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(AP) WASHINGTON -- President Bush's State of the Union address on Tuesday gives him a second chance to defend his new Iraq strategy to a nation soured on the war and a Congress poised to vote against the plan. It will be the president's last major opportunity to shape America's legislative agenda before the fast-moving 2008 presidential campaign begins to drown out his message. Bush is expected to strike a conciliatory tone on some domestic issues where he believes he can work with the first Democratic Congress in 12 years. On Iraq, he is expected to stand firm. The nationally...

WASHINGTON — Over a smattering of opposition, U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida was elected today to be general chairman of the Republican Party. Martinez, 60, a native of Cuba, is the first Hispanic to hold the largely honorary position that has not existed in recent years. Mike Duncan of Kentucky was chosen to be the Republican National Committee's chairman and will be in charge of the party's day-to-day operations. In accepting the position, Martinez said: "I am truly humbled by the opportunity that you give me and the responsibility that you place upon me." A handful of delegates objected...

The New York Times front page profile on my friend, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), "Star of the Right Loses His Base at the Border," is really all about the anti-immigration, far-right group led by Tom Tancredo of Colorado to oppose any broad-based immigration reform whatsoever--and to label any proposals for temporary workers, or even Pence's 17 year citizenship path, as "amnesty." This word "amnesty" is being used to attack absolutely any conceivable immigration compromise. I could go on forever on this subject. I have written several columns on it. But at the end of the day, the Tancredo crowd, which...

With just five months to go before the midterm elections, President Bush, whose once-faithful base has abandoned him in droves, is turning to the same conservative hot-button issues that won him re-election in 2004 -- homosexual "marriage" and judicial nominees. The president, now fully aware that his plummeting approval ratings could cost the Republicans control of one or both congressional chambers in November, will use his radio address today and a speech Monday to push a constitutional amendment banning same-sex "marriage," just as the Senate prepares to vote on the issue. The crux of his argument is simple: A majority...

His speech started about 8 minutes ago. You can listen live at http://760kfmb.com/listen_live/

Who cares if GOP loses Congress? By Joe Scarborough Who really cares if Republicans lose Congress? Certainly not GOP leaders in the US House. As the Wall Street Journal reported, the Republican pigs running Congress are wasting more money than those big-spending Democrats ever did. Last month's deficit was the highest ever. But while Rome burns, Republicans obsess over their earmarks. Conservative Republicans. What an oxymoron. There is nothing conservative about the party to which I once proudly belonged. Like millions, I am disgusted by my party and their leaders. A handful of responsible adults still understand the need for...

WASHINGTON (AP) President Bush has expressed regret to China's president for a protester at the White House welcoming ceremony.

TALLAHASSEE - U.S. Rep. Mark Foley took the offensive Thursday to address a question he acknowledged may affect his bid to become the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate: Is he gay? The answer, Foley said, is that it's nobody's business but his own. He called the innuendo about his private life ''revolting and unforgivable,'' and blamed it on Democratic activists who fear his strength as a candidate. snip Foley holds a massive fundraising advantage over his leading rival for the Republican nomination, former Orlando-area U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum, and has amassed dozens of endorsements from Republican state legislators across...