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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - At a fundraiser for his re-election campaign in Denver tonight, President Obama set out to upend conventional Republican wisdom that his administration has been defined by excessive government spending. "I'm running to pay down our debt in a way that's balanced and responsible. After inheriting a $1 trillion deficit, I signed $2 trillion of spending cuts into law," he told a crowd of donors at the Hyatt Regency. "My opponent won't admit it, but it's starting to appear in places, like real liberal outlets, like the Wall Street Journal: Since I've been president, federal spending has...

I have to tell you that I’m looking at these attacks on Newt Gingrich, as an example, and I’m very troubled by them. They go beyond substantive and intellectual analysis of the man’s record, into attacking what people are claiming are some kind of psychosis and so forth, really smearing the guy. Really smearing the guy. OK?

Israel's ambassador in Spain, Raphael Schutz, who is about to leave his post, denounced the "anti-Semitism and hatred that exist in Spanish society" in a message on the embassy website Saturday. Schutz, who served in the post for a total of four years, referred to his time in Spain as "not very pleasant." (Snip) ''I also take with me the hatred and the anti-Semitism that still exist in Spanish society, and which I experienced personally," he wrote. The outgoing ambassador cited Israel's Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2008-9 and the lethal flotilla raid in 2010 as especially difficult periods.

Comments follow statements by Donald Trump questioning legitimacy of president's birth record The Hawaiian state health official who personally reviewed Barack Obama's original birth certificate has affirmed again that the document is "real" and denounced "conspiracy theorists" in the so-called "birther" movement for continuing to spread bogus claims about the issue. Other political news of note Ryan defends plan for Medicare redesign House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan defended his plan to redesign the government’s biggest health insurance plans on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday, saying it was necessary to avert a sovereign debt crisis. Hawaii official denounces 'ludicrous' birther...

The smear job against Governor Sarah Palin is one of the worst I’ve ever seen. Reverend Franklin Graham, one of the voices of reason in this whole situation, calls out the decrepit media for utilizing the tragedy of the shootings, to attack a political opponent. There is no need to place blame whatsoever on political opinions nor politicians for a madman’s murder of innocent human beings. Graham said: “I have been shocked at the reports from those suggesting that former Governor Sarah Palin has some level of responsibility for the horrific shooting. She was extremely helpful to Samaritan’s Purse in...

In their completely justified anger over Gawker’s disgraceful article alleging a (sexless) “one-night stand” with Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell , the O’Donnell campaign took a hard shot at Democratic front-runner Chris Coons. Apparently in response to the Coons campaign’s failure to denounce the article, the campaign said “Classless Coons goons have proven yet again to have no sense of common decency or common sense.”Gawker’s conduct here was reprehensible, but attempting to conflate Chris Coons with them is patently unfair.Update: In a statement to Mediaite, Chris Coons campaign communications director Daniel McElhatton denounces Gawker’s story. Full statement after the jump.

Argentina has threatened to defend its “rights and interests” after the first sizeable discovery of oil in disputed waters off the Falkland Islands, a find that has racheted up tensions with Britain. Jorge Taiana, Argentina’s Foreign Minister, declared that British actions in the region were “illegal” and “unilateral” and warned that his country would take all possible lawful steps to impede British oil exploration and production there.

BELGRADE, Mont. – President Barack Obama on Friday denounced what he suggested was news media overemphasis on scenes of angry protesters at town-hall meetings on health care. "TV loves a ruckus," Obama said. Trying to sell his overhaul plan amid an increasingly noisy partisan debate, Obama told a town hall-style meeting in an airport hangar, "What you haven't seen on TV and what makes me proud are the many constructive meetings going on all over the country." He said Americans are being held hostage by health insurance companies that deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions or cancel coverage when people...

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday denounced inflammatory remarks from his pastor, who has railed against the United States and accused its leaders of bringing on the Sept. 11 attacks by spreading terrorism. As video of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright has widely aired on television and the Internet, Obama responded by posting a blog about his relationship with Wright and his church, Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, on the Huffington Post. Obama wrote that he's looked to Wright for spiritual advice, not political guidance, and he's been pained and angered to learn of some of his...

(03-07) 13:37 PST SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promised today to ensure that parents have the right to homeschool their children, after a state appeals court ruling severely restricted the practice in California. "Every California child deserves a quality education and parents should have the right to decide what's best for their children," the governor said in a statement. "Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children's education. This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts and if the courts don't protect parents' rights then, as elected officials, we will." An estimated 166,000...

BEIRUT, Lebanon - A human rights group issued a report Wednesday accusing Hezbollah of firing rockets indiscriminately at civilian areas in Israel during last summer's war, prompting swift condemnation by the militant group and even its Lebanese opponents. Human Rights Watch's report said it found numerous rockets fired by Hezbollah in which there was no apparent legitimate military target, indicating civilians were deliberately attacked. The report also said Hezbollah's justifications that the rocket attacks were a response to Israeli fire into southern Lebanon and aimed at drawing Israel into a ground war had no legal basis under the rules of...

NEW YORK - An angry crowd demanded Sunday to know why police officers killed an unarmed man on the day of his wedding, firing dozens of shots that also wounded two of the man's friends. Some called for the ouster of the city's police commissioner. At a vigil and rally the day after 23-year-old Sean Bell was supposed to have married the mother of his two young children, a crowd led by the Rev. Al Sharpton shouted "No justice, no peace." At one point, the crowd of a few hundred counted off to 50, the number of rounds fired. "We...

UN denounces Israel cluster bombs The UN's humanitarian chief has accused Israel of "completely immoral" use of cluster bombs in Lebanon. UN clearance experts had so far found 100,000 unexploded cluster bomblets at 359 separate sites, Jan Egeland said. "Ninety per cent of the cluster bomb strikes occurred in the last 72 hours of the conflict, when we knew there would be a resolution," he said. Israel has previously said that munitions it uses in conflict comply with international law. Earlier estimates from UN experts had suggested a total of about 100 cluster bomb sites. Mr Egeland described the fresh...

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — The U.N.'s top humanitarian official on Sunday denounced the Israeli airstrikes that have devastated Beirut and southern Lebanon, saying civilians were paying a "disproportionate price" in the attacks targeting Hezbollah strongholds. Jan Egeland inspected the destruction in south Beirut — a predominantly Shiite area that has suffered the brunt of the bombings. Israeli strikes hit the neighborhood hours before Egeland's arrival and six more missiles pounded it later, the first daytime attack there in days. "It's terrible. I see a lot of children wounded, homeless, suffering. This is a war where civilians pay a disproportionate price...

UNITED NATIONS - Iran's U.N. ambassador on Thursday denounced Israel's election as a vice-chair of the U.N. Disarmament Commission, calling the Jewish state a threat to peace in the Middle East. Ambassador Javad Zarif accused Israel of "violating every single Security Council resolution that has been adopted about the Middle East." He also lashed out at Israeli criticism of Iran's own election as a vice-chair of the commission, noting the Jewish state has refused to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty but "has the audacity to talk about another country having a seat." "That's absolutely ridiculous," he told a group of...

BEIJING (AP) - China denounced a U.S. government report that Beijing wants to expand its regional military power, insisting Wednesday it is no threat to its neighbors and accusing Washington of looking for excuses to sell weapons to rival Taiwan. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it filed a protest with the U.S. Embassy in Beijing over the Pentagon report. "The report has baselessly attacked China's modernization of its national defense," Deputy Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said in a statement, accusing Washington of looking for "an excuse to sell advanced weapons to Taiwan." The Pentagon report said Chinese military planners are...

BELOIT, Wis. - Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites), in a veiled swipe at Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites), said Tuesday that he won't dole out special favors to corporations if elected president. "My vice president of the United States will never meet secretly with polluters who want to rewrite the environmental laws," the presidential nominee told a cheering crowd packed into a hockey arena. The barb referred to Cheney, who met with industry officials while drafting proposals for new energy laws. Democrats want more information about those meetings and have argued that Cheney, the former...

INDIANAPOLIS: President George W Bush on Tuesday denounced the bombings in Saudi Arabia that killed at least 91 people as the work of "killers whose only faith is hate." He vowed to "find the killers and they will learn the meaning of American justice." "Tuesday's attacks in Saudi Arabia, the ruthless murder of American citizens and other citizens, reminds us that the war on terror continues," Bush said. Bush made the remarks at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, where he was speaking on his tax-cut and economic stimulus plan. "My thoughts and prayers and those of our fellow citizens are with...

South Korea denounces US pressure on Stalinist North By Phil Reeves Asia Correspondent 31 December 2002 Washington's plan to use economic pressure to stop North Korea from restarting its nuclear plants – seen by the CIA as nuclear warhead factories – has been rejected as ineffective by South Korea. The outgoing President, Kim Dae Jung, and his successor poured scorn on the American strategy yesterday, saying it would not persuade Pyongyang to change tack. America is seeking to use "tailored containment" against North Korea to stop Pyongyang fulfilling threats to reactivate its nuclear programme, including plants that can produce large...

A member of Hizbullah’s Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc Monday described UN Security Council Resolution 1441 on Iraq as “humiliating,” arguing that its purpose was to “subjugate” Arabs. Baalbek-Hermel MP Ammar Musawi said the resolution implied that Arabs should have no policies or security of their own and that their homes, palaces and army should be open to inspection and questioning. For his part, Jbeil MP Abbas Hashem said Syria’s support for the resolution was a wise move as it gave Iraq a chance. “What is the use of objecting as long as we do not enjoy the veto...