PEMBERTON, NJ — Sen. John McCain ripped the Supreme Court’s decision on Guantanamo Bay detainees Friday, calling the ruling “one of the worst decisions in history.”

“I think that it is it opens up a whole new chapter in interpretation of our constitution, that says that people who are not citizens of this country and are enemy combatants–some of them still ardently seeking to destroy the United States of America and all that we stand for and believe in–are now granted habeus corpus rights,” McCain said, refering to the 5-4 decision that found that foreign detainees have rights under the constitution to sue in civilian courts. “We will regret very much in the days and months and years ahead this decision by the United States Supreme Court.”

The presumptive GOP nominee, joined by Senators Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham at a press conference, said he plans to “exhaust” all legislative options to narrow the impact of the decision and will first take aim at “eliminating the frivolous suits, the complaints about diet or whatever, reading material, or whatever it is, and try to more narrowly define it.”

Sens. Lieberman and Graham also trashed the decision at the press conference.

McCain initially said he had “concerns” about the decision an hour after the ruling was released Thursday, but after a day to digest the ruling he took his language up a notch.

“Our first obligation is the safety and security of our nation and the men and women who defend it. This decision will harm our ability to do that,” McCain said at a town hall meeting prior to press conference, where he also took the opportunity to blast Obama’s judicial appointment philosophy.

“Senator Obama applauds this decision and he supports it…I strongly supported Justice Roberts and Justice Alito, Senator Obama opposed them and voted against them on ideological grounds, something which is precedent breaking from the past,” McCain said, noting that he had previously voted in Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, who both supported the Court decision, even though he didn’t share their judicial philosophy.

NASHUA, NH — Sen. McCain continued to play a man of the people on high gas prices Thursday, taking Sen. Obama to task for saying this week that he would have preferred a more “gradual adjustment” in gas price increases.

“Let me say that Senator Obama said yesterday, well he didn’t seem to mind the cost increase, it was just a little too quick,” McCain told supporters at a Granite State town hall meeting. “Well, a lot of Americans mind.”

Asked by CNBC Tuesday if higher gas prices could help the U.S. become more energy efficient, Obama said, “I think that I would have preferred a gradual adjustment. The fact that this is such a shock to American pocketbooks is not a good thing.”

Republicans have been hammering Obama for the comments, arguing that the Illinois Democrat lacks sympathy for the plight of average Americans who are now paying more than $4 a gallon to fill up their gas tanks.

“I think I’d like to point out that Senator McCain is not out of touch with the pressure on gasoline prices,”  McCain adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin said a conference call today. “He proposed a gas tax suspension for the summer that would put $600 in the pocket of a trucker buying diesel fuel, take some of the pressure off the price increases of all the things that they deliver, help American families get through the summer.”

For it’s part, the Obama campaign is arguing that the GOP is taking the quote out of context.

“This attack is ridiculous, and all it shows is how John McCain’s allies in Washington are trying to distract voters from the fact that just yesterday, they voted again to protect Big Oil’s profits-while we’re paying record prices…. No amount of partisan political attacks will change the fact that George Bush, John McCain, and their congressional allies have repeatedly stood with the oil and gas companies and against American consumers,” Obama spokesperson Jen Psaki said yesterday.

BOSTON, MA– One day after his campaign helped force the resignation of one senior member of Sen. Obama’s VP selection team, Sen. McCain took aim today at Eric Holder–another member of that group .

“I think it is a matter of record that Mr. Holder recommended the pardoning of Mr. (Marc) Rich. And all those things will be taken into consideration by the media and the American people, especially when you are entrusting individuals with one of the most important decisions that a presidential candidate can make before that individual is elected and that is who the running mate is,” McCain told reporters a press conference Wednesday, referencing Holder’s role at the Department of Justice in the Clinton administrations controversial pardoning of the financier.

His call comes less than 24 hours after Jim Johnson’s resignation as an Obama VP vetter, who came under scrutiny for loans he received from Countrywide–a shady mortgage lender that Obama criticized on the trail.

But McCain deferred comment today when asked about Johnson’s resignation, despite calling his involvement in Obama’s campaign a “contradiction” on Monday.

“On the resignations, or should-be resignations, I think people in the media and observers will make a decision as to whether these people, individuals should be part of Senator Obama’s campaign,” McCain said.

BOSTON, MA  — Sen. McCain told reporters Thursday that the Supreme Court decision declaring that foreign terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay have rights under the Constitution to use civilian courts, “concerns” him.

“I was just informed of the Supreme Court decision. I haven’t had a chance to read the opinion yet. It obviously concerns me. These are unlawful combatants, they are not American citizens and I think we should pay attention to Justice Roberts’ (dissenting) opinion in this decision,” McCain said at a Boston press conference this morning, an hour after the ruling was made public. “But it is a decision that the Supreme Court has made. Now we need to move forward.”

McCain, who also supports the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, had been an advocate for the military tribunal system that the Supreme Court struck down.  Aides to the presumptive GOP nominee said he did not have time to read up on the ruling prior to his press conference but will have more to say on the topic.

PHILADELPHIA, PA– Sen. McCain showed little compassion for his Democratic opponent in the City of Brotherly Love today, instead taking aim at Sen. Obama on a smorgasbord of issues from the economy to Iran.

After walking out to the “Rocky” movie theme music, he immediately jabbed Obama for the IL Senator’s April comments that small-town Keystone state voters “cling” to their second amendment gun rights and religion because they are “bitter.”

“We’re going to go to the small towns in Pennsylvania and I’m gonna to tell them I don’t agree with Senator Obama that they cling to their religion and the Constitution because they’re bitter,” McCain told more than 600 voters at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center Wednesday afternoon. “I am going tell them they have faith and they have trust and support the Constitution of the United States because they have optimism and hope and are the strength of America. That’s what America is all about is the people who love our country, who cherish their religion and support the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America.”

After getting hit repeatedly by the Obama campaign on Wednesday for suggesting on the Today Show this morning that “it’s not too important” when troops leave Iraq as long as they are safe and can exit when they want, McCain slammed his opponent for taking quotes out of context and repeated his call for joint town hall meetings.

“I asked him to join me tomorrow night in Federal Hall in New York City and let’s hear from the American people, let’s elect a few hundreds Americans who are unaffiliated, lets stand before them,” McCain said. “Instead of the sound bite, instead of taking someones comments out of context and flashing it around on the cable shows. Why don’t we hear complete answers and complete thoughts and that way, and that way the American people will really have an ability to judge.”

Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and John Thune (R-SD) also defended McCain’s comments during a conference call today.

“Frankly to suggest for a moment that after all that Senator McCain and his family have been through, that he doesn’t understand the sacrifice our troops are making is just absurd,” Thune said.

Lieberman added that McCain “has always been clear that he wants our troops to succeed in their mission (and) come home safely as quickly as possible.”

The presumptive GOP nominee also addressed his hatred of war and concern for his troops today, echoing language featured in his new ad, “Safe,” which the Republican has up in swing states including Pennsylvania. (below)

Other McCain big hits today:

(more…)

Responding to charges that he represents a third Bush term, McCain tells Fox that Obama offers the nation a second term for President Carter.

“You know one of his favorite phrases is that I would be a Bush third term. Well I think maybe his proposals could be a Carter second term,” McCain told Fox during an interview at campaign headquarters Monday afternoon.

McCain also discusses his strategy to win over Reagan Democrats and has some tough words for Obama’s economic policies, labeling the IL Senator a “liberal, doctrinaire Democrat.”

SEE INTERVIEW IN CAMERON’S CORNER…

PART I…

PART II…

WASHINGTON, DC — Sen. John McCain attacked his Democratic rival Monday for contradicting himself by naming an official to his campaign who allegedly received preferential loan treatment from a controversial mortgage company that Sen. Barack Obama has been criticizing on the trail.

“I think it suggests a bit of a contradiction talking about how his campaign is gonna be not associated with people like that. Clearly he is very much associated with that,” McCain told Fox News’ Carl Cameron in an interview today, referring to Jim Johnson who Obama has tapped to head up his VP search process.

The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that Johnson received more than $7 million in loans from Countrywide Financial, at least two of which were at below-market rate, stemming from a relationship with the company’s CEO, Angelo Mozilo.

See more of Carl Cameron’s interview with the presumptive GOP nominee tonight on Special Report.

See full interview below, where McCain also says an Obama presidency would be a second term for President Carter.

PART I and  PART II

News outlets, including FOX News, spend thousands of dollars a day just to travel reporters on a presidential campaign. Flights on a presidential charter can cost as much as $4,000 a leg per person, often with numerous flights a day. For the fare, reporters not only get the convenience of being able to cover all of the candidate’s events, but are also afforded some degree of access to the candidate and his staff.

Which is just one of the many reasons why Obama’s traveling press corps was downright frustrated when, after a rally in Northern Virginia, the campaign jet’s pilot announced we were ready for takeoff from Washington’s Dulles airport - without one passenger Barack Obama. The candidate, his national trip director, and body man, we were told, would return to Chicago on a separate jet.

As the Obama-less plane was set to taxi, Communications Director Robert Gibbs informed reporters that since the likely Democratic nominee won’t be in DC for awhile, he had scheduled meetings in the city. When asked the obvious - if he was meeting with Senator Clinton - Gibbs declined to discuss Obama’s plans and promptly retreated to the front of the cabin for takeoff.

Reporters furiously typed emails and made phone calls to inform colleagues of the development as the plane lumbered to and down the runway. Minutes later, we were airborne and without answers.

During the hour and a half flight, Gibbs attempted to placate the agitated press corps, but mostly repeated the line: “He had some time for meetings that he wanted to do, so we scheduled some meetings for him tonight and he’ll fly back to Chicago a couple hours after we do.” Gibbs would not discuss the location, nature, or participants of the meetings because “the meetings are private.”

One reporter wondered why we didn’t just wait for him on the tarmac. What was the rationale for leaving? “For us to get back to Chicago,” Gibbs responded.

“For your benefit?” someone enquired. “Not necessarily for my benefit,” Gibbs said with a laugh.

“Who needs to get back to Chicago? We need to be where the candidate is,” a reporter shot back.

As cameras and voice recorders rolled, Gibbs fielded questions from about a dozen reporters, each of whom questioned why there was a deviation from Standard Operating Procedure.

One veteran campaign reporter scolded, “Right now it is a general election – they’re treated the same way the president is. If the president goes bike riding, we go with him. If he goes out to dinner or goes to visit a friend three blocks up the road, we go with him in the motorcade, and that’s the expectation in the general election, and that’s the way with previous candidates…that’s the way it’s done. So why are we diverging from that?” she asked. “We would have been happy to sit on the runway. We didn’t have anything better to do other than to do what we’re paying for, which is to cover the candidate and he’s not here.”

Trying to defuse the situation, Gibbs asked that we write our grievances down and email him. “I understand your objections, and I will make sure that everyone is aware of that,” he said, while making the point that “it wasn’t an attempt to deceive in any way; it’s just private meetings.”

When the plane landed, reporters stranded in the air began receiving word that the meeting had in fact occurred. Gibbs wandered back to issue a statement:

Hours later when the candidate returned to his Hyde Park home, he was greeted by camera crews and reporters staking out his home. After all, privacy is hard to come by when you’re running for president.

Today as news broke that Hillary Clinton would soon help to unify the Democratic Party by announcing her support for her one-time rival, the Obama camp remained silent.

“No thanks,” a senior staffer wrote when asked to respond to the news. According to two staffers, Hillary Clinton had not yet called Obama to discuss her plan (as of 7:40 pm).

When Barack Obama arrived at the first of two high dollar Manhattan fundraisers, reporters looking for comments were ignored. Instead, the presumptive Democratic nominee shook hands with supporters and well wishers.

But the print pool reporter who covered the two fundraisers did get a question in to Obama. According to his pool report:

“Getting out of the motorcade in light drizzle, pooler asked Obama how it feels now that it appears even Hillary Clinton realizes he’s the nominee.

‘Truth is, I haven’t had time to think about it. This weekend, I’m going home, talk it over with Michele and we’re going on a date.’”

Obama is tentatively scheduled to at least sleep in Chicago tomorrow night through Sunday night.

BATON ROUGE, LA- Sen. McCain called on Hillary Clinton supporters to cross the party lines and vote for him Wednesday, arguing that he is the most qualified candidate to keep America safe.

“I think that could attract some of Senator Clinton’s voters…who believe that I am by far best qualified to secure this nation’s future,” McCain told reporters a press conference following a town hall meeting in the Bayou State. “I think there (are) a lot of Senator Clinton’s supporters who will support me because of their belief that Senator Obama does not have the experience or the knowledge or the judgment to address this nation’s national security challenges given we are in two wars.”

The presumptive GOP nominee said he can attract Clinton supporters on both domestic and foreign policy grounds–even on the issue of Iraq.

“I believe that there are Senator Clinton supporters who oppose wasteful spending, pork barrel spending in our nations capital. I believe that there are those who want genuine reform, not just talk about it. Senator Obama has the most liberal voting record, the most partisan of any Senator in the United States Senate,” McCain said.

And just as Clinton was asking her voters to trust Obama on foreign policy, McCain argued that he has stronger national security credentials, adding that there are supporters of the NY Senator, “who don’t want us to sit down with (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad and other tyrants, who don’t want us a to set a date for withdrawal and declare defeat in Iraq.”