Centredaily.com: Politics
News, sports and entertainment from Centredaily.com

• Immigration a big issue to NH, Iowa GOP
  At opposite sides of New Hampshire, John McCain faced two corporate audiences in two college towns earlier this month. Only one topic came up in both places when he starting taking questions: illegal immigration.
• Lieberman to endorse McCain
  Sen. John McCain, trying to build momentum toward a reprise of his 2000 New Hampshire primary victory, is piling up high-profile endorsements, including one from another political maverick, Sen. Joseph Lieberman.
• Budget bill reverses Bush cuts
  Lawmakers unveiled a $500 billion-plus catchall spending bill Sunday, reluctantly sticking within President Bush's budget but still protecting politically sensitive domestic programs from White House cuts.
• Edwards offers middle-class pitch
  Democrat John Edwards sharpened his populist appeal to working families on Sunday, blaming corporate greed and political calculation for the economic and other problems affecting the middle class.
• Paul raises $6 million in 24-hour effort
  Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul's supporters raised over $6 million Sunday to boost the 10-term Texas congressman's campaign for the White House.
• Actor Waterston says politics is broken
  Sam Waterston, whose character Jack McCoy recently became district attorney on the long-running NBC crime drama "Law & Order," says he has no interest in following Fred Thompson's lead and running for office - but he is dipping his toe into the political waters.
• Obama describes faith amid false rumors
  Democrat Barack Obama on Sunday confronted one of the persistent falsehoods circulating about him on the Internet.
• Romney: I'll keep campaign promises
  Republican Mitt Romney sought Sunday to deflect charges that he is a flip-flopper, insisting he had learned from experience and could be counted on to keep his campaign promises if elected president.
• US offers $555 million for Palestinians
  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday militant Palestinians, not Israel, are to blame for deteriorating conditions in the sealed-off Gaza Strip, as the United States announced it intends to donate $555 million to the impoverished Palestinians next year.
• Clinton invites voters to 'inspect' her
  Standing atop a stage in a livestock auction barn, Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton likened the experience to her quest to woo undecided voters in the closing days before Iowa's pivotal caucuses.
• Election sparks spirited debate about Mormonism
  A presidential campaign focused on war, immigration and health care took a theological turn last week, raising questions more often debated in seminaries.
• Giuliani evokes 9/11 to recharge campaign
  In a speech aimed at recharging his presidential campaign, Rudy Giuliani on Saturday returned to the issue that made him a frontrunner for most of the year: his image as a leader and the memory of Sept. 11, 2001.
• Obama: Clinton's negative tone will backfire
  Barack Obama, stung by a fresh Bill Clinton attack on him, predicted that the Clinton campaign's increasingly negative tone will backfire by reminding voters of the bad old "blood sport" days of the 1990s.
• Edwards: 'I'm the strongest candidate in the general election'
  John Edwards said Sunday that he was the Democrat with the best chance of recapturing the White House, while downplaying the loss of a much sought after Iowa newspaper endorsement.
• Obama goes to work in Iowa's small towns
  A sign stuck in the ice along a strip of highway spelled out the challenge for Barack Obama as his campaign bus rolled through small farm and manufacturing towns in northern Iowa over the past four days. It read: "John Edwards Country."
• Greenspan: Give homeowners financial aid
  Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, suggested Sunday that a tax break or other government financial help for homeowners facing the mortgage crunch would be the best political fix for the economy.
• Thompson seeks to boost popularity
  Republican Fred Thompson, Hollywood celebrity and former Tennessee senator, went from hot to not in short order.
• Hoekstra pledges to continue CIA inquiry
  The top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee defied the Bush administration Sunday and pledged to investigate the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes.
• Obama friend sells candidate
  Mike Jordan sells Barack Obama door to door.
• Democrats assess Hill damage, leadership
  Congressional Democrats will have plenty to ponder during the Christmas-New Year recess. For instance, why did things go so badly this fall, and how well did their leaders serve them?