Obama Turning to McCain for Advice

Obama hails McCain as 'national hero'

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama and John McCain buried the hatchet last night at a dinner honoring the Arizona senator, whom Obama called an "American hero." The president-elect praised McCain's bipartisan record and added, "John is not known to bite his tongue and if I'm screwing up, he's going to let me know." McCain vowed to cooperate with Obama "in the hard work ahead," and the two embraced. More»

Republican urologist's sign tells Dems to 'look elsewhere' for care

(NEWSER) - A Florida urologist is so outraged by the health care reform law that he doesn’t want to treat President Obama’s supporters. “If you voted for Obama, seek urologic care elsewhere,” reads a sign taped to Jack Cassell’s office door. “Changes to your healthcare begin right now, not in four years.” In the waiting room, patients can find photocopies of a Republican handout and a sign reading, “This is what the morons in Washington have done to your health care.” More»

Shrewd senator had no future as a Republican

(NEWSER) - Why did Arlen Specter defect? It’s tempting to paint Specter as part of a post-Obama ideological realignment, but there’s a much more concrete explanation, Eric Kleefeld writes for Talking Points Memo: reelection. Pennsylvania is a closed-primary state, and between 150,000 and 200,000 registered Republicans switched parties to vote for either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary. More»

(NEWSER) - At a time when congressional Republicans hold little power, Minority Whip Eric Cantor has finagled a pivotal role for himself in Washington. Cantor—Barack Obama’s Republican of choice in bipartisan overtures—has coyly positioned himself against House Democrats instead of the popular president, Rick Klein notes for ABC News. He’s given the GOP a singular voice, and used Obama’s campaign promise of bipartisanship to boost his own standing. More»

'Season of cooperation' short-lived as Mac rips 'comical' spending bill

(NEWSER) - How to spend hundreds of billions of dollars has a way of opening up old rivalries, the Washington Times reports, with John McCain—who recently pledged to cooperate with President Obama—spearheading the Senate effort to rewrite the stimulus package. “I cannot and do not support the package on the table from the Democrats and the Obama Administration,” McCain wrote to his email list yesterday. More»