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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques were not a factor in tracking down Osama bin Laden, a leading Republican senator insisted Thursday. Sen. John McCain, who spent 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, also rejected the argument that any form of torture is critical to U.S. success in the fight against terrorism.

Sen. John McCain denounced “advanced interrogation” methods like waterboarding Wednesday amid a growing debate over its effectiveness reopened by the killing of Osama bin Laden. McCain told reporters leaving an intelligence briefing for senators by CIA director Leon Panetta that he has seen no information so far to indicate that techniques like waterboarding factored significantly in the information gathering that led to bin Laden’s death. “So far I know of no information that was obtained, that would have been useful, by ‘advanced interrogation.’ In fact, according to published reports … some of the key people who knew about this courrier...

NEW YORK - Sen. John McCain said the American people's message from the last message was clear: Cut government spending. (snip) "I had to campaign for re-election in the last election, and the message is clear: They want to stop the spending, it's out of control, that it mortgaged our children's futures - $14 trillion debt, it's unimaginable. And the consequences of our failure to get spending under control will be a bankrupt America."The size of government has doubled since 1999," he said. "The debt has gone up ... some $5 trillion." McCain said significant cuts are required - and...

WASHINGTON -- Two years after running against President Barack Obama, Senator John McCain says he sees a change. Appearing on CBS' "Face the Nation," McCain expressed optimism that Obama will lead Democrats and Republicans to find common ground on key issues.(snip) Asked if the push to repeal health care reform is a waste of time -- because Senate Democrats will block repeal and, should it pass, the president would veto it -- McCain said, "We need to have a vote on it because we promised the people we would. We campaigned that we would `repeal and replace'. We have to...

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.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In dueling holiday addresses, President Barack Obama appealed for public support of his domestic programs and Sen. John McCain said Americans should side with Iranian election protesters. The 2008 rivals for the White House both cited the spirit of the nation's founders in their Fourth of July radio and Internet broadcasts on Saturday.

HOST: Health care. MCCAIN: Needs reform. HOST: That’s two words. [weird laugh] Iraq. MCCAIN: Success. HOST: Arizona. MCCAIN: The best. HOST: US-Mexico Border. McCain: Cartels. HOST: GOP. MCCAIN: Transition. HOST: Sheriff Joe Arpaio:MCCAIN: Umm…

Gubernatorial candidate, joining the senator, explains need for outreach at Tustin town hall event. BY MARTIN WISCKOL TUSTIN - Sen. John McCain endorsed Meg Whitman at a joint town hall meeting Friday, saying the gubernatorial candidate was needed both in Sacramento and in the struggling Republican Party."The woman standing beside me represents all of the qualities that will attract people to our party," McCain told a crowd of about 500 supporters at Tustin's Marconi Auto Museum. "We will not only tolerate, but accept people whose views are different than our own."Whitman, former CEO of eBay, has an early lead in...

(snip) ...... “It was communicated back to us very clearly from within the party that not only was Senator Lieberman not acceptable, but any pro-choice nominee was not acceptable, [and] it would lead to a floor fight at the convention with an alternate nominee for vice president put into play. “Blowing up the party wasn’t one of the menu items of things that were going to improve our situation,” he said. Schmidt also criticized his party’s political performance in the early days of the Obama presidency. “As a matter of reality, in the first 100 days, [the Republican Party] has...

LAKEVILLE, Minnesota (CNN) – John McCain heard boos at a town hall meeting Friday night after the Republican presidential nominee called for the crowd to be more respectful towards rival Barack Obama. “We would like you to remain a true American hero,” an elderly military veteran told him. “We want you to fight.” “I will fight, but we will be respectful,” McCain said. “I admire Senator Obama and his accomplishments and I will respect him.” When the crowd began to boo, McCain told them “No, no. I want everyone to be respectful.”