Sen. John McCain has clarified remarks he made Friday in Denver, Colorado, about the Mideast and oil.

PHOENIX (AP) — Republican John McCain was forced to clarify his comments Friday suggesting the Iraq war involved U.S. reliance on foreign oil. He said he was talking about the first Gulf War and not the current conflict.

At issue was a comment he made at a town hall-style meeting Friday morning in Denver.

"My friends, I will have an energy policy that we will be talking about, which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East that will prevent us from having ever to send our young
men and women into conflict again in the Middle East," McCain said.

The expected GOP nominee sought to clarify his comments later, after his campaign plane landed in Phoenix. He said he didn't mean the U.S. went to war in Iraq five years ago over oil.

"No, no, I was talking about that we had fought the Gulf War for several reasons," McCain told reporters. One reason was Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, he said.

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Watch Arianna Huffington assess the 2008 presidential race.

(CNN) – Arianna Huffington, Editor-in-Chief of the Huffingtonpost.com and author of a new book, didn’t pull any punches in assessing the 2008 presidential race.

Sen. Hillary Clinton “has really taken a page out of Karl Rove’s playbook when it comes to her advertising especially,” Huffington told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Friday.

Huffington compared Clinton’s “3 a.m.” ad to advertising against Sen. John Kerry orchestrated by Rove during President Bush’s 2004 re-election bid. “The assumption was that if people elected Obama they would not be as safe as if they elected her.” “Their children would not be as safe,” added Huffington.

“And then on the eve of the Pennsylvania primary, we had the Osama ad appear,” Huffington said, refererring to a Clinton campaign ad that contained an image of Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

“It is a very powerful image in America,” Huffington said of the bin Laden image. “Every election after 9-11 is going to be a national security election and manipulating the electorate’s fear has been key to the re-election of George Bush,” she added.

Huffington, the founder of the popular liberal news and commentary website, also shared her views on Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama, on the way the media is covering the Iraq war, and on “the extreme right of the Republican Party.” “Right is Wrong,” Huffington’s new book, was released recently.

Paul on his presidential run: 'The race is still on'.

(CNN) — Even though Rep. Ron Paul has never officially ended his long shot presidential bid, he’s ready to weigh in on the three remaining major candidates for the White House.

In an interview on The Situation Room, Paul told Wolf Blitzer that endorsing Sen. John McCain, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, “would really confuse” his supporters “because they know we have a precise program and we have to defend that program.”

Having a Republican win the upcoming presidential election is “secondary” for Paul who is more interested in defending the Constitution, having the country go in what he considers the right direction, having a sound currency, and achieving balanced budgets. Paul parts ways with McCain over McCain’s support for the Iraq war, his approach to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and his willingness to spend federal dollars to support military operations in Iraq.

Instead, Paul favors Sen. Barack Obama because of positions on foreign policy. “But that’s doesn’t mean that’s an endorsement,” Paul quickly added.

Paul recently released a new book titled “The Revolution: a Manifesto.” “Unfortunately, it is revolutionary to talk about obeying the Constitution,” Paul said of the book’s title.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush asked Congress Friday for $70 billion to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan amid a developing dispute between the White House and congressional Democrats over Iraq spending.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – With this week’s headlines focused on the congressional testimony of U.S. Commander in Iraq Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, the Sunday morning talk show circuit showcased some of the top political players in the next steps for the United States in Iraq:

On CNN’s Late Edition, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden and Republican Ranking Member Richard Lugar gave their assessments following the week of testimony. Biden told host Wolf Blitzer that it’s not the presidential election that will change the Iraqi government, but rather “reality on the ground will change the politics in Iraq.” Lugar expressed some disappointment in the current Iraq strategy, telling Blitzer “The hearing demonstrated that we don't have still a definition of success or victory.”

Also on Late Edition, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari asserted that the Iraqi government is doing its part to stabilize the country. “We are shouldering the main burden on looking after our people,” Zebari said. “We are not standing by. This is our country.”

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CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from the Best Political Team.

(CNN) — The economy and the Iraq war — the top issues on the minds of voters as the 2008 presidential election approaches — took center stage Thursday in Washington, D.C.

In the latest episode of CNN=Politics Daily, Ed Henry reports on President Bush's address to the nation about his next steps in Iraq.

Sen. John McCain, the GOP's presumptive presidential nominee, was in New York City courting the female vote. Dana Bash reports on McCain's appearance on a popular talk show.

Pennsylvania is the next battleground in the Democratic presidential nomination race. Sen. Barack Obama is getting some help from a prominent union leader. Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider takes a look at Obama's effort to win over blue-collar voters in Pennsylvania.

Finally, on Capitol Hill, efforts are underway to provide some relief from the mortgage crisis that has rocked the nation's financial system. Kate Bolduan explains what lawmakers are considering to calm down the troubled housing market.

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–CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

Army Gen. David Petraeus was expected to face several tough questions about Iraq on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The emotional debate over the war will once again dominate presidential politics when all three candidates have opportunities to question the top U.S. general in Iraq during congressional hearings Tuesday.

Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, the two rivals for the Democratic nomination, will share the spotlight when Army Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, the top U.S. diplomat in Iraq, testify.

McCain and Clinton will question Petraeus and Crocker — and possibly advocate their positions on whether U.S. troops should be withdrawn — when they appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday morning. McCain is the committee's top Republican.

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(CNN) – Sen. John McCain, the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, told reporters Monday that the Bush administration’s surge strategy in Iraq is succeeding and, at the same time, recognized the 4000 Americans who have died in Iraq since 2003.

“Gen. Petraeus is correct when he says that the central battleground in the struggle against al Qaeda is Iraq and Osama bin Laden just confirmed that again with his comments last week,” McCain told reporters, referring to a recent statement by bin Laden that called Iraq “the perfect base to set up the jihad to liberate Palestine.”

“I have commented on hundreds of occasions of the sacrifice the great and brave young Americans have made in Iraq and elsewhere in the world in the struggle against radical Islamic extremism,” said McCain. “I wear a bracelet on my hand, not only as a symbol of the sacrifice that a brave young man named Matthew Stanley, but that of 4000 other brave young Americans who have served and sacrificed as well. My thoughts and my prayers go out to those families every day,” McCain added.

The Arizona senator also took the opportunity to target Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama over their views on the Iraq war. “It is obvious that they are dead wrong and they are wrong when they say that we should leave Iraq immediately,” he said. “The surge is succeeding and it’s time that they acknowledge that the surge is succeeding,” he added.

On Monday, Sen. Clinton mentioned the 4000th U.S. fatality in Iraq at the beginning of an economic speech and Sen. Obama released a statement regarding the milestone.

Related video: Watch Sen. McCain's comments on Iraq

– CNN’s Tasha Diakides and Martina Stewart

Blitzer: My trip to Iraq was intense and powerful.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Three years ago today, I was in Iraq. I went around the country – from Baghdad to Basra, from Falluja to Mosul and Balad. I had flown there with the then commander of U.S. Forces in the Middle East, Gen. John Abizaid.

I remember everything I saw because it was so intense and powerful. The images were amazing. But some things continue to stand out, especially at this time of the year.

I vividly remember watching hundreds of troops pray at a Sunday Easter Mass service in Baghdad, and their prayers were intense. The military chaplain’s words were deeply religious. Watching the men and women pray took on a whole new meaning for me that day. So many of the troops later told me they were praying simply to be able to survive the war in one piece. They were praying for their fellow troops. They didn’t want to die in Iraq. They didn’t want to be severely injured.

When I was there with Gen. Abizaid three years ago, more than 1,500 American troops had been killed in Iraq. Now, the number has reached 4,000.

I was thinking about that prayer service this past Easter weekend. Most of those troops I saw in Baghdad that day are probably home right now. But some of them are also no doubt back in Iraq serving a second or even third tour of duty. The soldiers have 15 month rotations in Iraq though the Pentagon is hoping to reduce that soon to 12 months. These men and women who serve are all volunteers and their sacrifices are enormous.

–CNN Anchor Wolf Blitzer

Watch Kyra Phillip's visit to Baghdad University

(CNN)–The fledgling Iraqi government may be slipping in most surveys of top American voter concerns – but students at Baghdad University are paying rapt attention to the political action here in the United States.

As the war enters its sixth year and the U.S. troop death toll passes 4,000, CNN’s Kyra Phillips gets the Iraqi perspective on the U.S. presidential contest from political science students at Baghdad University.

Watch a clip from Sen. Obama's speech Thursday.

(CNN) – A day after the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war and with Americans increasingly worried about their economic security, Sen. Barack Obama said Thursday that the Bush administration had misled the public about the economic costs of waging a military campaign in Iraq.

“What no one disputes is that the cost of this war is far higher than what we were told it would be,” said Obama. “We were told this war would cost $50 to 60 billion and that reconstruction would pay for itself out of Iraqi profits. We were told higher estimates were nothing but baloney. Like so much else about this war, we were not told the truth,” he added.

The conflict in Iraq has cost $608 billion according to a House Budget Committee report but some estimates put the long term costs of the war at $3 trillion.

Obama also targeted Sens. John McCain and Hillary Clinton for their support of the Iraq war.

Noting that the Bush administration has given wartime tax cuts to wealthy Americans which McCain once opposed but now supports, Obama said “No matter what the costs, no matter what the consequences, John McCain seems determined to carry out a third Bush term.” “That is an outcome American can’t afford,” Obama added.

As for Sen. Clinton, Obama noted a recent Clinton attack on McCain for supporting policies that have led to the country’s war costs. “Her point would have been more compelling had she not joined Sen. McCain in making the tragically ill-considered decision to vote for the Iraq war in the first place,” said Obama.

The McCain campaign called Obama “fundamentally wrong” on the economy and national security in a statement issued in response to Obama’s remarks. “On the economy, Senator Obama offers the tired tax and spend ideas of the past,” the statement said. “On national security, Sen. Obama would rather rehash the past than look forward with resolve to address fundamental challenges and opportunities we have today to secure our future,” the McCain campaign added.

In a recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, 7 in 10 Americans said they thought the government’s spending on the Iraq war was responsible for the country’s troubled economy. Recent polling also shows that a majority of Americans believe the country is in a recession and that the economy is the number one issue for the pubic by a 2-to-1 margin over the Iraq war which ranks as the second most important issue.

McCain was recently in the Middle East with other members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Sen. Clinton gave a speech Wednesday that emphasized her plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq if she wins the White House.

Related: War costs weigh on Bush legacy

–CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

President Bush tours the Blount Island Marine Terminal on Tuesday in Jacksonville, Florida.

(CNN) – President Bush will mark the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war on Wednesday by calling the debate over the conflict "understandable" but insisting that a continued U.S. presence there is crucial.

"The answers are clear to me," Bush will say, according to excerpts of his speech to be delivered at the Pentagon on Wednesday, the day the war began in 2003.

"Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision, and this is a fight America can and must win."

Almost 4,000 American troops have died in the war, a painful toll that Bush will acknowledge.

Related Video: Ed Henry reports on President Bush's Iraq war remarks

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President Bush meets with his economic team at the White House on Monday.

(CNN) — More than 7 out of 10 Americans think government spending on the war in Iraq is partly responsible for the economic troubles in the United States, according to results of a recent poll.

In the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll conducted last weekend, 71 percent said they think U.S. spending in Iraq is a reason for the nation's poor economy. Twenty-eight percent said they didn't think so.

The weekend poll, timed to coincide with the Iraq war's fifth anniversary, also showed little U.S. support for the conflict. Fewer than one in three respondents — 32 percent — said they support the war, while 66 percent said they oppose it.

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Listen to Sen. McCain’s remarks from Jordan

(CNN)— Senator John McCain warned Tuesday Iran’s increasing influence in the Middle East is hindering progress in Iraq.

Closing a week-long congressional delegation to the region that included a time in Iraq, McCain expressed concern over a large cache of explosives found in Iraq and alluded that they may have been sent from Iran.

During a press conference in Amman, Jordan, the Arizona senator also said there is a continued concern that Iran may be training Iraqi extremists in Iran and then sending them back into Iraq.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee also said he was concerned about Iran developing nuclear weapons and said he planned to work closely with European allies to set in place a strict set of sanctions “that would be harmful and compelling" to Iran's trade, diplomatic, and financial institutions if he was elected president.

"There'd be a broad range of sanctions and punishments to the Iranians to help try to convince them that their activities - particularly development of nuclear weapons - is not a beneficial goal to seek," he said.

McCain said he was encouraged by the progress he saw in Iraq as well as his meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan.

"We realize that there are enormous challenges in the form of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and also continued efforts to win the struggle in Iraq, which we are succeeding but we still have a long way to go," he said.

Despite having a fundraiser planned in London this Thursday, McCain stressed the trip, his eighth to Iraq was not political. McCain is the ranking Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He was joined on his trip by two fellow committee members, Sens. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

Full Story

–CNN's Emily Sherman

CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from the Best Political Team.

(CNN) – The economy is the number one issue for voters, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Monday and the struggling U.S. economy takes center stage in the latest episode of CNN=Politics Daily.

White House Correspondent Ed Henry reports on the Bush administration’s response to the troubles of a Wall Street giant whose sale was announced Monday. Suzanne Malveaux reports from the campaign trail about the how Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama responded to the Bush administration’s assistance to Bear Stearns and about what each of the two Democrats would do to jump start the economy if either wins the White House.

Plus, Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider digs into the new CNN poll numbers on the economy and on whom Democrats prefer – Clinton or Obama – to be their party’s next presidential nominee.

Finally, while the White House, Clinton and Obama focused on the economy, Sen. John McCain is in Iraq casting a spotlight on foreign policy. Chief National Correspondent John King is in Iraq with McCain and has an interview with the presumptive Republican nominee.

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–CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

Clinton's campaign is hammering Obama over Samantha Power's Iraq comments.

(CNN) — Hillary Clinton's campaign Friday seized on remarks from Barack Obama’s former adviser Samantha Power, who told a BBC program this week that Obama "will of course not rely upon some plan that he’s crafted as a presidential candidate or U.S. senator" to remove U.S. troops from Iraq.

Power resigned from the campaign on Friday after she told a Scottish newspaper that Clinton was behaving like a "monster," a comment she quickly tried to retract, according to the newspaper. The Obama campaign hastily noted that Power, a celebrated academic who joined Obama's senate office in 2005 to work on Darfur issues, was an informal adviser and not a paid staffer.

"You can't make a commitment in, whatever month we're in now, in March of 2008, about what circumstances are going be like in January 2009," Power said on Thursday's edition of the BBC show "Hardtalk," describing Obama's plan to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq in 16 months.

Power agreed with the BBC interviewer's assertion that Obama's plan was a "best case scenario." She argued that upon taking office, Obama "will rely upon an operational plan he pulls together in consultation with people that are on the ground to whom he doesn't have daily access now as a result of not being the president."

The author emphasized in the interview that Obama "will try to get us forces out as quickly and as responsibly as possible and that’s the best case estimate of what it will take."

The Clinton campaign circulated excerpts of the comments to reporters on Friday minutes after Power resigned over the "monster" comment, and Clinton herself took to the mic at a press conference in Mississippi to accuse Obama of deceiving voters.

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CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from the Best Political Team.

(CNN) — In the countdown to the March 4 primaries, tensions have been escalating in the Democratic primary race. Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley reports on how Sen. Hillary Clinton dealt with controversial comments by a supporter and how Sen. Obama responded to reports that he is not serious about altering the North American Free Trade Agreement if he wins the White House.

Sen. John McCain picked up the endorsement of a prominent Texas Republican Thursday. Dana Bash reports.

The war in Iraq is once again a topic of debate in the White House race. Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider takes a look at what the presidential candidates are saying about the Middle Eastern conflict and how voters are responding.

Finally, Brian Todd reports on a key demographic — white male voters — that may determine who gets the Democratic nomination and who wins the White House in November.

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–CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from the Best Political Team.

(CNN) — Sen. Hillary Clinton got some bad news Wednesday when Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights legend and prominent African-American superdelegate, announced he is no longer supporting Clinton and now backs Sen. Barack Obama.  Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley reports on the Lewis endorsement and Clinton's game plan in the final days before March 4.

Clinton and Obama may be rivals but they have both pledged to begin to withdraw American troops from Iraq if they win the White House.  Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr investigates the implications of a Democratic win in November on the U.S. military and the conflict in Iraq.

The oil industry may be hit with tax increases if Democrats in Congress get their way.  Brian Todd looks at the politics of petroleum as gas prices continue to rise and the American public turns its attention to the general election later this year.

In Tuesday night's Democratic debate, Sen. Clinton made an issue of Sen. Obama's failure to hold a single substantive oversight hearing on Afghanistan in his capacity as chairman of a Senate subcommittee.  Jessica Yellin takes a closer look at Clinton's assertions about Obama's record on Afghanistan.

Finally, we remember conservative icon William F. Buckley, Jr. who died Wednesday.

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–CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart 

CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from the Best Political Team.

(CNN) — As the voting in Texas, Ohio, Vermont, and Rhode Island approaches, things are heating up between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley reports on the latest back-and-forth between the two remaining Democrats vying for their party's nod.

Republican front runner John McCain continues his march to collect enough delegates to officially garner the GOP's nomination.  Dana Bash reports on McCain's latest comments about the Iraq war.

Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider reports on a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll of likely primary voters in Texas.

Finally, Brian Todd keeps them honest and does a fact check of claims by Clinton and Obama on the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Click here to subscribe to CNN=Politics Daily.

–CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

McCain said he must convince Americans the U.S. policy in Iraq is succeeding. (Photo Credit: AP)

ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (AP) — John McCain said Monday that to win the White House he must convince a war-weary country that U.S. policy in Iraq is succeeding. If he can't, "then I lose. I lose," the Republican said.

He quickly backed off that remark.

"Let me not put it that stark," the likely GOP nominee told reporters on his campaign bus. "Let me just put it this way: Americans will judge my candidacy first and foremost on how they believe I can lead the country both from our economy and for national security. Obviously, Iraq will play a role in their judgment of my ability to handle national security."

"If I may, I'd like to retract 'I'll lose.' But I don't think there's any doubt that how they judge Iraq will have a direct relation to their judgment of me, my support of the surge," McCain added. "Clearly, I am tied to it to a large degree."

The five-year-old Iraq conflict already is emerging as a fault line in the general election, with the Arizona senator calling for the U.S. military continuing its mission while his Democratic opponents urge quick withdrawal.

While most Republicans continue to back the war, many independents and Democrats don't. That presents a significant challenge for McCain and an opportunity for either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.

McCain acknowledged the war will be "a significant factor in how the American people judge my candidacy."

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