http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-assess16dec16,1,3708248.story?coll=la-headlines-nationSeveral recent polls showed Bush's approval ratings rising slightly, but most Republicans on Capitol Hill were clearly more impressed at the moment by McCain's past — a former POW in Vietnam who was himself tortured — and his future as a potential president.
"When John McCain feels passionately about an issue, there are very few forces if any that can stop him, including the White House," said Marshall Wittmann, a former McCain aide who is now a senior fellow at the centrist Democratic Leadership Council.
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White House officials argued Thursday that they still got much of what they had sought — language shielding interrogators from some prosecution.
Addressing reporters late in the day, Hadley said that most of the discussions had focused not on McCain's proposal but on the language to protect interrogators, and he vehemently denied that the final deal essentially reflected what McCain initially had offered.