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Though not widely reported, rumors slowly began circulating last month that former GOP presidential nominee John McCain may face a primary challenge in 2010 from former Congressman J.D. Hayworth. (Rep. Jeff Flake and Rep. John Shadegg were both likely candidates for the open seat if McCain were to win the presidency, but it appears unlikely either would challenge McCain.) McCain, of course, would be hard to beat. He garnered close to 54 percent of the vote in Arizona's general election. More importantly, he easily won the state's primary, garnering more than 47 percent of the vote (though exit polls show...

RYE — Republican presidential candidate John McCain told a local audience that he supports continued efforts against terrorism and global climate change. McCain made his remarks at the home of Rye resident Bill Gilmore in front of more than 100 people. After being introduced by Gilmore and Connecticut Rep. Chris Shays, McCain talked about the adoption of green technologies as a key for future generations of American citizens. "If we adopt green technologies ... all we've done is leave our children a cleaner planet," McCain said, citing ethanol, hydrogen and nuclear power as possible alternative energy sources. . . ....

According to the Chinese calendar, 2008 was the “Year of the Rat.” But that’s a completely inadequate monicker for the year of Eliot Spitzer, Jeremiah Wright, Chris Matthews, Rod Blagojevich, Somali pirates, the Obama boom and the McCain bust. 2008 wasn’t the year of the Dark Knight. It was the year of the Joker: why so serious? What could be funnier than the possibility of Al Franken in the US Senate? Ok, ok. Banking Queen Barney Frank is, and maybe Sen. Caroline Kennedy would be. And if those images aren’t bizarre enough for you, how about the facts that --...

Among Arizona’s 10-member congressional delegation, Sen. John McCain and U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi — both for different reasons — missed the most votes in the 110th Congress, according to a report by Congressional Quarterly.

PRESCOTT - U.S. Sen. John McCain denounced the escalation of Israeli violence in the Gaza Strip Monday, but added that he has seen Israel's residents running to shelters to escape border violence, too. "If we were being shelled from across our border, the American people would have demanded action," McCain said during an interview with The Daily Courier's editorial board Monday. Israel started launching air strikes on the Gaza Saturday after a week of intense Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza broke a cease-fire. Reports say more than 360 Palestinians have died. Some international leaders are calling for a cease-fire.

Reprinted by permission from Imprimis, a publication of Hillsdale College. THE AUTUMN of 2008 has brought events in politics and economics that touch upon the meaning of our country and how it shall be governed in the future. These events are, as Lincoln said of the results of the Civil War, both "fundamental and astounding." They bring us another step away from the principles and institutions that have made our country both good and great. It is time now for recovery, both economic and political. The two are related, but I will speak here mainly of political recovery, which will...

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It's one of those things that sneaks up on you in politics, a sense of things happening not quite as you expected. It started in April when our Times colleague Louise Roug called with a quote from Sen. Hillary Clinton.

The Sarah Palin backlash—or comeback—is underway. Misused by the McCain campaign, then dissed by anonymous McCainiacs as a haughty diva, those who think the senator and his staff are to blame are starting to speak out. And we're not talking about those who traveled with the Alaska governor who quickly took a shining to her and chafed when the McCain team botched her coming out on the campaign trail. Now I'm hearing from key Republicans on Capitol Hill and GOP pollsters who believe that the McCain campaign should have put her out to talk about energy and political independence—her two...

Gov. Sarah Palin's next act on the national stage could come as early as February, at a major conservative convention in Washington, D.C. The annual event is called the Conservative Political Action Conference, and Palin was supposed to be the keynote speaker last February, long before she became a household name as the Republican choice for vice president. When Palin couldn't make it, Vice President Dick Cheney took her place. The convention isn't affiliated with the Republican Party, but big-name Republicans make a point of stopping by. It's where presidential candidate Mitt Romney conceded to John McCain this year, and...

Reacting to press reports that retiring GOP Rep. Ray LaHood is the likely nominee for Transportation secretary, John McCain today commended Obama "for once again reaching across the aisle." McCain called LaHood "one of our country's finest public servants." In a written statement, he said LaHood "has always fought for the best interests of our nation -- recognizing that bipartisan compromises often provide the best solutions to the problems facing our country."

Procedures needed to evaluate psychological needs, advocates argue The number of mentally and developmentally disabled detainees in South Texas federal immigration detention centers has surged during the past year, according to area attorneys who call the trend "alarming." Since the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ended the catch-and-release system in 2006, which allowed undocumented immigrants to go free until their date in immigration court, the number of detention centers has mushroomed. But detention, which presents a variety of obstacles for detainees, can be perilous for the mentally and developmentally disabled. "All protections that exist in other areas of the law...

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Sen. John McCain (?-Ariz.), joining with liberal Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), issued a report last week on the abuse of terrorist detainees. The report accuses former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, former Defense Department General Counsel Jim Haynes, and David Addington, Vice President Cheney’s chief of staff, of causing the torture of terrorist detainees. But the report is a clumsy calumny, contradicting the factual conclusions of earlier, far more credible investigations. Predictably, it was enough for the New York Times to call for the appointment of a prosecutor to consider criminal charges against Rumsfeld and the others....

Remember the John McCain that many Arizonans grew to like over the years - the one who stuck by his principles but was not politically dogmatic or doctrinaire, and instead tried to represent the interests of people in general? Well, that John McCain seems to be back after a long journey into the dark jungle of presidential politics where he seemed to veer from his familiar middle-of-the-road approach to politics - an approach that a lot of Arizonans prefer, based on their long support for him.

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.

Having blown his presidential bid, John “Lettuce” McCain is back in his former job: toady to Democrats. True to his old pandering form, he went on This Week recently to denounce fellow Republicans for criticizing the way the Moonbat Messiah has mishandled the Governor Blago revelations.

They got a statement from Sarah, of course she took the high road.

Remember the days when Sen. John McCain was the Democratic Party’s best friend? And a BFF, as well, to the Mainstream Media? Well, they’re ba-a-a-ck.