Top Items:
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
News in terror hot spots appears to aid Obama — Barack Obama's long-awaited and much-hyped trip overseas, in large part intended to overcome a perception that he's not up to the job of commander-in-chief, seems to have come at the perfect time as recent events in Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran have played into his message.
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Alissa J. Rubin / New York Times:
Obama Arrives in Iraqi City of Basra — BAGHDAD — Senator Barack Obama arrived in Iraq on Monday at a base in the southern city of Basra where he and Senators Jack Reid and Chuck Hagel met with American, British and Iraqi officials, according to Capt. Chris McNair, a spokesman at Contingency Operating Base Basra.
CNN:
Obama meeting with U.S. commanders, Iraqi officials — BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama — who has made ending the Iraq war a cornerstone of his run for the presidency — huddled on Monday with Iraqi officials and U.S.-led coalition military commanders about the conflict, now in its sixth year.
Discussion:
Connecting.the.Dots
Hilzoy / The Daily Dish:More On Maliki — I've been thinking about the Maliki statement and its implications.
Discussion:
Jack & Jill Politics, Grasping Reality …, Newshoggers.com, Obsidian Wings, NewsBusters.org and Flopping Aces
Brian Murphy / Associated Press:Obama expected to meet Iraq war commanders
Discussion:
The New Republic
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.
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Kate Phillips / The Caucus:
Dobson Leans Toward Endorsing McCain — There seems to be a kumbaya moment occurring on the conservative front, and it's one that would apply a salve to Senator John McCain's uneven, unsettled relationship with the religious right. — Enter James Dobson, who has at times been blistering in his criticisms of Mr. McCain.
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 …
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
The Long Run: After 2000, McCain Learned to Work Levers of Power — Once better known for criticizing the Senate than for influencing it, John McCain has evolved into perhaps the chamber's most influential member.
Ian Urbina / New York Times:
Influx of Voters Likely to Test New Machines — With millions of new voters heading to the polls this November and many states introducing new voting technologies, election officials and voting monitors say they fear the combination is likely to create long lines, stressed-out poll workers and late tallies on Election Day.
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.
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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.
William Kristol / New York Times:
No Substitute for Victory — I'll go out on a limb and say that Barack Obama will be well received when he speaks in Berlin on July 24. — O.K., it's not exactly a limb. A recent poll shows that the German public prefers Obama to John McCain by 67 percent to 6 percent. — But there is angst in Germany.
Los Angeles Times:
Rice calls Iran's nuclear position ‘small talk’ — The secretary of state, speaking in Ireland, says Iran faces sanctions if it does not comply with international demands. — TEHRAN — U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today dismissed Iran's recent response to a proposed solution …
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
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