Top Items:
Dan Eggen / The Trail:
Maliki Aide's Statement Came After U.S. Call — The statement by an aide to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki calling his remarks in Der Spiegel “misinterpreted and mistranslated” followed a call to the prime minister's office from U.S. government officials in Iraq.
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Spiegel Online:
Iraqi Leader Stirs up US Campaign — Obama is pleased, but McCain certainly is not. In an interview with SPIEGEL, Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki expressed support for Obama's troop withdrawal plans. Despite a half-hearted retraction, the comments have stirred up the US presidential campaign.
Discussion:
The Swamp, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, politburo diktat 2.0, American Power, Macsmind, Commentary, Booman Tribune, NewsBusters.org, Right Wing Nut House, The Strata-Sphere, Taylor Marsh, Matthew Yglesias, The Impolitic, The Raw Story, Wake up America, The Political Carnival, Democrats.com and Political Punch
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Political leverage in the 51st state — It's almost a convention of politics that when a politician says he was misquoted, but doesn't detail the misquote or offer an alternative, he's really saying he wishes he hadn't said what he did, or that he needs to issue a pro-forma denial to please someone.
Discussion:
Newshoggers.com, The New Republic, Donklephant, The Carpetbagger Report and The Moderate Voice
Hilzoy / The Daily Dish:
More On Maliki — I've been thinking about the Maliki statement and its implications. Here's my take. — McCain's entire rationale, as a candidate, turns on Iraq and related issues, like terrorism and (to a lesser extent) Iran. What else is he going to run on? His grasp of the economy?
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
NICE TRY — Der Spiegel is standing by its story, its translation of what Maliki said.
NICE TRY — Der Spiegel is standing by its story, its translation of what Maliki said.
Brian Murphy / Associated Press:
Obama expected to meet with commanders of Iraq war
Obama expected to meet with commanders of Iraq war
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Jane Merrick / The Independent:
Brown plans to withdraw troops as he backs Obama over ‘war on terror’
Brown plans to withdraw troops as he backs Obama over ‘war on terror’
Tarek Al-Issawi / Bloomberg:
Maliki Doesn't Endorse Obama Troop Withdrawal Plan
Maliki Doesn't Endorse Obama Troop Withdrawal Plan
Discussion:
Flopping Aces
Nicole Belle / Crooks and Liars:
The Chris Matthews Show: Why The White House REALLY Wants McCain To Win — We've long since documented the desperate lengths that John McCain is willing to go to win the office of the Presidency, even to the point of hiring the same people responsible for those whisper campaigns in 2000 …
Discussion:
Newshoggers.com
Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs:
ATLAS EXCLUSIVE: FINAL REPORT ON OBAMA BIRTH CERTIFICATE FORGERY CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN — Techdude delivers a final report that exceeds my wildest expectations. It is irrefutable, empirical evidence - Obama's birth certificate is a forgery. … My deepest thanks and appreciation …
Christoph von Marschall / Washington Post:
Snubbed by Obama — Barack Obama is on his way to Europe, where an adoring public awaits. But I wonder if the reception would be quite so enthusiastic if Obama's fans across the Atlantic knew a dirty little secret of his remarkable presidential campaign: Although Obama portrays himself …
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MSNBC:
July 20: Al Gore, political roundtable — Al Gore, David Gregory, Chuck Todd — MR. TOM BROKAW: Our issues this Sunday: He served as Bill Clinton's vice president for eight years, then lost the presidential election to George W. Bush in 2000. He has since focused on his environmental crusade …
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Mark Hemingway / The Corner:
Those Wily Evangelicals — Despite all the hype over Obama's religious outreach, a new Pew survey indicates Obama actually has slightly less support from evangelicals than John Kerry had at this point four years ago. Not that this translates into evangelical enthusiasm for McCain …
Discussion:
GetReligion
New York Times:
Closed Mouths, but Open Tryouts to Make the Team — For all the lengths Senators Barack Obama and John McCain have gone to in keeping their hunt for a vice president under wraps, their deliberations are in some ways being conducted in plain sight. — There was Mr. McCain appearing yet again …
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report, TPM Election Central, The Huffington Post, TIME.com, Brendan Nyhan and The Other McCain
Brian C. Mooney / Boston Globe:
Obama's paid staff dwarfing McCain's — Democrat targets 50 states as rival focuses on tossups — John McCain is sending smaller staffs to some states but spending more on TV ads than his rival, Barack Obama. (Carolyn Kaster/associated Press) — Behind the headlines about the unprecedented success …
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Rendering public opinion irrelevant — One of the most striking aspects of our political discourse, particularly during election time, is how efficiently certain views that deviate from the elite consensus are banished from sight — simply prohibited — even when those views are held by the vast majority of citizens.
Discussion:
protein wisdom
Hindrocket / Power Line:
BLOWING THE WHISTLE ON GLOBAL WARMING — David Evans was a consultant to the “Australian Greenhouse Office” from 1999 to 2005. He is a former global warming alarmist; however, he is also a scientist who goes where the evidence leads him. In this important article in The Australian …
Tahman Bradley / Political Punch:
Barack Obama's Butterfly Effect — Today on CBS's Face the Nation, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., in Afghanistan, told the paparazzi-pursued correspondent Lara Logan that “the objective of this trip was to have substantive discussions with people like President Karzai or Prime Minister Maliki …
Spiegel Online:
Is Obama Speech Site Contaminated by Nazi Past? — Finally, Barack Obama's campaign has settled on a site for his Berlin speech. But some German politicians have now criticized his choice as being one full of Nazi-related symbolism. — Finally, it's official.
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