Vice President Dick Cheney compares tough decisions made by President Bush to those made by President Lincoln during the Civil War. (0:43)

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Vice President Dick Cheney says that the US economy relies heavily on oil and though the development of alternatives is good, the US’s dependence on oil will not diminish overnight. (0:48)

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Vice President Dick Cheney reveals that he is an eighth cousin of Barack Obama. Despite coming from two different Cheney lines, he adds that his family is not from West Virginia. (1:08)

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The Obama campaign held a conference call with Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Senior Foreign Policy Adviser Denis McDonough to respond to John McCain’s address to The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPCA). McDonough said McCain asserted that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) does not support labeling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp as a terrorist organization. McDonough said Obama had co-sponsored the Senate Iran Counter-Proliferation Act to “make that point clear” that the group is a terrorist organization, which he still supports today.
McDonough said McCain is trying to run on the Democratic tradition of a strong foreign policy and strong support for Israel, but that his series of policy choices will have the opposite impact. He said there is very little difference in what McCain outlined at the conference and what President Bush undertook the last eight years.
McDonough also said that Obama opposed keeping troops in Iraq and adding a mission countering the Iranian influence inside Iraq. He said Obama is concerned about threats posed to troops in Iraq as a result of support provided by Iranian entities.
Schiff said Obama gave a “stirring speech” to the AIPAC in the past, and will use his chance to address the committee this week to amplify his policy, objectives, and steadfast commitment to Israel. He said Obama will set out his own vision without distortion from the McCain campaign.

Vice President Dick Cheney criticized the press at the National Press Club when referring to the Pulitzer Prize won by the New York Times for a piece that divulged information pertaining to US security, an action that he deemed was “less than honorable.” When asked, Cheney said that the most difficult part of his jobs involves the press since his role as an adviser necessitates an ability to keep important information secret.
Cheney said that the surge of forces in Iraq has been “enormously successful” and added that no terror attack on the United States in seven years can be attributed to the United States’s involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. The vice president stated that a successful president must make unpopular decisions, comparing President George W. Bush’s actions to the difficult choices made by President Lincoln during the Civil War. Cheney said that invading Iraq and Afghanistan will be viewed positively in ten to fifteen years and that the suggestion that the Bush administration acted rashly is false.
Cheney said that oil prices would be a factor in the upcoming presidential elections. He said that the “era of oil” is not ending and that the United States needs to do more to increase domestic production of petroleum. Cheney criticized those who try to limit domestic production and added that a repeal of federal gas taxes would do little to alleviate high prices if supply is not increased. Cheney added that Senators John McCain and Barack Obama will make strategic decisions when choosing a running mate, ignoring the status of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
When prompted to comment on the release of a book by former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, the vice president laughed quietly and said that former Sen. Bob Dole’s (R-Kan.) condemnation of McClellan as a “miserable creature” was accurate. In addition, Cheney revealed that he is an eighth cousin Barack Obama and said he would not be opposed to a family reunion. When discussing his family’s history, Vice President Cheney said that he is descended from two different Cheney families and emphasized that his family was never from West Virginia, a comment that surprised the audience.

Radhika Coomaraswamy, United Nations Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, discusses her recent mission to Chad and the Central African Republic. Ms. Coomaraswamy’s mission was to meet and work with the governments of Chad and the Central African Republic, as well as UN agencies and non-state actors to discuss the status of children in armed conflict. Ms. Coomaraswamy was pleased to report that Chad will release all children in detention, provide the United Nations with a list of names, and work to reintegrate them into their communities. (2:09)

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John McCain (R-Ariz.) spoke today at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee meeting. McCain assured members of the committee that “Israel would always have a friend and ally in the United States.” McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, strongly supports a military aid increase to Israel, to maintain a qualitative military edge with the Israeli government against threats like Hamas and Hezbollah in the region.
McCain criticized Obama for his foreign policy aims with Iraq saying that that American policy should reflect freedom and democracy, in that the United States military must not leave the region. If the United States military leaves Iraq the region “will suffer chaos” and Israel and the national security of the United States will suffer.
McCain also supports putting real world pressure in Iran so they will enact a peaceful change. McCain urged tougher sanctions with the United Nations security council or if they aren’t doing enough, he suggested the United States take unilateral action outside of the U.N. framework.
The United States “must hold Iran in check and accountable” for their terrorist connections. McCain urged an international campaign on Iranian imports of gasoline and put financial sanctions on the central bank of Iran.

Today at Talk Radio News Service the Washington Staff will attend an address by Vice President Dick Cheney at the National Press Club Newsmaker Luncheon Program, and the keynote address by Senator John McCain at the AIPAC Policy Conference. The Washington Staff will also cover a news conference to call for urgent Senate action to address the challenge of global warming, an energy forum to discuss rising fuel costs and ways Congress can promote clean energy sources that are environmentally friendly while easing the strain on family budgets and reducing the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, and a briefing prior to the start of the debate on the “Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2008.”

Protesters at the DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee express their dissatisfaction at the decision made concerning Florida and Michigan’s votes and delegate allocation. *note- contains the word “Goddamn”* (2:14)