McCain blasts Obama for 'feckless foreign policy'

Responding to reports that 90 people were killed in a massacre in the Syrian town of Houla, Sen. John McCain said Sunday that the White House’s response to the violence there was “about a year too late.”

Former Romney rivals backtrack in Sunday interviews

The awkwardness of presidential politics was on full display Sunday morning as three former rivals of Mitt Romney were grilled over their past criticisms of the now-presumed Republican presidential nominee.

Panetta: Cuts to defense spending would be 'disastrous'

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Sunday that it would be “disastrous” for Congress to allow cuts in defense spending to take place as scheduled in January.

Democrats, losing ground in Wisconsin, play down recall election

WASHINGTON — Recent polls have pointed toward a victory for Republican Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin’s June 5 recall election. But here’s the clearest evidence to date that national Democratic party officials believe their side is losing: Democratic officials are playing down the potential impact.

The Obama-Romney battlefield: Electoral college ensures it's weird

There are 50 states on The Times’ cool, new "predict a winner" interactive map. But only about 10 of those states really matter for this presidential election, thanks to the electoral college. In a sea of blue and red, these states are gray — and that means up for grabs.

Biden addresses '9/11 generation' of West Point grads

Vice President Joe Biden praised the 972 Army cadets who graduated from West Point on Saturday for their decision to join the military, “knowing full well that you were likely to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Obama's spending record: Who's telling the truth?

WASHINGTON -- When a website affiliated with the Wall Street Journal ran a column earlier this week that claimed that under President Obama, “federal spending is rising at the slowest pace since Dwight Eisenhower brought the Korean War to an end in the 1950s,” it didn’t take long for the claim to catch fire.

A little bit Cherokee? Elizabeth Warren not alone in ancestry claim

Kevin Costner, James Garner, Johnny Depp, James Earl Jones, Chuck Norris, Cameron Diaz.

Analysis: Donald Trump enlivens a sleepy campaign season

Every presidential campaign has its sideshows, diversions that fill the dead time between primaries, conventions and other meaningful events. Like nature, the political press corps abhors a vacuum.

Obama: 'Memorial Day is more than a three-day weekend'

WASHINGTON -- President Obama opened the Memorial Day holiday with a weekly address that reflected on the meaning of the holiday.

Biden reflects on tragic accident loss in speech to soldiers' families

WASHINGTON -- Speaking to the families of dead soldiers, Vice President Joe Biden on Friday delivered an emotional retelling of his own family tragedy, the death of his wife and daughter in a car crash 40 years ago, saying the experience helped him understand why people commit suicide.

Obama declares himself a 'master tweeter' [Video]

President Obama, most famous for his soaring speeches, apparently has a knack for the pithy tweet, too.

Romney: Campaign gaffes 'will haunt me a lot' [video]

WASHINGTON -- After an intense GOP primary that spawned a number of awkward statements by Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee now says he’s “haunted” by some of his gaffes.

GOP Sen. Tom Coburn reprimanded for role in Ensign affair

WASHINGTON -- Concluding its investigation surrounding the affair of former Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) with the wife of a top aide, the Senate Ethics Committee issued a public admonition of GOP Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma for meeting with the aide in violation of a congressional ban on lobbying.

New biography details Obama's pot-smoking 'interceptions'

WASHINGTON-- Just in case there are any voters out there who don’t already know that the incumbent president smoked marijuana as a teenager, several websites Friday revealed details from David Maraniss’ soon-to-be-released biography about the young Barry Obama and his “choom gang.”