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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …