WASHINGTON (CNN) – Six key senators – three Democrats, one independent and two moderate Republicans – sent a letter to Senate leaders calling for a slowdown in the push for a health care overhaul, in light of the Congressional Budget Office's assessment that the Democratic plan currently being considered would not cut medical costs

CNN Radio: Hear Ben Nelson on “44 with Ed Henry”

"We believe taking additional time to achieve a bipartisan result is critical for legislation that affects 17 percent of our economy and every individual in the U.S.," read the letter, signed by Democrats Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu and Ron Wyden. independent Joe Lieberman and Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, who also said they were "firmly committed to enactment of comprehensive reform this year."

The letter echoes concerns raised by many conservative Democrats on the House side.

Full text of the letter after the jump.

Dear Senators Reid and McConnell:

In the current debate about our health care system, we are firmly committed to enactment of comprehensive reform this year. That reform must reduce premiums and administrative costs, expand choices, and increase coverage for all Americans. We are eager to work constructively with Senate leadership and agree that this is an historic opportunity which makes it imperative to proceed thoughtfully and responsibly. Our efforts will affect virtually every American.

The American people expect us to adopt comprehensive health reform that addresses the priorities we have outlined without detrimentally affecting those who have health insurance or increasing the national debt. This week, Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf testified that the currently introduced health reform bills will not reduce costs. We are faced with the dual challenges of pressing ahead to pass legislation by the end of the year and to produce the reform the American people need.

We appreciate the work that has been done by Senators on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and Finance committees, but in view of the Budget Director's statement, there is much heavy lifting ahead. We support the efforts of Finance Committee members to produce a bipartisan bill, despite calls from both sides of the aisle to rush forward or delay indefinitely. While we are committed to providing relief for American families as quickly as possible, we believe taking additional time to achieve a bipartisan result is critical for legislation that affects 17 percent of our economy and every individual in the U.S.

We look forward to working with you to develop legislation that is vital to the well-being of the American people and urge you to resist timelines which prevent us from achieving the best result. This opportunity is rare and the impact will last for generations.

Sincerely,

Ben Nelson
United States Senator

Olympia J. Snowe
United States Senator

Joseph I. Lieberman
United States Senator

Susan M. Collins
United States Senator

Mary L. Landrieu
United States Senator

Ron Wyden
United States Senator

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Help may soon be on the way to the struggling U.S. auto industry after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi backed off her opposition to using funds from a fuel-efficiency research program for a bailout, two congressional officials said Friday.

The significant move from Pelosi signals that the deadlock over rescuing Detroit may be over.

Congressional Republicans and President Bush support the idea of tapping the $25 billion advanced technology fund. Two officials familiar with compromise talks told CNN that the working target is $15 billion to $17 billion in bridge loans, intended to fund the struggling Big Three automakers through March.

Watch Congress mulls auto bailout

However, one senior Democratic congressional source told CNN that House and Senate committee staff will meet over the weekend to write a bill to provide $20 billion to $25 billion in assistance to the U.S. auto companies.

This aide said the "mathematicians were working" at how to reprogram the money by reducing a subsidy to come up with a figure that would be available for loans, despite an earlier report that only $7.5 billion was available from the fund passed last year for fuel efficiency research.

This aide said the bill could be on the House floor as early as Tuesday, but thought it was more likely that the Senate would vote on the bill first.

Full story

Some GOP governors weren't happy with how Palin's press conference unfolded. (Getty Images)

MIAMI (CNN) - Some Republican governors tell CNN they were not particularly happy with the way the Republican Governors Association press conference was executed Thursday, saying that they agreed to go as a show of GOP governors’ unity - but they ended up feeling like silent Palin supporters, since it was clearly a press conference called for her.

The GOP governors spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity.

One called it awkward: “I’m sure you could see it on some of our faces.”

Another Republican governor eyeing a presidential run in 2012 told CNN the event was “odd” and “weird,” and said it “unfortunately sent a message that she was the de facto leader of the party."

There has been palpable tension among some GOP governors gathered in Miami that Palin has been sucking up all the media oxygen.

In an interview with CNN, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour shrugged off that suggestion.

"That's just somebody running down a rabbit trail. There's plenty of oxygen here,” he said.

Some McCain advisers were frustrated by Palin.

(CNN) - Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin had prepared to deliver a concession speech before John McCain’s Tuesday night — and brought her remarks with her to his Phoenix concession - but senior McCain campaign adviser Steve Schmidt told her she could not.

Two McCain sources say Palin clearly did not understand the protocol of a concession speech, and expected she would have the chance to deliver one of her own.

Update: Palin camp fires back

McCain advisers were also upset with the Alaska governor for setting up what she thought was a call from French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The call, which turned out to be a prank from Quebec radio hosts, was not cleared with the McCain campaign and some saw the effort to set it up as evidence of her future presidential ambitions.

A Palin ally involved in setting up the call, however, suggests McCain advisers had ample time to object given the call was on her schedule for three days.

Two McCain sources also say Palin did not know Africa was a continent and could not find it on a map. A third source, a Palin ally, says that was a miscommunication.

Scheunemann (above, with Cindy McCain and Sarah Palin) denies he was dismissed from the campaign.

(CNN) - McCain’s presidential bid has ended, but the fireworks from inside his former campaign continue to make news: evidence is mounting that senior adviser Randy Scheunemann wasn’t fired, as several internal sources had suggested, but the target of a deliberate whispering campaign.

Top McCain adviser Mark Salter told CNN Thursday that Scheunemann, the campaign’s senior foreign policy adviser, was not fired.

Campaign manager Rick Davis denied a report he had fired Scheunemann after determining that he had been in direct contact with journalists spreading "disinformation" about campaign aides, including Nicolle Wallace and other officials.

"My impression is there is some silly score settling being done," Davis told CNN. "Randy was not fired."

Scheunemann himself said sources who said he had been dismissed were lying.

"I was not fired,” he said Thursday. “Anybody who says so is either lying or delusional and is certainly a whack job."

Earlier, Scheunemann told CNN he was "not fired and never [have] been fired."

Some senior campaign officials blame Scheunemann specifically for stories about the way Wallace and chief campaign strategist Steve Schmidt mishandled Palin's rollout — stories that the campaign says threw them off message in the critical final weeks of the campaign.

"He was positioning himself with Palin at the expense of John McCain's campaign message," said a McCain aide, one of three senior aides who told CNN that Scheunemann had been fired from the campaign.

Scheunemann, who was widely viewed as a supporter of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, admitted people were trying to push him out of the campaign. But he said that Goldfarb, his ally, was incorrect when he told CNN that Scheunemann’s blackberry had been taken away — although he does admit that his e-mail account had been “temporarily” cut off.

Earlier: Sources: McCain aide fired for trashing staff

Michael Goldfarb, a McCain press aide and Scheunemann ally, said that senior McCain aides were mad at Scheunemann - and wanted to fire him - but he insisted they stopped short of that, and instead simply turned off his campaign communication.

Goldfarb said Scheunemann was in the office on Saturday. He was, however, noticeably missing on election night when top aides to John McCain and Sarah Palin gathered in Phoenix, Arizona.

(Updated with additional information 11:45 a.m.)

Scheunemann bonded with Palin during the Alaska governor's debate prep, above.

(CNN) - Randy Scheunemann, a senior foreign policy adviser to John McCain, was fired from the Arizona senator's campaign last week for what one aide called "trashing" the campaign staff, three senior McCain advisers tell CNN.

One of the aides tells CNN that campaign manager Rick Davis fired Scheunemann after determining that he had been in direct contact with journalists spreading "disinformation" about campaign aides, including Nicolle Wallace and other officials. (Update: Davis denies the claim.)

Update: Scheunemann disputes campaign sources, says he was not fired

"He was positioning himself with Palin at the expense of John McCain's campaign message," said one of the aides.

Senior campaign officials blame Schuenemann specifically for stories about the way Wallace and chief campaign strategist Steve Schmidt mishandled Palin's rollout - stories that the campaign says threw them off message in the critical final weeks of the campaign.

Another aide said McCain personally was "very disappointed by Randy," who worked for McCain for many years in the Senate.

Scheunemann became close with Palin during her debate prep process.

(CNN) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will likely meet later this week with Joe Lieberman to discuss whether the Democrat-turned-Independent will be stripped of his Senate committee chairmanship, a senior Democratic leadership aide tells CNN.

Lieberman currently chairs the Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

This aide says that Reid, who is calling the meeting, has not yet decided what to do. The aide admits that the decision will be determined in part by the final election results tonight - and just how close the party is to a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority - but insists that the biggest factor involved is lingering anger among Senate Democrats over Lieberman's Republican convention speech.

This aide also said that Senate Democrats aren't that upset about Lieberman's constant presence and cheerleading on the campaign trail with John McCain - instead, they've been put off by the things he said about Barack Obama at the Republican convention in St. Paul.

(CNN) – Two senior aides to John McCain see "no path to victory," given the night's results so far.

The two advisors, who were crunching numbers for the Republican contender, were responding to a question via e-mail from CNN's Dana Bash, who has been covering the McCain campaign.

The aides asked not to named because the campaign is not commenting on internal discussions.

Three states that went Republican in 2004 have gone for Democrat Barack Obama, according to CNN projections - Iowa, New Mexico and Ohio.

McCain aides say a Reagan official who endorsed Obama lobbied to head the Arizona senator's transition.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (CNN) – Former Ronald Reagan Chief of Staff and powerhouse lobbyist Ken Duberstein became the latest member of the GOP establishment Friday to jump ship, suggesting to CNN he’ll vote for Barack Obama.

But three McCain sources tell CNN that little more than three months ago, Duberstein was pushing to run John McCain’s post-election transition to the White House - a charge Duberstein himself insists is not true.

One of the sources says he was contacted by Duberstein in July with a request to relay a message to the McCain team that he thought he would be an “ideal” person to run the Republican nominee's transition.

This source - who noted that at the time McCain was doing well in the polls - said he and Duberstein had several conversations about it, and that he did pass that information along to the campaign.

Two senior McCain advisers confirm this account, one telling CNN that Duberstein reached out at the "highest levels of the campaign."

However, Duberstein vehemently denies to CNN that he lobbied to run any McCain transition. He said he did have a conversation with someone outside the McCain team, but insists that he was the one approached, and did not push for the post.

“This is a non-story,” Duberstein tells CNN.

According to a McCain aide, Duberstein was an adviser for the Arizona senator' 2000 campaign, but he never endorsed or worked at all with McCain during the 2008 election cycle.

Duberstein told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria this week that he will likely vote for Obama, because of Colin Powell’s endorsement.

"Well, let's put it this way - I think Colin Powell's decision is in fact the good housekeeping seal of approval on Barack Obama," said Duberstein.

Duberstein and Powell have been close friends for decades, dating back to their work together in the Reagan administration.

McCain last appeared on Saturday Night Live in 2002.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (CNN) - Mandatory stops on the GOP campaign trail this year: Pennsylvania. Florida. Saturday Night Live.

Two weeks after running mate Sarah Palin made an appearance on the late-night comedy show, a McCain campaign aide tells CNN that the Republican presidential nominee will appear on the NBC program tomorrow night.

The Arizona senator has appeared on the show several times over the years.

McCain's most memorable appearance on the long running show was in October 2002, when he hosted the program for a night: In a spoof commercial hawking an album called "McCain Sings Streisand," sang several of the Democratic loyalist's songs.

Joe The Plumber is hitting the trail with John McCain.

(CNN) - Joe Wurzelbacher, aka Joe the Plumber, is set to team up with John McCain on the campaign trail Thursday.

He will appear at the Arizona senator's first event in Defiance, Ohio. Wurzelbacher also campaigned with Sarah Palin Wednesday.

The RNC has increased ad spending in Montana.

QUAKERTOWN, Pennsylvania (CNN) - In a sign of last-minute concern about a traditionally red state, the independent arm of the Republican National Committee is launching television ads in Montana.

Democrats have only won Montana twice in the last half century, but Barack Obama has been using his vast resources for an aggressive push there - an Obama spokesman says they have 19 offices and 14,000 volunteers. John McCain has no Montana campaign offices.

"It's a cheap insurance policy" said a Republican official involved with the ad buy told CNN. "We don't expect a crash there, but we may as well buy insurance in case we do."

Recent polling has suggested McCain’s edge over Obama in the state may be in single-digit territory.

By law, the so-called Independent Expenditure arm of the Republican National Committee can produce TV ads and buy air time, as long as it does not coordinate with the party.

The Republican official said they spending $300,000 dollars in the relatively inexpensive media Montana media markets.

Montana now has two Democratic senators and a Democratic governor. Obama’s campaign already has an organization in the state thanks to the Democratic primary in June, which he won.

A senior McCain aide told CNN they are relying on a "very good state party" that has a few offices around the state.

(CNN) – McCain aides expressed relief Wednesday night that the Arizona senator “finally” used a line that took on one of Obama’s central campaign themes.

Watch: I'm not Bush, McCain says

“Sen. Obama, I am not President Bush,” he said. “If you wanted to run against President Bush you should have run four years ago. I will take this country in a new direction."

McCain advisors – who said they had been pushing him to stress that distinction more explicitly than he had in the past - immediately uploaded the quote to YouTube, and circulated it to reporters.

(CNN) – Sen. John McCain said Monday that Rep. John Lewis' controversial remarks were "so disturbing" that they "stopped me in my tracks."

Watch: McCain responds to Lewis

Lewis, a Georgia representative and civil rights icon, on Saturday compared the feeling at recent Republican rallies to those of segregationist George Wallace.

"That's not from some quote party official, that's from one of the most respected people in America. It's unfair. It's unfair and it's outrageous," he said in an exclusive interview with CNN's Dana Bash.

"I never believed that Lewis, who is an American hero whom I admire, would ever make a comment of that nature. He even referred to the bombing of a church in Birmingham. That's unacceptable," he said.

Lewis on Saturday said in a statement that McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin "are sowing the seeds of hatred and division."

"During another period, in the not too distant past, there was a governor of the state of Alabama named George Wallace who also became a presidential candidate. George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama," wrote the Democrat.

He later said that a "careful review" of his comments "would reveal that I did not compare Sen. John McCain or Gov. Sarah Palin to George Wallace."

A McCain aide described the moment that the campaign saw Lewis' comment as an emotional one, and a reality check as to "what the campaign is up against" when it comes to the thorny discussion over race on the campaign trail.

The senior advisor, who was with McCain, told CNN that they delayed the Republican nominee's flight to Davenport, Iowa, and got on a conference call from the plane with campaign manager Rick Davis and senior advisor Steve Schmidt to hammer out a statement.

McCain said Saturday that Lewis' earlier statement was "a brazen and baseless attack" and called on Sen. Barack Obama to repudiate it. McCain on Monday again criticized Obama for not condemning Lewis' words.

The Obama campaign said that Obama "does not believe that John McCain or any policy criticism is any way comparable to George Wallace or his segregationist policies" but said Lewis was "right to condemn some of the hateful rhetoric."

McCain told CNN that Lewis' status as a respected politician makes his remarks even more unacceptable.

"I say when anyone says anything like that that is so beyond the pay, that it stuns me, because that's not what America and this debate should be all about," he said. "I will reject that kind of language, and again, I'm so disappointed in Congressman John Lewis."

Some McCain supporters have yelled out "treason," "kill him" and "terrorist" at recent campaign events.

Asked about the anger at his rallies - something that has increased after the McCain campaign starting highlighting Obama's ties to 1960s radical Bill Ayers, McCain said he was insulted by some characterizations of his supporters.

"There is always the fringe element that's in politics in America. The overwhelming majority of the people that come to my rallies are good and decent and patriotic Americans," the Republican presidential candidate said. "For anybody to emanate that the overwhelming ... 99 percent is anything but patriotic and good Americans is frankly unacceptable, and I won't stand for it."
The Obama campaign has recognized McCain's efforts to get his supporters to show respect.
McCain said Monday that despite trailing Obama in the polls, he's comfortable with where they are.

According to CNN's latest poll of polls, Obama is up by 8 percentage points, 50-42.
CNN's national poll of polls consists of six surveys: ABC/Washington Post (October 8-11), Fox News/Opinion Dynamics (October 8-9), Newsweek (October 8-9), Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby (October 10-12), Gallup (October 10-12) and Diageo/Hotline (October 10-12). It does not have a sampling error.

"We're going to be just fine. I have been written off on so many occasions by so many so-called pundits that it's hard for me to count," McCain said, joking that his campaign has "more lives than a cat."

"But the point is - we're doing fine. I'm happy where we're at, we're fighting the good fight. That's what it's all about."

McCain's aides say they will peg Obama as 'risky' and 'dangerous.'.

(CNN) - John McCain’s aides say they are certainly happy to turn the corner away from the bailout package - but insist the campaign’s stepped-up focus on Barack Obama’s character does not mean the Republican presidential nominee is going to stop talking about the economy.

Instead, they will try to reframe the economic issue as part of their overall theme against Obama: You don’t really know this guy - and you can’t trust this guy. The words in their new ad say it all: “risky… dangerous.”

Watch: Obama, McCain advisers discuss why their candidate is best for the economy

As Obama and running mate Joe Biden take a break from the trail Monday, McCain and VP nominee Sarah Palin are each pursuing a different part of that strategy.

In New Mexico this afternoon, aides say McCain is expected to revive his attacks on Obama — a top recipient of campaign cash from from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — for taking money from the failed mortgage giants, and for not coming up with solutions early in the crisis. The Arizona senator will once again talk about his own call two years ago for reform of Fannie and Freddie.

Last month, the McCain camp released ads highlighting Obama’s ties to former Fannie and Freddie officials — but that line of attack had not been prominent since a New York Times investigation alleged that campaign manager Rick Davis may have benefited financially from his firm’s links to the lenders until their collapse last month.

McCain advisors are wagering that the attack is worth the risk. One aide says that “with economic news at the top of voters’ minds, it makes sense for the top of the ticket to talk about Obama’s failures and lack of credibility on the economy.”

Meanwhile, Palin - who hit Obama this weekend over his associations with controversial Chicago figures - will continue a more personal line of attack, focusing on his relationship with Weather Underground founder William Ayers.

The two lines of attack are two sides of the same approach, says another advisor, questioning obama’s truthfulness and whether voters can really trust him.

But two McCain aides say Palin’s comments questioning why Rev. Jeremiah Wright wasn’t more of a campaign trail issue, was not planned as a signal that they are going to start adding Wright to the mix. The Alaska governor, they say, was just relating her personal opinion, not the strategy of the campaign,

Asked whether Palin’s remark wasn’t a green light to outside groups that Wright is fair game, the aide responded “we’re not that good to strategize like that,” adding that Palin was talking as a woman whose daughters pregnancy was fair game, who doesn’t understand why the comments of Obama’s pastor aren’t.

John McCain and Sarah Palin held a joint campaign event in Michigan last month. (Getty Images)

(CNN) - A senior McCain adviser confirms to CNN that the campaign is "shifting resources" from Michigan to Ohio and Pennsylvania, and "opening up an offensive front” in Maine.

Michigan was always a long shot for John McCain, who lost the state to native son Mitt Romney in the Republican primary. A Republican presidential candidate hasn’t won there in two decades, since George H.W. Bush’s 1988 victory. But McCain had a surprisingly close showing in some polls, and made a significant time investment campaigning in the state this year.

The most recent CNN poll of polls in Michigan shows Obama with an 8 point lead in the state. (View more state polls)

Macomb County – home of the original Reagan Democrats - was one of the first stops for McCain and running mate Sarah Palin on their post-convention tour of battleground states; they held a town hall in Grand Rapids two weeks ago. (McCain lost Macomb County to Romney by more than 20 points)

Local republican officials told CNN they were thrilled to have Palin on the ticket, saying her accent and love for guns made her someone independents and Democrats uncomfortable with Obama could relate to.

But nowhere does the economy loom larger as an issue than in this hard-hit industrial state, suffering from a decade-long slump. The Obama campaign has tried to capitalize on the Democratic nominee’s polling advantage on the issue, running ads in the state that accuse McCain of not doing more to protect Michigan jobs. (Related: Obama stumps in Michigan Thursday)

As the campaign pulls resources from Michigan, it is ramping up its efforts in Maine, where Republican Senator Susan Collins is beating national trends in her re-election bid, holding a healthy double-digit lead, along with with a strong organization in the state.

A second McCain aide says that their polling shows that “Michigan isn’t even a long shot” - but the campaign is hoping to capture at least one of Maine’s 4 electoral votes, which are designated by congressional district. This year, "every electoral vote will count," says the aide.

Gov. Sarah Palin will prepare for Thursday's debate from Arizona.

(CNN)– Gov. Sarah Palin will now spend two and a half days near Sedona, Arizona, to prepare for Thursday's debate, instead of prepping in St Louis, as originally planned.

Sarah Palin will be at John McCain's rustic creek side home outside Sedona for what a top aide calls "debate camp."

The aide, who's part of the team prepping Palin, tells CNN they decided to take her to debate camp there because it is an "invigorating and enjoyable place to prepare for Thursday."

"SP [Sarah Palin] loves it and has her kids and Todd coming," wrote the aide in an email.

The aide said "John McCain himself came up with the idea after thinking it would be great before his next debate.

Pailin has already been hunkered down for four days in a Philadelphia hotel for debate prep with advisers.

She will take a short break Monday to attend a rally with McCain in Ohio, before heading to Arizona.

McCain is working on the bailout latest from the D.C. area Saturday.

(CNN)– John McCain is at his national campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia at this hour. His campaign tells us he's meeting with advisers regarding the proposed $700 billion federal bailout and
the latest negotiations and developments on Capitol Hill, and is "making a lot of calls to make sure that things stay on track."

The campaign says that Senator McCain will head to Capitol Hill later this afternoon. They weren't clear exactly what he's going to actually do when he gets there.

The campaign is touting that, as one aide puts it, McCain's "the glue that is going to potentially bind together House Republicans and Democratic members of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's caucus."

But McCain isn't engaging with House Democrats and currently isn't directly involved in the current negotiations, so it's unclear how he's the so-called glue.

When pressed on that, the campaign aide repeated the point that Camp McCain's been making for 24 hours, that McCain is the one who pushed House Republicans back to the negotiating table.

The McCain campaign is also highlighting the contrast between McCain hard at work "showing leadership" and Obama on the trail today in North Carolina, a state the McCain camp says "he won't win."

UPDATE: CNN Political Producer Tasha Diakides reports that Senior McCain Campaign Adviser Mark Salter says it looks like Senator McCain is not going to the Capitol today and will instead make phone calls from the McCain Campaign HQ in Arlington, Virginia. Salter says the Republican presidential nominee will continue that effort tomorrow, although he can't say definitively that McCain is not traveling tomorrow.

Rob Portman played the part of Obama in McCain's debate prep.

OXFORD, Mississippi (CNN) - After days and days of denials that they had anyone playing Obama in debate prep sessions, two McCain campaign aides admitted to CNN they were using a stand-in for the Democratic nominee: former GOP congressman and OMB director Rob Portman.

Portman has been playing Obama in mock debates, including a two-hour session Thursday night in McCain's Virginia apartment, and one at an Oxford high school hours before tonight's debate.

Ironically, in 2000, Portman played Joe Lieberman in mock debates for then VP candidate Dick Cheney.

Now Lieberman is a close friend and supporter of McCain's, and a regular on the road with him.

Biden and Palin are set to debate October 2.

(CNN) - McCain supporter Sen. Lindsey Graham tells CNN the McCain campaign is proposing to the Presidential Debate Commission and the Obama camp that if there's no bailout deal by Friday, the first presidential debate should take the place of the VP debate, currently scheduled for next Thursday, October 2 in St. Louis.

In this scenario, the vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin would be rescheduled for a date yet to be determined, and take place in Oxford, Mississippi, currently slated to be the site of the first presidential faceoff this Friday.

Watch: Obama camp pushes for debate

Graham says the McCain camp is well aware of the position of the Obama campaign and the debate commission that the debate should go on as planned - but both he and another senior McCain adviser insist the Republican nominee will not go to the debate Friday if there's no deal on the bailout.

(CNN) - McCain supporter Sen. Lindsey Graham tells CNN the McCain campaign is proposing to the Presidential Debate Commission and the Obama camp that if there's no bailout deal by Friday, the first presidential debate should take the place of the VP debate, currently scheduled for next Thursday, October 2 in St. Louis.

In this scenario, the vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin would be rescheduled for a date yet to be determined, and take place in Oxford, Mississippi, currently slated to be the site of the first presidential faceoff this Friday.

Graham says the McCain camp is well aware of the position of the Obama campaign and the debate commission that the debate should go on as planned - but both he and another senior McCain adviser insist the Republican nominee will not go to the debate Friday if there's no deal on the bailout.

Sen. John McCain will hold his first press conference as a nominee Tuesday afternoon.

(CNN) - John McCain will take a few questions from reporters Tuesday afternoon in Michigan - the first time he's had a press conference with traveling media in nearly six weeks, since August 13.

Sec. Paulson testified before the banking committee Tuesday.

(CNN) - A Democratic congressional leadership source tells CNN that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, after talking Monday to Republican nominee John McCain, assured a member of the Senate Democratic leadership that McCain would be "fine," and vote for the bailout package.

But a senior McCain aide still insisted the Arizona senator hasn't decided how he'll vote, and won't until he sees the full and final package. Like Democrats, he is hoping the legislation will include an oversight board and a CEO compensation cap.

The Democratic leadership source said there is concern that with more and more Republicans raising concerns over the package, if McCain would vote against it, it would give other Republicans cover to oppose it as well. If that happens, Democrats would have to provide most of the votes - the last thing the Democratic leadership wants.

Obama and McCain are starting to prepare for the upcoming debates.

(CNN) – There may be no greater illustration of John McCain and Barack Obama’s differing styles than the way they're preparing for Friday’s presidential debate.

Barack Obama is reportedly going to Florida for "debate camp" - traditional preparation that includes a sparring partner playing the role of his Republican opponent.

McCain’s prep is more on the fly: He spent several hours Sunday at his campaign headquarters working with aides, and he spent several hours in a Pennsylvania hotel Monday afternoon doing the same.

He will follow this "squeeze it in" prep schedule Tuesday as he campaigns in Ohio, and Wednesday around meetings with world leaders in New York.

Not until Thursday afternoon and Friday in Mississippi are McCain aides planning to hunker down and devote all the candidate’s time to debate prep.

Another illustration of how McCain’s preparation for Friday’s faceoff has been somewhat untraditional: right now aides say they don't have anyone playing the role of Obama in mock debates. Right now advisers like Mark Salter and Charlie Black and others are throwing questions at McCain they think the moderator could ask, without an "Obama" figure in the mix — although aides say that scenario may change by week’s end.

(Three advisors insist that reports former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele is playing Obama in debate prep are untrue — Steele is uninvolved, they say. Also untrue: a report that McCain may hold a Mississippi town hall Friday to help him warm up, as he has often done on debate days.)

One senior advisor involved in this prep says they feel because foreign policy is the subject of the first debate, and they believe that's McCain’s strong suit, a lot of time is being spent working on what aides believe remains the Arizona senator’s big challenge - keeping his answers short.

McCain and Palin will hold joint events in key states.

RENO, Nevada (CNN) - CNN has learned that John McCain and Sarah Palin plan to hold joint town hall meetings next week.

A McCain adviser says early plans are to hold the town halls in western Michigan and Wisconsin, although the exact details of where and when they will be held are still being worked out.

These events would likely mark the first time Palin takes questions from voters.

Aides say her solo campaign events planned for Nevada Saturday, Colorado Monday, and Ohio Tuesday are all scheduled as rallies where she will speak to but not interact with voters.

McCain is known for his town hall meetings, and often touts his penchant for the ask-anything approach as proof of his "straight talk."

But he hasn't held a town hall in almost a month - since August 20 in New Mexico.

And the man who promised to hold frequent press conferences in the White House hasn't held an availability with traveling reporters in exactly a month: His last press conference was August 13.

McCain aides are quite candid about the fact that they tried for months to persuade him to hold fewer press conferences in order to stay on message, and finally succeeded.

First, he stopped bringing reporters on his bus for his signature "straight talk legs."

Then he severely cut back on what had been a McCain campaign trail staple - a press conference after events with voters.

Senior advisers say they believe that has allowed them to better refine and control their message, and insist that contributed to his rise in the polls even before Palin was picked.

Instead, McCain does a slew of interviews with local reporters and anchors - not just in the states he's visiting, but also via satellite.

It’s a tried and true way for candidates to get their messages out through what campaigns consider to be less of a “filter.”

McCain aides have been getting complaints from traveling reporters about the reduced access, but it is still unclear when or if he'll hold another press conference.

–CNN's Kevin Bohn contributed to this report

McCain is keeping Palin on the campaign trail with him longer than expected.

(CNN)– What does a campaign do when its new vice presidential candidate brings unprecedented energy to their candidate's crowds? They keep her with him longer.

A McCain campaign aide tells CNN the Alaska Governor will stay on the trail with McCain through early next week, instead of campaigning solo.

The McCain-Palin ticket is expected in Missouri Monday, and likely Ohio and Pennsylvania through Tuesday and maybe early Wednesday.

Campaign aides made it clear, the decision to keep Palin on the trail with the Republican nominee longer, also gives the campaign additional time hammer out details as to where and how to best deploy Palin when she does campaign on her own.

Plans were originally underway to send Palin to Florida solo early next week. Then that was scrapped and aides started working on a meet and greet event in the Philadelphia area Monday, with potential for a fundraising component. But those plans for Palins have now been abandoned as well.

Palin is expected to travel back to Alaska mid week through at least Friday, before her son, Track, who is enlisted in the Army is deployed to Iraq. In her convention address, Palin announced he's going on September 11.

Palin is preparing for her speech Wednesday night.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) – Gov. Sarah Palin has been working around the clock on a speech that will focus on introducing herself to voters, proving she has what it takes to handle the economy and making the case for John McCain, two McCain aides told CNN Wednesday.

The Alaska governor has spent most of the past 48 hours working in a hotel room with speechwriter Matt Scully and adviser Nicolle Wallace. On Tuesday, they worked nonstop from 11 a.m. until 1 a.m. She also did a read-through with the prompter at 10 p.m. – exactly 24 hours before the real speech, the aides said.

The Republican vice presidential candidate will continue practicing and tweaking all day, working up until the last minute before she leaves for the convention hall.

Palin has been educating Scully and Wallace on her experience and record as they have been helping her put the message into words. The governor has been “co-writing” with Scully, according to a source involved in the process.

According to a senior McCain adviser, the speech has three main goals:

First, Palin wants to leave no question about which ticket has a better hold on the economy.

Palin will emphasize her experience and understanding of the energy economy and talk about how Alaska is the “intersection of global energy markets and domestic production.” Here, she’ll try to combat questions regarding her experience.

Palin will also pit John McCain against Barack Obama, making the case for the Arizona senator on the basis of policy and character.

“After she delivers these lines, McCain’s decision to choose her will be much more obvious,” said the aide who has been working with her on the speech.

Finally, Palin will introduce herself to voters as a likable, funny and smart person.

“Every one in the staff has fallen in love with her,” insisted this aide.

Regarding expectations for the night, another senior adviser said, “The Democrats and the media have done a great job lowering expectations. We’re going to raise some expectations tonight. The elites will never give her her due, or middle America its due.”

“She is going to really going to connect with blue collar voters - illustrate that she has a common touch with an executive presence,” the aide said.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was not happy with Sen. Joe Lieberman’s speech before the Republican National Convention Tuesday night.

"Senator Reid was very disappointed in Senator Lieberman’s speech tonight,” Reid spokesman, Jim Manley, told CNN. “As the American people have made very clear, the last thing this country needs is another four years of the same old failed Bush-McCain policies of the past."

In particular, the Nevada Democrat took issue with Lieberman’s assertion that Obama has not crossed party lines.

Lieberman’s statement that “Senator Barack Obama is a gifted and eloquent young… but, my friends, eloquence is no substitute for a record, not in these tough times for America” also drew Reid’s ire, Manley said.

McCain's camp defends vetting process, stating only one red flag came up.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) - John McCain insisted Tuesday his vice presidential vetting process was thorough, as his campaign tried to calm concern that more surprises about Sarah Palin were coming.

To that end, a source intimately involved in McCain's VP vetting process called CNN to give an account of her background check.

This official said a 25-person team, led by Washington attorney A.B. Culvahouse, started by compiling reports on 20 top VP contenders, using only public documents like disclosure forms, public records, newspaper articles, and interview transcripts.

That information was eventually presented to McCain, and to top campaign advisers Mark Salter, Steve Schmidt, Charlie Black and Rick Davis, the only four aides involved in the highly secretive process.

Once McCain and those aides narrowed the choices to a short list, Palin and other contenders were contacted and asked for documents a credit check, a call for tax returns, and additional financial disclosure forms.

The official tells CNN that all of those on the short list – including Palin – were asked to answer 70 “intrusive” questions, including: Have you ever paid for sex? Have you ever been fairly or unfairly accused of sexual harassment? The questions were also described as some basic queries now asked of presidential nominees, like whether or not they ever hired illegal workers or neglected to pay taxes for nannies.

In one of her answers, Palin told McCain aides about her husbands DUI arrest 22 years ago.

Then, Culvahouse himself, along with a few associates, interviewed Palin for three hours. During that interview, she revealed her teenage daughter's pregnancy - and was warned it would become public if she were picked. "She said she'd have those conversations with her daughter," the official familiar with the conversation tells CNN.

From the start of the vetting process, one red flag was a state investigation into whether Palin improperly dismissed Alaska’s Public Safety Commissioner for not firing her ex-brother-in-law.

CNN has been told McCain investigators spent considerable time looking into the so-called “Troopergate” affair - interviewing Palin's lawyer, and quietly talking to others involved - and decided the facts were on her side.

This source, who was intimately involved in vetting Palin, admitted that aside from interviewing some of the figures involved in Troopergate, they did not talk to character witnesses in Alaska, and did not look at clips about her from the newspaper in her hometown of Wasilla, because it is kept on microfilm and was hard to view without compromising their secrecy.

CNN is told that Culvahouse, one of Washington’s widely respected power lawyers, was called by McCain one last time before he officially asked Palin to join him on the Republican ticket. The presumptive Republican nominee asked Culvahouse if, based on what he unearthed, he was confident the little-known Alaska governor's background would withstand scrutiny – and was given a confident go-ahead by the attorney.

But it is unclear whether Culvahouse gave McCain any political advice on whether Palin is a qualified or wise choice, or left that to the small group of political advisers involved.

The McCain camp would not reveal precisely when this vetting process had taken place, how long they had spent on it, or who else was vetted.

However, sources close to Independent Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney tell CNN they were all put through at least the first stage of short list vetting.

McCain himself only met Palin in person once, at a National Governors Association meeting in February of 2008, and spoke with her by phone on another occasion two days before bringing her to Arizona to offer her a spot on the GOP ticket.

(CNN) – A senior adviser to John McCain's campaign confirms that they have dispatched a team of 12 people to presumptive VP nominee Sarah Palin's home state of Alaska.

The adviser insists the group is a communications "jump" team that would have gone to any nominee's hometown, and denies reports that the team is now going to further vet Palin.

(CNN) – Alaska Governor Sarah Palin hired a lawyer three weeks ago to act on her behalf as state legislators investigate whether she may have abused her power in firing the state police chief for refusing to fire her ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper, CNN has confirmed.

A report of findings of a legislative inquiry that began several weeks ago is currently slated to be released just days before Election Day.

Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol, second from the right, is pregnant.

ST. PAUL (CNN) – Bristol Palin, the 17 year old daughter of Sarah Palin, is pregnant and will keep the baby and marry the father, a senior McCain aide confirmed to CNN Monday.

McCain was aware of Bristol Palin’s pregnancy before he chose her mother for his running mate, the aide said.

“Senator McCain knew this and felt in no way did it disqualify her from being vice president,” said the aide. “Families have difficulties sometimes and lucky for her she has a supportive family.”

Bristol Palin, a senior in high school, is about 5 months along, in her second trimester, according to the aide.

The aide said they decided to reveal this information now because of rampant Internet rumors that Sarah Palin’s four month old baby, who has Down Syndrome, was actually Bristol’s.

“In the course of correcting that, we needed to get the truth out,” said the McCain aide.

In a statement from Sarah and Todd Palin, they said they were “proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents.”

They also asked the media to respect their daughter’s privacy.

The McCain aide insisted a key point to keep in mind is that Bristol decided to keep the baby, a decision “supported by her parents.”

(CNN) - John McCain’s presidential campaign has decided not to reveal the name of his running mate until Friday, a senior McCain source tells CNN.

McCain will appear in Ohio tomorrow with his vice presidential pick.

“This is Barack Obama’s night,” said the source.

DAYTON, Ohio (CNN) – It is unclear if John McCain has notified his running mate yet, but planned Denver media appearances by Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, thought to be a top contender, were abruptly canceled Thursday so he could back to head back to Minnesota, an aide said.

Pawlenty’s appearances were canceled by the Republican National Committee, which had invited him to Denver to act as a McCain surrogate during the Democratic convention.

Another VP contender, former primary season rival Mitt Romney, is traveling in California and attending private events, including fundraisers. There was no indication he has received word either way yet from McCain, according to sources close to the former Massachusetts governor.

A Republican source close to McCain also says not to rule out former eBay CEO and McCain economic adviser Meg Whitman. Independent Senator Joe Lieberman is also considered a major contender for the VP slot on the GOP ticket.

A senior McCain adviser has told CNN the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has made his final decision on his running mate. Republican sources told CNN he settled on his choice Wednesday night, while the McCain adviser insists the candidate finalized his choice Thursday morning.

DENVER (CNN) – A senior adviser with John McCain's campaign called CNN Thursday to confirm that the VP selection process is finished and the presumptive Republican nominee has made up his mind.

CNN first reported the news Wednesday, after a knowledgeable Republican source said the matter was settled at a major meeting of McCain's advisers.

The presumptive Republican nominee will appear with his prospective running mate at a massive rally on Friday, the day after Barack Obama formally accepts the Democratic presidential nomination.

DENVER (CNN) – A source close to Mark Warner who helped the Senate candidate craft his convention keynote speech said criticism by senior Democrats that his planned remarks were not partisan enough were off-base – because the Virginia Senate candidate's bi-partisan reputation is precisely why he was asked to speak in the first place.

“That is at odds with the notion that he should be the person ripping the bark off McCain,” this source said.

In a Huffington Post op-ed titled "Please, Democrats, Attack" Begala said he recognized that Warner was running this year in a traditionally Republican state, but that "Democrats should not have put Warner in this bind."

In his speech, Warner will include one of the Obama camp’s main themes – that the Illinois senator represents change versus four more years of the same - but the crux of his speech will be talking about working together with Republicans and the lessons and success he had doing that in Virginia.

McCain, who made a stop at a Pennsylvania supermarket Wednesday, will host political allies at his Arizona ranch this weekend.

(CNN) - Aides to John McCain tell CNN that the presumptive Republican nominee will host a group of political allies and fundraisers from around the country this weekend at his cabin outside Sedona, Arizona.

As many as 75 people are expected to attend a barbeque at McCain's home Saturday.

The attendees will also get meetings and briefings from staff, including campaign manager Rick Davis, Saturday morning at a nearby Sedona resort where most will stay.

Watch: McCain goes grocery shopping with a Pennsylvania family

McCain often uses his creek-side cabin to hold intimate political events in a relaxed setting. He told reporters he hosted there this spring that making ribs on his large grill is one of his only means of relaxation.

A few months ago he hosted a group that included several would-be running mates and their wives. It was at that event that McCain says he and his wife Cindy really got to know, and like, his former rival Mitt Romney and his wife Ann.

Is McCain inching toward Pawlenty?

ROCHESTER, New Hampshire (CNN) – It's VP tea leaf reading season, and a Republican source who attended a small private meeting with John McCain Tuesday in New Hampshire tells CNN that the GOP candidate dropped a serious hint about Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.

The Republican source said "out of the blue" McCain told the gathering that he thinks they are "really going to like" Pawlenty.

CNN's Political Market: Pawlenty's stock on the rise

This GOP source noted that McCain also said nice things about Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani, but those appeared to be standard lines he says about former rivals.

This source said McCain may have been talking about Pawlenty because the meeting was with New Hampshire GOP delegates, and the Republican convention is in Pawlenty's state.

But this source said McCain's praise was effusive, and noteworthy because it appeared to come "totally out of left field."

Pawlenty is a long-time supporter of McCain's. He's from a swing state with considerable support across the Republican Party, including evangelicals, and has always been thought by Republican strategists to be on McCain's short list.

The Minnesota governor, who is visiting Washington, was at McCain headquarters in Virginia today for meetings, according to a McCain aide.

McCain is expected to continue criticism of Obama while he is overseas.

(CNN)—Senator John McCain tends to follow the old adage “politics ends at the water's edge,” but his aides tell CNN they have every intention of continuing their attacks on Obama while the presumptive Democratic nominee is on his overseas trip.

When he was in Canada in June, McCain refused to talk about Obama - and CNN was told from top advisers that McCain got angry at campaign aides back at headquarters for sending emails hitting the Illinois senator while he was abroad.

But the McCain campaign considers Obama’s trip to Europe, Iraq and Afghanistan fair game. McCain aides says the Obama campaign and the DNC both set precedent for it, by attacking McCain while he was in Europe and the Middle East in March, and during his recent trips to Canada, Colombia and Mexico.

In an e-mail response to CNN, McCain spokesman Brian Rogers attached a list of quotes from Obama and DNC press releases during the presumptive Republican nominee’s trips, and said “we don’t feel there’s any restriction on drawing contrasts while he’s abroad.”

The trip has already drawn significant media coverage - so there’s no doubt the McCain campaign will be watching Obama very closely.

The campaign has already sharpened its argument in the past week, branding the presumptive Democratic nominee’s trip to Europe as a photo opportunity, and his visits to Afghanistan and Iraq campaign stops, not a fact finding missions, since Obama announced his policies before visiting.

“I was very interested that he articulated and announced his policies and approached Iraq before he went, not after. Remarkable,” Senator McCain told Missouri voters Thursday.

“I've been on a lot of trips around the world, usually at your expense, but I usually issue my policy statements when I get back.”

McCain is continuing to paint Obama as naive on foreign policy.

(CNN) - John McCain’s aides may not like it, but they know it's inevitable: Barack Obama's trip overseas is guaranteed to generate a lot of coverage.

And they say while Obama is abroad, McCain will spend the week sticking to issues that voters care most about, namely the ailing economy.

But now, McCain is using every opportunity he can get to come down on Barack Obama's Iraq policy.

While at a Kansas City town hall Thursday, unprompted, the presumptive Republican nominee tweaked Obama for his upcoming trip abroad.

"I know that Senator Obama is going to Iraq," he said. "I was very interested that he articulated and announced his policies and [approach to] Iraq before he went."

Ironically, it was McCain himself who encouraged the Illinois senator to go.

"It's now coming up on 900 days since he last visited Iraq, since before the surge," McCain said last month in Pennsylvania. "I hope that he goes as quickly as possible, with or without me."

The Republican National Committee has a running clock on its Web site showing how many days, hours, and seconds it has been since Obama last visited Iraq.

Since the June 28 news that Obama was planning to make a trip to Iraq, the McCain campaign has been working up their response plan.

But aides say that when Obama penned an op-ed this week detailing his policies in Iraq and Afghanistan, followed by a speech doing the same, advisers re-focused their attention to one central theme: by introducing his war policies before leaving, Obama's trip has become more of a campaign swing than a fact-finding mission.

"I've been on a lot of trips around the world, usually at your expense," McCain said Thursday. "But I usually issue my policy statements when I get back."

Obama is expected to make the trip to Iraq this month alongside fellow senators Chuck Hagel and Jack Reed. While overseas, the presumptive Democratic nominee will also visit France, Germany, Israel, Jordan and the United Kingdom.

"This trip will be an important opportunity for me to assess the situation in countries that are critical to American national security," Obama said in a statement last month. It will also afford him the opportunity to "consult with some of our closest friends and allies about the common challenges we face."

As Obama prepares to go, the McCain camp stepping up its push to highlight Obama's apparent shift in rhetoric on Iraq.

Earlier this week, McCain declared Obama a flip-flopper for changing his statements on the surge's success.

"It's a particularly new level of flip-flop," McCain said on-board his bus, the Straight Talk Express, Tuesday.

On Thursday, the McCain campaign released an eight-minute video aimed at illustrating Obama's contradictory statements on Iraq.

One clip from 2004 shows Obama saying, "we should secure execute the rebuilding and reconstruction process effectively and properly. I don't think there should be an artificial deadline to do that."

Obama now has calls for all combat troops to be out of Iraq in 16 months.

The Obama campaign was quick to respond, returning to a common argument: that McCain has, for the most part, been in lockstep with President Bush on the Iraq war, and that his position now keeps troops there indefinitely.

But noticeably absent from the response: any defense against McCain's central charge - that over the years, Obama's Iraq position has shifted with the politics of the moment.

McCain talks with reporters aboard his campaign bus.

(CNN) - After talking with aides before his speech targeting Barack Obama's changing positions and rhetoric on Iraq, John McCain decided to ad lib a line slamming the Illinois senator as a flip-flopper.

The only problem is the evidence he gave wasn't exactly right.

First McCain quoted Obama in January 2007, saying that there can't be a military solution to a civil war, and that he knows no military expert who thinks the surge can make a difference.

Then McCain said, "incredibly today, he goes on to say today, quote 'I had no doubt we would see a reduction in violence with the surge' - my friends, flip-floppers all over the world are enraged"

The problem is that Obama did not in fact say today, "I had no doubt we would see a reduction in violence with the surge."

McCain aides later clarified that he was reading a quote from Obama in January 2008 at a Democratic Debate.

"Now, I had no doubt - and I said at the time, when I opposed the surge, that given how wonderfully our troops perform, if we place 30,000 more troops in there, then we would see an improvement in the security situation and we would see a reduction in the violence," said Obama then.

McCain aides provided other quotes they insist make the same point - that Obama has changed his rhetoric on whether he really thought the surge would work, after it started working.

Another quote they provided was from the Illinois senator's interview with PBS Tuesday.

"There was never any doubt that if we poured enough resources in there, that we could lock down Iraq," he told interviewer Gwen Ifill.

Gramm told CNN he did not mean to suggest Americans are 'whiners.'

(CNN) - Top McCain adviser Phil Gramm tells CNN that his most controversial comment about the economy in a recent interview has been misinterpreted.

The former Texas senator, who advises presumptive Republican nominee John McCain on economic matters, also said he had not been speaking for the campaign when he spoke to a Washington Times reporter. “I didn’t claim to be representing anyone except myself,” he said. Gramm called CNN from his cell phone before boarding a flight Thursday, to clarify his remarks.

Gramm said he that he was trying to say the nation’s leaders, not its people, were “whiners.”

“The whiners are the leaders, hell, the American people are victims, but it didn’t quite come out that way in the story,” Gramm said. These national and congressional leaders “blame speculators and oil companies for our problems, instead of presenting concrete programs for using energy more efficiently, or leaders who don’t think we can compete with Mexico.

“What we need is more leadership and less whining,” he added.

But he stood by his assessment that the country was in a “mental recession.”

“I said we are in a mental recession. We keep getting the steady drum beat of bad news…it’s become a mental recession,” said Gramm. “We don’t have measured negative growth. That’s a fact, that’s not a commentary.”

Asked whether he understood beforehand the kind of political impact his statements might have, he said this outraged reactions his remarks had drawn were just part of the “game” - anytime anyone says something, said Gramm, it can be “taken out of context.”

McCain will talk the economy next week.

(CNN) - Kicking off the post-Fourth of July campaign stretch, John McCain will spend a week focusing on the economy with a series of events in key fall battleground states in his first tour organized by his new campaign team.

The presumptive Republican nominee will set the stage Monday with the unveiling of his jobs-first economic plan in Colorado.

On Tuesday, McCain returns to Washington to address the 79th Annual LULAC Convention – his latest attempt to reach out to the Hispanic community in the wake of new surveys that suggest his Democratic rival may hold the edge among that key voting bloc. Barack Obama will also address the gathering that day.

On Wednesday, the focus is energy and jobs: McCain travels to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to highlight his Lexington Project energy plan which calls for an increase in domestic oil production, including a call for a lifting of the ban on drilling in ANWR. He then heads to Portsmouth, Ohio for a town hall meeting.

Thursday the Arizona senator hits another battleground state, holding a town hall on jobs in Belleville, Michigan, with a special focus on small businesses. That evening, he will speak to voters in the newly-competitive fall swing state of Virginia via a long-distance "tele-town hall."

McCain will wrap up his economic tour Friday in one final swing state, with plans to hold a town hall aimed at women voters in Hudson, Wisconsin.

Schwarzenegger is expected highlight his stance on off-shore drilling Tuesday.

(CNN) – Even though California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is backing John McCain for president, the box office superstar-turned politician will highlight his differences with the presumptive Republican nominee Tuesday on the issue of off-shore drilling, a Schwarzenegger advisor tells CNN.

The governor will join McCain on the campaign trail in Santa Barbara, California, where he is expected to make a brief reference to their different positions, but then turn to areas where they do agree.

WATCH McCain wants to lift federal moratorium on off-shore drilling

Unlike Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, who recently joined McCain in dropping opposition to off-shore drilling, Schwarzenegger publicly disagreed with the presumptive Republican nominee on the issue. In doing so, the governor called the California coastline “An international treasure.”

“Governor Schwarzenegger does not support lifting the moratorium on offshore drilling,” said aide Matt David.

While McCain faced tough odds in winning California in the general election, his reversal on off-shore drilling all but ended hope of him picking up the state’s 55 electoral votes, Republicans tell CNN. The Arizona senator was even questioned about his stance by one of his donors at a California fundraiser Monday night.

As for McCain, the campaign says he will be “contrasting with Obama on his inability to work in a bipartisan fashion” on energy.

Update: Schwarzenegger did not speak about off-shore drilling at the event. The governor and his staff expected the topic would be a part of the panel discussion and that Schwarzenegger would bring up his differences with McCain then. But the issue wasn’t an active part of the discussion, according to one of the governor’s advisors.

McCain visited the flood-stricken town of Columbus Junction, Iowa Thursday.

(CNN) - John McCain's campaign is striking back after a top staffer for Iowa Governor Chet Culver said Thursday that the Democratic governor had unsuccessfully asked the Arizona senator to avoid making a scheduled campaign trip to the flood-ravaged state.

Patrick Dillon, Culver’s chief of staff, said in a statement there had been worries McCain's arrival would put a strain on already-overtaxed area law enforcement. The presumptive Republican nominee visited several hard-hit towns in the state Thursday.

President Bush also visited Iowa Thursday.

A McCain aide said the campaign took steps to avoid burdening any flood recovery efforts. “We worked with the local authorities to make certain we weren’t getting in the way. We’d be happy to put you in touch with the local mayor and sheriff who were part of our tour,” a McCain aide told CNN and pointed to an AP-reported comment from the mayor of the town of Columbus Junction, Iowa that McCain’s Thursday visit had not posed any difficulties.

“The governor never called the campaign to express this concern,” the McCain aide added.

“We understand and share the governor’s concern - that’s why we worked closely with the local officials - and clearly stand ready to do anything to help the governor and the people of Iowa in any way we can.”

This week, presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama visited the flood-threatened town of Quincy, Illinois. Iowa Governor Culver endorsed the Illinois senator during the Democratic primary season.

Although the Secret Service provides security for presidents and likely presidential nominees, the trips also call on the resources and manpower of local law enforcement.

Sens. Obama and McCain talked during a Capitol Hill press conference in this 2006 file photo.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – John McCain’s campaign is denying an account by staffers on Barack Obama’s team that the rival campaigns had been involved in discussions over whether or not they would accept public funds.

Obama counsel Bob Bauer said Thursday he had met with Trevor Potter, his counterpart on the McCain team, on June 6 to discuss a possible joint townhall appearance later in the month, and that the two discussed the public funding issue for 45 minutes.

“I asked him to address a [series] of issues of concern to the Obama campaign–the McCain campaign's active raising and spending of private money since February for a general election campaign, including for media, while we were still in the middle of a primary contest,” said Bauer in a statement. “He gave me his perspectives–the best arguments he could offer for an agreement on both sides to accept public financing–and it was clear to me that these offered no basis for any further exchange.”

McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker flatly said Thursday that Bauer “never negotiated with Potter about public financing.”

Others in the McCain camp said that Obama’s staffers are “libeling” their attorney, and lying about the discussion – that the two counsels were meeting on a separate topic entirely, and that there were no negotiations on public finance.

(UPDATED with response from the McCain campaign, after the jump)

UPDATE: Trevor Potter disputed the Obama campaign's account, telling CNN Thursday that he had met with Bauer on a completely unrelated subject, and that campaign financing had only been discussed in an abstract way.

"We then spoke in general terms about the public financing system, with Bob outlining reasons it could be considered 'broken' or irrelevant in 2008, and I explaining why Sen. McCain remained committed to it and thought it was good for the country," said Potter.

"Other than this informal discussion, there have been no contacts between the two campaigns on the subject, and this discussion contained no negotiations or even offer to hold negotiations. I cannot begin to explain how the Obama campaign could twist my reiteration of Sen. McCain’s support of the system, and hope the two candidates would participate in it, into what they said today," he added

"...An attempt to imply otherwise by any representative of the Obama campaign (and an attempt to turn an informal conversation between Bob Bauer and me into a discussion of negotiations between the campaigns) is a complete misrepresentation of the facts”

The green background behind McCain during recent speeches has drawn criticism.

(CNN) – Following a harsh press assessment of John McCain's recent formal speeches delivered before a teleprompter, the Arizona senator is returning to a format in which he is decidedly more comfortable.

McCain is slated to hold a town-hall with voters in Philadelphia Wednesday and hold town halls with voters for the rest of the week. McCain’s event in Philadelphia was originally planned to be a scripted speech, but the campaign scrapped those plans after a wave of harsh critiques over a bright green screen that backed him last Tuesday, and the stiffness of his delivery when using a teleprompter.

Watch why the green screen was scrapped

(CNN) - John McCain is planning a journey within the next month that will take him to the country's Western Hemisphere neighbors

The itinerary has not been entirely nailed down, but currently includes stops in Canada, Mexico and Colombia.

Those nations have all negotiated trade deals with the United States, although Colombia's agreement – which became a lightning rod during this year's Democratic presidential primaries – has met fierce resistance on Capitol Hill, and has not yet received congressional approval.

Border issues and illegal immigration have been among the most vexing political issues this cycle, especially for McCain. His support for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants almost fatally wounded his GOP primary bid; it was only after he said "lesson learned" and promised to secure the border first that many Republican voters decided to give him a second chance.

The trip will be McCain's second since effectively claiming the Republican nomination. Earlier this spring, the Arizona senator visited Europe and the Middle East, including a stop in Iraq.

(CNN) - John McCain’s chief media adviser said Tuesday he is stepping down rather than campaign against Barack Obama.

Mark McKinnon said last year that he would leave McCain’s campaign after the primary season if the Arizona senator were to run against Obama.

The Illinois senator is not the Democratic nominee, but he has accumulated a significant lead in the number of delegates required to claim the nomination.

In a 2007 interview with Cox News, McKinnon said he would vote for McCain, but "I just don't want to work against an Obama candidacy." He added that if Obama were to reach the White House, it "would send a great message to the country and the world."

The McCain campaign says McKinnon will remain a “major supporter” of the McCain’s presidential bid.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Sen. John McCain aides said Friday they've been itching for a fight with Sen. Barack Obama and are eager to engage in a discussion about foreign relations.

Democrats accuse McCain of hypocrisy when it comes to his views on talking to Hamas. And with Obama holding the lead over Sen. Hillary Clinton in both pledged delegates and superdelegates, the back-and-forth on McCain's Hamas statements may be the first of what could be many altercations with the presumptive GOP candidate for president.

Meanwhile, McCain is continuing to deal with the fallout from an interview by Jamie Rubin, a Clinton supporter.

Rubin wrote an op-ed piece in Friday's Washington Post relating an interview he conducted with McCain on the British network Sky News shortly after Hamas won the Palestinian elections in January 2006.

"They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another," he said at the time. "And I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy toward Hamas, because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice ..."

In a January 2006 CNN interview, McCain stressed conditions Hamas would need to meet before establishing a working relationship with the United States.

"Hamas, now that they are going to govern, will be motivated to renounce this commitment to the extinction of the state of Israel. Then we can do business again. We can resume aid, we can resume the peace process."

Obama seized on that, blasting McCain for attacking him for suggesting it could be beneficial to sit down with the leader of Iran.

Read more here