Presidential Campaigns

Former First Lady Laura Bush wants to see a woman as president in her lifetime -- as long as it's a Republican.

"I would love to see that in my lifetime," Bush said during an interview on Fox News. "I hope that's what we see, and I hope it's a Republican woman, might I add."

The former first lady offered words of support for the candidate that many Republicans had hoped would be the first female president, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R).

"I think that's just something she needed to determine, and she did," Bush said of Palin's decision to step down as governor. " And everyone has to respect the decision she made."

Don't expect former First Daughters Jenna or Barbara to have their name on a ballot, either; Bush said her daughters have no interest in entering the family business.

Mrs. Bush also said that she's spending her life after the White House settling into the Bushes' Dallas home. She also reported that she's been "talking" her memoirs, and then having her spoken words transcribed, because, Bush said, she's not a good typist.

The Obama administration is practicing "trickle down" economic policies, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) argued this weekend.

McCain took the unusual step of using rhetoric often employed to deride Republican policies to hit the Democratic administration's economic management.

"You know, I hate to use the word but it seems to me that the philosophy of Tim Geithner and Ben Bernanke is trickle down, you know?" McCain said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. "Save Wall Street, save these financial institutions and then maybe they

An aide to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's (R) blasted reports that the prominent Republican and her husband, Todd, would be seeking a divorce.

Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapleton condemned a post on the "Alaska Report" website that said Palin and "first dude" Todd Palin would divorce. That story cited the National Enquirer, a blog, and "multiple sources in Wasilla and Anchorage" in the report.

"Yet again, some so-called journalists have decided to make up a story. There is no truth to the recent

House Republicans are calling the community organizing group ACORN a "criminal enterprise" in a new report released Thursday.

A report issued by the Republican members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee found that ACORN (the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now) "deliberately engaged systemic fraud" in its work, and should be subject to a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice.

The report accuses the organization of embezzlements, investment fraud, cover-ups, and "a conspiracy to defraud the United States by using taxpayer funds for partisan political activities."

"There are number of legitimate questions raised about the political activities and organizational structure of ACORN," said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the top Republican on the committee. "This report is about getting to the truth and when there are significant accusations and questions outstanding regarding an organization that has benefited from millions of taxpayer dollars, those questions should be answered and the truth should be brought to light.

Though she won't say whether or not she's running against him in 2012, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) had some harsh words for President Obama's economic policies on Tuesday.

In her only print interview since announcing she'd resign as governor, Palin called Obama's economic initiatives "immoral" and "uneconomic."

"President Obama is growing government outrageously, and it's immoral and it's uneconomic, his plan that he tries to sell America," Palin told TIME magazine.

The former Republican vice presidential candidate, who during the 2008 campaign at times suggested Obama was a socialist, said the president's current policies are "immoral and doesn't even make economic sense."

Palin, who in the interview said that all options -- including 2012 -- are "on the table," said it would take "good people who have the guts to stand up to him" down the line to challenge Obama.

Speculating about a 2012 run by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) for the White House is off the table," Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele said Tuesday.

Steele, who was generally supportive of Palin's decision to resign from office, said during an interview on Fox News that the focus on the governor's intentions should be out of bounds, due to the various circumstances Palin has been handling.

"You know, from my standpoint -- again not knowing anything, not having talked to the governor -- I take 2012 off the table right now, simply because given everything she's going through personally," Steele said about the speculation.

"I think that she's trying to focus on getting her house in order, her personal house in order," the RNC leader added. "The media's made all of this a distraction in so many respects."

Still, Steele joined the ranks of some top Republican who've rallied to Palin's defense in recent days after her surprising announcement last Friday

"I'm very excited about the opportunity to have Sarah Palin freed up now to engage across the country to help reorient the party and grow it," he said.

"Sarah Palin has not once indicated what her future plans are going to be, so all this speculation about whether or not she's running for president is ridiculous," Steele continued. "I think you need to focus on the fact that she made a personal decision. It was a difficult one. And we, you know, take her at her word."

Updated, 12:12 p.m.

While she's ruled out a political future in Alaska, Gov. Sarah Palin (R) refused on Tuesday to rule out a run for the White House in the future.

"I don't know what the future holds," Palin said during an interview on NBC News Tuesday morning. "I can't predict what the next fish run's gonna look like, let alone what the next few years hold."

Palin granted her first interviews since shockingly announcing that she would not only decline to seek reelection, but also resign from office.

"I knew that I wasn't going to run for reelection. I knew that everything changed on August 29th, in politics in Alaska," Palin said, referencing the date when she was thrust into the national spotlight by being tapped to run as the Republican vice presidential candidate.

Still, Palin said she "not in the least" regretted campaigning as Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) running mate in the 2008 presidential election.

In the interview, Palin often cited the ethics lawsuits as time and money consuming too much of hers and Alaska's resources as a central motivation in her decision to step down.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin slammed a "sad" and "predictable" reaction from the mainstream media to her decision to resign from office in a statement posted on her Facebook account Saturday.

Palin bemoaned a double standard she asserted she faces in her public life, as well.

"The response in the main stream media has been most predictable, ironic, and as always, detached from the lives of ordinary Americans who are sick of the 'politics of personal destruction,'" Palin wrote. "How sad that Washington and the media will never understand; it

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) broke his silence on Saturday about the sudden resignation of his onetime running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R).

"I have the greatest respect and affection for Sarah, Todd, and their family," McCain said. "I was deeply honored to have her as my running mate and believe she will continue to play an important leadership role in the Republican party and our nation."

McCain had selected Palin to fill out the Republican ticket during last year's presidential election. After the two lost, some reports had emerged to depict a rocky relationship between some of McCain's most loyal aides and Palin.

Indeed, McCain's daughter, Meghan, has made it clear that Palin is the one issue on which she won't comment -- reiterating as much in a tweet yesterday.

Vice President Biden seemed to give Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) some space after she suddenly announced Friday she'd resign from office.

"I'm not going to second guess her," Biden told ABC News in an interview to be aired tomorrow morning.

Biden was Palin's Democratic counterpart during the 2008 presidential election, when the Alaska governor ran as the running mate of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)

Far from reveling in Palin's resignation, Biden seemed to give Palin the benefit of the doubt.

"I don't know what prompted her decision to not only not run again and also to step down as a consequence of the decision not to run in 2010," Biden said. "And I take her at her word that it had a personal ingredient in it and you have to respect that."

Biden said that politics can often be very personal and difficult on families. Biden famously took office after his wife and daughter were killed in an automobile accident shortly after being elected at the age of 30.