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Washington (CNN) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, praising what she called the special U.S.-Indian relationship, welcomed Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Vice President Joe Biden to a formal lunch at the State Department Tuesday.

"You are the hottest ticket in town," Biden told Singh in remarks at the start of the lunch. The Indian leader will be honored at a White House state dinner Tuesday evening.

Clinton praised the relationship between the two countries, adding that India - like the U.S. - is what she called a "diverse" and "occasionally raucous democracy."

Singh, whose visit comes as the Obama administration is finalizing its policy on Afghanistan, made his feelings clear. "We have a common stake in peace and security in Afghanistan," he said. And he told Clinton, "Your visit to India in July has prepared the groundwork for a greatly strengthened strategic partnership between our two countries."
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(CNN) - Sarah Palin's book tour brings her to Iowa in two weeks. If the former Alaska governor and last year's GOP vice presidential nominee decides to return to Iowa down to road to explore a race for the White House, a new survey suggests that Republicans in the state like her - but have some doubts.

According to a Des Moines Register Iowa poll, 68 percent of Hawkeye Republicans view Palin favorably. That's a statistically insignificant 2 points behind those who have a positive view of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won the 2008 Iowa caucuses, which traditionally kick off the presidential primary season.

Among other potential 2012 candidates: The survey indicates that two out of three view former House Speaker Newt Gingrich favorably and 58 percent have a positive view of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

"With those kinds of numbers, if she were to become a candidate, while it's not a sure thing, she would be starting out in a very good position," veteran Iowa GOP strategist David Roederer told the Des Moines Register. Roederer ran McCain's 2008 Iowa campaign.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Representatives from some of the top 2008 GOP presidential campaigns gathered in Washington, D.C. Thursday to urge the Republican National Committee to lock in a 2012 primary calendar as early as possible to avoid the confusion that dogged the early stages of last year's nomination contest. One campaign manager took his recommendations a step further and suggested ending the traditional first-in-the-nation statuses of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

An RNC panel headed by party chairman Michael Steele invited the campaigns to share their views as it considers numerous possible changes to the process the party will use to nominate a candidate to challenge President Barack Obama in 2012.

Mike DuHaime, the 2008 campaign manager for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, told the panel that the three early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina should continue to hold contests early in the process, but not necessarily as the first three contests.

"I believe there needs to be greater decision-making authority given to states beyond the early states," said DuHaime, referring to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. "If you win two out of three states, those have been our nominees. With that, 47 other states don't have the same say."

"I think that is ultimately not in the best interests of the party," he added.

DuHaime went on to say that the early phase of the nomination calendar should be more geographically and ethnically diverse and that doing so could make the party more competitive in general elections.
DuHaime's candidate did not campaign heavily in the early states and instead focused his time and energy on later contests.

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(CNN) – A new poll of New York state voters indicates Rudy Giuliani leads incumbent Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a hypothetical Senate race.

According to a Marist College survey released Thursday afternoon, 54 percent of registered voters in New York support the former New York City mayor for Senate, with four in 10 backing Gillibrand, a Democratic congresswoman from upstate New York who was appointed to fill Hillary Clinton's former Senate seat. Gillibrand is running in 2010 to serve the final two years of Clinton's term.

The poll indicates that Giuliani would top former New York State Gov. George Pataki 71 percent to 24 percent in a hypothetical Republican Senate primary next year. In September, Pataki wouldn't say if he was interested in making a bid for the senate seat held by Gillibrand. Earlier this year, fellow Republican Rep. Peter King officially announced that he would not challenge Gillbrand next year.

According to the poll, Giuliani leads Gillibrand overwhelmingly among registered Republicans, tops her by 14 points among independents, and trails her by 26 points among registered Democrats. The survey indicates that New York City voters are divided between Giuliani and Gillibrand.

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(CNN) - A spokeswoman for Rudy Giuliani says that the former New York City mayor has not made up his mind about running for governor next year.

Maria Comella's comments were in response to report Thursday in the New York Times that Giuliani had decided not to run for New York governor in 2010, according to people who have been told of his decision.

"Rudy has a history of making up his own mind and has no problem speaking it. When Mayor Giuliani makes a decision about serving in public office, he will inform New Yorkers on his own," said Comella in a statement.

Recent polls of New York State voters indicate that Giuliani holds a wide lead over former Rep. Rick Lazio, the only Republican to have declared a gubernatorial bid, in a hypothetical 2010 GOP primary match-up.

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(CNN) - Vice President Joe Biden is downplaying news the government Web site Recovery.gov reported hundreds of millions of stimulus dollars spent on projects in congressional districts that in fact do not actually exist.

The districts don't exist, but the projects do, Biden said Tuesday night.

And the administration isn't to blame - the fault lies with the nation's educational system.

In an appearance on The Daily Show, Biden said the errors - first reported by ABC News - do not indicate unaccounted-for spending but are rather the result of 70 people who are the product of "bad civics classes."

"Every single solitary penny that got sent out there to a state, a construction company, a nonprofit had to be accounted for," Biden told host Jon Stewart. "And it all got put on Recovery.gov. What happened was, out of 130,000 people reporting in what they did with the money…70 did not know how to count."

"There was bad civics classes for those 70 people," Biden continued. "They had to fill out a form, what district are you in, and there was no such district."

Biden said checkers are now going through the reports to determine the actual districts where the money was spent.

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton landed in Kabul Wednesday in a surprise visit on the eve of the inauguration of President Hamid Karzai.

Clinton went straight into a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry and Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, before having dinner with Karzai.

Her first visit to Afghanistan as secretary of state comes as President Obama is deciding whether to send up to 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan, as requested by McChrystal.

Clinton will attend Karzai's Thursday inauguration to a second term, showing U.S. support for his government, after an election which was tainted by fraudulent balloting.

Full story

(CNN) – Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will headline a conference call Wednesday with national reporters to criticize the Obama administration's decision to hold Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's trial in New York.

The call is being organized by the Republican National Committee.

Giuliani has been very vocal, including in an interview Sunday on CNN's State of the Union with John King, about his opposition to having the trial take place in New York.

Follow Mark Preston on Twitter: @prestoncnn

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Days after telling his former staffers to avoid responding to charges in Sarah Palin's new book, Sen. John McCain has spoken up to deny that his campaign made her pay for her own vice presidential vetting.

The former Republican presidential candidate told The Hill on Monday night that Palin did receive a legal bill - but it was to deal with allegations that she abused her power as governor to try to get her ex-brother-in-law fired from his job as a state trooper in Alaska.

"That was over the troopergate," McCain told The Hill.

In her book "Going Rogue: An American Life," Palin said that the McCain campaign stuck her with a bill for $50,000 to cover the costs of her own vetting. McCain's aides have denied this charge, and others made in the book, but the Arizona senator has largely remained silent. On Friday, he asked his former aides to avoid television appearances and refrain from engaging in a back-and-forth with Palin over the claims.

Palin has given him a signed copy of the book. McCain told the Hill that he enjoyed reading it.

"I hope she sells lots of them," he said.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – It could be an historic day for Vice President Joe Biden.

Biden heads to New York City late Tuesday afternoon and will appear on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." That's nothing new for Biden, who's appeared on the program as a guest five times over the past few years.

But this will be Biden's first time on the show since his inauguration as vice president in January. And apparently it will be the first time any sitting vice president will appear as a guest on the program.

– CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report

Washington (CNN) – John McCain asked former campaign staffers Friday to avoid engaging in a back-and-forth over claims made by former running mate Sarah Palin in her new book, CNN has confirmed.

On a conference call with senior campaign advisers, the former Republican presidential candidate asked them to hold back from responding – telling them, in effect, that "this too shall pass," according to sources familiar with the call.

Palin's book, 'Going Rogue', slams the McCain team – particularly campaign manager Steve Schmidt and senior adviser Nicole Wallace – over the rollout plan and overall media strategy for the former vice presidential candidate. He also told staffers on the call he was sorry they were coming under fire.

On Friday, McCain conceded to the reality of the media firestorm surrounding Palin's charges against his team, and told them he understood if they felt the need to defend themselves. But the Arizona senator called for a minimalist approach, suggesting that his former aides avoid television appearances.

(CNN) - While their fictional personas have teamed up on Saturday Night Live, Sarah Palin and Hilary Clinton have actually never met.

But the secretary of state said Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press she'd "look forward" to talking politics with Palin over coffee sometime soon.

Clinton was responding to an excerpt in Palin's forthcoming memoir in which the Alaska governor praises the then senator Clinton's 2008 presidential primary campaign effort.

"Should Secretary Clinton and I ever sit down over a cup of coffee, I know that we will fundamentally disagree on many issues," Palin writes in the new book called "Going Rogue: An American Life. "But my hat is off to her hard work on the 2008 campaign trail. A lot of her supporters think she proved what Margaret Thatcher proclaimed. 'If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.'"

TOPICS: Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden

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(CNN) – Vice President Joe Biden is lending a helping hand to five Western House Democrats who may face competitive re-election races next year.

The vice president attends a political event in Phoenix Monday for Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick and Harry Mitchell. Kirkpatrick, a freshman, won her seat in Arizona's 1st congressional district by 17 points. Mitchell, a two-term representative, won re-election last year by 9 points. Both the non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report and Cook Political Report are keeping their eyes on both races.

Later Monday, Biden attends an event in Albuquerque, New Mexico for Reps. Harry Teague and Martin Heinrich. Republicans are gunning to win back Teague's seat, in New Mexico's 2nd congressional district. Teague, a freshman, won the district by 12 points last year. Both the Rothenberg and Cook Political Reports consider the race a tossup. Heinrich is also a freshman who won his race in 2008 by 12 points.

On Sunday, the vice president was the main attraction in Las Vegas at a fundraiser for freshman Rep. Dina Titus. Last year, Titus won Nevada's 3rd congressional district in a three-way contest, grabbing 47 percent of the vote. She could face a tough re-election next year.
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(CNN) – A prominent, socially moderate Republican said Sunday that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has achieved iconic status with the Republican Party’s conservative base, is an asset to the GOP.

“I think Sarah Palin is great for the Republican Party,” former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said in an interview that aired on CNN’s State of the Union.

Giuliani said Palin generates a lot of enthusiasm for the party which has struggled to define itself and identify its leading voices after the McCain-Palin ticket lost its White House bid a year ago.

“She gets a tremendous reception even here in Democratic New York,” Giuliani, who hosted Palin at a New York Yankees game, told CNN’s John King.
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(CNN) – A prominent, socially moderate Republican said Sunday that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has achieved iconic status with the Republican Party’s conservative base, is an asset to the GOP.

“I think Sarah Palin is great for the Republican Party,” former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said in an interview that aired on CNN’s State of the Union.

Giuliani said Palin generates a lot of enthusiasm for the party which has struggled to define itself and identify its leading voices after the McCain-Palin ticket lost its White House bid a year ago.

“She gets a tremendous reception even here in Democratic New York,” Giuliani, who hosted Palin at a New York Yankees game, told CNN’s John King.
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(CNN) – Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani strayed from the facts in discussing the discord within the Republican Party caused by the insurgent candidacy of Doug Hoffman, a Republican who chose to run on the Conservative Party ticket in the recent special election for New York’s 23rd congressional district.

Talking about the Bill Owens, the Democrat who won the special election, Giuliani erroneously said Owens had voted against the Democratically sponsored health care reform bill that recently passed in the House of Representatives.
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(CNN) – The man who ran New York City on September 11, 2001 is slamming a recently announced decision by Attorney General Eric Holder to hold criminal trials in civilian court for five men suspected of conspiring to carry out the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Instead of bringing suspected mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other suspects to Manhattan federal court, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says military tribunals are better suited to try those accused of terrorism.

“A military tribunal is certainly fair,” Giuliani said in an interview that aired Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union, “it’s a great example to the rest of the world. The tradition for over 150 years has been to use those military tribunals.”

Giuliani said that law enforcement officials had made a mistake in using civilian federal court to try those accused of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

“To treat the 1993 bombing as if it were just a criminal act – just one of the 1,973 murders in the city of New York that year – was a big mistake. So, basically the Obama administration is repeating the mistake of history. . . . It should’ve been treated as an act of war.

“And it’s part of a bigger picture here,” Giuliani told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King, “it’s part of Barack Obama deciding that we’re not at war with terrorism any longer. So this is not treated as if it was an act of war which is what it should be treated like.”
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(CNN) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sunday the primary U.S. mission in Afghanistan is defeating al Qaeda, rather than making a long-term commitment to rebuild the country.

"We're not interested in staying in Afghanistan; we're not interested in any long-term presence there," Clinton told the NBC program "Meet the Press."

"We want to get al Qaeda, we want to disrupt, dismantle and defeat those who attacked us, and we want to be able to give the Afghans the tools that they need to be able to defend themselves," Clinton said.

On the ABC show "This Week," Clinton said she has "made it clear" the United States won't provide civilian aid to Afghan government agencies without an effective certification process that shows the money will be spent on its intended purposes.

Full story

Updated: 1:50 p.m.

(CNN) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used no diplomatic doublespeak Sunday when asked about a rumor she was considering a run for governor of New York next year.

"No, no," she said on the ABC program "This Week," adding: "I hope maybe we can put it to rest today."

Clinton said she was committed to her job in President Barack Obama's Cabinet, adding it was "an extraordinarily important time to be secretary of state for our country."

"That rumor is dead," Clinton said. "If you could please put it in a little box and send it off somewhere, I'd appreciate it."