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Cold War enemies the United States and Vietnam demonstrated their blossoming military relations Sunday as a U.S. nuclear supercarrier cruised in waters off the Southeast Asian nation's coast — sending a message that China is not the region's only big player. The visit comes 35 years after the Vietnam War as Washington and Hanoi are cozying up in a number of areas, from negotiating a controversial deal to share civilian nuclear fuel and technology to agreeing that China needs to work with its neighbors to resolve territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Law enforcement officials from the Arizona counties hardest hit by illegal immigration say they want U.S. troops to help secure the border, to prevent the deaths of more officers at the hands of criminals who enter the country illegally. “We’ve had numerous officers that have been killed by illegal immigrants in Arizona,” Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said Monday at a Capitol Hill news conference. “And that shouldn’t happen one time.” Babeu said the violence in Arizona has reached “epidemic proportions” and must be stopped. “In just one patrol area, we’ve had 64 pursuits -- failure to yield for an...

Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) unveiled their bipartisan blueprint for comprehensive immigration reform Thursday, a move hailed by President Barack Obama as progress on an issue for which he has been criticized for ignoring. “The American people deserve more than empty rhetoric and impractical calls for mass deportation. We urge the public and our colleagues to join our bipartisan efforts in enacting these reforms,” the Senators said in a Washington Post editorial posted online Thursday. The Schumer-Graham outline entails four key components: a biometric Social Security identification card for employment verification; strengthened border security and interior law...

After twice postponing a highly anticipated meeting between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders on immigration reform, the White House is under increasing pressure to get legislation done this year. Winning congressional approval of an immigration measure by December is a steep climb, with the economy, health care and energy higher on the president’s agenda. So far, Obama has promised only to begin the discussion at the summit set for next week. But if the president does not move quickly, he will suffer the same fate as his predecessor, President George W. Bush, who left office acknowledging that failure to...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and John McCain (R-Arizona) today issued the following statement regarding the executive order put forth by President Obama calling for the closure of the prison at Guantanamo: “We support President Obama’s decision to close the prison at Guantanamo, reaffirm America’s adherence to the Geneva Conventions, and begin a process that will, we hope, lead to the resolution of all cases of Guantanamo detainees,” said Senator Lindsey Graham and Senator John McCain. “The executive orders issued today constitute an important step in the right direction but leave several major issues unaddressed.” “Numerous...

(CNN) – John McCain on Wednesday used his first Senate floor speech since the end of the presidential campaign to urge his colleagues to quickly confirm fellow Sen. Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. "I think the message that the American people are sending us now is they want us to work together and get to work," McCain said. "I think we ought to let Senator Clinton, who is obviously qualified and obviously will serve, get to work immediately." The Senate is expected to easily confirm Clinton Wednesday afternoon, and McCain's particular support of the New York senator isn't surprising....

President-elect Barack Obama’s outreach to Republicans may be generating goodwill on the other side of the aisle, but the honeymoon is likely to be short-lived. There’s just too much distance between Obama and congressional Republicans on too many key economic, social and foreign policy issues. There are, however, some Republicans who stand to have a less adversarial relationship with the new administration. Either their past history or present statements put them at the top of the list of GOP members who are expected to work closely with the White House, even if it means bucking their own party. Here is...

A desire by both men to secure their places in history might forge an unlikely pairing. BY RICK SANTORUM Obama also faces the reality of needing at least one Republican senator to join him to break filibusters. Many speculate that three moderate Republicans will provide the necessary Senate votes and the imprimatur of bipartisanship. . . . . . But I believe Obama has an ace in the hole among Senate Republicans. This unlikely ace can deliver not only the GOP moderates needed to break a filibuster, but also the stamp of bipartisanship: the 2008 GOP standard bearer, John McCain.....

Despite their victory in the huge fight over amnesty for illegal immigrants in 2007, conservatives can’t rest easy: it’s all about to happen all over again. The Democrats’ (and RINO Republicans’) push for “comprehensive immigration reform” has returned and will be a major issue this year, and perhaps next year as well if the pro-amnesty groups don’t get their way. Whether Barack Obama wants to risk another public backlash over such a comprehensive effort early in his first term -- knowing that polls indicate the large majority of Americans oppose illegal immigration -- is a big question mark. But we...

As President-Elect Obama readies his ascent to the White House less than two weeks from now, it appears that his political acumen extends not only to those in all parts of the Democratic party, but in no small part to Senator John McCain as well. Just three short months ago we were inundated with McCain's talk of Bill Ayres and 'That One,' but an easy détente appears to have developed between the former rivals. To that end, President-Elect Obama has committed four distinct acts that telegraph his political savvy when it comes to Senator McCain.. . . . .With Napolitano...

When it comes to immigration, it seems the chaos on the border is exceeded only by the chaos in Washington. That is especially curious since Members of Congress are usually famous for being able to read which way the political wind is blowing. In this case, however, it appears they would be well served to commit to reading the results of a recent, reputable bi-partisan national survey of voter attitudes on immigration. What its findings show is not at all startling, and is indeed testimony to the common sense of US Americans. With solutions to border, immigration, and guest worker...

Less than two weeks from the inauguration that he hoped would usher in his own presidential administration, Senator John McCain announced the formation of a new political action committee that will work to promote Republican causes. Borrowing a slogan from his campaign, Mr. McCain is calling the committee, “Country First,” and it is likely to help lay the foundation for his 2010 re-election bid. In an e-mail message to supporters on Wednesday, Mr. McCain described it as a “grassroots organization” that would take up the challenge of defining “our Republican ideals and message” and support G.O.P. candidates. “With your help...

WASHINGTON (CNN)—Arizona Senator John McCain is adopting a major 2008 campaign slogan for a new political action committee designed to support not only his own planned re-election run in two years, but help him put his stamp on the rebuilding of the Republican Party. The formation of the “Country First” PAC is to be announced Wednesday, two sources familiar with the plans tell CNN. One of the sources called it the “first official step” of the GOP Senator’s re-election campaign. McCain made it clear not long after losing the presidential election that he intended to seek re-election to the Senate...

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I normally don't stay up late enough to watch Late Night with David Letterman, but I happened to catch a little of it Thursday night, when Sen. John McCain was on. David Letterman make a rude joke about Gov. Sarah Palin, and John McCain laughed at it. That is when I realized I am done with John McCain. . . . . . If I were Rod Blago, I'd use some nice four-letter words to describe how I feel about Sen. McCain, but I'm not, so I won't. . . . . . I'm glad Sen. McCain didn't win the...

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Arizona Sen. John McCain, back in his home state, says he looks forward to working with President-elect Obama on the country's economic ills. McCain, talking Tuesday to the Tucson Citizen's editorial board, said the incoming president will be setting the nation's legislative agenda, and he's not sure where immigration reform falls among Obama's top priorities. But McCain said it's an issue that needs to be addressed.

The undocumented Irish in the United States were discussed at Shannon airport last night when the Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea TD met former US Republican presidential candidate senator John McCain. After the meeting, Mr O'Dea said: "We met for about 40 minutes and it was very productive and cordial. Senator McCain has committed to raising the issue of the undocumented Irish with president-elect Obama on his return to the US." Mr McCain's aircraft made a refuelling stop at Shannon on his way back to the US after spending the past week on a regional tour with two other members...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. Senate Democrats say they likely will have a working filibuster-proof majority on key issues that could give early wins for President-elect Barack Obama. Although the number of Democrats remains unknown -- two Senate races are undecided -- vote-counters indicate support from Republican moderates will free up bills such as healthcare reform or immigration reform halted by the current Congress by GOP maneuvering, The Washington Post (NYSE:WPO) reported Monday. Democrats picked up seven Republican seats in last month's election to add to their majority when the next Congress convenes in January. In the current Congress,...

He is an American hero. He has a history of putting country first. On balance, there is no doubt that he is a man of honor. But he has tarnished that honor, unnecessarily, in recent times. The McCain campaign for President was so burdened with contradiction as to appear to be almost bipolar. To the degree that a campaign is a reflection of the candidate, it is little wonder that McCain could not win out over his much more inspirational and charismatic opponent. More importantly, it is the inside operation of his campaign as a manifestation of the man wherein...

I know that many of you were as disappointed in the last election as I was. But why was the election lost by the GOP? There were a number of factors contributing to this, and early on with the Northern states allowing open primaries for Democrats and Moderates to "cross-over" and vote for "their" candidate of McCain. Taking nothing away of the man's military service, these early primaries ensured that all we got as a candidate was a Democrat-Light who made a name for himself of "reaching out and across the aisle." And he then went so far as to...