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Mark Silva / The Swamp:
Barack Obama's $52-million June — Sen. Barack Obama's campaign raised $52 million in June, his campaign manager said this morning - not quite a record for the high-flying campaign, but close to it. The campaign had raised $55 million in February, during the Democratic primaries.
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Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:
Obama Raises $52 Million in June — Senator Barack Obama raised $52 million in June, his campaign announced on Thursday morning, more than twice the amount he raised one month earlier before claiming the Democratic presidential nomination. — “We have some big news we want to share with you …
Deborah Charles / Reuters:
Obama raised $52 million in June — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama raised $52 million in June, his campaign said on Thursday, a jump from last month and more than double the $22 million raised by his Republican rival John McCain.
Jim Rutenberg / International Herald Tribune:
Media stars will accompany Obama overseas — WASHINGTON: Senator John McCain's trip to Iraq last spring was a low-key affair: With his ordinary retinue of reporters following him abroad, the NBC News anchor Brian Williams reported on his arrival in Baghdad from New York …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Newshoggers.com, Sister Toldjah, Stop The ACLU, TVNewser, Gawker, Macsmind, NewsBusters.org, Prairie Weather and The Other McCain
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Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
3 Anchors to Follow Obama's Trek Abroad — The three network anchors will travel to Europe and the Middle East next week for Barack Obama's trip, adding their high-wattage spotlight to what is already shaping up as a major media extravaganza. — Lured by an offer of interviews …
Larry Hunter / NY Daily News:
Hunter: This conservative activist is backing Obama — I'm a lifelong Republican - a supply-side conservative. I worked in the Reagan White House. I was the chief economist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for five years. In 1994, I helped write the Republican Contract with America.
Mikki Halpin / Glamocracy:
Barack Obama tells Glamour: “Debate me, not Michelle” — On Wednesday Senator Barack Obama talked to Glamour's editor-in-chief Cindi Leive and answered questions from our readers about his policies and about women's issues. (Thanks to the many of you who submitted those queries!)
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Ben Smith's Blogs
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Bruce Ackerman / Slate:
Take Your Paws off the Presidency! — DOES THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION HAVE A SECRET SUCCESSION ORDER THAT BYPASSES CONGRESS? — Suppose the worst happens, and the next terrorist attack hits Washington hard, taking out the president and the vice president. What happens next?
Discussion:
Blue Girl, Red State, Right Wing News, The Moderate Voice, Pajamas Media and The Raw Story
Ewen MacAskill / Guardian:
US plans to station first diplomats in Iran since 1979 — Washington move signals thaw in relations — The US plans to establish a diplomatic presence in Tehran for the first time in 30 years as part of a remarkable turnaround in policy by President George Bush.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, CNN, Israel Matzav, The Agonist, AMERICAblog News, War and Piece, Washington Monthly, democracyarsenal.org and MoJoBlog
WorldNetDaily:
Obama's ‘Big Brother’ vanishes from speech — ‘Civilian security force’ missing from ‘call to service’ transcript — Democrat Sen. Barack Obama's stunning assertion in a recent speech that the U.S. needs a “civilian national security force” that would be as powerful …
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The Campaign Spot
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Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Are the media airbrushing Obama's speeches? Update: Wouldn't ICE qualify?
Are the media airbrushing Obama's speeches? Update: Wouldn't ICE qualify?
Discussion:
Silent Running
Ben Smith / The Politico:
McCain's humor often backfires — Ever hear that joke about waterboarding? How about the one about killing Iranians? And why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? — If you aren't familiar with those witty japes, then you've missed out on John McCain's lighter side.
New York Times:
In Iraq, Mixed Feelings About Obama and His Troop Proposal — BAGHDAD — A tough Iraqi general, a former special operations officer with a baritone voice and a barrel chest, melted into smiles when asked about Senator Barack Obama. — “Everyone in Iraq likes him,” said the general, Nassir al-Hiti.
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, NO QUARTER, Time, The Foundry, The Caucus, The Politico, www.redstate.com, TIME.com, Booman Tribune and The New Editor
Chris Frates / The Politico:
Insurance industry forming activist army — Ahead of the approaching health care reform storm, the insurance industry is building an ark: a nationwide education campaign aimed at raising an activist army at least 100,000 strong. — The unprecedented effort by America's Health Insurance Plans …
Michael Kranish / Boston Globe:
Romney not getting his $45m back — Says he won't seek gifts to repay campaign loans — Some analysts said Senator John McCain, shown with Mitt Romney in Denver in March, might undermine his reform message if he picks Romney, someone who bankrolled so much of his own campaign in the primary.
The Hill:
Few House GOP donate to McCain — Few House Republicans have contributed to Sen. John McCain since he clinched the Republican nomination at the end of February. — McCain, Arizona's senior senator, has had a far warmer reception in the upper chamber. At least 22 Senate colleagues …