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Washington (CNN) – First lady Michelle Obama sidestepped questions Tuesday about former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has been publicly critical of her husband's presidency.

"I try not to make or set opinions about people I haven't had any substantive interaction with," Michelle Obama said in an interview scheduled to air on CNN's Larry King Live. "I mean, I know what you see on TV."

Asked later if she considered the 2008 vice presidential nominee to be a "phenomenon," the first lady again withheld criticizing Palin.

"Again, I mean, I think it's wonderful to have strong, female voices out there, but I don't know her," Obama said.

With her keynote address at last week's Tea Party convention, Palin has continued a pattern of hard-hitting critiques of President Obama that began on the campaign trail in 2008.

The first lady did defend her husband's record after a year in the Oval Office. "Democracy is about critique and the president is not immune to criticism," she said.
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Sen. McCain's daughter Meghan said Monday that young people are turned off by the Tea Party movement.

(CNN) – Sen. John McCain's daughter called into question the political stature of the Tea Party movement Monday and sharply criticized a former congressman for his controversial comments at a recent major gathering of these conservative activists.

Former Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colorado, slammed President Obama on the first night of the Tea Party convention last week in Nashville. Tancredo, known for his outspoken views on illegal immigration and his disdain for Sen. McCain, charged during his speech that "People who could not even spell the word 'vote', or say it in English, put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House. His name is Barack Hussein Obama."

Tancredo also expressed relief that Sen. McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, lost his White House bid. "Thank God John McCain lost the election," Tancredo said.

Related: Tancredo gave 'fantastic speech,' convention organizer says

On Monday, Meghan McCain fired back.
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House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence is endorsing Marco Rubio, who is facing off against Florida Gov. Charlie Crist in the state's GOP senatorial primary.

Washington (CNN) – Marco Rubio, a one-time long shot candidate in Florida's Republican senatorial primary, is getting a big boost from a GOP House leader.

House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence is endorsing Rubio, the Florida Republican's campaign announced Monday.

"I am proud to endorse Marco Rubio for the United States Senate," the Indiana Republican said in a statement released by the Rubio campaign. "Marco Rubio's faith in free markets, limited government and traditional moral values make him the right choice for Republicans in this race."

Rubio is set to face off against Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who was once considered the favorite in this GOP primary. Rubio's candidacy, in part, has been fueled by conservatives including those who align themselves with the Tea Party movement.
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Washington (CNN) – She’s the nation’s top diplomat but one of her more difficult negotiations may be sartorial.

In an interview that airs Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tells CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley that both she and daughter Chelsea are still on the look out for the perfect dresses for Chelsea’s upcoming wedding.

“Well, if you don't tell anybody, Candy, we're - we're still looking,” Clinton told Crowley, who recently had to buy a dress for her eldest son’s wedding. And it's - it's a new status for me being an MOTB [mother of the bride]. But I'm very proud to have that status,” the secretary of state added.

“Good - good luck on the search. That's all I have to say,” Crowley advised Clinton.

“We're working on it,” Clinton assured Crowley.

The secretary of state was also diplomatic about Sunday’s big Super Bowl battle between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints
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Washington (CNN) – The woman who was the face of Democratic efforts to pass a health care reform bill when the last Democratic president was in the White House says she’s happy to share her wisdom on the subject when asked.

In an interview set to air Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union, former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton weighs in on the continuing battle over health care reform on Capitol Hill.

“Are you getting a little déjà vu watching this?,” CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley asked Clinton.

“Well it's really hard,” said Clinton. “It is a complex issue that touches everybody about which both people and interests have really strong feelings. But I haven't given up yet, and I know the White House hasn't given up. And I - I don't think a lot of the members of Congress have given up. So I'm not sure that this last chapter has been written.”

Asked whether she dispenses any wisdom garnered during her failed efforts to push a health care reform bill through Congress during his husband’s administration, Clinton said she is glad to share what she knows.
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Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama's strategy of engaging both Iran and North Korea has shown positive results by starting to bring together the rest of the world to act jointly against their nuclear ambitions, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.

In an interview broadcast Sunday on CNN's State of the Union, Clinton replied with a blunt "no" when asked by CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley if Iran had taken up Obama on his offer in his inaugural address last year to "extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."

"But the fact is, because we engaged, the rest of the world has really begun to see Iran the way we see it," Clinton said in the interview conducted Thursday.

Clinton pointed out that a year ago, much of the world, including Russia, did not share the U.S. perception that Iran's nuclear program posed a major threat.

Now there is greater awareness of the threat, Clinton said, due to "a very slow and steady diplomacy plus the fact that we had a two-track process."

"Yes, we reached out on engagement to Iran, but we always had the second track which is that we would have to try to get the world community to take stronger measures if they didn't respond on the engagement front," Clinton said.
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A new Web video from the campaign of Carly Fiorina is drawing fire from rival Chuck DeVore.

(CNN) – California's three-way Republican Senate primary is heating up after the Carly Fiorina's campaign released a controversial Web video targeting rival Tom Campbell.

In the video, Fiorina takes issue with Campbell's views on tax and budgetary issues during his tenure in public service. Campbell has previously served as a U.S. Congressman, a California state Senator, as California's Finance Director and as a member of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Council of Economic Advisors.

Entitled "FCINO," the online video seeks to portray Campbell as a "Fiscal Conservative In Name Only." In an effort to paint Campbell as a proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing when it comes to fiscal conservatism, the more than 3-minute video contains multiple images of real sheep. The Web video ends with images of a man crawling around on all fours in a sheep's costume that has red glowing eyes.

The video has been dubbed "demon sheep" by many political observers who have panned the video. In conjunction with the release of the video, the Fiorina campaign also rolled out www.fcino.com on Wednesday.

The campaign of Fiorina's other rival, Chuck DeVore, is wasting no time slamming the Fiorina camp for its latest online effort.

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Washington (CNN) – A day after Illinois voters went to the polls, the outcomes for the Democratic and Republican gubernatorial primaries remain unresolved.

On the Democratic side, Gov. Pat Quinn was leading state Comptroller Dan Hynes in a tight race, but Hynes had not conceded as of early Wednesday evening. He has scheduled an 11 a.m. ET news conference Thursday to "make an important announcement."

Later: Hynes concedes

On the Republican side, state Sens. Bill Brady and Kirk Dillard are in a virtual tie with each candidate garnering roughly 20 percent of the votes cast in Tuesday's primary.

'In the almost seventeen years since the Don't Ask, Don't Tell legislation was passed, attitudes and circumstances have changed,' Colin Powell said in a statement released Wednesday.

Washington (CNN) – Colin Powell, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former Secretary of State, has come out in favor of eventually repealing the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gay and lesbian service members.

"In the almost seventeen years since the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' legislation was passed, attitudes and circumstances have changed," Powell said in a statement released by his office Wednesday.

Powell added that he believes the ultimate decision about the policy should be made by President Obama, the nation's commander-in-chief; the military's top brass; and Congress.

"I fully support the new approach presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee this week by Secretary of Defense Gates and Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I will be closely following future hearings, the views of the Service Chiefs and the implementation work being done by the Department of Defense," Powell also said Wednesday.
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Sen.-elect Scott Brown's campaign used new media to help power Brown's upset victory in a heavily Democratic state.

Washington (CNN) – Sen.-elect Scott Brown's new media director acknowledged Tuesday that the Massachusetts Republican's campaign was so inspired by President Obama use of 21st Century tools in 2008 that they made technology a major part of their campaign to help Brown win the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's seat 14 months later.

"Obama's campaign used it really, really well and it got a lot of coverage and as a result our activists read it and said 'Hmm, why can't we do this? "We can do this too,'" new media strategist Robert Willington said in an interview with CNN.

Willington and two of his colleagues from the Brown campaign were the featured speakers at a gathering of conservative bloggers and online activists at the Heritage Foundation.

Willington explained that the Brown campaign was at an organizing disadvantage in the heavily Democratic state and decided to use social networking services and platforms to build grassroots support and raise money

"We knew the odds were stacked against us," said Willington, who later added, "So when we first sat down, we decided to do things a bit differently."
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An adviser to California Republican Meg Whitman questioned the 'mental condition' of Whitman's opponent Monday.

(CNN) – A top aide to a California Republican gubernatorial candidate called into question a rival candidate's "mental condition" Monday, in what has become an increasingly bitter battle for the GOP nomination.

Mike Murphy, a political adviser to former EBay CEO Meg Whitman, was responding to an accusation by California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who accused Murphy of "intimidation tactics" in an effort to convince him to drop out of the race.

"[A]ll I can say is that I'm starting to worry about Commissioner's mental condition," Murphy said in a statement.

Specifically, the Poizner campaign said that Murphy contacted a senior member of Poizner's political staff to try and convince the commissioner to leave the race and focus on challenging Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein in 2012. The Poizner campaign added that Murphy sent an e-mail after the telephone call suggesting Whitman was willing to spend tens of millions of dollars "'tearing up'" Poizner.

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell took issue Sunday with many of the Obama administration's policies relating to treatment of alleged terrorists.

Washington (CNN) – The leading Republican in the Senate said Sunday that the previous Republican administration had been mistaken in ever trying alleged terrorists in civilian federal courts.

“The only time [the Obama] administration ever cites the previous administration for a precedent is to mention that there were some terrorists tried in U.S. courts,” Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said Sunday on State of the Union.

“We now know that was a mistake,” declared McConnell. “That was a mistake by the previous administration. The other mistake they made that shouldn’t be replicated by this administration is letting too many people go from Guantanamo.”

Instead of giving alleged terrorists civilian trials in federal court, McConnell said the administration should use the system of military commissions set up by Congress “for the specific purpose of trying foreigners captured on the battlefield.”

“They ought to be tried in these military commissions. They also ought to be detained at Guantanamo,” the Senate Minority Leader said.
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White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Sunday that the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks 'is going to meet justice.'

Washington (CNN) – The Obama administration is undaunted in its desire to bring to justice the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks despite an apparent setback in its plans for a civilian trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Sunday.

Mohammed “is going to meet justice and he’s going to meet his maker,” Gibbs said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.

“In a federal courtroom or in a military commission?” CNN Chief National Correspondent John King interjected.

“He will be brought to justice and he is likely to be executed for the heinous crimes that he committed in killing – in masterminding the killing of 3,000 Americans. That you can be sure of,” Gibbs told King.

Asked again whether the administration still wants to try Mohammed in a civilian federal court or would, instead, consider a military tribunal, Gibbs pointed out that other terrorists who targeted the United States have been successfully tried in the federal courts.
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Washington (CNN) – The leading Republican in the Senate pushed aside concerns that some members of his party had engaged in rank partisanship when they recently rejected a proposal for a bipartisan commission that would have made binding recommendations to Congress on ways to increase revenue and reduce spending.

Instead, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, suggested Sunday that, during tough economic times, a commission charged solely with reducing spending was a better approach to reining in the federal budget deficit.

Last week, the Senate rejected a proposal co-sponsored by Sen. Judd Greg, a New Hampshire Republican, and Sen. Kent Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat, that would have created a bipartisan fiscal commission. The commission would have been charged with making recommendations to Congress regarding cutting spending and raising revenue. The recommendations would have been binding in the sense that Congress would have only been able to accept or reject the recommendations wholesale in an up-or-down vote; Congress would not have had the power to alter the commission’s recommendations before implementing them.

The proposal failed to garner the 60 votes necessary for passage in the Senate after seven Republicans who had previously supported the plan decided to vote against it.

McConnell defended his seven colleagues and pointed out that the president himself had decided only days before last week’s vote to back the proposal after coming under political pressure from moderates and conservatives in Democratic ranks.

McConnell also said Sunday that the nation’s fiscal challenges had more to do with excessive spending than with insufficient taxation.
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Washington (CNN) – President Obama remains committed to his pledge to cut the federal budget deficit by late 2012, a White House spokesman said Sunday.

Soon after taking office last year, the president pledged to reduce by half the budget deficit his administration inherited from his predecessor.

Asked about that pledge on State of the Union, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told CNN’s John King that Obama “is committed to keeping that goal, understanding, that as you said, this recession was deeper than we thought it was going to be.”

On Monday, Gibbs said, Obama will outline some steps intended to reduce the deficit, including a freeze on non-security-related, discretionary spending.
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White House press secretary Robert Gibbs discussed the administration's push for health care reform Sunday on CNN's State of the Union.

Washington (CNN) – White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Sunday that Democrats are within striking distance of passing a health care reform bill notwithstanding Democrats’ loss of their filibuster-proof supermajority in the Senate.

“We’re still inside the five-yard line,” Gibbs said Sunday on State of the Union when asked to assess Democrats’ progress on health care reform, the domestic agenda item that was President Obama’s top priority last year along with getting the struggling economy back on track.

Gibbs was reacting to an earlier assessment on the same subject provided by another top Obama aide before Sen.-elect Scott Brown, R-Massachusetts, pulled off an upset win earlier this month in a special election to replace the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts.

“We’re way deep in the red zone,” White House senior adviser David Axelrod told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King late last year on State of the Union. “We’re right on the one-yard line,” Axelrod added.

Despite the setback in Massachusetts, Gibbs said Sunday that a bill could still be passed.
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