Top Items:
Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
Pentagon Confirms That It Told Obama He Couldn't Visit Army Base With Campaign Staff — I've just gotten clarification from the Pentagon on what really happened with regard to Barack Obama's canceled visit to an Army base in Germany, something the McCain campaign has been using to hit Obama since yesterday.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, The Campaign Spot, Macsmind, The American Mind, Don Surber, MyDD and D-Day
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Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
DOD spokesman says Obama camp was reminded of political rules — Chief Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell confirmed to Politico that Department of Defense officials cautioned Barack Obama's campaign that his planned visit to wounded American troops in Germany could not be political in nature …
Fox News:
Security Guard Confirms Late-Night Encounter Between Former Sen. John Edwards, Tabloid Reporters In Beverly Hills Hotel — A hotel security guard told FOXNews.com he intervened this week between a man he identified as former Sen. John Edwards and tabloid reporters who chased …
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National Enquirer:
JOHN EDWARDS AFFAIR: CRIMINAL COMPLAINT FILED! — UPDATE: John Edwards' secret meeting with his mistress at the Beverly Hilton hotel has now become part of a criminal complaint. — NATIONAL ENQUIRER reporters Alan Butterfield and Alexander Hitchen filed a criminal complaint …
Washington Post:
McCain May Act Soon on VP Pick — Aides Predict Announcement Before Olympics — Anxious to counter the blanket media coverage that has followed Sen. Barack Obama on his overseas journey, Sen. John McCain is weighing whether to announce his running mate in the coming weeks before the spotlight shifts …
Discussion:
The New Republic, TalkLeft, Newsweek Blogs, TPM Election Central, Emptywheel, MSNBC and The Swamp
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Gerard Baker / Times of London:
He ventured forth to bring light to the world — The anointed one's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a miracle in action - and a blessing to all his faithful followers — And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land …
Discussion:
The Nation, Boston Globe, www.redstate.com, www.redstate.com, Right Wing News, StephenBainbridge.com, Althouse and Swampland
Ben Smith / The Politico:
Sarkozy: Obama's my ‘pal’ — French President Nicolas Sarkozy is offering Obama a warm welcome on the day of their meeting, in an interview with the conservative daily Le Figaro. — “Obama? He's my pal,” the president told Le Figaro. “Unlike my diplomatic advisors, I never believed in Hillary Clinton's chances.
Discussion:
MSNBC, Wonkette, Newsweek Blogs, Political Machine, AMERICAblog News, The New Republic, The Reaction and TIME.com
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Lance Armstrong / Washington Wire:Obama Brings His Charm Offensive to Paris
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics
Judith Bonesky / Bild.de:
I worked out with Obama! — HE CURLED 32 KILO DUMBBELLS NEXT TO ME +++ BARACK IS TOP FIT +++ HE DIDN'T SWEAT AT ALL — As thousands waited at the Sieges Saule monument in Berlin to hear Obama's sensational speech, a BILD reporter met Barack all alone - in the gym!
Associated Press:
Israeli paper publishes Obama Western Wall prayer … JERUSALEM (AP) - A written prayer that Barack Obama left this week in the cracks of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, asks God to guide him and guard his family, an Israeli newspaper reported Friday.
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Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
McCain Blows Off WSJ Reporter (VIDEO) — John McCain's famously cozy relationship with the press is getting a bit testy. Taking questions in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday the Arizona Republican blew off Wall Street Journal reporter Elizabeth Holmes, right after she stated her name and affiliation.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, MoJoBlog, The Huffington Post, Gawker, MEANINGFUL DISTRACTION, D-Day and NewsBusters.org
Erin McPike / National Journal Online:
For Targeted GOP Senate Candidates, St. Paul Is Not A Choice Destination — Nine of 12 targeted Republicans running in the most competitive Senate races this fall are either skipping the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn., or have not decided whether to attend.
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Senate Republicans hold the line on energy; Update: Reid falls apart — Senate Republicans kept their word today to defeat any energy bill that did not include an end to the Congressional moratorium on off-shore drilling. By a 50-43 party-line vote, the bill that supposedly would curb …
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Trish Turner / Fox News:Reid Flares Over Media Coverage of Energy Proposals
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit
Andrew Klavan / Wall Street Journal:
What Bush and Batman Have in Common — A cry for help goes out from a city beleaguered by violence and fear: A beam of light flashed into the night sky, the dark symbol of a bat projected onto the surface of the racing clouds . . . Oh, wait a minute. That's not a bat, actually.
David Brooks / New York Times:
Playing Innocent Abroad — Radical optimism is America's contribution to the world. The early settlers thought America's founding would bring God's kingdom to earth. John Adams thought America would emancipate “the slavish part of mankind all over the earth.”
Matthew Yglesias:
Thesis Follies — Steve Sailer darkly hints: … Meanwhile, Noam Scheiber writes about reporters' efforts to get their hands on a copy of Barack Obama's senior thesis, all copies of which have apparently gone missing from Columbia. The thesis was about nuclear negotiating strategies …
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Gallup:
Gallup Daily: Obama by 6, Is There a Europe Effect? — Obama moves back to significant lead over McCain — PRINCETON, NJ — Barack Obama has expanded his lead over John McCain in the Tuesday through Thursday Gallup Poll Daily tracking rolling average, and now has a 47% to 41% advantage over his Republican challenger.
Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
Critic Or Cheerleader: The Definitive McCain Iraq Timeline — Here it is: We've created a comprehensive time-line of John McCain's statements on Iraq, from the inception of the conflict to the present. — Our time-line casts some doubt on a key McCain campaign claim …
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
Obama Abroad: We Get the Picture — The Candidate Looked Good This Week. Did the Press? — After saying little in public during a weekend in Iraq and Afghanistan, Barack Obama met with traveling reporters near Jordan's Temple of Hercules, a gladiator standing his ground against the media hordes.
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Douglas Mackinnon / The Politico:
GOP unfairly branded racist — I am a Republican and conservative who finds much about Barack Obama to admire. I am also a Republican and conservative who spent my formative years growing up in abject poverty and being homeless a number of times. During that time, I often lived …