Top Items:
Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
Pentagon Confirms That It Told Obama He Couldn't Visit Army Base With Campaign Staff — I've just gotten clarification from the Pentagon on what really happened with regard to Barack Obama's canceled visit to an Army base in Germany, something the McCain campaign has been using to hit Obama since yesterday.
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Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
DOD spokesman says Obama camp was reminded of political rules — Chief Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell confirmed to Politico that Department of Defense officials cautioned Barack Obama's campaign that his planned visit to wounded American troops in Germany could not be political in nature …
Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
Obama camp says Pentagon nixed troop visit
Obama camp says Pentagon nixed troop visit
Discussion:
The Anonymous Liberal
Fox News:
Security Guard Confirms Late-Night Encounter Between Former Sen. John Edwards, Tabloid Reporters In Beverly Hills Hotel — A hotel security guard told FOXNews.com he intervened this week between a man he identified as former Sen. John Edwards and tabloid reporters who chased …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Pajamas Media, Blue Girl, Red State, JONATHAN TURLEY, DBKP and www.redstate.com
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National Enquirer:
JOHN EDWARDS AFFAIR: CRIMINAL COMPLAINT FILED! — UPDATE: John Edwards' secret meeting with his mistress at the Beverly Hilton hotel has now become part of a criminal complaint. — NATIONAL ENQUIRER reporters Alan Butterfield and Alexander Hitchen filed a criminal complaint …
Washington Post:
McCain May Act Soon on VP Pick — Aides Predict Announcement Before Olympics — Anxious to counter the blanket media coverage that has followed Sen. Barack Obama on his overseas journey, Sen. John McCain is weighing whether to announce his running mate in the coming weeks before the spotlight shifts …
Discussion:
The Fix, The New Republic, The Swamp, TalkLeft, TPM Election Central, MSNBC, Emptywheel, RealClearPolitics, TIME.com, Real Clear Politics and PoliBlog (TM)
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Mark Murray / MSNBC:
FIRST THOUGHTS: THE TURNING POINT? — From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro — *** The turning point? So was this week a turning point in the presidential race? The Obama campaign certainly believes it was, and that this will be the moment that Obama grabs the lead for good.
Discussion:
protein wisdom
Gerard Baker / Times of London:
He ventured forth to bring light to the world — The anointed one's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a miracle in action - and a blessing to all his faithful followers — And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land …
Discussion:
Boston Globe, The Nation, Ben Smith's Blogs, Althouse, www.redstate.com, Swampland, Right Wing News and Dr. Melissa Clouthier
Andrew Klavan / Wall Street Journal:
What Bush and Batman Have in Common — A cry for help goes out from a city beleaguered by violence and fear: A beam of light flashed into the night sky, the dark symbol of a bat projected onto the surface of the racing clouds . . . Oh, wait a minute. That's not a bat, actually.
Discussion:
The New Republic, Firedoglake, Blog P.I., The LA Times President …, Sadly, No!, World-O-Crap, protein wisdom, www.redstate.com, Political Machine, Wonkette, Fact-esque, democracyarsenal.org, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Gawker, Eschaton, Democratic Strategist, The Daily Dish, Cogitamus, Feministe, ATTACKERMAN and The Washington Independent
Matthew Yglesias:
Thesis Follies — Steve Sailer darkly hints: … Meanwhile, Noam Scheiber writes about reporters' efforts to get their hands on a copy of Barack Obama's senior thesis, all copies of which have apparently gone missing from Columbia. The thesis was about nuclear negotiating strategies …
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Peter Nicholas / Los Angeles Times:
Obama's path to presidency is far from clear — The Democrat is winning fans on his trip abroad, but is struggling to gain real ground against McCain at home. Some key Clinton backers remain alienated. — WASHINGTON — Even as his turn on the global stage hit an emotional peak Thursday …
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Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
Hey, Obama: There's Bratwurst in Ohio, Too (but No Cheering Masses)
Hey, Obama: There's Bratwurst in Ohio, Too (but No Cheering Masses)
David Brooks / New York Times:
Playing Innocent Abroad — Radical optimism is America's contribution to the world. The early settlers thought America's founding would bring God's kingdom to earth. John Adams thought America would emancipate “the slavish part of mankind all over the earth.”
Brad Friedman / The BRAD BLOG:
Rove Threatened GOP IT Guru If He Does Not ‘Take the Fall’ for Election Fraud in Ohio, Says Attorney — [NOTE: Arnebeck will join Peter B. Collins and me, on-air, live tonight at 5pm PT (8pm ET) to discuss this story and the related matters. Details and listening link here...]
Associated Press:
Israeli paper publishes Obama Western Wall prayer … JERUSALEM (AP) - A written prayer that Barack Obama left this week in the cracks of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, asks God to guide him and guard his family, an Israeli newspaper reported Friday.
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Senate Republicans hold the line on energy; Update: Reid falls apart — Senate Republicans kept their word today to defeat any energy bill that did not include an end to the Congressional moratorium on off-shore drilling. By a 50-43 party-line vote, the bill that supposedly would curb …
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Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
The parade of “shrill, unserious extremists” on display at today's impeachment hearings — Former Reagan DOJ official, constitutional lawyer, and hard-core conservative Bruce Fein was one of the first prominent Americans to call for George Bush's impeachment in the wake of the illegal NSA spying scandal.
Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
McCain Blows Off WSJ Reporter (VIDEO) — John McCain's famously cozy relationship with the press is getting a bit testy. Taking questions in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday the Arizona Republican blew off Wall Street Journal reporter Elizabeth Holmes, right after she stated her name and affiliation.
Erin McPike / National Journal Online:
For Targeted GOP Senate Candidates, St. Paul Is Not A Choice Destination — Nine of 12 targeted Republicans running in the most competitive Senate races this fall are either skipping the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn., or have not decided whether to attend.
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Maliki Votes for Obama — In a stunning upset, Barack Obama this week won the Iraq primary. When Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki not once but several times expressed support for a U.S. troop withdrawal on a timetable that accorded roughly with Obama's 16-month proposal, he did more than legitimize the plan.
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, The New Republic, Swampland, Abu Aardvark, ATTACKERMAN, Lawyers, Guns and Money and Soccer Dad