Obama's Pet Projects: Lasers, Hybrid Hummers

Obama also landed $1 million for the Illinois Institute of Technology to develop a cost-effective conversion kit to retrofit Army Humvees with electric hybrid systems. It's a trick the military has been trying to pull off for years -- a hybrid can run whisper-quiet, and without gorging itself of fuel. But the generals have never seemed able to get themselves the battlefield equivalent of a Prius.

Speaking of alternative energy, Obama got another $1 million for a Chicago State University project to equip drones with fuel cells. That would let the pilotless planes run for much, much longer than the current, gas- or battery-pwoered models.

So that's what Obama earmarked. I wish I could tell you what Hillary's pet projects were. But she hasn't released 'em, yet.