Top Items:
New York Times:
Comment Stings Maliki on Eve of Obama Visit — BAGHDAD — On the eve of Senator Barack Obama's visit to Iraq, its prime minister tried to step back Sunday from comments in an interview in which he appeared to support Mr. Obama's plan for troop withdrawal. — The interview with the prime minister …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications, Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, The Daily Dish and Oliver Willis
RELATED:
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.
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?
Spiegel Online:
Iraqi Leader Stirs up US Campaign
Iraqi Leader Stirs up US Campaign
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, politburo diktat 2.0, Commentary, Newshoggers.com, The Swamp, Booman Tribune, New York Times, American Power, Macsmind, NewsBusters.org, CNN, Right Wing Nut House, The Impolitic, Taylor Marsh, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, Matthew Yglesias, The Raw Story, The Political Carnival and Wake up America
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.
Discussion:
Eschaton
Mark Murray / MSNBC:
DID MALIKI ENDORSE OBAMA'S PLAN?
DID MALIKI ENDORSE OBAMA'S PLAN?
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications, Tom Watson, The Caucus, American Street, The Jed Report, The Huffington Post and CNN
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 …
Discussion:
Israel Insider, Scared Monkeys, Macsmind, pandagon.net, American Power, The Strata-Sphere, A Newt One and Gateway Pundit
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 …
Eric Gorski / Associated Press:
Dobson shifts positions, may endorse McCain — Conservative Christian leader James Dobson has softened his stance against Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, saying he could reverse his position and endorse the Arizona senator despite serious misgivings.
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
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 …
Discussion:
protein wisdom, www.redstate.com, Blue Girl, Red State, No More Mister Nice Blog, Wake up America and Commentary
RELATED:
Times of London:
Gordon Brown aide a victim of honeytrap operation by Chinese agents — A top aide to Gordon Brown has been a suspected victim of a “honeytrap” operation by Chinese intelligence agents. — The aide, a senior Downing Street adviser who was with the prime minister on a trip to China earlier this year …
Discussion:
Gates of Vienna
RELATED:
Lindsay Beyerstein / Majikthise:
McCain's senior foreign policy advisor tied to global petro-influence peddling — John McCain's senior foreign policy adviser is a close business associate of Stephen Payne, the lobbyist caught on tape offering access to top administration officials in exchange for donations to the Bush Library.
San Francisco Chronicle:
Slaying suspect once found sanctuary in S.F. — The man charged with killing a father and two sons on a San Francisco street last month was one of the youths who benefited from the city's long-standing practice of shielding illegal immigrant juveniles who committed felonies from possible deportation, The Chronicle has learned.
Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:
McCain and Obama Agree to Attend Megachurch Forum — It has taken a man of God, perhaps, to do what nobody else has been able to do since the general election season began: Get Barack Obama and John McCain together on the same stage before their party conventions later this summer.
Discussion:
TalkLeft
Gretchen Morgenson / New York Times:
Given a Shovel, Americans Dig Deeper Into Debt — The collection agencies call at least 20 times a day. For a little quiet, Diane McLeod stashes her phone in the dishwasher. — But right up until she hit the wall financially, Ms. McLeod was a dream customer for lenders.
Discussion:
Calculated Risk, slacktivist, The Democratic Daily, Fact-esque, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Don Surber, The Big Picture and CL&P Blog
RELATED:
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 …