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From General McChrystal to Hillary Clinton to Chelsea Handler, Meghan McCain names the men and women who made a difference this year—the good, the bad, and the nutty. This year has been full of people who let us down—from politics to entertainment to sports. (Is it too late for Tiger Woods, Mark Sanford, and David Letterman to rent a ski condo for the holidays?) But not everyone has been a disappointment. There are plenty of folks who made the world a lot better, more interesting, and just plain fun in 2009 Here are people who made my year. (snip) Hillary...

"I worked with him on many issues across party lines. There has never a major reform accomplished in the history of this country that hasn't been bipartisan, and he certainly, uh...all of the negotiations and efforts that I made with him, we never engaged in this kind of unsavory process of offering people different deals, which in the end cost people from other states lots of money and put burdens on them."

The next time you read an article of how Mccain has become the leading voice of opposition you remember this video and vote this traitor and RINOS like him out of office. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf6YKOkfFsE&feature=fvw

(snip) WALLACE: Some people are asking — and I know you know this because you read the papers; you're aware of what people say — "What's happened to John McCain?" You, for instance, were a big supporter of global warming legislation, and yet two of your closest friends in the Senate, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, came out with a provision and you said it was horrendous. And on many issues observers say that you have become this year more combative and more conservative. MCCAIN: I, unfortunately, have always been combative. Second of all, I'm having... WALLACE: Have you always...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) gave his challenger in the 2008 presidential election a stiff review Sunday as President Barack Obama nears completion of his first year in office. "[Obama] said there would be a change in the climate in Washington," McCain said. "There's been a change. It's more partisan. It's more bitterly divided than it's been." (snip) "At least under 'Hillarycare' they tried seriously to negotiate with Republicans," McCain said."There's been -- there has been no effort that I know of that -- serious across-the-table negotiations, such as I have engaged in with Democrats and with other administrations. And that...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says that Republicans will "probably not" be able to stop the passage of health care this week, but that his party will continue to "win the battle of American public opinion." "We’ll fight the good fight, we will fight until the last vote," he said on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. "We must look back and say that we did everything we could to prevent this terrible mistake from taking place."

Federal investigators are scrutinizing the records of Scott Rothstein's former employees -- who gave about $2.2 million to political candidates -- for potential campaign finance and other violations. BY JAY WEAVER, AMY SHERMAN, & MARC CAPUTO Lawyer Steven Lippman and his homemaker wife, Marcy, hadn't donated much to politicians before 2006 -- just $500 to former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, the Florida Democrat. But their generosity exploded after Lippman joined Scott Rothstein's law firm in Fort Lauderdale. Over the next four years, the Plantation couple contributed about $247,000 to Gov. Charlie Crist's campaign for the U.S. Senate, the McCain-Palin presidential...

RISTINA/BERLIN (Own report) - A new mafia scandal involving Berlin's Kosovo partner is creating unrest in Pristina. A former agent of the Kosovo intelligence service explained that a close associate of Kosovo's incumbent Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, had commissioned the assassinations of political opponents. According to his report, spies from Thaci's entourage were also responsible for threats and assaults on witnesses, who were to testify against former UCK commanders before the ICTY war crimes tribunal. The European Union, who's "Rule of Law Mission" (EULEX) has known of the accusations for months, is still dragging its feet. Hashim Thaci, who, from...

Declaring that she “was honored and proud to run with him,” former Alaska governor Sarah Palin pushed back hard Wednesday against a report that she had disrespected Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) by blacking out his name on a sun visor she wore on vacation. The website TMZ accused Palin of “a frontal attack on Sen. John McCain” during a Hawaii vacation this week: “Sarah chose to wear a visor from her campaign -- a visor that was emblazoned with the former presidential candidate's name ... that is, until Palin redacted McCain's name with a black marker.” But Palin said in...

Sen. John McCain is known as a straight talker but he can dodge with the best of them. Asked if pal Charlie Crist's embrace of the stimulus was a political mistake, McCain demurred. "I don't know. I haven't kept up enough to really know about that. I can't judge other people," he told the Buzz. This comes from a guy who recently told Imus "hell no" he didn't support the stimulus. McCain said Marco Rubio is "mounting a serious threat," but quickly added, "I still think Charlie will win." The Arizona Republican and 2008 presidential nominee, who won Florida in...

(snip) MCCAIN: Let me say I have great admiration and respect for Senator Durbin... (snip) MCCAIN: Let me give you a couple of points of straight talk. I resent it enormously when Senator Reid comes to the floor and accuses Republicans or compares Republicans to those who fought against the abolition of slavery. He said that. That's -- that's unacceptable. As far as the president's commitments are concerned, he made that commitment to the American people, so he didn't tell the American people the truth when he was campaigning for president. How's that?(snip)

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Conservative dauphine Meghan McCain has ascended to the top rung of Republican pundits, but some of her fiercest detractors have come from the right. There are a few big reasons: She advocates gay marriage and bashes abstinence. She posted a racy photo of herself on her Twitter account. And she doesn't hesitate to whallop fellow travelers on the right, famously picking a fight with Ann Coulter in March. Coulter threw fuel onto their feud this past weekend, joking on a late-night Fox News show that McCain resembled one of Tiger Woods's self-declared mistresses named Jamie Jungers. Fox played a pre-recorded...

(snip) The Republican Party’s leadership vacuum has given Mr. McCain an opening, and he is charging through it, tacking right on some issues and loudly embroiling himself in battles with the White House and Democratic leaders over health care, stimulus spending, foreign policy and the style of the Obama presidency. He is more visible now than at any time since the end of his presidential campaign. “Let’s do what the president said last October a year ago,” Mr. McCain said the other day at one of what has become a geyser of appearances on the Senate floor, in Capitol hallways...

Soundly beaten for the presidency a year ago, an unbowed Sen. John McCain has re-emerged as the happy GOP warrior against President Obama and the Democrats' health care reform agenda. FOXNews.com AP Soundly beaten for the presidency a year ago, an unbowed Sen. John McCain has re-emerged as the happy GOP warrior against President Obama and the Democrats' health care reform agenda. The Arizona Republican was also front and center over the weekend against wasteful Democratic spending on Capitol Hill. "I urge, no I don't urge, I demand the president of the United States veto this bill," he said on...

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Barack Obama began his presidency with an open hand toward the man he had just defeated in a race that was at times bitter. "There are few Americans who understand this need for common purpose and common effort better than John McCain," said Obama at an inauguration-eve tribute dinner to his former foe. But in the year since that evening of comity and collegiality, McCain has emerged as one of the leading critics of the new president. On foreign policy, his traditional area of expertise, and domestic affairs, where McCain has shown new passion, the 72-year-old Arizonan is making it...

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R) -- two of conservatives' favorite anti-illegal immigration firebrands and potential 2010 candidates for statewide office in Arizona -- have teamed up to raise more than $100,000 as part of a holiday party being held Dec. 5. A recent poll from Rasmussen Reports showed Arpaio leading all comers in the Arizona governor's race, while Hayworth is in a statistical tie with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in a hypothetical primary match-up. Both men have been coy about their intentions but any sort of electoral alliance between the two would strike fear...

McCain to ACORN/SEIU activists for "comprehensive immigration reform" aka amnesty for illegal aliens, Miami-Dade Comm. College, Miami, Fl., on 20 Feb. 2006: "What makes America special is what's in this room tonight." McCain at ACORN/SEIU rally in South Florida, 2006 20 Feb. 2006 coverage from WFOR-TV CBS Channel 4 Miami, Fl.

Phoenix -- Arizona politics has been buzzing in the last couple of weeks since a Rasmussen poll suggested that Republican Sen. John McCain might be vulnerable in a primary fight against a more conservative challenger. The poll, released November 20, showed McCain ahead of potential opponent J.D. Hayworth, the radio host and former congressman, by just two points -- a 45 percent to 43 percent margin. Yes, McCain -- the longtime incumbent and recent presidential candidate -- is a mere two points ahead of a challenger who isn't even a challenger yet. I talked to Hayworth recently, and he is...

Like most Americans, I am grateful for Sen. John McCain's heroic service as a fighter pilot, a prisoner of war and, for nearly a generation, a member of the House and the Senate. But I am troubled by reports in recent weeks that Mr. McCain has been, as Politico put it, "working behind-the-scenes to reshape the Republican Party in his own center-right image" and has "emerged as a political godfather" to moderate candidates, including my opponent in the race for the Republican Senate nomination in Kansas. In that spirit, I would like to make Mr. McCain an offer he shouldn't...

Those asking, yes I believe Obama was born in this country and I think concentrating on that belittles the real problems we need to4:32 PM Dec 4th from web concentrate on concerning him as a President, and his administration. I have real concerns about him as Prez but it doesnt include his birth4:33 PM Dec 4th from web

(snip) So I really, of course—I wish we'd had done better. Of course we made mistakes and of course there were all kinds of things, if you had to do over again, I would do X or Y. But I look back on it in its entirety as a remarkable, incredibly wonderful experience. So, looking at it that way, you respect the winner and try to assume the role of loyal opposition. And obviously that means that when you can be loyal and find ways to be loyal, do it. There are too many things happening domestically and national securitywise...

Arizona Sen. John McCain came to the defense of his former GOP running mate Sarah Palin on Sunday. But in doing so, he used an adjective that some might not consider such a compliment. McCain was responding to a question from NBC’s David Gregory on “Meet the Press,” about whether Palin’s brand of conservatism is “what the Republican Party needs to regain power in the midterms and ultimately in 2012.” McCain responded that the former Alaska governor has “earned herself a very big place in the Republican political scene” and that he was “proud of her.” Then came this: “I...

WASHINGTON - Soon after the Senate opened its long-awaited debate on health care legislation this week, John McCain strode into the chamber to spearhead his party's efforts to reshape the massive bill. He offered Republicans' first amendment and leveled the party's most politically stinging charge--that its cuts in Medicare spending will hurt the elderly. A day later, McCain took the lead in grilling President Obama's team on its newly minted plan for the Afghanistan war. Why, McCain pressed, had the president set a deadline for withdrawing U.S. troops? "A withdrawal date only emboldens al Qaeda and the Taliban," he complained....

(snip) Don Imus and the Arizona Republican were talking Friday morning about the February stimulus vote when McCain, who kept his famous temper at bay during the '08 campaign, went Howard Beale. Imus: Did you support that bill? McCain: Hell no. Imus: I don't think you have to swear at me Senator when I'm just asking a... McCain: I'm not swearing at you. I'm swearing I've had to have been smoking something pretty strong to vote for that outrageous use of taxpayers' dollars. Toggling to the economy at large, McCain added: "There's not a lot of happy people out there,...

(snip) “Why did I do this? I want my time to count. I want to be seen as someone who can solve a hard problem by working with my colleagues across the aisle. I want to do something that matters. I can’t think of a better use of my time than to work with Democrats and Republicans to break our dependency on foreign oil, to create jobs for our next generation of Americans that will never go to China. And yes, leave behind a cleaner planet.” (snip)

If America’s elderly think there is an eerie echo in all of the warnings in Washington about frightful cuts to Medicare as a result of the Democrats’ proposed health care legislation, they are right. They have heard it all before. Just 14 months ago, then Senator Barack Obama accused his Republican rival in the presidential race, John McCain, of proposing “drastic cuts to Medicare.” The Obama campaign asserted that Mr. McCain’s health care proposal posed a serious risk for Medicare beneficiaries, by proposing cuts that would total $882 billion over 10 years and would likely require “cuts in benefits, eligibility...

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(snip) The Washington Times Watercooler approached ranking member of the Senate armed services committee Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) about his thoughts about this issue. Senator McCain backed away from any direct comments only saying, “That’s a judicial issue and one that I have not drawn any conclusion [on]. The judicial process is moving forward.” A spokeswoman for Mr. McCain later followed up saying the Senator does not comment "on matters that are actively being considered by the courts." Mr. McCain is well known for being a Navy POW during the Vietnam War and endured five and a half years of...

Conservative rabble-rousers who think they can scare Sen. John McCain—whom they consider too moderate—into quitting his re-election bid had better back off. Aides say he's running to win, despite polls showing him in a tossup with an undeclared GOP candidate. Spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan slaps down talk that the ex-fighter jock might run from a race: "Anyone who even hints at the notion must be living in a cave."

My Friend, Last night, I introduced the first Republican amendment to the Democrats' massive health care bill aimed at overhauling how Americans receive health care. My amendment will send the bill back to the Finance Committee to force Democrats to pay for the bill without cutting Medicare coverage for our seniors. I urge you to immediately send a message to your Senator by adding your name as a supporter to this amendment so that we can prevent Medicare cuts and government rationing of health care. The Democrats' bill as it is written would gut Medicare as we know it, and...

Sen. John McCain just offered the first Republican motion as part of the Senate health care debate, which would remove roughly $500 billion in Medicare cuts and send the legislation back to the Finance Committee. While Republicans don't have the votes to pass their amendments, the Senate floor debate gives Republicans the opportunity to highlight areas of the Democratic health care bills that are unpopular, and the proposed cuts to Medicare are a large reason why older Americans remain among the most opposed to the health care push. But even though it's true that Democrats should be called out on...

With her brother home from deployment, Meghan McCain on the horrors soldiers face there and her frustration at the president should he—as expected—send less than the 40,000 troops General Stanley McChrystal has requested. The first time I watched my brother Jimmy deploy to Iraq, it was in a parking lot at Camp Pendleton. The whole experience was a lot quieter and more low-key than I had expected. It was literally a bunch of families waiting around, beginning at around five in the morning, for Greyhound buses to arrive. During most of that time, all anyone did was watch more soldiers...

(CNSNews.com) – Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told CNSNews.com that President Barack Obama was giving 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed “his wish” by giving him a trial in federal civilian court instead of trying him before a military tribunal. McCain was asked on Nov. 19 whether the administration might have to produce Mohammed’s CIA interrogators if the terrorist’s defense lawyers call them as witnesses. McCain said the answer was not clear because Obama had opened the civilian justice system to enemy combatants, a move that raised myriad problems and gave Khalid Sheik Mohammed, or KSM, what he wanted.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has become a media celebrity. On constitutional issues, aside from the right to life, gun rights and national security, he takes a center-left position. Graham opposed the Republican option on judicial nominees and also voted yes on Sotomayor, knowing she supports abortion and gun control and is not for a strong national defense. Graham is determined to again attempt to pass an immigration reform bill with amnesty for illegals, never mind his 2007 resounding defeat on this issue. Graham is said to be working with far left Sen. John Kerry on cap and trade and seeking...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday night that the attacks on Sarah Palin, his former vice presidential running mate, are unlike anything he has ever seen. “I’m entertained and sometimes a little angry when I see this constant, vicious attacks by people on the left,” McCain said of Palin during an interview with Fox News’s Greta Van Susteren. “I’ve never seen anything like it in all the years that I’ve been in politics,” McCain continued, “the viciousness and the personalization of the attacks on Sarah Palin.”

Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.) emailed supporters today to say he's considering a primary against John McCain and to ask for funds to pay off his 2006 campaign debt. "You have contacted me with words of encouragement following the release of a Rasmussen Reports Poll which finds me in a statistical dead heat with John McCain for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate in 2010," Hayworth wrote, referring to this poll. "Miss Mary, our children, and I will do a lot of praying and a lot of talking in the days ahead, as we determine the best course...

Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.) is unlikely to run in a GOP primary against Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), let alone win, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said Monday. Kyl, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, said he expects the former congressman, who's been mulling a primary challenge to McCain's right next year, to carry on his activities as host of a radio show, and not as a candidate.

A new Rasmussen poll shows the Arizona Senator in a dead heat with potential GOP primary challenger J.D. Hayworth. BY ALYSSIA FINLEY John McCain may have been the GOP's national standard-bearer just a year ago, but now he's in electoral trouble at home. And this time no one can claim it's because of Sarah Palin. A new Rasmussen poll shows the Arizona Senator in a dead heat with potential GOP primary challenger J.D. Hayworth. Mr. Hayworth served as a congressman from 1995 to 2006, when he lost in a squeaker to Democratic Tempe Mayor Harry Mitchell, who prevailed by hounding...

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...