April 27 (Reuters) – Pick any hot topic over the past decade or two – tax policy, Social Security, nuclear power, “American Idol,” you name it – and if you put a dozen people in a room, you’d get a cacophony of opinions.

But ask those same people, “So, what morning show do you watch?” and you’d just as likely get one big chorus back, saying, “‘Today’”, of course!”

The “Today” show’s ratings domination is legendary.

Actually, make that “was” legendary. During the week of April 9, the program drew 13,000 fewer viewers than its longtime (and formerly distant) rival, “Good Morning America.” The loss, as was so gaspingly reported, broke “Today”‘s epic 852-week winning streak.

To which we say, “What a lucky break!”

No – not for GMA, but for “Today,” because its loss means something very exciting is about to happen. The show is about to start experiencing business as it should always be experienced by every organization: as if each and every day were the last quarter of the Super Bowl.

Gordon Gekko famously proclaimed greed to be the central tenet of business. What tripe. The real, galvanizing truism about business is that competition is good. In fact, it’s great.

April 18 (Reuters) – Remember that incompetent boss you used to have? He was a good guy and all, but he just couldn’t make decisions or prioritize. Perhaps worst of all, he tried to make everyone happy, resulting in almost everyone being angry or confused or both. And remember how long it took management to move him out – and how aggravating that was?

Of course, at the time, you sort of understood why the Bigs had promoted the guy in the first place, and why they held out hope for so long. He’d been a superstar salesman. Best the company had seen in ages. But in the end, it turned out that all the things that made him great as an individual performer made him lousy as a people manager.

It happens all the time at work. A brilliant engineer promoted to run R&D. A gifted reporter elevated to editor. A cutting-edge scientist made head of the lab. First, cheers. Then, after a bit, confusion about organizational direction, mixed signals about values, hurt feelings left and right and, eventually, chaos.

Look, in business, some people can really knock it out of the park in their current jobs. They just can’t lead.

Smart companies get that reality. In fact, most have learned the hard way that actually being a great leader involves unique skills that even the most promising candidate for a leadership job simply may not possess.

But do the American people get that reality, too?

You have to wonder. Because there’s an awful lot of noise out there right now about campaign styles. President Obama has a reputation built on his soaring oratory, while Mitt Romney, clearly no fan of crowd scenes, can’t seem to get through a week without an awkward (or worse, foot-in-mouth) moment.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States should resist the urge to pull troops out of Afghanistan ahead of schedule due to the violence against Americans over the burning of the Koran at a U.S. military base, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker said on Sunday.

“Tensions are running very high here. I think we need to let things calm down, return to a more normal atmosphere, and then get on with business,” Crocker said in an interview from Kabul on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

He added that a full investigation of the incident was underway at the Bagram airbase near Kabul.

“This is not the time to decide that we are done here. We have got to redouble our efforts. We’ve got to create a situation that al Qaeda is not coming back,” Crocker said.

“If we decide we’re tired of it, al Qaeda and the Taliban certainly aren’t,” he said.

U.S. forces are scheduled to cede the lead role in combat operations in Afghanistan next year, but will keep fighting alongside Afghan troops under American plans announced recently.

The U.S. forces have been fighting in Afghanistan since a 2001 invasion that toppled the Taliban rulers who harbored the al Qaeda leaders responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States.

WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will not make any more changes to the rule announced last week requiring health insurance plans to provide women with coverage for contraception, although U.S. Catholic bishops have said it violates the Church’s religious principles.

“We put out the plan that reflects where the president intended to go. This is our plan,” White House chief of staff Jacob Lew said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.

Lew said no religious organization will be required to pay for or facilitate the coverage that it disagrees with since the insurance companies are the ones who will pay.

Asked what incentive insurance companies would have to provide contraception, Lew – Obama’s budget director until a few weeks ago – said it would be cost effective just like other preventive healthcare coverage.

“As somebody who’s done budgets for a lot of years, when people tell me things don’t cost money, I ask a lot of questions,” Lew said on ABC News’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos”.

“This is actually one of those exceptions to the rule. If you look at the overall cost of providing healthcare to a woman, the cost goes up, not down, if you take contraceptives out.”

Lew said the White House had not expected universal support for contraceptive coverage, but did find backing from several affected groups, including Catholic hospitals and charities.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Addictions to alcohol, drugs and gambling can destroy lives, but less well known and more controversial is the overwhelming need for sexual satisfaction so intense that psychologists compare it to crack cocaine.

Representative Anthony Weiner stepped down from Congress under pressure from fellow Democrats, including President Barack Obama, after he admitted to “sexting” in which he sent lewd pictures of himself to young women. He said he was seeking treatment for an unspecified problem.

Golfer Tiger Woods checked into an unspecified rehabilitation center for treatment after admitting to a number of extramarital affairs.

Actor David Duchovny, star of “Californication,” is one of the few who has publicly announced his sex addiction. He entered a rehabilitation center for the sex disorder in 2008.

But the sensational nature of the public admissions by the famous and powerful to multiple extramarital affairs, obsession with Internet sexting, or repeated accusations of sexual harassment, draws intense media attention — and a fair amount of ridicule.

“People joke that if they are going to have an addiction, that’s the one they want to have,” said therapist Stephanie Carnes, author of “Mending a Shattered Heart.”

There is also skepticism among the public and some psychologists that the sexual disorder even exists, but is rather an excuse for infidelity or viewing pornography. There is no diagnosis of addiction at all in the official listing of mental disorders — the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

WASHINGTON/SINGAPORE, March 7 (Reuters) – The U.S. government reiterated that it could tap its strategic oil reserves in order to safeguard economic growth as surging gasoline prices increase pressure for action.

While longstanding U.S. policy is to release reserves only in the event of a significant and immediate supply shortage, some analysts say the Obama administration may feel compelled to try to tamp down prices that are being fueled both by outages in Libya and concern unrest could spread in the Middle East.

Reflecting market worries over unrest, crude futures prices were trading in Asia on Monday around their highest levels in more than two years.

Echoing comments made by a number of Obama officials over the past week, White House Chief of Staff William Daley told NBC television’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday: “We are looking at the options. The issue of the reserves is one we are considering.”

“It is something that only is done — has been done — in very rare occasions. There’s a bunch of factors that have to be looked at and it is just not the price,” he added. “All matters have to be on the table when you go through — when you see the difficulty coming out of this economic crisis we’re in and the fragility of it.”

He spoke just before a survey showed the second-largest two-week rise in gasoline pump prices ever. The national average for a gallon of self-serve, regular gas was $3.50 on March 4, according to the influential Lundberg Survey of about 2,500 gas stations, up 32.7 cents from the Feb. 18. For details, see

Congress has pressured the Obama administration to look to the emergency oil supplies as an option to ease consumers’ fears over rising U.S. gasoline prices, which are nearing the all-time high of $4.1124 per gallon hit on July 11, 2008, according to the Lundberg Survey.

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – The government reiterated on Sunday that it could tap its strategic oil reserves in order to safeguard economic growth as surging gasoline prices threaten to amp up pressure for action.

While longstanding U.S. policy is to release reserves only in the event of a significant and immediate supply shortage, some analysts say the Obama administration may feel compelled to try to tamp down prices that are being fueled both by outages in Libya as well as concerns over Middle East unrest.

Echoing comments made by a number of Obama officials over the past week, White House Chief of Staff William Daley told NBC television’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday: “We are looking at the options. The issue of the reserves is one we are considering.”

“It is something that only is done — has been done — in very rare occasions. There’s a bunch of factors that have to be looked at and it is just not the price,” he added. “All matters have to be on the table when you go through — when you see the difficulty coming out of this economic crisis we’re in and the fragility of it.”

He spoke just before a survey showed the second-largest two-week rise in gasoline pump prices ever. The national average for a gallon of self-serve, regular gas was $3.50 on March 4, according to the influential Lundberg Survey of about 2,500 gas stations, up 32.7 cents from the February 18.

Congress has pressured the Obama administration to look to the emergency oil supplies as an option to ease consumers’ fears over rising U.S. gasoline prices, which are nearing the all-time high of $4.1124 per gallon hit on July 11, 2008, according to the Lundberg Survey.

Higher oil prices could undermine the fragile U.S. economic recovery and damage President Barack Obama politically as he moves toward a 2012 re-election bid.

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – The government reiterated on Sunday that it could tap its strategic oil reserves in order to safeguard economic growth as surging gasoline prices threaten to amp up pressure for action.

While longstanding U.S. policy is to release reserves only in the event of a significant and immediate supply shortage, some analysts say the Obama administration may feel compelled to try to tamp down prices that are being fueled both by outages in Libya as well as concerns over Middle East unrest.

Echoing comments made by a number of Obama officials over the past week, White House Chief of Staff William Daley told NBC television’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday: “We are looking at the options. The issue of the reserves is one we are considering.”

“It is something that only is done — has been done — in very rare occasions. There’s a bunch of factors that have to be looked at and it is just not the price,” he added. “All matters have to be on the table when you go through — when you see the difficulty coming out of this economic crisis we’re in and the fragility of it.”

He spoke just before a survey showed the second-largest two-week rise in gasoline pump prices ever. The national average for a gallon of self-serve, regular gas was $3.50 on March 4, according to the influential Lundberg Survey of about 2,500 gas stations, up 32.7 cents from the February 18.

Congress has pressured the Obama administration to look to the emergency oil supplies as an option to ease consumers’ fears over rising U.S. gasoline prices, which are nearing the all-time high of $4.1124 per gallon hit on July 11, 2008, according to the Lundberg Survey.

Higher oil prices could undermine the fragile U.S. economic recovery and damage President Barack Obama politically as he moves toward a 2012 re-election bid.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – White House Chief of Staff William Daley said on Sunday the Obama administration was considering tapping into the U.S. strategic oil reserve as a way to help ease soaring oil prices.

Speaking on NBC television’s “Meet the Press,” Daley said: “We are looking at the options. The issue of the reserves is one we are considering. It is something that only is done — and has been done — in very rare occasions. There’s a bunch of factors that have to be looked at. And it is just not the price.”

“All matters have to be on the table when you see the difficulty coming out of this economic crisis we’re in and the fragility,” Daley added.

Congress has pressured the Obama administration to look to the emergency oil supply to ease consumers’ fears over rising gasoline prices, which are threatening again to top $4 per gallon at U.S. gas stations.

Higher oil prices could undermine the fragile U.S. economic recovery and politically damage President Barack Obama as he moves toward his 2012 re-election bid.

While the White House has said governments around the world had options, including oil reserves, that could be used to prevent an inflationary price spiral due to oil supply disruptions, none have taken the rare step of tapping into their oil reserves.

U.S. oil prices jumped on Friday to more than $3 a barrel to $105.17, their highest level since September 2008, as fighting in Libya worsened and protests in the Middle East intensified.