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U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., warned of major cuts to Medicare and large tax increases as the U.S. Senate neared its first votes this weekend on health care reform. McCain opposes health reforms pushed by Democrats and President Barack Obama that would create a public-option government system to cover the uninsured and operate alongside private insurance companies. "I don't think Americans really understand the scam that's going on here of beginning to collect taxes, tax increases and Medicare cuts of approximately $1 trillion beginning 40 days from now," McCain said Saturday. "In other words, the first of January, according to...

(snip) The Republican senator did say that Obama is charismatic, adding that “he is able to inspire, and I admire that talent.” “Obama gave the world the message that the United States wants to cooperate,” he said. (snip)

PHOENIX -- A new statewide poll suggests John McCain could get a fight in his bid for another term in the U.S. Senate. And it would come from his own party. A telephone survey of 570 likely Republican primary voters conducted by Rasmussen Reports found McCain the favorite of 45 percent of those questioned. But former Congressman and current radio talk show host J.D. Hayworth was backed by 43 percent, well within the 4 percentage point margin of error for the poll. Hayworth told Capitol Media Services late Friday he has not made a decision, saying he is in the...

U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is pledging to fight health care reform efforts as the Senate prepares to hold its first full-chamber vote on health reforms Saturday. The Obama administration and Democrats want to create a government-run system as a public option to offer insurance to uninsured and operate alongside private providers. McCain and U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., oppose the public option. In an e-mail to supporters, McCain pledged to fight the public option, saying it would drive up costs for consumers and widen the federal deficit.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia -- U.S. Sen. John McCain says he enjoyed reading Sarah Palin's new memoir and says the tension between his campaign aides and hers is no big deal. But McCain likened the tension of a campaign to combat in an interview Saturday with The Associated Press on the sidelines of the Halifax International Security Forum.

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John McCain may have been the Republican Party's national standard bearer last year, but now it looks like he may have a hard time just hanging on to his Senate seat. A new Rasmussen Reports poll of likely 2010 GOP primary voters in Arizona finds the longtime incumbent in a virtual tie with potential challenger, J.D. Hayworth. McCain earns 45% of the vote, while Hayworth picks up 43%. Another candidate, anti-illegal immigration activist Chris Simcox, is picking up 4%. Hayworth, 51, a conservative former U.S. congressman who now is a popular radio talk show host in Phoenix, is reportedly interested...

Former presidential candidate Sen. John McCain said Thursday he has read Sarah Palin's book and has no regrets about picking her as a running mate. (snip) He also said if Mrs. Palin decides to run for president in 2012 and becomes the Republican Party nominee he would vote for her. "I hope she has every success," Mr. McCain said. "She's still pretty popular."

Sens. Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman have been working overtime to craft a climate bill that can attract significant GOP support. But they aren’t exactly scoring points with their mutual best friend in the Senate, John McCain. “Their start has been horrendous,” McCain said Thursday. “Obviously, they’re going nowhere.” McCain has emerged as a vocal opponent of the climate bill — a major reversal for the self-proclaimed maverick who once made defying his party on global warming a signature issue of his career. (snip) Former aides are mystified by what they see as a retreat on the issue, given McCain’s...

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WASHINGTON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Senator John McCain on Wednesday strongly defended the top advisers from his 2008 presidential campaign in the face of sharp criticism from his vice presidential running mate, Sarah Palin. McCain, in a telephone interview with Reuters, singled out campaign manager Steve Schmidt and senior adviser Nicolle Wallace for praise after Palin blasted the pair in her memoir, "Going Rogue: An American Life." "There's been a lot of dust flying around in the last few days and I just wanted to mention that I have the highest regard for Steve Schmidt and Nicolle Wallace...

Depictions ‘took place entirely in her imagination,’ says Wallace. NBC NEWS and NEWS SERVICES NEW YORK - Former McCain campaign senior adviser Nicolle Wallace says Sarah Palin's book "Going Rogue" is "based on fabrications," and that the basis for Palin’s depictions of her and former McCain campaign director Steve Schmidt as villains "took place entirely in her imagination." In a statement to The Rachel Maddow Show, the former McCain spokesperson repeatedly used the word "fiction" to describe Palin's narrative and echoed criticisms by other former McCain staffers. "She [Palin] probably has a legitimate complaint that things could have been better...

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) urged a group of chief executives on Tuesday to think of ways to help small businesses and extend credit to help heal the economy. The Arizona Republican acknowledged that these aren't the responsibilities of big businesses, but he talked about how angry Americans are about financial institutions getting bailed out while they are struggling, and he said access to credit is a big issue.

Despite the fact that Sarah Palin uses her new book to air her grievances with John McCain's presidential campaign team, McCain reportedly said he enjoyed reading Palin's book. "I hope she sells lots of them," McCain told the Hill newspaper.

Senator gets an earful on economy, healthcare. BY SUZANNE ADAMS KINGMAN - U.S. Sen. John McCain was treated to a packed house of feisty Mohave County residents Friday afternoon at the County Administration Building. Most of the comments centered on the economy and healthcare, but McCain also spoke of the troops, the Fort Hood shooting and Social Security. "We Republicans have to reestablish our conservative principles to the American people," McCain said. "I see a degree of activism, a degree of involvement and a degree of anger out there that I've never seen before in the years that I've served....

(snip) Most of all, I remember five long decades when, for all our many differences, Americans nonetheless maintained a bipartisan commitment to the freedom and security of our allies. And together, we in the West kept faith with those on the other side of the walls of that world struggle, confident that they wanted the same things we did – liberty, equal justice, an opportunity to prosper by their own talents, and a chance to live under the rule of law, not under the thumbs of tyrants. This, my friends, is what today’s anniversary is all about. The Berlin Wall...

Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R AZ) issued the following statement on the Obama Administration’s decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and four other Al-Qaeda terrorists suspected of planning and executing the September 11th attacks in the United States Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York: “I am extremely disappointed with the Obama Administration’s decision to try in U.S. civilian courts the Al-Qaeda terrorists who planned, supported, and conducted the September 11th attacks. These terrorists are not common criminals. They are war criminals, who committed acts of war against our citizens and those of...

Is it worse for a Republican to have been caught naked on camera or to support gay marriage? Meghan McCain weighs the hypocrisy of the Carrie Prejean scandal. BY MEGHAN MCCAIN If you’re a Republican, is it better to be in favor of gay marriage or to make a sex tape? That is the question. At least that’s the question that comes to mind after the reaction to the news that anti-gay marriage champion Carrie Prejean made a sex tape. After watching several of Prejean’s media appearances this week, it was not her incredibly uncomfortable threat to walk out on...

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Sen. John McCain hammered the Obama administration Friday for its decision to try accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other suspected terrorists in a civilian court in New York. Mohammed, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi will all be transferred from Guantanamo Bay to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York - a short distance from the World Trade Center towers that were destroyed in the September 11 attacks.

The rumors are true, according to Sarah Palin: The McCain-Palin campaign was not a happy family. And she says that most of her legal bills were generated defending what she called frivolous ethics complaints, but she reveals that about $500,000 was a bill she received to pay for the McCain campaign vetting her for the VP nod. She said when she asked the McCain campaign if it would help her financially, she was told McCain's camp would have paid all the bills if he'd won; since he lost, the vetting legal bills were her responsibility.

<p>In her new book, according to the Associated Press, Sarah Palin alleges that the McCain campaign gave her a $500,000 bill to pay for the campaign vetting her for the VP nod. She also makes the charge that the McCain camp said they would have paid all the bills had they won, but since they lost, the bills were her responsibility.</p>

Washington, November 11: Falling short of calling it a "mistake", top Republican Senator John McCain today said he would have met Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama if he were the president of the United States. McCain, who lost to President Barack Obama in the last year's presidential elections, said this in an interview to CNN, wherein he was critical of the Obama Administration adopting a softer approach on human rights in China and not meeting the Dalai Lama, when he was here last month. "I can't say it was a mistake. I have to give the President the benefit...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Thursday that he is “angry” and “disappointed” with President Barack Obama for delaying his decision on increasing troop levels in Afghanistan. “The fact is we already have men and women over there, and the longer we delay in sending them the needed resources they need the greater danger they are in,” McCain said during an interview on Fox News’ Fox & Friends program. “That’s just a fundamental fact of warfare and so I’m past being a bit angry.” “I’m disappointed that we haven’t made the decision,” he said.

U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will hold two town-hall style meetings next week, one of which will be in Yuma. The first meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12, at the Kofa High School Auditorium, located at 3100 South Avenue A. A second meeting will be held the following day, Friday, Nov. 13, at noon at the Mohave County Administration Building's Board of Supervisors Auditorium, located at 700 West Beale Street in Kingman. The purpose of the meetings is to discuss issues affecting Arizonans, including the economy, health care reform, and the war in Afghanistan, according...

Based on the media’s treatment of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, Meghan McCain asks: Will we ever have a female politician who is good enough to lead? BY MEGHAN MCCAIN I have admired Hillary Clinton for years. Though we disagree on nearly everything politically, I respect the barriers she has broken as a woman in American politics, and what she’s had to go through to get there. Those “18 million cracks in the glass ceiling” will hopefully make other women’s journeys in politics easier in the future, but sometimes I am not so sure. During her years in the White...

Senator Lieberman’s threat to filibuster the health-care bill isn’t a betrayal of the Democratic Party, says Meghan McCain—it’s a sign of courage. And we need more of it. BY MEGHAN MCCAIN A few weeks ago, I gave a speech at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and one of the questions I was asked was: Aside from your father, who are your favorite senators and politicians? Without hesitation, I said that I admire South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and Connecticut’s Joe Lieberman. Now before my fellow Republicans start panicking at my fondness for two independent, moderate, and dare I say maverick...

Former McCain strategist is about to lose his health insurance. BY PHILIP RUCKER If history had taken a different course, Doug Holtz-Eakin would be inside the McCain White House driving the Republican president's domestic agenda, including health-care reform. But now, one year after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) lost the presidential election, the man who was by McCain's side as the campaign's top health-care guru remains unemployed -- and his COBRA health coverage is running out. Irony of ironies, it gets worse. Holtz-Eakin, who is about to start shopping for insurance on the individual market, is 51. And he has one...

U.S. Sen. John McCain said Friday that Americans are in the toughest times he can remember and that President Barack Obama hasn't brought the change in Washington that he promised. The Arizona Republican spoke at a town hall Friday to a couple hundred people at Mesa's Central Christian Church, reiterating many of the same arguments he's made in recent similar events. McCain took to the stage with standing ovations and an aim to address key issues affecting Arizonans, such as the economy, health care reform, the war in Afghanistan, among other things.

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Sen. John McCain says Americans are in the toughest times he can remember and that President Barack Obama hasn't brought the change in Washington that he promised. McCain spoke at a town hall Friday to a couple hundred people in a Mesa church, reiterating many of the same points he's made in recent similar events.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says Wednesday on the Senate floor that Republicans should have a say in the crafting of health care reform legislation.

Maria Shriver and Meghan McCain come from different generations and different political backgrounds, but both agree that women in America still face huge challenges trying to balance work and family and to find their own voices.

These RINOs are still getting under my skin. Felt like I needed to do another one of these. Send one to McCain and brighten his day. I will be. For the whole series of Zero dollar bills, go here: "Flickr Archive of Zero Bills"

PHOENIX - Sen. John McCain ended the third quarter with 500 times more cash on hand - $5 million in all - than his closest declared Republican rival, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. "He's clearly on the path to continue raising money in a substantial amount," said Frederic Solop, a Northern Arizona University political science professor. McCain, who lost the 2008 presidential election to Barack Obama and is seeking a fifth Senate term, raised $919,000 during the three months ending Sept. 30. That included $116,000 from political action committees and other groups. . . . ....

Senator John McCain made clear that he and the Republican Party should send the message that they support whatever President Obama's strategy in Afghanistan ends up being, rather than send messages that the U.S. is "waffling" or "dithering." In response to former Vice President Dick Cheney's recent remarks, in which he said, "signals of indecision out of Washington hurt our allies and embolden our adversaries," McCain said, "I wouldn't use that language." Speaking Wednesday evening while accepting an award from the conservative Center for Security Policy, Cheney said, "The White House must stop dithering while America's armed forces are in...

(snip) SCHIEFFER: Let me ask you about health care quickly. It looks like that’s coming finally to a head in the Senate. It looks like that the majority leader, Harry Reid, is going to put the government- run insurance option in there, the so-called public option. Do you think at this point that that will pass the Senate?MCCAIN: I think that the Democrats have the votes. I think that Blue Dogs bark but never bite. So I don’t think they have a problem over in the House side.MCCAIN: In the Senate, I think that the Democrats are very aware that...

The Republican Party is in search of a message to attract voters who are angry with just about everything — healthcare, the U.S. deficit, Wall Street bonuses, increased unemployment and home foreclosures to mention a few. “There’s a lot of anger out there and there’s a lot of frustration,” said Republican Senator John McCain, who was defeated by Democrat Barack Obama for president last year. Thousands of people are turning up at townhall meetings and “tea party” protests against government policies, he noted. “So there’s something going on out there. And I’d love to sit here and tell you that...

WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Republican Senator John McCain said on Wednesday his party needed a positive agenda to better attract those Americans who are disenchanted with Democratic policies. McCain said he sensed "a lot of anger and a lot of frustration" among Americans over taxpayer-backed bailouts of banks and auto companies while they cope with a persistently high U.S. jobless rate of 9.8 percent and see bank executives get "obscene" bonuses. McCain, who was his party's presidential nominee and lost the 2008 election to Democrat Barack Obama, spoke to a Reuters Summit in a roundtable interview with journalists.

VIRGINIA BEACH -- Sen. John McCain, the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, headlined a packed veterans rally for Virginia's Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell on a cold, rainy Saturday morning. About 300 supporters crammed into a Veterans of Foreign Wars post that had been decorated with massive red, white and blue "Veterans for McDonnell" signs. "This is the man who will bring about fiscal discipline, who understands what it means to balance a budget, who understands what pork barrel spending is, who understands that we have an obligation not just to our present citizens and out present veterans but to our...

Sen. John McCain -- a fervent sponsor of immigration reform -- is once again being dragged into the messy border war of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who is defying the Obama administration's ban on his highly controversial illegal immigrant sweeps in the Phoenix area. Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano excluded Arpaio -- reviled by Hispanic advocacy groups for alleged racial profiling-- from a joint federal program that gives local law enforcement agencies the power to dragnet for illegals. McCain's office wouldn't say whether he supported or opposed the move. But late Friday, McCain wrote Napolitano asking for...

<p>Meghan McCain: 'Don't call me a slut' Posted: October 16th, 2009 11:31 AM ET Meghan McCain says she will stay on Twitter. Meghan McCain says she will stay on Twitter.</p> <p>The revealing picture of herself in a tank top, which left little to the twitterverse's imagination, immediately drew harsh criticism from other tweeters, prompting an upset McCain to declare of the social networking Web site, "What once was fun now just seems like a vessel for harassment."</p>

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime friend and ally of Sen. John McCain, is now going a step further, Democrats say, and actually becoming the new McCain. Senior members of the majority party say the South Carolina Republican has displaced his Arizona mentor as the dealmaker on two big agenda items of the Obama administration: climate change and immigration. As McCain, on the heels of his presidential election defeat, has distanced himself from Democrats, Graham has moved in to fill the vacuum.

A Fox NFL Sunday skit made vicious fun of Jessica Simpson’s weight. Meghan McCain says cheap shots like that are harmful to women of all shapes and sizes. BY MEGHAN MCCAIN Last weekend’s Fox NFL Sunday broadcast featured an offensive animated segment making fun of Jessica Simpson’s weight. Yet again. The cartoon, which was set in the Dallas Cowboys' locker room featured several players joking about the singer in front of her ex-boyfriend, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. "Man, I still can’t believe Tony dated Jessica Simpson, even after she blew up bigger than Flozell Adams!" (Adams is the team’s 340-pound...

Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has held a series of meetings in Washington with leading Democrats and Republicans on the issue of US immigration reform. Senior Republican Senator John McCain said he was still committed to a comprehensive deal. He said he hoped Congress would address the issue early next year. Senator McCain also said he was particularly anxious to resolve the difficulties facing up to 50,000 undocumented Irish in the US.

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) - Efforts by U.S. Senate Democrats to persuade Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to endorse their climate legislation may take a bit longer. Democrats have spent months reaching out to McCain through Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn. The outreach appeared likely to step up after McCain's friend, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., over the weekend became the first Republican this year to sign on to a bipartisan climate-change plan.

Sen. Lindsey Graham spent his summer testing out lines on global warming. As the Republican hit the town halls in South Carolina, a state with a major military presence and one of the country's highest unemployment rates, Graham would ask people if they thought climate change was a problem. Few did. But Graham quickly followed with another question, asking for a show of hands from those concerned about energy security. The response was strong, and Graham wasted little time making the connection. "You can't look at it in isolation," Graham said in an interview last week. "I'm trying to say,...

The gay community should stop rewarding President Obama's pretty speeches—like his address this weekend to the Human Rights Campaign—and demand action on Don't Ask, Don't Tell. BY MEGHAN MCCAIN This weekend, thousands gathered for a march at the White House where the gay community demanded equal rights. On Saturday night, President Obama addressed the largest gay-rights group and promised to end the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy in the military, emphasizing that his commitment to achieving equal rights was “unwavering.” The support he received from the crowd was overwhelming. But my response to this speech and my message to the...

This morning, in an interview with CNN's State of the Union, Sen. John McCain (RINO-Ariz.) apparently used some rather choice language to describe the fairly evident future political aspirations of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Ak.): "Will Sarah and I - did we always agree on everything in the past? Will we in the future? No. But let's let a thousand flowers bloom. Let's come up with a winning combination next time."—http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2360310/posts With only a cursory glance, it appears from McCain's language that he is merely asking for a second chance -- in 2012? -- with Palin. [And, at first...

(snip) Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," the Arizona Republican said: "When we selected, or asked, Sarah Palin to be my running mate, it energized our party. We were ahead in the polls, until the stock market crashed. And she still is a formidable force in the Republican Party. And I have great affection for her. Will Sarah and I - did we always agree on everything in the past? Will we in the future? No. But let's let a thousand flowers bloom. Let's come up with a winning combination next time." (snip)

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