Top Items:
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
DID HE REALLY JUST DO THAT? — This is the lead on a story just out over the Reuters wire ... The Reuters piece hints at it. But if Obama is going to be in Iraq this weekend, this is a major breach on McCain's part. As a knowledgeable insider notes ...
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
McCain breaks embargo on Obama's schedule — Obama, you may have noticed, doesn't have a public schedule today. The press generally respects campaigns' and officials' security concerns, when voiced. — So Josh Marshall is probably right to raise an eyebrow that John McCain …
Peter Wehner / Weekly Standard:
Obama, Democrats, and the Surge — They were against it before it worked. — This is the week that the Democratic party ran up the white flag when it comes to the surge in Iraq. Leading the surrender was none other than Barack Obama, the Democratic party's presumptive nominee for president …
Reuters:
McCain says Obama trip to Iraq may be soon — DETROIT (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain commented on Friday on the unannounced timing of a high-security trip by Barack Obama to Iraq, saying he believed his Democratic rival was going this weekend.
Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
Obama Lands in Afghanistan — WASHINGTON - Senator Barack Obama arrived in Afghanistan early Saturday morning, opening his first overseas trip as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, to meet with American commanders there and later in Iraq to receive an on-the-ground assessment …
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CNN:
Obama lands in Afghanistan — KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama arrived Saturday in Afghanistan on the first stop of his tour of the Middle East and Europe, aimed at boosting the U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful's foreign policy credentials, his campaign confirmed.
John McCormick / The Swamp:
Barack Obama arrives in Afghanistan — WASHINGTON — Sen. Barack Obama landed in war-torn Afghanistan early Saturday, his campaign confirmed, starting a weeklong effort to look presidential on the world stage while boosting his standing back home. — The stop is the first of a widely anticipated tour …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blogs
Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
Gramm stands down — Former Sen. Phil Gramm is stepping down from his post as national co-chair for John McCain a week after creating headaches for the campaign by calling Americans “whiners” and saying the country was only experiencing a “mental recession.”
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Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Harold Ford Heckled Over Fox Comment At Netroots Nation — Former congressman Harold Ford was billed as a sheep amidst the wolves when he was booked for an appearance at the Netroots Nation conference here in Austin. And while for the most part the DLC head and self-described ‘centrist’ Democrat received …
Discussion:
American Power, Real Clear Politics, Booman Tribune, The Trail, TalkLeft and michellemalkin.com
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Washington Wire:
Democratic Party Unity Proves Elusive at Netroots Gathering — Susan Davis reports from Austin, Texas, on Netroots Nation. — Can Democrats bridge the ideological divides within the party? A lunch keynote session at the Netroots Nation annual convention here in Austin tried to address …
Peter Hamby / CNN:
McCain: 'I don't know' if Obama is socialist — WARREN, Michigan (CNN) - John McCain on Thursday described Barack Obama's Senate record as “more to the left” than Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont — an independent who caucuses with Democrats but has described himself as an “independent Democratic socialist.”
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Fox News:
Elisabeth Hasselbeck in Tears After ‘View’ Discussion on N-Word — “View” co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck was in tears Thursday after a discussion about the use of the n-word, in which fellow co-host Whoopi Goldberg told her the two “don't live in the same world.”
Discussion:
The Dish Rag, Macsmind, Right Wing News, Tennessee Guerilla Women, Don Surber and American Power
Washington Post:
Acceptance of Gay People in Military Grows Dramatically — Public attitudes about gays in the military have shifted dramatically since President Bill Clinton unveiled what became his administration's “don't ask, don't tell” policy 15 years ago today. — Seventy-five percent of Americans …
Laurie Kellman / Associated Press:
House Speaker Pelosi calls Bush ‘a total failure’ — WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush has been a “total failure” in everything from the economy to the war to energy policy, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday. In an interview on CNN, the California Democrat was asked to respond to video …
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CNN
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