memeorandum: U.S., Iraq Move Closer To Reaching a Security Deal (Gina Chon/Wall Street Journal)

2:00 PM ET, July 30, 2008

Top Items:

Jonathan Weisman / The Trail:

Obama's Symbolic Importance — In his closed door meeting with House Democrats Tuesday night, presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama delivered a real zinger, according to a witness, suggesting that he was beginning to believe his own hype. — Obama was waxing lyrical about last week's trip …

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

President Obama Continues Hectic Victory Tour — Barack Obama has long been his party's presumptive nominee. Now he's becoming its presumptuous nominee. — Fresh from his presidential-style world tour, during which foreign leaders and American generals lined up to show him affection …

Discussion: Political Punch, Little Green Footballs, The Swamp, Comments from Left Field, Democratic Strategist, The Moderate Voice, The Carpetbagger Report, www.redstate.com, BuzzMachine, Commentary, NewsBusters.org, www.redstate.com, Sister Toldjah, Riehl World View, Right Wing News, Swampland, TPM Election Central and Media Blog

Mark Murray / MSNBC:

FIRST THOUGHTS: ROCK BOTTOM FOR GOPERS? — From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro — *** Rock bottom for Republicans? OK, Hill Republicans, ask yourselves — is this bottom? The indictment of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) is a BIG deal. This appears to be a case of a politician …

Discussion: The New Republic, Commentary and The Politico

Matthew Yglesias:

Ah, Journalism — So it seems that Barack Obama said something like: … One could dispute that theory, but it's not a particularly remarkable thing to say. You have a candidate who was greeted enthusiastically in Europe saying that the enthusiasm was about something larger than him …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and TPMCafe

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Cyclops and Cunning — In his eight days around the world, Barack Obama learned a lot.

Discussion: Maggie's Farm, Hullabaloo and Commentary

Marc Ambinder: Messiah W...ell, Actually...

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:

With Commercial, McCain Gets Much More Than His Money's Worth — WASHINGTON — The number of times Senator John McCain's new advertisement attacking Senator Barack Obama for canceling a visit with wounded troops in Germany last week has been shown fully or partly on local, national and cable newscasts: well into the hundreds.

Discussion: The Caucus, FiveThirtyEight.com, Newsweek Blogs, Open Left, Ben Smith's Blogs, Gawker, TPM Election Central, www.redstate.com and Political Machine

New York Times:

Low-Road Express — Well, that certainly didn't take long. On July 3, news reports said Senator John McCain, worried that he might lose the election before it truly started, opened his doors to disciples of Karl Rove from the 2004 campaign and the Bush White House. Less than a month later, the results are on full display.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Commentary, Political Machine, Hot Air, The Washington Independent and Martini Revolution

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Keeping Track — I note with interest today, John McCain's new tactic of associating Barack Obama with oversexed and/or promiscuous young white women. (See today's new ad and this from yesterday.) Presumably, a la Harold Ford 2006, this will be one of those strategies that will be a matter …

Discussion: Firedoglake, MSNBC, TPM Election Central and Balloon Juice

Ben Smith / The Politico:

McCain campaign backs off ‘cameras’ charge — McCain's camp, accused in the New York Times and the Washington Post this morning of distorting Obama's canceled trip to a military hospital in German, seems to have backed off the core of the charge: That he canceled the trip because “the Pentagon wouldn't allow him to bring cameras.”

Discussion: Daily Kos, AMERICAblog News and The Jed Report

Washington Post:
McCain Charge Against Obama Lacks Evidence

Michael Goldfarb / John McCain Report blog:
Eleven Different Excuses

Discussion: Weekly Standard Blog, AMERICAblog News and macsmind.com

The Hill:

50 Most Beautiful People on Capitol Hill 2008 - Top 10 — Political party: Democrat. — Dating status: “Happily single” — She's striking - and accident-prone. — Three weeks ago, Tulani Elisa, a legislative assistant for Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), fell down while going up the Metro escalator that leads into Dupont Circle.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias

National Enquirer:

EDWARDS' HU$H MONEY TO MISTRESS — A NATIONAL ENQUIRER investigation has uncovered John Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter - the mother of his “love child” - has been secretly receiving $15,000 a month as part of an elaborate cover-up orchestrated by the former presidential contender.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Wake up America, Pajamas Media, Gawker, DBKP, Don Surber and Gateway Pundit

Carol Marin / Chicago Sun Times:

Women voters aren't warming to ‘cool’ Obama — The Obama campaign has a woman problem. How big? How small? It's not clear, but in a close election, small can be big. — And Michelle Obama spoke to it Monday in Chicago. — Departing from her prepared remarks …

Discussion: protein wisdom, Real Clear Politics, Booman Tribune, TIME.com and Gateway Pundit

Cristian Hernandez / Navy Times:

Bill to aid paralyzed vets blocked in Senate — A bill promising more money for programs that help paralyzed veterans is part of a bundle of legislation tied up in partisan bickering in the Senate. — The Christopher Reeve and Dana Reeve Act, which includes money for research into spinal cord injuries …

Discussion: Big Brass Blog

John Byrne / The Raw Story:
Congress blocks $25 million effort to aid paralyzed vets

Discussion: Blue Girl, Red State

Mother Jones:

There's Something About Mary: Unmasking a Gun Lobby Mole — NEWS: Mary McFate was a prominent gun control activist. Mary Lou Sapone was a freelance spy with an NRA connection. They are the same person. A Mother Jones investigation. — This is the story of two Marys.

Discussion: MoJoBlog, Washington Monthly and Matthew Yglesias

Wall Street Journal:

McCain's Tax Blunder — One of the miracles of this Presidential election campaign is that John McCain still has a chance to win, notwithstanding his best attempts to kick it away. In his latest random policy improvisation, the Arizona Senator tried to give up the tax issue.

Discussion: TIME.com and Taegan Goddard's …

Isabel Wilkinson / The Huffington Post:

A Week In John McCain's Shoes — His $520 Ferragamo Loafers, That Is — This summer John McCain is traveling in style. He has worn a pair of $520 black leather Ferragamo shoes on every recent campaign stop — from a news conference with the Dalai Lama to a supermarket visit in Bethlehem …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, The Anonymous Liberal, Pam's House Blend and Outside The Beltway

Gallup:

Gallup Daily: Presidential Race Tightens to 4 Points — PRINCETON, NJ — After moving into a nine percentage point lead over John McCain in Gallup Poll Daily tracking of national registered voters this past weekend, Barack Obama now leads by just four points, 46% to 42%.

Discussion: www.redstate.com and The Campaign Spot

Michael Novak / The Corner:

The Flag in the Lapel — Now we know why Obama took the American flag off his lapel. On July 24, in Berlin, he told us. The American flag is too small to contain him. He is not comfortable being an American citizen, only fully comfortable as a citizen of the world.

Jerusalem Post:

Olmert says he will resign after Kadima elects new leader — Prime Minister Ehud Olmert held a special press conference on Wednesday at 8 p.m. where he announced he will not run in the Kadima primary scheduled to take place in September, adding that he would resign from office upon selection of a successor …