces to altruistic missions.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman provided lessons in restraint in the use of massive American ground forces overseas that teach valuable lessons for 21st century U.S. policymakers.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- America's wars over the last century teach 21st century presidents the lesson that avoiding massive casualties in direct conflicts with the main combat strength of enemy nations is far more important to victory and domestic prosperity than investing in high-tech and other costly weapons systems.

WASHINGTON, July 2 (UPI) -- Improbably, an opportunity has arisen in Iraq for the United States to attain two of its most important goals, namely obtaining some legitimacy for the "government" of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and getting American troops out of his country at the same time.

WASHINGTON, June 27 (UPI) -- Sen. Barack Obama has already revealed the secret political weapon most likely to make his presidency a success: his bully pulpit.

WASHINGTON, May 12 (UPI) -- This week the continuing saga of the Democratic primaries means that presidential politics is likely to dominate the news agenda again. But there are some issues and events on the homeland and national security issue list that might make the inside pages.