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McCain says he's not offended his former running mate blacked out his name for her visor.

(CNN) - Arizona Sen. John McCain said the recent flap over Sarah Palin's decision to black out his name from a campaign visor while she was vacationing in Hawaii is much ado about nothing.

"Oh, it's fine. Sarah said she wanted to be a little bit incognito," McCain said when asked about the incident on "Fox News Sunday. "I don't blame her. I understand that."

The controversy arose after photos of a vacationing Palin showed the former Republican vice presidential candidate relaxing on a Hawaii beach wearing a McCain campaign visor on which she had clearly blacked out the Arizona senator's name with a marker.

The Web site TMZ declared the blacked-out visor amounted to a "frontal attack on Sen. John McCain," but Palin later said she was merely trying to "be incognito" in an effort to get a little rest and relaxation after her nearly month-long book tour.

"I adore John McCain, support him 100 percent and will do everything I can to support his reelection," Palin told the Web site Politico when questioned about the hat. "As everyone knows, I was honored and proud to run with him."

Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," McCain said he is taking Palin at her word.

Can't you take her at her word? It's - Sarah and I and Todd, Cindy - we have a wonderful relationship. We're dear friends," he said. "She is a - going to be a force in the Republican Party for a longtime. And the hysterical attacks on her from the left continue to validate that. "

McCain had some harsh words for the AARP.

Washington (CNN) – The John McCain of 2009 is singing a different tune than the John McCain of 2008.

On Thursday, the Arizona senator hammered the AARP on the Senate floor and on his Twitter account for supporting a proposal by Senate Democrats to cut millions from Medicare to help pay for health care legislation.

"I call on seniors to cut up their AARP cards and send them back to them!" McCain tweeted Thursday afternoon.

Endorsing Democrats in the health care fight seems to have changed McCain's thinking on the AARP, the nation's most influential senior lobby. During his 2008 presidential bid, the Republican nominee praised the group's leadership in some key policy battles.

"I say God bless AARP for everything they are doing, not only for the present generations of Americans, but for future generations," McCain told an AARP audience in September of last year. "That's your duty, that's your strength, and that's why I love to see you at every town hall meeting. And that's why I always try to let you talk."

McCain thanked the group for working with him on what he called "the big fights," citing tobacco legislation and campaign finance reform. "This organization has been an incredibly valuable contributor to the important discourses I just mentioned, and it's been there for decades, for decades," he said at the time.

Brooke Buchanan, a spokeswoman for McCain, said his objection to AARP is based on what the group is doing now, not what they did in the past.

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Washington (CNN) – In its first votes on amendments to the massive health care bill, the Senate approved a Democratic amendment Thursday to provide women with low cost mammograms and other preventative tests and rejected a Republican counter amendment that sought to prevent government boards from having influence over which screening tests for women would be covered.

The amendments were prompted by the recent uproar over a controversial recommendation by a government task force that some women should not receive annual mammograms to detect breast cancer. Democrats wanted to assure women that health care reform won't lead to a rationing of such care and Republicans wanted to make the point that it will.

The votes came on the fourth day of debate on health care reform,, which has been dominated by partisan rhetoric and gridlock. A second series of votes is planned Thursday afternoon on another hot-button issue: whether almost $500 billion in cuts to Medicare in the Democratic bill will mean a reduction of care for the nation's seniors.

A motion by Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain would force the bill back into committee to be stripped of its Medicare cuts. Last year's GOP presidential nominee and other Republicans argue it's impossible to cut that much spending from the Medicare program without hurting seniors.

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Sen. McCain makes a plea to voters in Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska and North Dakota in a taped phone message.

(CNN) – Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, is asking residents of Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska and North Dakota to pressure their senators to support a legislative move that would effectively end Senate Democrats' efforts to pass a health care reform bill this year.

McCain began making the plea Wednesday in a taped message that was sent to home telephones in each state. When a person picks up the telephone, McCain is heard asking the listener to support an amendment that would send the health care reform legislation back to the Finance Committee.

The calls specifically target five Democratic senators: Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and Ben Nelson of Nebraska. Lincoln, Bennet and Dorgan are all facing re-election in 2010.

Lincoln and Dorgan are facing re-election in 2010. Bennet, who was appointed to his seat, is running for his own six-year term next year.

Listen: McCain's call to Arkansas voters

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"If you say there's a date certain for withdrawal, your friends and enemies who will be in the region make accommodations accordingly," McCain said.

During Tuesday night's prime time address laying out his Afghanistan troop buildup, President Obama said that a troop withdrawal could begin as early as July 2011.

McCain said Wednesday in an interview on CNN's American Morning that Obama "gave an excellent speech and I think the policy, although it's very extended period of deliberation which is now behind us, is a good one, and I'm confident the president will do exactly as he says."

But the Republican senator from Arizona criticized the president's comments regarding an exit strategy, adding that "it's contradictory to say you're going to have your withdrawal dictated by the situation on the ground, and at the same time say that there's going to about date certain for withdrawal."

McCain challenged the president hours before Obama addressed the nation on his new Afghanistan strategy. The president and members of his war council spent about an hour briefing senior members of Congress at a White House meeting that multiple sources described as businesslike and sobering. Democratic and Republican lawmakers, who attended the meeting, said Obama laid out his plans to escalate the military mission before several lawmakers asked questions.

Three GOP sources told CNN that Sen. John McCain used the meeting to directly challenge the president on his exit strategy. The sources said that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell deferred to McCain, who questioned the concept of announcing now plans to begin withdrawing in July, 2011. These sources said the president responded to McCain by promising that the withdrawal would be based on conditions on the ground.

McCain also says he has problems with the administration's civilian strategy in Afghanistan.

"Another concern I have has to do with the civilian side of our counterinsurgency strategy," said McCain in his opening statement at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday morning on Afghanistan. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were among the witnesses at the hearing.

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In a private meeting held hours before his prime-time address, President Obama was challenged by his 2008 presidential campaign rival Sen. John McCain.

Washington (CNN) - Hours before he was set to address the nation on his new Afghanistan strategy, President Obama and members of his war council spent about an hour briefing senior members of Congress at a White House meeting that multiple sources described as businesslike and sobering.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers, who attended the meeting, said Obama laid out his plans to escalate the military mission before several lawmakers asked questions.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin told CNN the president emphasized that in addition to sending some 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, he also has a "target for when this is coming to an end."

"The president believes that gives the Afghans enough time, and the Pakistanis enough time to take control of the situation," Durbin said.

Three GOP sources told CNN that Sen. John McCain used the meeting to directly challenge the president on his exit strategy.

The sources said that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell deferred to McCain, who questioned the concept of announcing now plans to begin withdrawing in July, 2011.

These sources said the president responded to McCain by promising that the withdrawal would be based on conditions on the ground.

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn was one of the only members of the Democratic leadership in either chamber to tell CNN "I'm very supportive of it."

Even Durbin, one of the president's closest allies, told CNN he is withholding judgment. "The president took some time to reach his decision, I'm going to need some time to reach mine," Durbin said.

In a private meeting held hours before his prime-time address, President Obama was challenged by his 2008 presidential campaign rival Sen. John McCain.

Washington (CNN) - Hours before he was set to address the nation on his new Afghanistan strategy, President Obama and members of his war council spent about an hour briefing senior members of Congress at a White House meeting that multiple sources described as businesslike and sobering.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers, who attended the meeting, said Obama laid out his plans to escalate the military mission before several lawmakers asked questions.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin told CNN the president emphasized that in addition to sending some 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, he also has a "target for when this is coming to an end."

"The president believes that gives the Afghans enough time, and the Pakistanis enough time to take control of the situation," Durbin said.

Three GOP sources told CNN that Sen. John McCain used the meeting to directly challenge the president on his exit strategy.

The sources said that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell deferred to McCain, who questioned the concept of announcing now plans to begin withdrawing in July, 2011.

These sources said the president responded to McCain by promising that the withdrawal would be based on conditions on the ground.

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn was one of the only members of the Democratic leadership in either chamber to tell CNN "I'm very supportive of it."

Even Durbin, one of the president's closest allies, told CNN he is withholding judgment. "The president took some time to reach his decision, I'm going to need some time to reach mine," Durbin said.

McCain said Palin's legal bills were for 'troopergate.'

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.

McCain asks staffers to hold their fire on Palin.

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.

Sen. John McCain spoke to reporters in Arizona on Friday.

(CNN) – Sen. John McCain has already received a signed copy of Sarah Palin's new memoir "Going Rogue," but the former Republican presidential nominee hasn't read it yet.

"I've just received a signed copy from her yesterday, so I will read it with interest," the senator told reporters Friday in his home state of Arizona.

While the book contains a healthy dose of score-settling aimed at former McCain campaign aides, the senator stressed that he was "proud and honored" to have had Palin as his running mate.

"One of the things about campaigns that lose, there's always mistakes made and the campaign that wins is always the perfect campaign," he said. "I'm proud of the campaign we ran. I'm proud of Sarah Palin and we continue to have a great and wonderful relationship. So, I'm very proud of the campaign we ran and I have moved forward."

When asked if the book has become "a nuisance," McCain responded no. "It is the usual background noise," he said.

He also responded to a question he has heard over and over again since the campaign ended: Can Palin be a viable presidential candidate herself in 2012?

"Sure," he said. "I think there are a number of viable candidates out there. I think that Sarah Palin is obviously one of them and we'll start through the process in about a year or so of selecting our nominee, but I think she's a very strong force in the Republican Party. I can't predict who's gonna get the nomination but I certainly think she would be competitive."

McCain wants suspected terrorists tried in military tribunals.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sen. John McCain hammered the Obama administration Friday for its decision to try accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other suspected terrorists in a civilian court in New York.

Mohammed, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi will all be transferred from Guantanamo Bay to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York - a short distance from the World Trade Center towers that were destroyed in the September 11 attacks.

McCain said in a statement that he is "extremely disappointed" by the decision and argued that the suspects "should be treated as war criminals and tried for their crimes through military tribunals."

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Sarah Palin's book is officially scheduled for release next Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A former senior campaign adviser to John McCain is rejecting Sarah Palin’s claim that she was billed for the costs of vetting her before she was selected as the Republican vice presidential nominee.

Palin’s book “Going Rogue” is set to hit the bookstores next Tuesday, but the Associated Press reported the claim Thursday after purchasing a copy of the book before the sale date. The AP reported that Palin writes about the legal fees she began to accumulate after returning to Alaska once the campaign ended, most of which were the result of having to defend herself from ethics charges.

The AP said that Palin writes about receiving a bill for about $500,000 from the McCain campaign to pay for expenses relating to the vetting process that took place before she was named as the vice presidential nominee.

"That is one hundred percent untrue," said the McCain official, who would only speak on the condition of anonymity in deference to McCain. "All those bills are from her personal attorney Thomas Van Flein, mostly relating to the Troopergate investigation and other ethics investigations. It is not legal to pay for those investigations out of general election funds, even if the campaign was so inclined."

Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapleton would not confirm the accuracy of the AP report.

"The book remains embargoed," Stapleton said in an e-mail to CNN. "The Governor will appear on Oprah first to discuss the book's contents.”

The Oprah interview, which was taped Wednesday, will air in its entirety next Monday. The memoir officially hits stores the following day, and Palin kicks off her much-anticipated book tour in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Wednesday.

Palin was concerned about the cost of the wardrobe that was purchased for her during the campaign, according to the new book.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Tensions within John McCain's presidential campaign boiled over on Election Night last November when Sarah Palin, McCain's running mate, repeatedly ignored directions from senior staffers who told her she would not be delivering her own concession speech.

Those fresh details on the conflict between Palin and members of the McCain team come in a new book - "Sarah from Alaska" - by Scott Conroy and Shushannah Walshe, two members of the press corps that traveled with Palin during the 2008 presidential race. The pair spent much of the following year reporting on the campaign turmoil and the vice presidential nominee's difficult return to Alaska after the election.

According to a copy of the book obtained by CNN, Palin's speechwriter Matthew Scully had prepared a brief speech for the then-Alaska governor to deliver while introducing McCain, before he gave his concession speech at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix. But after conferring in his suite with senior advisers Mark Salter, Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt, McCain nixed the idea of having Palin speak before him.

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John McCain says America must win the war in Afghanistan.

The following is a commentary from Sen. John McCain:

WASHINGTON (CNN) - For the first time since September 11, 2001, America is having a vigorous national debate about how to succeed in Afghanistan. This debate is entirely worth having. Whenever America sends its citizens into harm's way, it must do so with eyes wide open.

Though no veteran would ever think of himself as "pro-war," I believe that the fight in Afghanistan is critical to our national security. Our goals there are achievable and success is worth the continued sacrifice.

We must succeed in Afghanistan for many reasons, but one stands above all: the world walked away from Afghanistan once, and it descended into a cauldron of violence, hatred and human rights atrocities that served as the base for the worst terrorist attack in history against our homeland.

Full story

Roberta McCain is hospitalized in Lisbon, Portugal, after injuring her head in a fall.

(CNN) – The mother of U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain is hospitalized in Lisbon, Portugal, after injuring her head in a fall, McCain's spokeswoman said Friday.

Roberta McCain, 97, was visiting Lisbon as a tourist when she fainted and hurt her head, spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan said.

McCain is stable and will be held for observation, Dr. Fatima Palmero of the Sao Jose Hospital told CNN. It is not clear when McCain might leave the hospital, Palermo said.

The senator has spoken to his mother and the doctors treating her, who report that she is recovering well, Buchanan said.

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Sen. John McCain is holding a rally with Bob McDonnell on Saturday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – As one of only two statewide campaigns in the 2009 election cycle, the Virginia governor's race has seen a parade of national political stars make the trip to the Old Dominion.

Late Friday, Creigh Deeds' campaign announced that President Obama would join the Democratic candidate on the trail at the end of the month. Obama's 2008 presidential rival will get there first: On Saturday, Sen. John McCain will make his second trip to Virginia on behalf of Republican candidate Bob McDonnell. McCain, a decorated Navy hero, will help McDonnell make a closing pitch to veterans at a rally in Hampton Roads, a region of the state with a heavy military population.

McCain isn't the only high-profile Republican who has stumped for the former Virginia Attorney General: Two other former presidential candidates - former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee - have twice visited the state twice to campaign. Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani also raised money for McDonnell.

Along with Romney and Huckabee, McDonnell has welcomed a number of top Republicans who may run for president in 2012. That list includes Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association. Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele campaigned with McDonnell in May.

Creigh Deeds, who spent the first half of the year in a three-way fight for the Democratic nomination, hasn't had an army of national figures campaign with him. But several prominent Democrats have chipped in to help.

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In his Crib Sheet, CNN's John King looks back at Sunday's talk shows and ahead to the topics that will be making news this week.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The war in Afghanistan dominated the Sunday conversation, and the spirited debate reflected the stakes of the choice President Obama will make in the coming weeks.

“An error of historic proportions,” was Arizona Senator John McCain’s take on the consequences should the commander in chief refuse to send at least 40,000 more troops. “What the hell are we doing there,” was the retort from anti-war Democratic Rep. James McGovern.

Significant, at least to us, was California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein’s characterization of Gen. Stanley McChrystal as “crackerjack.” It wasn’t too long ago, on “State of the Union,” she mentioned the need for an Afghanistan timetable; but Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” she said “I don’t know how” Mr. Obama could reject his commanding general’s recommendations.

Also significant was how a Saturday night speech by the president added gay rights – and specifically same-sex marriage and “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” – to the Sunday agenda. One instant lesson: Getting a “yes or no” answer on whether a senator would vote to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act isn’t necessarily easy!

Because at CNN "we watch the other Sunday shows so you don’t have to," let’s get this week's “Sound of Sunday, beginning with the divide over Afghanistan:

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain is openly admitting that there were tensions between his former campaign manager Steve Schmidt and those close to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain’s one-time White House running mate. Still, McCain calls Palin “a formidable force” in the GOP and remains open to the possibility of Palin being his party’s presidential nominee in 2012.

“With a high-pressure situation, there's always tensions that develop within campaigns,” McCain says in a wide-ranging interview that airs Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. ”And there were clearly tensions between Steve Schmidt and people in the Palin camp.”

Still, McCain said, Palin was an asset to his presidential campaign.

“There are fundamental facts … that cannot be denied,” McCain adds. “When we selected or asked Sarah Palin to be my running mate, it energized our party. We were ahead in the polls, until the stock market crashed. And she still is a formidable force in the Republican Party.”

“I have great affection for her,” McCain continues. But “did we always agree on everything in the past? Will we in the future? No.”

While McCain said he could not predict what would happen in the next presidential election, the Arizona Republican says he is open to many potential nominees for his party - including Palin.

“Look let's let a thousand flowers bloom. Let's come up with a winning combination the next time. … let's all go through the process, rather than condemning anybody's chances,” he says, reacting to recent comments about Palin by Schmidt. “And I'm happy to say we have some great people out there, and Sarah is one of them.”
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WASHINGTON (CNN) – As the national debate over health care reform is set to enter a new phase with next week’s scheduled vote in the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, says his party needs to crystallize its own positive agenda for health care reform.

“We Republicans need to come up with our agenda,” the former GOP presidential hopeful says in an interview that airs Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. “And we need to do it so that there is a viable alternative to this [legislation in the Senate Finance Committee]. And it has to do with things that are not associated with government-controlled health care in America.

“And there are many, many things we can do - medical malpractice reform, go across state lines to get insurance policies of your choice, refundable tax credits - there's a long list of things that we can and should propose as we enter this debate.”

Asked whether he would vote for the version of health care reform legislation championed by finance committee chairman Max Baucus, D-Montana, if it came to the Senate floor, McCain said he would have to wait and see what the final Senate version of reform legislation looks like.

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