Meet Michele Bachmann, the new Republican Party ‘pin-up’ to take on the Democrats

October 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Republican Senator John McCain has acknowledged that tensions existed between his vice presidential choice, Sarah Palin, and his top aide, Steve Schmidt, during his failed bid for the White House last year, yet said that the former Alaska governor gave a boost to the campaign. Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," the Arizona Republican said: "When we selected, or asked, Sarah Palin to be my running mate, it energized our party.

October 3rd, 2009 NEW YORK - Calling former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin a potentially "catastrophic" choice for the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, John McCain's former chief campaign strategist Steve Schmidt said today the Republican party needs to look more toward the center. "I think she has talents, but my honest view is that she would not be a winning candidate for the Republican party in 2012," CBS News quoted him, as saying.

September 29th, 2009 LONDON - The flagging popularity of Britain's ruling Labour Party was highlighted Tuesday by an opinion poll that showed that the party led by Prime Minister Gordon Brown had slipped to third place in the estimation of the voter. The Ipsos Mori poll, published on the day Brown is due to give a keynote speech to the annual Labour Party conference, put Labour at 24 percent, the opposition Liberal Democrats at 25 percent and the bigger opposition Conservative Party at 36 percent.

September 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A Republican lawmaker was censured Tuesday in the US House of Representatives for shouting "you lie" during President Barack Obama's speech on health care last week before a joint session of Congress. The formal rebuke against Congressman Joe Wilson was approved 240-179, largely along party lines.

August 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - More and more Americans are getting disenchanted with President Barack Obama's performance as his approval ratings continue to slip. The latest survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Aug 11-17, shows that 51 percent now approve of Obama's job performance as against 54 percent in July.

August 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new word has entered the American political lexicon - Palinize! Minnesota Republican Michele Bachmann is tossing around this new verb, according to Politico. How does one define "Palinize"? Well, according to Bachmann, Palinize would include the following: (1) To smear or mock someone using falsehoods, baseless accusations or unsubstantiated character assassinations for the purpose of blocking them from achieving a goal.

July 12th, 2009 Anchorage (Alaska, US),J - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has said that she plans to stay on in the national political fray, stumping for conservative issues and even Democrats, after she prematurely vacates her elected post on July 26. The former Republican vice-presidential nominee said in a Fox News interview that she views the American electorate as embattled and fatigued by non-stop partisanship, and she is eager to campaign for Republicans, independents and even Democrats who share her values on limited government, strong defense and "energy independence." "I will go around the country on behalf of candidates who believe in the right things, regardless of their party label or affiliation," she said over lunch in her downtown office, 40 miles from her now-famous hometown of Wasilla - population 7,000 - where she began her political career.

July 9th, 2009 NEW YORK - A new poll suggests that Republicans still would love to see Sarah Palin as their presidential candidate in 2012 in spite of her decision to resign as Alaska Governor. According to a new USA Today/Gallup poll, 19 percent of voters would "very likely" vote for her if she ran, with another 24 percent saying they were "somewhat likely" to give her their vote.

June 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama nominated a Republican in the House of Representatives Tuesday to become the secretary of the Army. John M. McHugh has served as the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, and has served in Congress since 1993.

June 1st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The bitter relationship between Pakistan President Asif Ali and the Pakistan Muslim League -Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif seems to be improving, as both the leaders are expected to meet to discuss the grave issues facing the country currently. According to sources, Sharif, who had earlier refused to meet the Zardari, has now softened his stance, and is willing to meet the President to discuss ways to pull the nation out of the prevalent crisis.

May 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The man who masterminded Bill Clinton's first election victory in 1992, James Carville, has predicted that the Democratic Party will dominate American politics for the next four decades due to "seismic shifts" in demographic voting patterns. Polls show that a record low of 24 per cent of Americans identify themselves as Republicans, while twice as many voters trust the Democrats to solve the country's problems.

May 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Former US Vice President Dick Cheney believes that former Secretary of State Colin Powell has left the Republican Party. When asked about the controversy over Powell's recent suggestion that the GOP move more to the center, Fox News quoted Cheney as telling CBS' "Face the Nation": "I think my take on it was Colin had already left the party.

April 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pennsylvania's Republican Senator Arlen Specter has decided to quit the GOP to join the Democrats. The five-term senator's stunning defection puts the Democratic Party one vote from being able to crush any stalling tactics in the Senate, giving the White House a virtual E-ZPass through Capitol Hill.

April 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A former top adviser to former Republican presidential candidate John McCain, Steve Schmidt, has warned the Grand Old Party (GOP) against becoming a `religious party'. Schmidt told a Washington, D.C., convention for the Log Cabin Republicans -- a grassroots group for gay and lesbian Republicans, that the GOP must shift their views on gay marriage.

March 9th, 2009 LONDON - A picture of Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet has landed a British political party, the Liberal Democrats, in hot water after workers edited the image to make it appear she had attended a party function. Winslet's photo from the red carpet at the 2007 Golden Globes was used for an advertisement for the Liberal Democrats' conference brochure, reports contactmusic.com.