Leno's McCain Jokes Hit Homes

(NEWSER) - John McCain poked fun at himself and his campaign on Jay Leno tonight but refused to place blame for his loss on Sarah Palin or the media, Politico reports. "The one thing I think Americans don't want is a sore loser," said McCain. "I'm a fighter. I knew I had a headwind. I can read the polls. They tried to keep them away from me. But I knew we had a real headwind." More»

GOP candidate has kept off of TV since Election Day loss

(NEWSER) - John McCain will help Jay Leno celebrate Veterans Day by appearing on NBC’s “Tonight Show,” Monsters & Critics reports today. The Tuesday appearance will mark the Republican’s first TV interview since his loss to Barack Obama in the Nov. 4 election. More»

Dem's strengths expose key gaps in armor of Republican's rumored short-listers

(NEWSER) - Joe Biden presents a problem for John McCain, Jeanne Cummings notes on Politico. “McCain knows Biden well," says one Republican insider. "He knows how good he is as a knife fighter." Stacked up against Biden, all of the rumored GOP short-listers reveal potentially fatal flaws:

• Mitt Romney: Considering Biden's middle-class roots, the multimillionaire former governor could undermine McCain's claims of Obama elitism.

Late night email wasn't meant to be tepid, he says

(NEWSER) - Rick Santorum donned his trademark sweater vest for an appearance on the Tonight Show last night, where Jay Leno wondered why his endorsement of Mitt Romney ended up buried in the 13th paragraph of an email sent late at night. "We decided to put it out late at night so it would be, sort of, the first thing people would see in the morning," Santorum said, adding that "it was a rough-and-tumble campaign," CNN reports. "I can't say it would have been an easy thing to turn around and say, 'Let's just go forward,'" he said. "I wanted an opportunity to sort of think about it a little bit and the family to think about it." More»

Gingrich says it's 'inconceivable' that he'll be the pick

(NEWSER) - And on the seventh day, inquiring Republicans again debated who Mitt Romney will pick to run for vice president: John McCain, a person who knows a little something about picking a veep, said qualifications reign supreme —and that Sarah Palin's won her the No. 2 spot on his ticket—and that having a "person (Romney) knows he could trust" is also paramount. He added that the GOP at least has a "very deep bench" in this election. Asked if he could be the guy, Newt Gingrich responded, "Inconceivable. Would you pick me as a vice presidential nominee?" Elsewhere on the Sunday talk show dial, as per Politico : More»