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WASHINGTON (AP) – John McCain pledges that if elected president, he'd appoint Democrats to his Cabinet. He says there's nothing partisan about tackling the nation's toughest problems. In an interview taped today for airing tomorrow, McCain tells CBS's "Face the Nation" he intends to have the best people in America in Cabinet. It's believed that McCain closely considered Senator Joe Lieberman as a running mate. The Connecticut independent is a former Democrat.

Republican John McCain pledged if elected president to appoint Democrats to his Cabinet, saying there's nothing partisan about tackling the nation's toughest problems. "I don't know how many, but I can tell you, with all due respect to previous administrations, it is not going to be a single ... 'Well we have a Democrat now.' It's going to be the best people in America," the GOP presidential nominee told CBS' "Face the Nation," in an interview taped Saturday that will be broadcast in full Sunday. "So many of these problems we face _ for example, energy independence, what's partisan about...

Almost exactly one year ago during a Republican presidential debate in Durham, New Hampshire, I said that if I weren't running for President myself, I'd be supporting John McCain. Well, I'm not, and I do. Every four years, we are told that this Presidential election is the most important election of our lifetime. This year - 2008 - IS the most important.This has already been historic. It is the longest Presidential campaign in history. And it sometimes felt even longer.The American people realize this election represents a turning point. In two months they will decide the future direction of our...

I think I'm fairly representative of those conservatives who just could not stand to vote for John McCain.  But I now plan to vote for him this November.  Let me tell you why. My published criticisms of McCain can be read here, here, here and here.  I even contemplated that a President Obama might not be so bad.  I think my bona fides as a "McCain hater" are fairly well established.  (Although I don't care for the word "hate" here.  I didn't hate him, just voting for him.) To some conservatives, voting is a simple matter: only one of two...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday said Sarah Palin hit a home run with her acceptance speech for the Republican vice presidential nomination. The former actor says he was impressed with the Alaska governor's delivery before her largest audience ever. "I think it was fantastic," Schwarzenegger said during a news conference in Burbank, where he was discussing the state's ongoing budget impasse. "She hit the ball out of the park." Palin's speech Wednesday night was filled with jokes about being a hockey mom and criticism of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. She worked up the convention audience in St. Paul, Minn.,...

John MCain intoned some things in his speech last night conservatives need to be very weary of. His tone and talk about "not working for any party" was a little shot at republicans and conservatives alike. We all understand McCain is not a conservative, but he is within the party and if he doesn't think conservatives and the republican party work for the people of this county then he needs to be kicked out of this party! Partisanship is a boon to this country. You have to argue vehemently to get your points across and hopefully convince a majority of...

ST. PAUL, MINN. - Republican John McCain's primary campaign almost collapsed last year under the weight of opponents' attacks that he backed "amnesty" for illegal immigrants. As McCain prepares to accept his party's nomination for president tonight, past critics of the Arizona senator's position have rallied behind his candidacy. McCain, meanwhile, has backed away from signature immigration legislation and signed off on a party platform that makes a fence along the Mexican border a priority. The party's Twin Cities unity on immigration bridges, for now, an increasingly charged ideological rift for Republican candidates and campaigns. "We don't go around talking...

The future of conservatism is bright. All those liberal Republicans who were arguing that the GOP needed to “rebrand” itself and move leftward are now crying in their coffee. Arlen Specter is feeling lonely. Break out the world’s smallest violin. I’m verklempt. Bloomberg News: At a Tuesday reception for moderate Republicans, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter hushed the cocktail chatter when he began ticking off a long list of like- minded lawmakers who no longer hold office. “Today, we’re in a phone booth,” Specter said. To conservatives at the Republican National Convention this week, John McCain’s choice of running mate Sarah...

Former State GOP Chairman Forms Group To Support Democrat PORTLAND, Maine -- Maine's Sen. Barack Obama campaign has announced the formation of a group calling itself "Maine Republicans for Obama." The group is headed by former Maine Republican Party Chairman Robert Monks and former Republican state Rep. Sherry Huber. At a press conference Wednesday in Portland, Monks and Huber spoke in support of Obama in his campaign against Republican John McCain. Maine GOP Chairman fired back at Monks. He said Monks has a long history of attacking Republicans including Margaret Chase Smith. He said that if the Obama campaign wants...

OREGON CD-1: Businessman Joel Haugen announced Tuesday he was withdrawing as the GOP nominee but would remain in the race against Congressman David Wu (D) as the nominee of the Independent Party. Although a registered Republican, Haugen had been running with dual ballot spots. Haugen came under fire in recent days when he announced his support for Barack Obama. The deadline for GOP to replace a nominee has passed, so they will not be able to field any candidate against Wu on the November ballot.

The Democrat running for Congress in Maryland's First District will receive the endorsement of the Republican incumbent he is hoping to replace. more at link

McCain camp rebukes Democrat claims Published: 09/01/2008 The McCain camp rebuked claims by Democrats that Sarah Palin once associated with Pat Buchanan. "Governor Palin has never worked for any effort to elect Pat Buchanan -- that assertion is completely false," Michael Goldfarb, a spokesman for the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), told ABC over the weekend in discussing Palin, the Alaska governor and vice presidential choice. On Aug. 29, the Democratic Party issued a release quoting U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) as saying that McCain's pick was a "direct affront to all Jewish Americans" because of reports of...

John McCain is not a normal conservative. He has instincts, but few abstract convictions about the proper size of government. He’s a traditionalist, but is not energized by the social conservative agenda. As Rush Limbaugh understands, but the Democrats apparently do not, a McCain administration would not be like a Bush administration. The main axis in McCain’s worldview is not left-right. It’s public service versus narrow self-interest. Throughout his career, he has been drawn to those crusades that enabled him to launch frontal attacks on the concentrated powers of selfishness — whether it was the big money donors who exploited...

McCain has a great opportunity here to address the MSM's trashing of Palin and her family. He has been very good with developing clever and funny ads that are on the mark. I would suggest he run an ad that humorously makes fun of the recent revelations of the MSM media such as "The MSM wants you to know about the Palin family... Todd got a DUI in '86, Sarah illegally caught fish, etc..." Then the ad should get serious "but when it comes to Obama they don't want you to know about his ties to terrorist Bill Ayers, Jeramiah...

"The audacity - it's a word that's somewhat in vogue now, along with 'change' and 'hope' and 'unity' - the audacity that Barack Obama is offering to us and to our children, the change that he is offering ... quite frankly, is socialism," Wilson told the breakfast crowd. Individual judgment is to be replaced with central planning. Taxes will skyrocket, and money will be taken from people who work for a living and given to people who don't. "One thing we know for certain is that Barack Obama is going to have a massive tax increase were he elected president,"...

After reading that Lindsay Graham was pushing McCain hard to name Lieberman as the VP, just who the heck is Lindsay Graham? I remember him being one of the gang of 10 in the drilling for oil plan with the democrats. He stays so well hidden under the radar, is he really a democrat that has taken one of our offices to do harm from within? We need an education on this man, I believe that he may be doing our party more harm than good, please add any information on this man that you may have.

<p>IF JOHN MCCAIN becomes president, he will be confronted by a Congress with significantly larger Democratic majorities than today's — majorities furious about high hopes dashed by an eighth Republican victory in 11 presidential elections. And if the normal pattern of off-year elections obtains in 2010, those majorities will expand. So McCain would have to deal with a hostile legislature for four years, as Arnold Schwarzenegger has done for almost five years. For that reason, and because these two self-styled post-partisan, reach-across-the-aisle mavericks admire one another — McCain has given Schwarzenegger a starring role Monday at the Republican convention — it is pertinent to survey Schwarzenegger's governorship of one-eighth of America's population.</p>

Greta Van Sustern Just Said That Romney will be in Dayton tomorrow morning!

ABC's George Stephanopoulos reports: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., wants to win the election in November. But he does not want to steal Sen. Barack Obama's, D-Ill., thunder this evening, as the Democrat becomes the first African American to accept a major party's nomination for president. A senior McCain campaign official tonight said the news of the Republican's running mate, which is scheduled to be announced tomorow in Dayton, Ohio, will not upstage Obama tonight. "There will be no announcement tonight. There will be no leak tonight. This is Barack Obama's night. His nomination is a singular achievement. Tonight's his night...

Received on 27 August 2008 by U.S. Mail. My personal comments are in red. August 18, 2008 [name/address] Dear Friend, (I'm not your friend) In the past you have served as a valued and trusted member of our Party. (only when we need your vote and your donation) Yet today — only 12 weeks from the most critical elections our nation has faced in decades — the RNC's records indicate that you still remain on the sidelines (who said I was on the sidelines?) and have yet to respond to appeals to stand with us in our fight to prevail...

Sacramento -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who promised not to sign any bills until lawmakers reach a budget deal, reversed his position today and signed a bill for a statewide bullet train system that he strongly supports. The governor also wants to make exceptions for three other proposals that he has been promoting: budget reform; changing the state lottery to allow California to borrow against future ticket sales; and a bond proposal for water infrastructure. The high-speed rail legislation will replace a $10 billion bond measure on the November ballot with a revised version of the proposal that makes the bullet...

"You can't cut the whole $15 billion," Schwarzenegger said, referring to the gaping hole in a $102-billion general fund. "You'd have to severely cut into education, which I don't think is the right thing. You would severely cut into health care, which is not the right thing to do. You would severely have to cut into prisons, and we can't do that." A good Republican trade-off for a one-cent-on-the-dollar sales tax increase for three years, he asserted, would be a long-term budget fix: A constitutional amendment requiring the state to transfer 3% of its annual revenue to a rainy-day fund...

Romney, of course. The same factors in Romney's favor -- pull in Michigan, Nevada, Colorado and New Hampshire, the energy brought by his organization-- are still there, but the pick of Biden calls for a very experienced debater as the only thing Slow Joe has going for him is the thousand or so primary season debates he has under his belt. Romney has the same sort of experience in the one setting where the veep nominees get the nation's undivided attention. There is also the stark contrast between Romney's experience outside of politics --business and the Olympics-- and the emerging...

John McCain’s campaign may have used Joe Biden in a negative spot just hours after Barack Obama named the Delaware senator his running mate, but the presumptive Republican nominee had nothing but good things to say in a new interview. "I think he's a good selection," McCain told CBS’s Katie Couric. "Joe and I have been friends for many, many years, and we know each other very well, and so I think [Obama’s] made a very wise selection. “I know that Joe will campaign well for Senator Obama, and so I think he's going to be very formidable. Obviously, Joe...

WARNING: BARF ALERT (From a liberal website) When it Comes to the Vice-Presidency, Should Hillary Run on a McCain Ticket? March 11, 2008 It is the one inviolable rule of party politics; Don't promote the other party's candidate at the expense of your own. In the past couple of weeks, Senator Hillary Clinton has violated that cardinal rule again and again as she personally vouched for the readiness of John McCain to assume the presidency, while belittling Barack Obama as nothing more than a speech. Here is perhaps the most devastating gift she gave to the Republicans as she patronizingly...

"Joe Biden is the right partner for Barack Obama. His many years of distinguished service to America, his seasoned judgment and his vast experience in foreign policy and national security will match up well with the unique challenges of the 21st Century. An Obama-Biden ticket is a very impressive and strong team. Biden's selection is good news for Obama and America."

Two Republicans who know say McCain has settled on Mitt Romney as his running mate. Developing...

"New Mexico and Sedona"POSTED BY MEGHAN AND PHOTOS BY HEATHER Earlier this week, we traveled to Las Cruces, New Mexico where Dad held a very lively town hall on the campus of New Mexico State University.  From there we flew to Sedona where everyone was able to chill out a bit and Dad grilled dinner for everyone.  More from Sedona soon!  Song of the Day: "Red House" by Jimi Hendrix   Duprey and his summer bumper stickers. Frank is ready for the day. Dad catches up on his reading material. Dad's opening remarks at the town hall. Waiting in the...

Washington, D.C. – In a letter today to President George W. Bush, Third District Representative Walter B. Jones (R-NC) expressed deep concern over the Justice Department’s unacceptable prosecution of two U.S. Border Patrol agents for simply doing their jobs to protect our homeland. “Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean should have been commended by our government for their actions last year in attempting to apprehend a Mexican drug smuggler who brought nearly 800 pounds of marijuana across our border,” Jones wrote. “But because of an incomprehensible prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office – including granting full immunity to the...

Here are the choices Mitt Romney Tim Pawlenty Fred Thompson Sarah Palin Tom Ridge Joe Lieberman Rudy Guliani Bobby Jindal

Sorry for the Vanity but I have a great concern. It's been a good summer for McCain. The ads are good, the American public is starting to learn more about the "real" B. Hussein Obama and he's dropping in the polls. That's the good news. I think that on a level playing field, Mac can beat B. Hussein. But, has anyone thought about the strategy of the scheme to text Obama supporters and notify them of the VEEP selection. He now has hundreds of thousands of cell phone numbers. Visualize, on Election Day, a gazillion Text Messages going out over...

When it comes to John McCain’s running mate, several political observers are saying U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham shouldn’t be counted out. “I don’t think (his selection is) out of the realm of possibility,” said state Republican Party chairman Katon Dawson. He added that “it’s very exciting and a compliment to Lindsey Graham to be on the short list for vice president.”

At a town-hall event in New Mexico today, John McCain was asked about veterans' care, but the questioner added a provocative point at the end of her question. Take a look: (YouTube link) For those of you who can't watch clips online, a woman in the audience told the presumptive Republican nominee, "Senator McCain I truly hope you get the opportunity to chase Bin Laden right to the gates of hell and push him in as you stated on your forum. I do have a question though. Disabled veterans, especially in this state, have horrible conditions... I think it is...

New Raisin' McCain VideoRAISIN' MCCAINMusic and lyrics by John RichWell we're all just raisin' McCain Everywhere across the USA You can get on the train or get out of the way We're all just raisin' McCain And we're all just raisin' McCain Everywhere across the USA You can get on the train or get out of the way We're all just raisin' McCain Well he got shot down in a Vietnam town Fighting for the red, white and blue And they locked him up in the Hanoi Hilton Thinking they could break him in two He stayed strong, stayed...

With social conservatives up in arms over the possibility that Senator McCain may tap a supporter of abortion rights, Senator Lieberman, as his running mate, one staunch McCain ally and abortion opponent says the Connecticut lawmaker is the perfect choice. Rep. Peter King, a Long Island Republican, said social conservatives are making a mistake by opposing Mr. Lieberman, arguing that the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee could help deliver Mr. McCain the election in November. While ardent abortion foes have said the "pro-life" principle is too important to give up for the sake of political pragmatism, Mr. King turned the...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken on an unlikely role as one of the Capitol's most steadfast champions of a tax hike, spurning his fellow Republicans' uncharacteristic effort to borrow their way out of budget trouble. In an interview with The Times on Tuesday afternoon -- 50 days into the new fiscal year -- Schwarzenegger said resistance to tax hikes had led GOP lawmakers down a reckless path. He said they wanted to balance the budget by raiding local governments and public transportation accounts for billions of dollars. That money, under state law, would have to be repaid with steep interest....

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 Sauerberg falls behind Durbin by 34 points Durbin is one of America's most liberal Democrats. He's leading one of the most unpopular and ineffective Senate's since public opinion on Congress has been tracked. Why is it that the people of Illinois are okay with Durbin and why do you think the Sauerberg candidacy is pollling so poorly 90 days out? From today's CQ Politics, we read: Illinois: Two-term Democrat Richard Durbin leads Republican Steven Sauerberg, a physician, 61 percent to 27 percent with 11 percent undecided in a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted July 8. Durbin...

That's what Mike Allen is reporting, and Mike knows his stuff. [snip] Plus, whispers from my Dem friends about the Obama collapse. They know he'll give a great acceptance speech (but what if he doesn't?) but untethered to the prompter, his ums and ahhs have begun to be noticed far and wide.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) plans to celebrate his 72nd birthday on Aug. 29 by naming his running mate at a huge rally in the battleground state of Ohio, Republican sources said. That’s a week from Friday, and the day after his rival, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, accepts the Democratic nomination at a 70,000-person spectacular in a Denver stadium. The campaign has begun building a crowd of 10,000 for Dayton, Ohio, according to an organizer. McCain is scheduled to appear with his running mate at a large-scale event in Pennsylvania shortly thereafter. Senior Republicans are in the dark about who...

Ohio: McCain vs. Obama

Barack Obama 275 John McCain 263

For years, Juan Hernandez was a familiar sight at Joe T. Garcia’s — strolling among diners and singing as a local troubadour. His work there led to singing at weddings and recording albums in Spanish and English. He earned enough money to pay for graduate school and learned lessons that would help him through the years, said his father, Francisco Hernandez Sr. "His years as a troubadour gave him so much time working with people," he said. "He learned to win the appreciation of people." That may have helped, as Juan Hernandez — a lightning rod because of his passionate...

Lots of groups were there. LA Answer, the peace group, was aggressive and loud. The Obama supporters were subdued. AARP was there, as was a large group of Ron Paul Supporters. There was a large anti abortion group. Every one of the Pro - McCain supporters agreed that the border needs to be secured. Law Enforcement was great, horse patrol was there. A Few of the LA Answer Peace advocates had to be detained for pushing and shoving. Mc Cain was much more on point than Obama, who seemed to be vague and rambling.

Who says John McCain fares poorly in these types of sessions? At Rick Warren's forum, he seemed more comfortable and his answers flowed a bit more naturally than Barack Obama's. Granted, the audience was probably more favorably inclined to him. Obama did fine. Penty of humility. And his answer on taxes was as crisp as I've heard. .. ** McCain recounted the story of his secretly Christian gun guard who drew a cross with his foot. He teared up as he recalled it. It's a very effective way of talking about what his faith means to him without having to...

Are evangelicals swerving to the left in American politics? Throughout the primary season, the mainstream media loudly trumpeted the idea that younger evangelicals' attention to the environment and "social justice" issues signals a departure from traditional concerns such as abortion and marriage. Rumblings of this shift within the conservative coalition heightens interest in a remarkable event Saturday: The Rev. Rick Warren, one of America's most influential evangelicals, is set to question presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama during their back-to-back appearances at his 22,000-member Saddleback Church in Orange County, Calif. Warren, whose 2002 bestseller The Purpose Driven Life...

Republicans Grow More Hopeful About McCain By Jim Malone Washington 15 August 2008 Republicans who support Senator John McCain for president are growing increasingly confident that their candidate is gaining momentum in his race for the White House with the presumptive Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington. 2008 was supposed to be a Democratic year. Opinion polls have shown growing voter concerns about the U.S. economy, general unhappiness with President Bush and a desire for change. Despite those Democratic advantages, surveys also show the presidential race between Senators Obama and McCain to be...

Commenting on John McCain's remark that Tom Ridge's pro-choice position would not rule him out as a vice presidential running mate, conservative leader and strongly pro-lifer Phyllis Schlafly got straight to the point by bluntly telling Newsmax, "I think [McCain] would be making a mistake." In a Newsmax report, McCain was quoted by The Weekly Standard as saying, “I think that the pro-life position is one of the important aspects or fundamentals of the Republican Party. And also I feel that — and I’m not trying to equivocate here — that Americans want us to work together. You know, Tom...

This can be a deciding factor in a close election, and it looks as if the election will be a very close horse race. Most voters know that Joe Lieberman and Tom Ridge are pro-aborts, but they might not know about Florida's Gov. Charlie Crist. He is sneaky, calls himself pro-life, but is not. Awhile back the Florida House approved a bill to give women the option to see an ultrasound before having an abortion. I heard Laura Ingraham say that Gov. Charlie Crist did not support this in the past, but he might support it now, because he wants...

WASHINGTON - Republican John McCain says he has not ruled out choosing Pennsylvania's popular former Gov. Tom Ridge as a running mate despite his support for abortion rights, a hot-button issue that could inflame some voters among the party's conservative base. McCain appeared to be testing the issue — weighing the benefits against the costs of picking Ridge, who could help the Arizona senator win Pennsylvania. The presidential election is won on a state-by-state basis with more populous states, such as Pennsylvania, carrying greater weight in the results.. McCain opposes abortion rights, while his Democratic opponent Barack Obama supports a...

Top social conservative leaders in key battleground states are urging John McCain not to pick a running mate who supports abortion rights, warning of dire consequences from a Republican base already unenthused about their nominee. McCain’s comments Wednesday to the Weekly Standard’s Stephen Hayes that former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge’s pro-abortion rights views wouldn’t necessarily rule him out quickly found their way into the in-boxes of Christian conservatives. For those who have been anxiously awaiting McCain’s pick as a signal of his ideological intentions, there was deep concern that their worst fears about the Arizona senator may be realized. “It...