Sen. McCain said Sunday that his former rival can't have it both ways when it comes to the new administration's $787 billion stimulus package.

(CNN) — President Barack Obama can't have it both ways on his economic stimulus package, the man he defeated in last year's election said Sunday.

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, told the NBC program "Meet the Press" that Obama either got it wrong when he predicted the benefits of his $787 billion economic stimulus package in February, or he's wrong now in saying the stimulus is working as intended.

"He's either not leveling now or he wasn't leveling at the time they passed the stimulus package," McCain said.

He cited predictions by Obama earlier this year that the spending plan would hold unemployment to 8.5 percent or less, noting the figure is now at 9.5 percent and likely to continue rising.

McCain also complained that the stimulus plan has failed to deliver the job creation Obama pledged.

"What they promised us would be the result of the stimulus in the short-term has turned out not to be true," he said.

On the same program, Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York responded it was too soon to pronounce judgment on the stimulus plan.
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Sen. McCain said Sunday that he expects more details to come out about reports of instructions from former Vice President Cheney to the CIA.

(CNN) — Sen. John McCain thinks we haven't heard the last about allegations that former Vice President Dick Cheney ordered secrecy for a CIA surveillance operation after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.

"If I know Washington, this is the beginning of a pretty involved and detailed story," McCain said Sunday on the NBC program "Meet the Press."

According to a New York Times report, Cheney ordered the CIA to withhold information about the unspecified program from Congress.

CIA Director Leon Panetta told the House Intelligence Committee last month about the program, which he said had been shut down.

McCain said he knew little about the program and offered no details. He said he expected Cheney, who has yet to comment on the story, to speak up.

"The vice president should be heard from" about the accusations leveled against him, McCain said.

Related: Cheney and alleged secret CIA program 'a problem,' Senator says
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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gives a news briefing Friday at the State Department.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The United States has dropped its request that two American journalists imprisoned in North Korea be released on humanitarian grounds, and is seeking amnesty instead, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.

A plea for amnesty implies forgiveness for some offense.

Previously, Clinton said the United States was seeking the immediate release of the women — Laura Ling and Euna Lee — on humanitarian grounds.

The women were sentenced in June to 12 years in prison on charges of entering the country illegally to conduct a smear campaign.

Laura Ling's sister, Lisa Ling, told CNN Friday night that she feels the change in approach is significant, and could aid negotiations for the women's freedom. Lisa Ling is a CNN contributor.

"The two journalists and their families have expressed great remorse for this incident, and I think everyone is very sorry that it happened," Clinton told a State Department briefing Friday.

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CINCINNATI, Ohio (CNN) – In his first trip to Ohio since the election, Vice President Joe Biden jumped back into campaign mode, setting his sights on Republican critics of the $787 billion stimulus plan.

"All the talk about how we're gonna waste all this money, that's a dog that ain't barked yet," Biden said in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Thursday. "And it's not gonna bark on my watch."

It appeared to be a direct shot at House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, who posted a Web video featuring a bloodhound on the hunt for stimulus jobs.

"This is Ellie Mae, and she hasn't found any stimulus jobs. And neither have we," Boehner says in the video.

But some stimulus money has found its way to Boehner's own district in Butler County, Ohio.

Full story

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Vice President Joe Biden tried to rekindle the suddenly faltering momentum for health care reform Friday, warning a group of small business owners that a failure to act soon would have catastrophic consequences for the private sector.

Biden made his pitch as a senior administration health care official, Nancy-Ann DeParle, huddled with Capitol Hill Democrats struggling to forge a consensus on a bill before the planned August congressional recess.

Health care reform is the "foremost economic and moral issue that this administration is determined to deal with," Biden told the business leaders at a meeting near the White House.

Premiums for employer-provided health insurance, he noted, have doubled in the past nine years — rising three times faster than wages.

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John Boehner on Wednesday called recent comments by Vice President Joe Biden 'the greatest fabrication I've seen since I've been in Congress.'

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The war of words between House Minority Leader John Boehner and the Democratic Party over the impact of President Obama's stimulus plan escalated Wednesday — with each side accusing the other of lying to the American people.

The Ohio Republican told reporters that Vice President Joe Biden's weekend comments that the administration had "misread" the extent of the economic crisis were "the greatest fabrication I've seen since I've been in Congress."

"I found it also interesting over the last couple of days to hear the vice president… and the president mention the fact they didn't realize how difficult an economic circumstance we're in," Boehner said. "Now, this is the greatest fabrication I've seen since I've been in Congress. I sat through those meetings at the White House with the president and the vice president, and trust me, there's not one person that sat in those rooms that didn't know how serious our economic crisis was.

Obama told NBC on Tuesday that "rather than say 'misread,' we had incomplete information."

"What I would say is that in some areas you're seeing the economic engine turn," Obama said in that interview. "But what we always knew was that a.) This recession was going to be deep; b.) It was going to last for a while."

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Joe Biden announced a deal Wednesday between the government and hospitals on health care reform.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Vice President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that a deal has been reached with hospitals to help fund health care reform.

Biden said the hospital industry has pledged to contribute $155 billion in Medicare and Medicaid savings in the next decade.

"We're here today to make our health care system healthy again," the vice president said in announcing the agreement.

"Hospitals have acknowledged that significant health care savings can be achieved by improving efficiencies, realigning incentives to emphasize quality care instead of quantity of procedures," Biden said.

"In the last several weeks, they've been working with (Senate Finance Committee) Chairman (Max) Baucus and are coming forward with a proposal that produces real savings in federal health care spending. Savings that will be applied toward the president's firm goal … of enacting health care reform that is deficit neutral."

Ousted Honduran President Zelaya will meet with the Secretary of State.

(CNN) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet Tuesday with deposed Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya, according to the State Department.

In an interview with CNN en Español Monday night, Zelaya said he will once again try to return to his homeland after a series of meetings this week in Washington.

Zelaya failed in a attempt to return Sunday after the government of provisional President Roberto Micheletti prohibited his plane from landing.

Zelaya was expected to arrive in Washington on Tuesday for meetings with U.S. and foreign officials, including Clinton, a senior U.S. official said.

"We're very focused on the need for a dialogue to restore him and to restore the democratic order," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said.

Zelaya was ousted June 28, the day that he planned to follow through with a referendum that the courts and the Honduran Congress had ruled illegal and that the military said it would not support. Lawmakers voted to strip Zelaya of his powers and named Micheletti as president.

The United Nations, Organization of American States and United States have condemned the coup, yet international pressure to date has not proved enough for Zelaya to return to power.

Full story

Related: Despite setback, ousted Honduran president wants to return

Updated: 11:32 a.m.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Sunday that the president's $787 billion dollar stimulus plan was taking too long to create jobs in the struggling economy.

(CNN) — A leading congressional Democrat and Republican both expressed disappointment Sunday with the pace of the government's economic stimulus program, but offered differing views on whether it was a good idea.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said allocating the $787 billion in the stimulus package pushed by President Barack Obama to create jobs was taking too long.

"We're disappointed," Hoyer, D-Maryland, told "FOX News Sunday." "We're looking at ways to get the money out more quickly."

Hoyer's Republican counterpart, Rep. John Boehner, said on the same program that the stimulus bill passed by Congress in February was flawed.

"You can't spend $800 billion of taxpayer money and not create jobs, when you say that's what the bill was for," Boehner, of Ohio, complained. Boehner said the bill only funds more government, rather than creating private sector jobs.
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House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Sunday that the president's $787 billion dollar stimulus plan was taking too long to create jobs in the struggling economy.

(CNN) — A leading congressional Democrat and Republican both expressed disappointment Sunday with the pace of the government's economic stimulus program, but offered differing views on whether it was a good idea.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said allocating the $787 billion in the stimulus package pushed by President Barack Obama to create jobs was taking too long.

"We're disappointed," Hoyer, D-Maryland, told "FOX News Sunday." "We're looking at ways to get the money out more quickly."

Hoyer's Republican counterpart, Rep. John Boehner, said on the same program that the stimulus bill passed by Congress in February was flawed.

"You can't spend $800 billion of taxpayer money and not create jobs, when you say that's what the bill was for," Boehner, of Ohio, complained. Boehner said the bill only funds more government, rather than creating private sector jobs.
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Republican strategist Karl Rove said Sunday that Gov. Sarah Palin's decision to step down risky and not clear.

(CNN) — The "architect" of George W. Bush's successful presidential campaigns has questions about Sarah Palin's resignation as governor.

"It's a risky strategy," Republican campaign mastermind Karl Rove told "Fox News Sunday."

Palin's unexpected announcement Friday that she will step down with 18 months left in her first term has left many in her party "a little perplexed," said Rove, whom Bush dubbed "The Architect" for managing his two victorious campaigns in 2000 and 2004.
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(CNN) – There are signs that the international policy to isolate North Korea from its traditional allies is working, despite the Pyongyang regime's weekend firing of seven-short range missiles toward the Sea of Japan, Vice President Joe Biden says.

In an interview broadcast Sunday on the ABC program "This Week," Biden called efforts by the United States and others to forge a unified response to North Korea's potential nuclear threat "a significant turning in pressure."

He noted that a North Korean ship believed to be carrying weapons-related materials turned back toward North Korea when tracked by U.S. naval ships as part of U.N. sanctions recently approved by the Security Council.

"No port would take it," Biden said, citing the development as a sign of new international resolve demonstrated by China — the longtime ally and benefactor of North Korea — signing onto the Security Council resolution.
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The vice president visited with U.S. troops during his recent visit to Iraq — including with his son, Army Capt. Beau Biden, pictured here with the vice president.

(CNN) — The U.S. government intends to have all its troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011, and it's up to the Iraqis to make that timetable work, Vice President Joe Biden said.

In an interview with ABC News' "This Week" during his trip to Iraq that ended Sunday, Biden said a collapse by Iraq into civil war once U.S. troops depart would be "a tragic outcome."

President Barack Obama remains committed to withdrawing combat troops by the end of August 2010 and all U.S. forces out by the end of 2011, he said.

"That is our intention," Biden said, noting that Iraqi elections scheduled for early 2010 would offer the nation an opportunity for a major step forward.

"It is our expectation that election will come out peacefully," he said.

On another issue, Biden refused to speculate on what the United States would do if Israel decided to attack Iran's nuclear facilities.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) — Arizona Sen. John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, released a statement following his former running mate Sarah Palin's decision to step down as Alaska governor:

"I have the greatest respect and affection for Sarah, Todd, and their family. I was deeply honored to have her as my running mate and believe she will continue to play an important leadership role in the Republican party and our nation."

McCain raised eyebrows during a spring appearance on the Tonight Show when he listed five current and former GOP governors as possible party leaders — but didn't include Palin.

The Arizona senator has said in other interviews it is too early to say whether he will support her should she run for president in 2012.

But he's also praised Palin since Election Day, saying late last year of the Alaska governor, "It's one of the great pleasures I've had to get to know her and her family, and I think she has a very bright future in a leadership position in the Republican Party."

Joe Biden says that he's not going to second guess Sarah Palin's decision to resign as governor of Alaska.

(CNN) – Joe Biden said Saturday that he's not going to second guess Sarah Palin's decision to step down as governor of Alaska at the end of the month.

The vice president would not speculate on what led to Palin's move. "I didn’t hear her press conference," Biden told the New York Times. "All I was told was that she said and related to it was a personal decision a family decision and I take her at her word."

"In my experience that’s how 95 percent of decisions by public officials in both parties are made when they’re this important to their careers," Biden said.

Vice President Joe Biden spoke to troops in Baghdad on July 4.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) – Vice President Joe Biden enjoyed a star-spangled Fourth of July in Baghdad, where he celebrated American patriotism and mocked the ubiquitous ghost of Saddam Hussein.

He presided at a naturalization ceremony, where over 237 U.S. service members were sworn in to become American citizens. The loquacious vice president later playfully swore at the memory of the former Iraqi dictator, toppled by the U.S. military in 2003.

Noting that the naturalization event that took place in the Al-Faw Palace — one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces, Biden joked to U.S. troops over the significance of holding such an event at this fallen gaudy symbol of the former dictator's iron-fisted regime.

"We did it in Saddam's palace and I can think of nothing better," he told troops later, after the swearing-in event. "That S.O.B. is rolling over in his grave right now."

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Sen. John McCain gave the GOP's weekly radio address.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The United States was founded on the idea that "history has a right side and a wrong side," Arizona Sen. John McCain said in the weekly Republican address broadcast on the Fourth of July.

"We share a kinship of ideals with every man and woman on earth who struggles for their God-given rights. The world must never doubt where we stand in the liberation struggles of our time…" he said, in the address broadcast on radio and the Web Saturday.

"Today, we stand with the millions of Iranians who brave batons, imprisonment and gunfire to have their voices heard and their votes counted. They do not ask us to arm them or come to their assistance with anything other than public declarations of solidarity, and public denunciations of the tyrants who oppress them. We have a moral obligation to do so."

McCain and other Republicans have previously called on President Obama to make a stronger public statement in support of Iranians protesting the circumstances surrounding the country's controversial election last month.

Full McCain address after the jump

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The State Department told CNN that Hillary Clinton has not been sidelined by her broken elbow.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Washington is a town where a sharp elbow is almost a job requirement. The ability to nudge political rivals off-balance and fight for bureaucratic turf can boost a career.

So it's easy to understand why the State Department on Thursday was quick to reject any suggestion that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been sidelined by her broken elbow.

Clinton fell and broke her elbow in the State Department basement as she was walking toward her car June 17, bound for a meeting at the White House.

Are Clinton and her international policy responsibilities being usurped by Vice President Biden? "Nonsense," State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly told CNN.

Full dialogue between reporter and Kelly after the jump

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Baghdad Thursday, where he will underscore Washington's commitment to a drawdown of American forces there, the White House said.

Biden is to meet with Iraqi and U.S. military officials and will also speak with troops. He is expected to deliver a speech to troops on Saturday, the Fourth of July, and may visit another city.

The trip comes a couple of days after U.S. combat troops withdrew from urban centers in the country, and left security duties in cities like Baghdad, Mosul, Basra and other communities to Iraqi security forces.

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