Sarah Palin, John Mccain | featured news

A senior political adviser to President Barack Obama is likening Mitt Romney's selection of Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate to John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin. David Axelrod tells "CBS This Morning" he recalls "that kind of excitement four years ago" when McCain presented Palin to the country as his choice for vice president. Axelrod says in Monday's interview he thinks the selection of Ryan, who is popular with tea party figures - as Palin was - is "not going to be a plus for Mr. Romney."

Former Vice President Dick Cheney says it was a mistake for Republican Sen. John McCain to pick Sarah Palin as his vice presidential nominee. Cheney says he liked Palin, but that she didn't pass the test of being ready to be president and that McCain's campaign didn't handle the vetting process well.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) "flatly rejected" to Politico the assertion that he didn't pick Mitt Romney as his running mate in 2008 because of what he saw in his tax returns. Said McCain: "Oh come on, because we thought that Sarah Palin was the better candidate. Why did we not take Pawlenty, why did we not take any of the other 10 other people. Why didn't I? Because we had a better candidate, the same way with all the others... Come on, why? That's a stupid question."

The GOP primary in Indiana between Sen. Richard Lugar and state Treasurer Richard Mourdock splits the party's 2008 presidential ticket.

Gloria Borger says Romney is likely to have learned a lesson from McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate.

Arizona senator jokes Romney should pick Sarah Palin for his running mate as he calls for Santorum to make "graceful exit." "I think we have some very qualified candidate, obviously Marco Rubio is in the top tier, Chris Christie, there are a number of candidates we have out there, Bobby Jindal, Mitch Daniels. We have a wealth of talent out there and I am sure that Mitt will make the right choice," McCain said, referring the Florida senator, and three governors from New Jersey, Louisiana and Indiana, respectively.

Much of the country was taken by surprise when Sarah Palin became the Republican vice presidential candidate in August 2008, but newly released emails show the little-known Alaska governor was angling for the slot months before Sen. John McCain asked her to join him on the GOP ticket.

For the first time since the end of her father's 2008 presidential bid, Meghan McCain, Sen. John McCain's daughter, spoke out about Sarah Palin, writing in a new book that Palin brought "drama, stress, complications, panic and loads of uncertainty" to the losing campaign.

John McCain helped Sarah Palin launch her national political career two years ago. Now, she's trying to help McCain save his. The former running mates will campaign together Friday for the first time since losing the presidential race in 2008....