Since 1981, when I picked up my first pen, paper and paycheck as a journalist, six farm bills have come and gone. With them came and went some giant elements in U.S. farm policy; elements like the Farmer Owned Reserve, planting set-asides, Kansas Sen. Bob Dole and longtime House Ag Committee boss Kike de la Garza.

Last week, Exxon Mobil Corp. reported its first-quarter profit rose 17 percent from a year ago, buoyed by soaring crude oil prices.

SOUTH BEND, Indiana -- Well, it took nearly 12 years, but I finally convinced Sen. Hillary Clinton to speak with me on television. Emboldened by Barack Obama's "Rev. Wright" disaster, the senator is aggressively reaching out to independent voters, many of whom watch "The Factor."