Photograph of John McCain and President George Bush at the White House by Ron Edmonds/AP Yesterday, Senator John McCain was welcomed and endorsed by President Bush. Bush referenced McCain's doubters and past history, "John showed incredible courage and strength of character and perseverance in order to get to this moment. And that's exactly what we need in a President: somebody that can handle the tough decisions; somebody who won't flinch in the face of......

Photograph of Clinton, holding the hands of Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and celebrating in Ohio, by Mark Duncan/AP Fresh off her big night of wins in Ohio and Texas, Hillary Clinton spoke on CBS's Early Show and mentioned the words "dream ticket" in relation to the heated Democratic presidential race. Harry Smith told Clinton, "We talked to a lot of people in Ohio who said there really isn't that......

After his $500,000 donation to NY State Republicans was revealed, Mayor Bloomberg explained why he did it to reporters while attending a Mayors Against Illegal Guns conference, "I've said repeatedly, I will help those who help us. They have stood up for the city a number of times — when we needed to have a voice in Albany and we didn't have that voice from the Assembly or from the governor, whether it was the......

Just because Mayor Bloomberg has denied running for governor in 2010 doesn't mean it has to be true! The Sun's Davidson Goldin thinks that for Bloomberg, "Running for governor is likely, and becoming more so." Why? Well, though the mayor and Governor Spitzer have tried to be cooperative, Albany is involved in many plans the Mayor has a stake in, such as congestion pricing, OTB, and the Javits Center, not to mention Moynihan Station and......

Photo (left to right) of Brian McNamee, Charles Scheeler, Roger Clemens by AP/Pablo Martinez Monsivais After a morning of denials and denouncements at a hearing in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform one thing is clear, Brian McNamee and Roger Clemens deserve each other. As Chairman, Henry Waxman, made clear at the start of the proceedings this morning one of them is lying and based on the testimony so far......

Hillary Clinton's February flop continued today as voters in Virginia, Maryland and D.C. turned out for Barack Obama by nearly two-to-one margins (in D.C. he won by 75% to 24%). According to exit polls, Obama not only did well with young voters, blacks and independents but, surprisingly, with certain demographics Clinton's been counting on: senior citizens, women and blue collar voters. Polls suggest 49% of those who voted for Obama were white and voters over......

It's another Tuesday test of candidates' appeal as D.C., Maryland and Virginia have primaries today. Both the Republicans and Democrats have primaries those three states, but most attention is being focused on the battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who are just about neck-and-neck in terms in delegate totals. Virginia is an open primary, which means independents can vote, which the Obama camp is excited about since he has done well with independents. At......

Photograph of Barack Obama at a rally in Bangor, Maine by Robert F. Bukaty/AP After a competitive Super Tuesday matchup, Barack Obama has swept three states having Democratic contests. So far, it looks like Obama has won the Nebraska primary over Hillary Clinton 68% to 32%, the Washington primary 68% to 31% and the Louisiana caucus 55% to 38% (with 82% of the precincts reporting). CNN is projecting that Obama will get 74 delegates......

Photograph John McCain surrounded by New York Republicans by Kathy Willens/AP John McCain's Straight Talk Express headed into Manhattan today, taking him to Grand Central Terminal where he got the endorsement of former governor George Pataki. McCain, along with wife Cindy, appeared with Pataki, Alphonse D'Amato, Joseph Lieberman and Rudy Giuliani as the Republican candidate appears to be leading in many Super Tuesday polls over rivals Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul. Pataki,......

Photograph of the Vote/Love stencil by dietrich on Flickr Tomorrow is the Presidential Primary, where registered Democrats and Republicans can select a presidential candidate. Polling places are open between 6AM and 9PM - you can find out where to go by checking with the Board of Elections. If you're still undecided about a candidate, we direct you to Gotham Gazette's excellent guides - Democratic Candidates on the Issues and Republican Candidate on the Issues......

Photograph of Giuliani, with wife Judi next to him, speaking to supporters in Florida by John Raoux/AP After early results put John McCain and Mitt Romney in a "too close to call" race, McCain won the Florida primary. Rudy Giuliani, who once led national polls, looks like he'll finish in third place (though Mike Huckabee is a close fourth as of 10PM), which is actually his best finish after the primaries and caucuses in......

To no one's surprise, Senator-turned- actor-turned- presidential- candidate-wannabe Fred Thompson has dropped out of the hunt for the Republican party nomination. Thompson had not done very well in any of the early caucuses or primaries and his exit may actually mean a bump for Mike Huckabee, who has a similar more-conservative-than-the-others platform. Thompson left Law & Order to pursue the nomination, giving Jack McCoy a promotion and giving the public dreams of a Law &......

Not everyone got an over-hyped "I'm Not A Plastic Bag" when it hit Whole Foods last year, so the powers that be had to step in and put an end to the bag's nemesis: The Plastic Bag! Yesterday, the City Council passed a bill, 44 to 2, requiring stores over 5,000 square-feet to offer recycling for plastic bags, as well as have bins where bags can be returned. And on the plastic bags stores give......

Senator John McCain won the Republican primary in New Hampshire, with the race being called for him early on. Senator Hillary Clinton beat Senator Barack Obama by a few thousand votes in a very close race. Comebacks all around! Update, 11:06PM: During her victory speech, Clinton thanked the voters of New Hampshire and asked them to give the country the comeback it needs. Unlike her Iowa background of friends like Madeline Albright and Wesley......

Armed with cheesecake from Junior's, Mayor Bloomberg headed to Oklahoma for the summit of Republicans and Democrats to discuss a third party White House run. Organized by former senators David Boren and Sam Nunn at the University of Oklahoma (which Boren is the president of), the group has been working since meeting last night . Here's some of Boren's opening statement:We have come together at a crucial moment. These are not ordinary times. For the......

The most famous undeclared presidential candidate, our very own Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has weighed in about the Iowa caucus results. Okay, so Mayor Bloomberg claims he's not running for president, but when you swipe at the actual candidates, have a staff that's investigating the possibility of running a campaign, and have a billion dollars to spare... The Mayor discussed the results(he didn't mention candidates by name) during radio show on WABC (MP3). Well, sort of......

That just happened! Senator Barack Obama won the Democratic Iowa Caucus with at least 37% of the vote (projections are changing). Former Senator John Edwards got 30% of the vote while Senator Hillary Clinton got 29%. The media is playing this as a huge failure for the Senator from New York, given how powerful the Clinton machine has seemed. Also stunning: There were 82% more Democratic voters in this year's caucus compared with 2004,......

New York State's presidential primary elections has been moved up a month to February 5th this year. But if want to participate in the Super Tuesday frenzy, you better make sure you're registered to vote! The voter registration deadline for voting the primary is January 11. The City Council's Governmental Operations Committee is organizing voter registration drives that start earlier; committee chair City Coucil member Simcha Felder said, "Voting is an important civic responsibility of......

Yesterday, the Washington Post reported that Mayor Bloomberg would be meeting with other Republicans and Democrats to "consider the merits of a third-party bid for the White House." Which means that today, not only do we get a NY Post cover, we also get a NY Post Photoshop illustration of Bloomberg, Gary Hart and Christie Todd Whitman (two other meeting attendees) as Revolutionary musicians! Former Democratic senators David Boren and Sam Nunn are organizing the......

The NY Times reports on Mr. New Jersey's ties with the political elite. With it being common practice for high-ranking politicians to attend his concerts, it's seems it's a two way street, with Bon Jovi also showing his support at their functions.He calls her “Mrs. C.” And she calls on him to add a little celebrity gloss to her presidential campaign. Jon Bon Jovi and Hillary Rodham Clinton have been friends for more than a......

Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani spent his Christmas Eve reading Clement Clarke Moore's A Visit from St. Nicholas to children in Harlem and explaining to reporters that's he's cancer-free. Giuliani, whose flu-like symptoms (well, according to his press people) and bad headache have raised questions about the prostate cancer survivor's health, said, "I am perfectly healthy. I don't have cancer." He added that his protein levels have been fine and that the tests he took......

An exhibit at the main branch of the New York Public Library is drawing outrage from Republicans because some of the work on display depicts former and current members of the Bush administration posing for fake mug shots. Each official in the visionary series, called “Line Up”, is seen holding a slate with a date of arrest corresponding to a date when the official said something about Iraq that was not “reality-based.” Matthew Walter,......

Brooklyn is all "Fuhgeddaboutit," but Staten Island can be "Hey, what about us!" at times. Take, for instance, a recent angry letter from the Richmond County Young Republicans who have asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to recognize the borough in its software. You can read the entire letter here (PDF), but check out this excerpt:We often send out event invitations to members of The Richmond County Young Republicans' Gacebook group, but we have come across......

Governor Eliot Spitzer had a busy week. Not only was he working himself up to admit his driver's license plan would not pass, Spitzer suggested instituting the state's 8.375% sales tax on Internet goods - just in time for holiday shopping! But only hours after the NY Sun reported on the plan, Spitzer changed his mind, deciding to wait until the new year to implement taxes on Internet purchases. Currently, online retailers who don't have......

When Governor Spitzer announced he was dropping his controversial plan to offer driver's licenses to illegal immigrants yesterday, he was praised by his fellow Democrats. The NY Times notes that the decision won Spitzer "the kind of wide acclaim from elected officials that he could not win for the proposal itself." And that's gotta sting a little. Spitzer had first introduced a broad plan to allow illegal immigrants to get licenses, which caused outcry from......

Mayor Michael Bloomberg hasn't totally eschewed the Republican party. According to the NY Sun, the Democrat-turned- Republican-turned- independent will be "entertaining" Nancy Reagan "as well as hosting a fund-raiser for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library." Like the former First Lady, Bloomberg has progressive views on health and science issues (like stem cells). And Bloomberg has been known to host many fund-raisers for various people and causes. But some suspect that Bloomberg might be looking for......

Governor Spitzer's revised plan to offer driver's licenses to all New York State residents - including illegal immigrants - is still not a hit with constituents. NY1 conducted a poll which found 55% of voters are opposed to the "three-tier plan" Spitzer revealed last week. Spitzer's original plan, which would have given illegal immigrants broad access to a regular driver's license, was hailed by immigrants' rights advocates and damned by county clerks and figures such......

Earlier today, the Reverend Pat Robertson endorsed Rudy Giuliani for president, showing that the former mayor was able to win over an influential Christian conservative leader. Robertson explained,"To me, the overriding issue before the American people is the defense of our population from the bloodlust of Islamic terrorists.... We need a leader with a bold vision who is not afraid to tackle the challenges ahead." And he acknowledged Rudy's NYC history, "Rudy Giuliani took a......

Democrats Senator Charles Schumer and Senator Dianne Feinstein joined nine Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee and approved the nomination of Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey to go to the full Senate. The vote was 11-8, the eight opposing votes from the remaining Democrats on the committee. His confirmation is expected next week. Mukasey - and his supporters - has faced criticism after not declaring waterboarding illegal. Schumer has an op-ed in today's NY Times......

Democratic presidential frontrunner and New York Senator Hillary Clinton is feeling bruised from the Tuesday night debate, where the big moment was when Clinton gave meandering support of Governor Eliot Spitzer's controversial driver's license plan for illegal immigrants. Spitzer's most recent iteration of the plan involves a three tiered system that neither state Democrats, Republicans or illegal immigrants' rights advocates seem to like very much. Anyway, here's what Clinton said during the debate when questioned......