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In a surprising rebuke to the warriors who fought for him through tough times, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Sunday sided with President-elect Barack Obama and scolded the Republican National Committee for fanning the Illinois corruption scandal. On ABC’s “This Week,” host George Stephanopoulos asked: “The chairman of the Republican National Committee, Mike Duncan, has been highly critical of the way President- elect Obama has dealt with this. "He's had a statement every single day, saying that the Obama team should reveal all contacts they've had with Governor [Rod] Blagojevich. He says that Obama's promise of transparency to the American...

Sen. John McCain, D-Ariz., took on his own party this morning for continuing to criticize the way President-elect Barack Obama has handled the scandal surrounding Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Sen. McCain talks to George in his first Sunday interview since the election."In all due respect to the Republican National Committee... I think we should try to be working constructively together, not only on an issue such as this, but on the economy stimulus package, reforms that are necessary," McCain said in an exclusive "This Week" interview with George Stephanopoulos. RNC Chairman Mike Duncan has released a statement every day since...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. John McCain says he's ready to work President-elect Barack Obama on economic and national security issues. McCain, who lost the presidential election to Obama, says there will be some areas of disagreement. But he says the nation's problems are too big for political divisiveness. The Arizona senator says people want the government to unite and work together.

Arizona Sen. John McCain continued a call for national unity in his first speech since losing the presidential election. Though the Republican presidential nominee has made television appearances as recently as Thursday night, his remarks at the Texas Tech commencement ceremony Friday were part of his first address since his conciliation speech, Tech Chancellor Kent Hance said in his introduction. The senator's remarks to 350 Tech masters and doctoral graduates of a conservative campus in a conservative state echoed the call for cooperation he asked of his voters that night in November. Americans must argue and defend their vision for...

I just got a press release from a liberal pressure group called America's Voice headlined "Anti-Immigration Ads Don't Add Up in 2008." The group tried to make the same point that I've heard over and over again from amnesty advocates: The voters won't go for candidates who support immigration restrictions. "A new analysis of immigration advertisements finds that the strategy of using immigration as a political wedge issue in the 2008 election cycle was an utter failure," the release stated. Nonsense. What the voters won't go for is candidates who try to work both sides of the issue, such John...

ARLINGTON, Va. - Private information at bargain prices. It was a high-tech flub at the McCain-Palin campaign headquarters in Arlington when a MyFoxDC investigative reporter bought a Blackberry device containing confidential campaign information.

Republican Sen. John McCain knows Rod Blagojevich, the legally challenged Democratic governor of Illinois. Appearing on David Letterman's show tonight, now that his presidential campaign flopped and Katie Couric doesn't want to interview him anymore, the Arizona senator said he met the state chief executive soon after Blagojevich's 2002 election, in which he ran as an ardent proponent of reform and change in the way government is run in Springfield. "He came to my office one time after he was elected governor at his request," McCain recounted. "And told me he was going to be a great reformer." Is that...

U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Phoenix) is opposed to the bill passed by the House Wednesday night, a McCain spokeswoman told PolitickerAZ.com Thursday. "The senator is opposed to the bill as it is written," said Leah Geach of McCain's Washington, D.C. office. She said she didn't have any further details to offer at present.

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...

Members of the cultural right have called Juan Hernandez a "border obliteration activist," an "American traitor," and an "agent of the Mexican government." John McCain's presidential campaign called him something different: director of Hispanic outreach. For 14 months leading up to the election, the Fort Worth, Texas, native was a high-level volunteer at McCain '08 headquarters, where he attended daily senior staff meetings and advised the Arizona senator and his top lieutenants about how to appeal to Hispanic voters. Part of that strategy was highlighting McCain's record of championing comprehensive immigration reform. Meanwhile, down the hall, another portion of the...

Phoenix — “Senator McCain, what do you make of Arizonans who think that for the last ten years you’ve been America’s senator, and not Arizona’s senator?” That, from a local reporter here in Phoenix, was one of the opening questions last week when John McCain held his first press conference since losing the presidential race on November 4. McCain’s purpose was to announce that he will run for reelection in 2010 and to say, in effect, “Remember me? I’m your senator.” The reporter’s question was to remind McCain that a number of people in this state aren’t entirely happy about...

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,...

WASHINGTON — Republican presidential hopeful John McCain fixed his sights on Saddam Hussein long before President Bush sent the U.S. military to oust the Iraqi dictator in March 2003.

Now that U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s 15 months of fame — as John McCain’s Sancho Panza — have passed, get ready for the next Republican S.C. star — U.S. Sen. Jim “No” DeMint. Former U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey, head of the right-wing Club for Growth, wrote a blast e-mail to true believers last week endorsing DeMint for a seat on the Senate Finance Committee. With the Nov. 4 defeat of Republican U.S. Sens. John Sununu of New Hampshire and Gordon Smith of Oregon, Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky will have at least one seat on the committee to...

After a GOP beating, there is always a debate between the people who want the party to become more principled and those who want to turn the GOP into a poll-driven pile of mush that they believe will be more appealing to centrists. The problem with this whole discussion is that the "we need to be more moderate" crowd tends to simply ignore a number of inconvenient facts that make their position completely untenable. We've already gone the moderate route -- and lost. One of the most surreal aspects of the post-2008 campaign is listening to moderates pretend that the...

Sen. John McCain avoided reporters during the lame-duck session of Congress last week. But Tuesday, shortly after President-elect Obama had his own news conference about the economy, McCain broke his silence by speaking with reporters in Phoenix. This came after the two former contenders met last week, and Tuesday, McCain continued to make nice. When asked what advice he had for right-wing supporters who say the prospect of an Obama presidency terrifies them, he was categorical. "Respect this landmark election, respect the fact America faces great challenges, and Americans expect us to work together. That does not mean we won't...

Republican Sen. John McCain made three "big" mistakes while campaigning. Add those to the fact he had to follow in the footsteps of an unpopular president, and the Democrats were almost guaranteed a win Nov. 4, a political analyst said Friday. "It was a very unusual election, and almost all trend lines said it would be a Democratic victory," said Jerry Mayer, associate professor at George Mason University's School of Public Policy and director of the master's of public policy program. "It was not your year, Republicans."

Former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, who served as both Democratic foil and dealmaker with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, has joined the high-powered public relations firm whose California office is currently occupied by Schwarzenegger's former campaign manager and communications director. Núñez, a Los Angeles Democrat, will be the newest partner and co-chair of Mercury Public Affairs, LLC, a political firm with offices in seven cities across the country, according to a letter he has sent to supporters. Steve Schmidt, who was the architect of Schwarzenegger's reelection campaign, and Adam Mendelsohn, the governor's former communications director and deputy chief of staff, are the...

At least John McCain is back to his old self. This assumes, of course, at some point he wasn't.Believe me, he was. (See the entire 2008 campaign).He's back to being the crotchety old Republicrat spitfire, Mac the Mav.That reach-across-the-aisle, strolling-down-the-median joie de vivre he possesses (and can beckon at will) is throttling up for the new administration.Goodie gumdrops.Since the time is just about right for McCain to ride the wave of ascendancy back into the good graces of the media (who, you'll recall, once upon a time, had rockets in their pockets for him when he was still their beloved...

An immigration activist says the Republican Party lost any real chance of retaining the White House the day John McCain won the GOP primary. William Gheen is president of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, or ALIPAC. Throughout the presidential campaign, Gheen ardently refused to support John McCain because of the Arizona senator's continued support to grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. Gheen believes McCain was counting on GOP voters to march into the booths at the last minute, hold their noses, and elect him out of fear of Obama. He notes while many Republicans reluctantly made that choice, a...