Obama Calls Berlin a ‘Symbol of the Victory of Hope’  —  US Presidential Candidate Barack Obama started his much-anticipated trip to Germany on Thursday, and the expectations are massive.  SPIEGEL ONLINE will be following his every move through Berlin with its Live Ticker.

Beetle in a Box  —  So John McCain said the surge led to the Anbar Awakening even though the Awakening, in fact, happened before the surge began.  So he's ignorant.  Or maybe dishonest.  But now we learn he's also rather stubborn: … Shawn Brimley tries to bring common sense to bear on this …

McCain Makes Significant Gains in Four Key Battleground States  —  Majority of Voters in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin Favor Keeping Troops in Iraq, According to Quinnipiac-washingtonpost.com- Wall Street Journal Survey  —  Republican John McCain has quickly closed …

GOP losing the new-media war  —  Republicans have no lack of would-be George F. Wills.  —  But what they really need are some more Robert D. Novaks.  —  The distinction between the two prominent conservative journalists isn't always obvious, but it's nevertheless important to understand …

Sorry We Asked, Sorry You Told  —  Don't ask, don't tell.  And, whatever you do, don't ask Elaine Donnelly to tell you what she thinks about gays in the military.  —  The House Armed Services personnel subcommittee made just such a miscalculation yesterday.

Now, RNC ads attack Obama in Paris—Michigan, Missouri and Maine  —  John McCain bin ein Berliner too.  —  As the Associated Press has reported, to commemorate Barack Obama's visit to Berlin, Germany today the Republican National Committee is running a new ad in all three U.S. cities named Berlin …

Obama's Tour de Force  —  It made no sense when Barack Obama left the country on his nine-day overseas tour for some of my fellow columnists to describe it as a high-risk venture.  —  Foreign leaders, who can read the polls as well as anyone, would go out of their way not to embarrass a man who may …

Senate GOP hands Dems oil ultimatum  —  Senate Republicans have threatened to block nearly all other bills pending before the August recess if Democrats refuse to vote with them on expanding offshore drilling.  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said bills that do not pertain …

Voter Unease With Obama Lingers Despite His Lead  —  Poll Finds Background, Experience Are Advantages for McCain  —  WASHINGTON — Midway through the election year, the presidential campaign looks less like a race between two candidates than a referendum on one of them — Sen. Barack Obama.

Source: Novak's Victim Worse Than First Thought  —  The pedestrian who was struck by prominent Washington columnist and commentator Robert Novak is in worse shape than first thought, a hospital source tells ABC 7 News.  —  The victim, a 66-year-old man, appeared somewhat incoherent, said the source who had seen the victim.

Moon-walker claims alien contact cover-up  —  FORMER NASA astronaut and moon-walker Dr Edgar Mitchell - a veteran of the Apollo 14 mission - has stunningly claimed aliens exist.  —  And he says extra-terrestrials have visited Earth on several occasions - but the alien contact …

JOHN EDWARDS LOVE CHILD  —  UPDATE: The NATIONAL ENQUIRER is revealing new details about the political scoop we broke yesterday - the secret meeting between Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards and Rielle Hunter.  —  A team of ENQUIRER reporters caught the married ex-senator visiting …

Berlin Rally Is Off-Limits for Embassy Workers  —  The U.S. Embassy in Berlin has instructed Foreign Service personnel stationed there not to attend Sen. Barack Obama's public rally today, which the State Department this week labeled a “partisan political activity” prohibited under its regulations for those serving overseas.

McCain Campaign Running Obama-Castro Ad  —  The McCain campaign has a new web ad out placing Barack Obama, for the second time, side-by-side with a foreign dictator.  This time, it's Fidel Castro.  —  A Democrat in south Florida alerted the Huffington Post to the image, which shows Obama and Castro …

Why McCain Should Embrace Withdrawal  —  The United States must listen to the Iraqi government's demands or risk endangering the gains that have been made during the past 18 months.  —  Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's support for a timetable for the withdrawal of American combat forces …