* McCain scoffs at Super Bowl ad

From POLITICO's Meredith Shiner:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) doesn't think the government should be competing with Doritos by spending $2.5 million on a 30-second Super Bowl at about the census.

"While the census is very important to AZ, we shouldn’t be wasting $2.5 million taxpayer dollars to compete with ads for Doritos!," McCain said via Twitter.

The tweet was a follow-up to statements the Senator made at a balanced budget press conference earlier Thursday, and just one more commentary to add to the arsenal of conservative media outlets, which have been giving the story plenty of play.

"The census happens every 10 years. Everybody knows it happens," McCain said, before questioning why the government would spend millions on a commercial when families across America are tightening their belts. "It's shameful."

McCain's census-commercial complaint — the $2.5 million expenditure in a projected $130 million dollar census awareness budget — was only part of McCain's attack on President Barack Obama on Thursday. The former GOP presidential nominee balked at the notion that Obama is serious about the deficit.

"Then the next day, the President announced $100 billion of new spending called a jobs bill — not a stimulus — a jobs bill," McCain said caustically of Obama's deficit freeze proposal.

Posted by Glenn Thrush 03:32 PM

Senators McCain, Lieberman downplay Mitchell's threat

Ynetnews.com
Roni Sofer

Published:

01.10.10, 19:33 / Israel News

During Jerusalem press conference, senator who lost to Obama expresses objection to use of aid freeze as threat. Lieberman: Attempt of this kind won't pass in Congress.

Mitchell can threaten Jerusalem, but there will be others ready to defend Israel in Washington: Four senior US senators visiting Israel said Sunday that they oppose attempts to apply pressure on Israel by freezing aid. The senators, including former Republican presidential candidate John McCain, emphasized that they would not allow the US government to authorize such a proposal. During a press conference at Jerusalem's David Citadel Hotel, at which senators Joe Lieberman, John Thune and John Barrasso were also present, McCain said that he expects the White House to confirm soon that this is not its policy. Lieberman said that any attempt to force Israel to the negotiations table by withholding aid would not pass in Congress. He added that he did not think it would come to this. Lieberman, who was Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2000 and afterwards supported McCain for president, is now an independent senator though still part of the Democratic faction in the Senate. Steinitz: We'll do without US aid The four senators spoke following the storm caused by an apparent threat from US special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, to freeze loan guarantees to Israel if it failed to make progress in the peace process with the Palestinians. During an interview with the PBS network, Mitchell asserted that the US would use both carrots and sticks against the two sides, noting that US law allowed such a freeze. Later, a senior Washington figure told Ynet that no threat was intended, in an attempt to moderate Mitchell's remarks. The apparent threat was discussed in the cabinet's weekly meeting on Sunday, during which Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz (Likud) asserted, "We don't have to use those guarantees. We are doing very well without them." Education Minister Gideon Saar (Likud) added, "Israel will act in accordance with its interests." Earlier, Defense Minister Ehud Barak (Labor) met with the four senators and noted that Hezbollah continues to rearm. Lebanon carries full responsibility for any rockets fired from its territory, he said, adding that Israel would not go after individual terrorists. He also talked about the need to launch negotiations with the Palestinians, and about Iran.