TOPICS: Republican and Democratic parties

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TOPICS: Congress, Democratic party, Republican party

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TOPICS: Which party would do better job on economy, foreign affairs, health care, terrorism, taxes, budget deficit, other issues? Is Obama doing enough to cooperate with GOP?  Is GOP doing enough to cooperate with Obama? Would policies of Obama, Dems, GOP move the country in the right direction?

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RELATED STORIES:
- CNN Poll: Republicans make gains, but trail Democrats
- Commentary: Obama losing independent voters

(CNN) - Senator Tom Coburn says he's running for re-election next year.

The conservative Republican from Oklahoma, who's become a crusader against government earmark spending, made his announcement at a news conference in Tulsa.

"I have made a decision that I will seek a second and final term in the U.S. Senate," announced Coburn.

He was adamant that this will be his last re-election effort, saying "when I say final term, it mean final term. There will be no other term after this."

Coburn, who's also a doctor, was first elected to the Senate in 2004, defeating Democrat Brad Carson by 12 points.

Oklahoma is heavily dominated by Republicans. John McCain won the state by 30 points in last November's presidential election. Political analysts say Coburn is heavily favored to win re-election.

"The Sooner state has turned into one of the most reliable bastions of conservatism, and this is one state where Republicans are in ascendant," says Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher of the non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report.

Coburn was elected to the House of Representatives as part of then House Speaker Newt Gingrich's "Republican Revolution." He served three terms in the House from 1995 to 2001.

OXON HILL, Maryland (CNN) - Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele declared Tuesday that Republicans will no longer talk about their mistakes; instead they will focus on the future and serve as the loyal opposition party to President Barack Obama and the congressional Democratic majority.

"The era of apologizing for Republican mistakes of the past is now officially over," Steele told state Republican leaders meeting in a suburb of Washington to discuss the party's political future. "It is done. The time for trying to fix or focus on the past has ended. The era of Republican navel gazing is over. We have turned the corner on regret, recrimination, self-pity and self-doubt. Now is the hour to focus all of our energies on winning the future."

Steele, who had a rocky start in his first 100-plus days in office, received a standing ovation when he took the stage. It was a public boost in the arm for the chairman whose leadership of the national committee has been called into question by some of his fellow Republicans.

Steele sought to silence those critics by noting that since assuming the national committee chairmanship he has traveled to 23 states meeting with grass-roots activists, while at the same time turning a deaf ear to the talk in the nation's capital.

"Too bad the chattering classes inside the Beltway are too busy fretting over phony disputes and intra-party intrigue to notice that a change has indeed come to America," Steele said. "But it's not the one the Obama administration wants aired on the nightly news.

"Those of you who live outside of Washington know what I'm talking about. Those of you who actually attend Lincoln Day dinners and county party events, those of you who toil in the vineyards, spending time in communities, in diners, in barber shops, and in coffee shops where real, everyday people can be found. You know it is real. You can see it and feel it. This change comes in a tea bag."

The tea reference was a nod to the rallies - which participants likened to the Boston Tea Party –that have taken place across the country to protest high taxes and call for smaller government.

Steele also made it clear that he thinks the revival of the Republican Party will come from outside the nation's capital.

"Our comeback will not begin in Washington," Steele said. "Our conversation with America will not focus on Washington. Our Republican National Committee will no longer rely on Washington. We will look to the rest of America instead."

Before the Republican Party launches an offensive it must first resolve the battle for control of what the party's steering wheel.

Republicans were thrown into a self-examination process after losing control of the White House and additional seats in the House and Senate in the 2008 elections.

So far, 2009 has proven no better. Republicans failed to win back a Democratic-held New York congressional seat despite having more registered GOP voters; Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter renounced his Republican affiliation to join the Democratic Party; and there has been a very public fight between centrists and social conservatives over what direction the GOP should head.

And then there has been the criticism of Steele, which an ally charged was not grounded in fact.

"A lot of Republicans said we needed a breath of fresh air, and I'm one of those Republicans," said Jim Greer, chairman of the Florida Republican Party. "Michael Steele came into the chairmanship as a breath of fresh air: new leadership, new ideas. The majority of Republicans in this country were looking for that. Some of the leaders in this room were seeking it because he was elected chairman.

"At the end of the day, that breath of fresh air may not have been what some wanted. They wanted to revisit the election. I think the door is closed. Michael Steele is here to say as chairman of this party. He is going to do great things for this party and that's what Republicans across this country want."

Steele delivered a speech full of red meat, serving up heaping portions of criticism to leading Democrats such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Rep. Barney Frank, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. The national committee chairman, though, saved his most scathing critique for Obama on issues ranging bailouts and banning guns to potentially taxing soft drinks.

"The last Democrat president declared that the era of big government was over," Steele said. "Can some(one) please send President Obama a copy of that memo? Because this new Democrat president has ushered in a new era of left-wing, old school, top-down, Industrial Age, bureaucratic Big Government the likes of which our country has never seen."

The Democratic National Committee sharply rebuked Steele.

"While we welcome Chairman Steele's words that the GOP wants to turn the page on its past, we are disheartened by the party's actions that tell the opposite story," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Hari Sevugan. "While the chairman talks of moving forward, the very convention he's addressing will not focus on coming up with new ideas to create jobs and setting right what the party got wrong over the last eight years, but instead will revolve around name calling and the petty politics of the past."

While Steele said that the Republican Party is now moving forward, he did acknowledge that national Republicans in recent years had compromised one of the party's main principles, fiscal discipline, and failed to follow through on their pledge to change Washington.

"In some ways, we let Washington change us and we owned up to that," he said. "We've taken some important steps to recover our values and senses, and we can say we see the world with a clearer head and a sharper vision."

The Republican National Committee meeting wraps up on Wednesday with a scheduled vote on a controversial resolution that calls on Democrats to rename their party the "Democrat Socialist Party."

(Updated at 5:30 p.m. with additional information)

(CNN) - CNN contributor and Democratic strategist James Carville explains why he thinks the Democrats will hold power for the next 50 years.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney says Republicans must lead the American Revolution.

ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) –  Three prominent GOP leaders kicked off a campaign Saturday to reshape their party's image, gathering at a restaurant in Northern Virginia for the first of a series of town hall meetings.

The goal of the initiative, called the National Council for a New America, is to connect Republican leaders with voters across the country to help get the party's electoral fortunes back on track.

"Certainly our party has taken its licks the last few cycles, but that's why we're here," said House Minority Whip Eric Cantor. "The reality is the prescriptions coming out of Washington right now are not reflective of the mainstream of this country."

"It's time for us to listen a little bit, learn a little bit," said former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who advised Republicans to work on the party's message and "not be so nostalgic."

"I would say you can't beat something with nothing. The other side has something. I don't like it, but they have it," said Bush, who repeatedly praised President Obama's tactical approach to politics, and commended his 2008 campaign as "forward-looking."

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney compared the GOP to Americans fighting the British during the Revolutionary War. "We are the party of the revolutionaries, they [Democrats] are the party of the monarchists," he told the overwhelmingly Republican crowd, saying the Republicans needed to "once again lead the American Revolution."

He blamed Washington for setting in motion policies that led to the collapse of the housing market, and painted his party's current minority status as a boon.

"We have an advantage," said the former Republican presidential candidate. "When a party has the White House, communication comes [from the] top down, and there's a strategy that everyone has to march behind." Instead, he said, the GOP had the option of drawing its strategy from the grassroots.

"We don't have to come up with all the answers today. Thank goodness, we have a little time," he said. "Certainly by 2010, we better."

The venue - a packed pizzeria in an Arlington strip mall - had the feel of a small-town campaign stop Saturday morning, with a supportive crowd tossing friendly questions at the panel. But outside the front doors of the establishment were twin reminders of the challenges facing the party.

The parking lot out front, even with the heavily Republican crowd inside, was dotted with Obama bumper stickers. Northern Virginia has shifted solidly Democratic in recent elections, and surrogates for John McCain's campaign made a series of statements late in the race that acknowledged the party had all but conceded the area.

But the handful of peaceful protesters out front weren't Democrats - they were conservatives upset over the new group's agenda and leadership. They brandished signs criticizing McCain, calling the NCNA "RINOs" - Republicans in
Name Only - and urging them to push for stricter immigration enforcement.

McCain is prominently featured in materials for the new group.

Health care, education and small business growth were all major topics of discussion Saturday - but immigration was one entry on a long list of potentially divisive social issues that went unmentioned.

Cantor told journalists that the group was not avoiding any topic, although the group's Web site and YouTube video released did not mention abortion, same-sex marriage, or any of the hot-button issues vital to the social conservatives that form a
significant part of the party's base.

"Any topic will be included in the national dialogue," he said. "There are no limits."

Republican leaders are trying to show that they are not the 'party of no.'

WASHINGTON (CNN) – It was hardly the newsiest answer at his 100-day prime-time news conference, but President Obama's careful assessment of the state of the Republican Party is noteworthy.

"You know, politics in America changes very quickly and I'm a big believer that things are never as good as they seem and never as bad as they seem," the president said at the East Room event marking his 100th day in office.

It was a big day for the president, for sure. And, perhaps, a big week for the Republican Party as well, as a number of important and interesting players in GOP affairs began new efforts designed to repair the party's sullied brand in time for the 2010 midterm elections and beyond.

The 2006 and 2008 election results offer plenty of evidence of Republican troubles, as have our travels to 18 states since launching State of the Union in January. Adding his voice, Obama couldn't help but suggest he believes the congressional wing of the GOP is not off to a good start in 2009.

"I don't believe in crystal balls," the president said. "I do think that our administration has taken some steps that have restored confidence in the American people that we're moving in the right direction, and that simply opposing our approach on every front is probably not a good political strategy."

Full story

(CNN) - CNN's Jessica Yellin takes a look at national Republicans' new effort to revive their image as they debate where the party should head.

Related: Republican Party plans comeback

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Coming soon to a battleground state near you: a new effort to revive the image of the Republican Party and to counter President Obama's characterization of Republicans as "the party of 'no.'"

CNN has learned that the new initiative, called the National Council for a New America, will be announced Thursday.

It will involve an outreach by an interesting mix of GOP officials, ranging from 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain to Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and the younger brother of the man many Republicans blame for the party's battered brand: former President George W. Bush.

In addition to Sen. McCain and Gov. Bush, GOP sources familiar with the plans tell CNN others involved in the new group's "National Panel Of Experts" will include:

*Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a former national GOP chairman
*Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal
*Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney

It will report to GOP congressional leaders, and among those signing the announcement that will be made public Thursday are:

*House GOP Leader John Boehner
*House GOP Whip Eric Cantor
*House GOP Conference Chairman Mike Pence
*Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell
*The No. 2 Senate Republican, Jon Kyl
*And the Senate GOP Conference Chairman, Lamar Alexander

"However, this is not a Republican-only forum," reads the letter announcing the new effort, a copy of which was obtained by CNN from Republican sources involved in the effort. "While we will be guided by our principles of freedom and security, we will seek to include more than just our ideas.

"This forum will include a wide open policy debate that every American can feel free to participate in," the announcement letter reads. "We do this not just to offer an alternative point of view or to be disagreeable. Instead, we want to ask the American people what their hopes and dreams are. Since January, the President and the Democratic Majority in Congress have – rightfully so – put forward their plan for the future, now we must listen, learn and lead through an honest, open conversation with the American people that will result in building policy proposals that will yield the best results for our nation's long-term success."

The first meeting is planned this Saturday in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of the nation's capital. Northern Virginia is one of the suburban areas that has shifted decidedly in favor of the Democrats in recent years, helping President Obama carry the state for the Democrats for president for the first time since 1964.

Sources familiar with the effort say it was born of conversations between Cantor and the members of the experts panel. After Bush and Romney agreed to take part, the conversations expanded and the idea won the blessing of both the House and Senate GOP leadership. Additional town halls are planned in the weeks ahead, each likely dedicated to a specific issue, with health care, the economy, energy and national security leading the issues menu the group says it hopes to discuss heading into the 2010 midterm elections, and possibly beyond.

UPDATE: South Dakota Sen. John Thune will also participate in the group. The Republican congressional leadership is also slated to travel the country and attend town-hall meetings as part of the new effort.

McCain did not soften her voice Tuesday calling Sen. Arlen Specters party switch a 'selfish choice.'

(CNN) – Meghan McCain- who has been known for her outspoken criticisms of the Republican Party, did not soften her voice Tuesday calling Sen. Arlen Specters party switch a "selfish choice."

Recognizing that it had been a hard day for the Republican Party, McCain offered some encouraging words " I am still a believer in this party! I have faith we can bring this back, who is with me?!?" she tweeted.

Sen. Arlen Specter might have left the GOP, but Meghan McCain isn't going anywhere. "In my Republican Party there is room for everyone! There is no need for an admissions test to be a member, lets be more inclusive!" she wrote.

The twitter updates to McCain's page came shortly after Conservative host Rush Limbaugh suggested that there were a couple other Republicans that should follow in the senators footsteps "Well, Specter, take [Sen. John] McCain with you. And his daughter [Meghan]. Take McCain and his daughter with you if you're gonna…" he told listeners.

"…..It's ultimately good. You're weeding out people who aren't really Republicans" Limbaugh said.

McCain sees the future of the GOP differently, "its good to have disagreements, were never going to agree on everything! Who wants to agree on everything? so boring."

Huntsman remains incredibly popular in his home state of Utah.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Republican rising star who has been frank in urging his party to adapt to the times or face extinction, is now telling GOP leaders in Washington to stop saying "no."

"You can't just say no," Huntsman told ABC News in an interview published Wednesday. "You can't just obstruct or obfuscate. Instead of just kind of grousing and complaining, it would do us all a whole lot of good if we actually started engaging directly in finding compromises and common ground and shared solutions."

Hunstman, often described as a moderate, has embraced parts of President Obama's economic agenda, including a cap-and-trade program and his $787 billion economic stimulus package. Though he opposes gay marriage, Huntsman has frustrated many conservatives by supporting civil unions for same-sex couples.

His maverick positions have some Republicans wondering if he might be the right man to lead the party against Obama in 2012, a perception that isn't hurt by his deep pockets and in-state approval ratings that reach into the 80s.

Huntsman acknowledged that the GOP leadership in Congress "deserves high marks for unified opposition, getting everybody in line, keeping everybody contained, in opposition to some of the initiatives of the Obama administration." But, he said, "that now needs to be supplemented by real ideas and solutions."

Echoing some of the Democratic National Committee's favorite talking points, Huntsman said that a Republican party that lacks ideas has no choice but to say "no."

"When you are devoid of the ideas, or the content that would allow you to articulate or paint a better future, you have no choice other than to fall back on 'no, we are not going support it, it cannot be done,'" Huntsman told ABC.

He said the only way Republicans will find themselves at the negotiating table is if they offer "concrete substantive solutions."

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, said Saturday that the U.S. should embrace nuclear technology.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Sen. Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, made a strong push Saturday for investment in a power source commonly used in France: nuclear energy.

“Now the debate in Congress is shifting to the size of your electric and gasoline bills and to climate change," the Tennessee Republican said in the weekly GOP address Saturday. "So guess who has one of the lowest electric rates in Western Europe and the second lowest carbon emissions in the entire European Union. It’s France."

Watch the full address

Nuclear plants provide 80 percent of France's electricity, according to Alexander, who added that the country even sells "electricity to Germany, whose politicians built windmills and solar panels and promised not to build nuclear plants."

“So you’d think that if Democrats want to talk about energy and climate change and clean air, they’d put American-made nuclear power front and center. ... We say find more American energy and use less ... and one place to start is with 100 more nuclear plants," he said.

Obama's FY 2009 budget, however, promotes nuclear energy development. According to the Department of Energy, the budget includes the licensing of new nuclear plants and additional research into the nuclear fuel cycle.

In addition: $242 million is allocated for Nuclear Power 2010, "an industry cost-shared effort to bring new nuclear plant technologies to market and demonstrate streamlined regulatory processes."

The president’s FY 2010 budget, which passed the House and Senate recently, provides $26.3 billion for the Department of Energy.

According to the Office of Management and Budget, several budget initiatives promote a clean energy agenda, including "support for loan guarantees to help deploy innovative, clean technologies; ad-25 vancement of Carbon Capture Storage (CSS) technology; and 20 other efforts to develop and deploy an array of energy alternatives."

Transcript:

“Do you remember a few years ago when our Congress got mad at France and banned French fries in the House of Representatives cafeteria?

“We Americans always have had a love-hate relationship with the French. Which was why it was so galling last month when the Democratic Congress passed a budget with such big deficits that it makes the United States literally ineligible to join France in the European Union.

“Now of course we don’t want to be in the European Union. We’re the United States of America. But French deficits are lower than ours, and their president has been running around sounding like a Republican - lecturing our president about spending so much.

“Now the debate in Congress is shifting to the size of your electric and gasoline bills and to climate change. So guess who has one of the lowest electric rates in Western Europe and the second lowest carbon emissions in the entire European Union.

“It’s France again.

“And what’s more, they’re doing it with a technology we invented and have been reluctant to use: nuclear power.

“Thirty years ago, the contrary French became reliant on nuclear power when others wouldn’t. Today, nuclear plants provide 80 percent of their electricity. They even sell electricity to Germany, whose politicians built windmills and solar panels and promised not to build nuclear plants.

“Which was exactly the attitude in the United States between 1979 and 2008 – when not one new nuclear plant was built. Still, nuclear, which supplies just 20% of all U.S. electricity, provides 70% of our pollution-free electricity.

“So you’d think that if Democrats want to talk about energy and climate change and clean air, they’d put American-made nuclear power front and center. Instead, their answer is billions in subsidies for renewable energy from the sun, the wind and the earth.

“Well, we Republicans like renewable energy, too.

“We proposed a new Manhattan Project – like the one in World War II – to find ways to make solar power cost-competitive and to improve advanced biofuels. But today, renewable electricity from the sun, the wind and the earth provides only about one and one-half percent of America’s electricity. Double it or triple it, and we still don’t have very much.

“So there is a potentially a dangerous energy gap between the renewable electricity we want and the reliable electricity we must have.

“To close that gap, Republicans say start with conservation and efficiency. We have so much electricity at night, for example we could electrify half our cars and trucks and plug them in while we sleep without building one new power plant.

“On that, Republicans and Democrats agree.

“But when it comes to producing more energy, we disagree.

“When Republicans say, build 100 new nuclear power plants during the next twenty years, Democrats say, no place to put the used nuclear fuel.

“We say, recycle the fuel - the way France does. They say, no we can’t.

“We say, how about another Manhattan Project to remove carbon from coal plant emissions? Imaginary, they say.

“We say, for a bridge to a clean energy future, find more natural gas and oil offshore. Farmers, homeowners and factories must have the natural gas. And more of the oil we’ll still need should be ours, instead of sending billions overseas.

“They can’t wait to put another ban on offshore drilling.

“We say incentives. They say mandates.

“We say, keep prices down. Democrats say, put a big new national sales tax on electric bills and gasoline.

“We both want a clean energy future, but here’s the real difference: Republicans want to find more American energy, and use less.

“Democrats want to use less – but they really don’t want to find much more.

“They talk about President Kennedy sending a man to the moon. Their energy proposals wouldn’t get America halfway to the moon.

“We Republicans didn’t like it when Democrats passed a budget that gave the French bragging rights on deficits. So we’re not about to let the French also outdo us on electric and gasoline bills, clean air and climate change.

“We say find more American energy and use less. Energy that’s as clean as possible, as reliable as possible, and at as low a cost as possible. And one place to start is with 100 more nuclear plants.”

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Two Republican congressmen ripped Congressional Black Caucus members for ignoring Cuba's "myriad gross human rights abuses" Thursday, saying this week's caucus trip to the island nation ignored the plight of political prisoners under the Castro regime.

They also urged the Obama administration to refrain from easing trade embargo or travel restrictions until the Cuban government releases all "prisoners of conscience," shows greater respect for freedom of religion and speech, and holds "free and fair" elections.

The call from Reps. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, and Frank Wolf, R-Virginia, came three days after the administration signaled that new rules on family travel and remittances to Cuba may be announced before President Obama goes to the Summit of the Americas on April 17.

It also followed statements from several Black Caucus members Tuesday arguing for consideration of an end to the trade embargo and other diplomatic restrictions placed on Cuba for five decades.

Full Story

(CNN) - Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin gave the republican response Saturday to the president's budget, saying that while there is "no doubt" that President Obama inherited a fiscal crisis, the question remains: "Is he fixing it or is he making it worse?"

"The President’s budget, which passed the House and Senate this week, will make the crisis much, much worse," Ryan said. "Put simply: the Democrats’ budget spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much from our kids and their kids. ... Their budget puts all the sacrifice on future generations. It makes no tough choices. It’s only tough on our children and grandchildren."

The Senate passed a $3.53 trillion version of the federal budget for fiscal year 2010 late Thursday night in a party-line vote, ending several weeks of acrimonious partisan debate. The package was approved on a 55-43 vote. GOP Sens. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, and Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine - who voted in favor of the president's stimulus bill last month - voted against what is essentially the blueprint of Obama's economic policies going forward.

Earlier Thursday, the House of Representatives passed its own version of the spending plan –$3.55 trillion budget, capping off a long day of debate and voting marked by the defeat of several alternative spending plans.

The House version of the budget, which passed by a margin of 233-196, also passed in a virtual party-line vote. All but 20 House Democrats supported it; no House Republican voted in favor.

Neither budget package garnered a single GOP vote.

President Obama jokes with reporters in an Oval Office meeting with Brazilian President Lula da Silva on Saturday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Obama took a lighthearted jab at Republicans Saturday after a nearly 35-minute press op with Brazilian President Lula da Silva in the Oval Office.

It came when a Brazilian reporter asked him whether he planned to visit the Amazon. Obama joked: "You know, I would love a trip to the Amazon. I suspect that the Republican Party would love to see me travel through the Amazon and maybe get lost."

Obama said he was looking forward to visiting Brazil, though no dates had been set.

"I will tell you that because I'm somebody who grew up in Hawaii, I felt it was very important that I at least go to Rio, where I understand the beaches are pretty nice."

WASHINGTON (CNN) – In the weekly Republican response, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, criticized President Obama's plan to create up to 3 million new jobs, saying the president's programs "don't connect all the dots."

Watch: Full Video

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won the straw poll for the third year in a row.

(CNN) - One day after delivering a forceful campaign-style speech to the conference of conservative activists, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won his third straight CPAC Straw Poll on Saturday, earning 20 percent of the vote on a ballot that included nine other Republicans who could seek the party’s presidential nomination in 2012.

Romney’s straw poll win at the 2007 Conservative Political Action Conference helped to elevate Romney from a little-known governor to a bona fide presidential frontrunner, and his narrow victory in last year’s straw poll reaffirmed his support among conservative voters. But Romney failed to win the Republican nomination, which was eventually won by Arizona Sen. John McCain.

In the 2009 poll, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal came in second with 14 percent of the vote, while Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Texas Rep. Ron Paul tied at 13 percent. Jindal and Palin did not attend the conference.

Rounding out the straw poll results were former House speaker Newt Gingrich at 10 percent, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at seven percent, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford at four percent, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani at three percent, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty at two percent, and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist at one percent. Nine percent of poll participants were undecided.

The straw poll was conducted over two days and surveyed 1,757 of the party activists who descended on Washington for the annual conference. More than half of the conference attendees this year were college students, and nearly 60 percent of the straw poll participants were between the ages of 18 and 25.

A new analysis shows few 'Red States' remain.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The nation was evenly divided during the bitterly fought 2000 campaign, but the election night map was not: Viewers saw a sea of red flooding most of the country, with blue states ringing the coasts.

Two cycles later, an analysis of a year’s worth of polling data released Wednesday suggests a far different electoral landscape, and a shift more dramatic than even the Democrats’ solid 2008 showing might suggest: an ocean of blue surrounding a shrinking red island in the center of the nation.

A string of recent polls have found the GOP’s party ID results have fallen to historic lows, and Republicans facing double-digit deficits on generic congressional ballots.

Gallup interviewed 350,000 Americans over the course of its 2008 daily tracking polls, including more than a thousand adults in every state except a few with relatively low populations: Wyoming, North Dakota and the District of Columbia.

Those interviews were conducted with state residents, not registered voters exclusively. Also included were adults who “leaned” Democratic or Republican, but were not members of either party, and might not be solid supporters.

The results, compiled into an analysis released in part this week, paint a bleak portrait for the GOP: In 35 states, a plurality of adults identified themselves as Democrats, or Democratic-leaning last year. In 10 more states, neither party had a statistically significant edge.

What’s left? Just five states - representing 20 electoral votes – had GOP pluralities in the 2008 cycle, as measured in the year-long surveys: Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Sarah Palin’s home state of Alaska were solidly Republican. And Nebraska, which gave one of its electoral votes to the Democratic presidential ticket, was Republican-leaning.

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia gave Democrats a party ID advantage of 10 points or more last year. That list includes the entire Northeast region, every Great Lakes state but one, and a handful of Southern states like North Carolina and Kentucky. Another half dozen states gave Democrats 5 to 9 point advantages.

The “most balanced” states in Gallup’s analysis – those that gave neither political party an advantage of more than a point or two, or were evenly split between the two – are areas that haven’t been competitive for Democrats on the national level in at least a generation, including South Dakota, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Carolina, Alabama, and Kansas. Also on that list: Arizona and Texas, home states of the GOP’s last two presidential candidates.

Republicans do have reason for hope. The map remains fluid. It’s unclear how many of those Democratic leaners will stick with the party, making the transition into solid supporters. And the fact that the polls included unregistered adults makes them an unreliable indicator of potential Election Day results.

But the potential remains for Democrats to magnify and institutionalize much of these gains with the next election cycle. The stakes are higher next year than in a typical off-year campaign: the state legislatures elected in 2010 will begin the process of translating fresh Census results into new congressional districts. The party that has the edge coming out of the next cycle will have the chance to solidify that advantage for the next decade.

Sen. John McCain says he may not necessary support Gov. Sarah Palin if she she runs in 2012

(CNN) – Sen. John McCain said Sunday he would not necessarily support his former running mate if she chose to run for president.

Speaking to ABC's "This Week," McCain was asked whether Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin could count on his support. "I can't say something like that. We've got some great other young governors. I think you're going to see the governors assume a greater leadership role in our Republican Party," he said, citing Governors Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Jon Huntsman of Utah.

McCain said he has "the greatest appreciation for Governor Palin and her family, and it was a great joy to know them. She invigorated our campaign" against Barack Obama for the presidency.

Pressed on why he can't promise support for the woman who, just months ago, he named as the second best person to lead the nation, McCain responded that "now we're in a whole election cycle. Have no doubt of my admiration and respect for her and my view of her viability, but at this stage, again ... my corpse is still warm, you know?"

Sen. John McCain, the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, is interviewed by ABC's George Stephanopoulos Sunday.

(CNN) - Sen. John McCain promised Sunday he will work to build consensus in tackling the huge challenges facing the country, and criticized his own party for its latest attack on President-elect Barack Obama.

In his first Sunday political TV appearance since losing the presidential election, McCain rejected complaints from the Republican National Committee that Obama has not been transparent about his contacts with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

"I think that the Obama campaign should and will give all information necessary," McCain told ABC's "This Week."

"You know, in all due respect to the Republican National Committee and anybody - right now, I think we should try to be working constructively together, not only on an issue such as this, but on the economy, stimulus package, reforms that are necessary."

McCain's answer came in response to a question about comments from RNC Chairman Mike Duncan. The RNC also released an Internet ad last week, titled "Questions Remain," suggesting Obama is failing to provide important information about potential links between his associates and Blagojevich, who was arrested Tuesday after federal prosecutors accused him of trying to trade Obama's Senate seat for campaign contributions and other favors.

"I don't know all the details of the relationship between President-elect Obama's campaign or his people and the governor of Illinois," McCain told ABC, "but I have some confidence that all the information will come out. It always does, it seems to me."

McCain said he, like Obama and many other lawmakers, believes Blagojevich should resign.

Despite the heated nature of the race, and long lists of attacks in both directions between McCain and Obama, the senator from Arizona emphasized that he plans to focus on pushing lawmakers past partisan politics.

"I think my job is, of course, to be a part of, and hopefully exert some leadership, in the loyal opposition. But I emphasize the word loyal. We haven't seen economic times like this in my lifetime. We haven't seen challenges abroad at the level that we are experiencing, certainly since the end of the Cold War, and you could argue in some respects that they're certainly more complex, many of these challenges. So let's have our first priority where we can work together...

"Will there be areas of disagreement? Of course. We are different parties and different philosophy. But the nation wants us to unite and work together."

Asked whether he ever could have won, given the economy under President Bush, McCain said only that he would "leave that to others, to make that kind of judgment." He pointed out that his poll numbers dropped along with the Dow, but added, "That would sound like I am detracting from President-elect Obama's campaign. I don't want to do that... Nobody likes a sore loser."

The key to moving past the stinging defeat, he said, is to "Get busy and move on. That's the best cure for it. I spent a period of time feeling sorry for myself. It's wonderful. It's one of the most enjoyable experiences that you can have. But the point is: you've got to move on... I'm still a senator from the state of Arizona. I still have the privilege and honor of serving this country, which I've done all my life, and it's a great honor to do so."

CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from The Best Political Team. Watch Thursday's episode.

(CNN) – Two days after winning the White House, President-elect Barack Obama is readying to assume the presidency as the nation fights two wars and tries to battle back from a struggling economy

In the latest episode of CNN=Politics Daily, White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux reports on Obama’s choice for Chief of Staff, and who’s on the short list to be the next Secretary of the Treasury.

State Department Correspondent Zain Verjee reports that people around the world are eagerly awaiting Obama’s inauguration with hopes that the new president will be able to play an important role in fixing a host of global problems.

In the wake of Obama’s win and a string of Democratic congressional victories that added to their majority, Republicans are tending to their political wounds and beginning to think about what they need to do to rebuild their party’s damaged brand. Brian Todd takes a closer look.

Finally, Special Correspondent Frank Sesno speaks with American Morning’s Kiran Chetry about the challenges President-elect Obama will likely face once he gets to D.C. - and faces the task of dealing with the ailing economy.

Click here to subscribe to CNN=Politics Daily.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) - Dan Savage, sex columnist and author of the syndicated sex advice column "Savage Love," made his way to St. Paul, Minnesota this week to attend the Republican National Convention, where he’s filming a piece for HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher."

Planted in the "CNN Grill," Savage shares his thoughts on John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin, tells us what a sex columnist is doing at a political convention, and gives us his take on who's sexier: Democrats or Republicans.

Two Republicans in Congress launched this Web site Tuesday.

(CNN) – As House Republicans continue to focus on energy policy, Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas launched a new Web site Tuesday that highlights October 1 as the day the congressional ban on offshore oil drilling will end unless Congress takes some action to continue the ban.

The site prominently features a YouTube video clip of DeMint and Hensarling discussing energy policy and encouraging the public to contact their representatives in Congress about lifting ban on offshore oil drilling and oil shale recovery. The site also contains a clock-like widget counting down the time until October 1. Visitors to the site can copy the HTML code for the widget so that they can embed the countdown clock on their own blogs or Web sites. Visitors can also sign an online petition on the site and read a blog about energy policy.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, also recently launched a Facebook application that allows users to add a gas-pump-shaped October 1 countdown clock to their profiles on the popular social networking site.

These online developments come on the heels of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement Monday on Larry King Live that she would be open to holding a vote on offshore drilling if it were part of a larger energy package. Pelosi’s change in position echoes a similar change in position by Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Since August 1, House Republicans have been staging a protest against Pelosi’s refusal to hold a vote on an energy bill before Congress’ five-week recess began.

Newt Gingrich came to Capitol Hill Wednesday to support House Republicans protesting the need to vote on an energy bill.

(CNN) – MoveOn.org Political Action, a liberal advocacy group that supports many Democratic causes and Sen. Barack Obama presidential candidacy, will launch radio advertisements Friday that target six GOP members of Congress over their involvement in a week-long protest by House Republicans.

Since Congress’ five-week long recess began last Friday, some House Republicans have taken to the House floor every weekday to protest Congress’ failure to vote on an energy bill.

“The political theatrics in the House this week are brought to you by the Party that’s been sold to Big Oil,” said Noah T. Winer, in a statement released by MoveOn Thursday. “They are playing politics instead of offering solutions,” Winer, a campaign director at MoveOn also said in the statement.

The radio ads will air in the districts of Rep. Roy Blunt (Missouri’s 7th District), Rep. Mike Pence (Ohio’s Indiana’s 6th District), Rep. Mary Fallin (Oklahoma’s 5th District), Rep. John Culberson (Texas’s 7th District), Rep. Mike Conaway (Texas’s 11th District), and Rep. Jon Porter (Nevada’s 3rd District).

Newt Gingrich, former Republican Speaker of the House, met with House Republicans Wednesday, followed by a Capitol Hill press conference. The GOP protest is being support by a burgeoning movement of conservative online political activists.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - House Republicans have changed their new slogan about change.

After losing a hotly-contested Mississippi congressional seat this week, their third straight special election defeat in a row, House GOP leaders planned a public relations offensive, including a rollout of a new agenda pegged to the slogan, "The Change You Deserve."

It turns out the phrase matched a tagline for the anti-depressant drug Effexor. As word of the similarity got out, Democrats had a field day ridiculing Republicans.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, told reporters Wednesday, "Democrats, not drugs, is what the American people need."

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel, D-Illinois, released a list of what he called the side effects of "Republican rule,” including “nausea because what they did to the economy makes people sick to their stomach."

Asked Thursday morning if he was planning to change the slogan, House Republican Leader John Boehner said "No. I think it's working just fine."

But in an e-mail later that afternoon from GOP Conference Chairman Adam Putnam to House Republicans, the new agenda had a new name - “The Change America Deserves.”

A memo sent out hours later from Boehner's political action committee to GOP candidates also included the new slogan.