Obama Western Wall Visit, Old Jerusalem Pictures

Obama's Western Wall Daybreak Visit





















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Evening Wrap Up...Obama in Israel and McCain losing his mind in the U.S.

obama poses with family in sderot, israel

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My Take, McCain has Jumped the Shark

There has been much whining, complaining from the McCain Campaign about the Obama television coverage.

Again, John McCain challenged Obama and mocked him on his lack of national security/foreign policy experience and boo-yah, what happens? Obama is received by all heads of state in these countries and he should be. Why? Because he can be the commander in chief in January, that is why.

Obama is still the unknown, an agent of change. These foreign dignitaries already know what McCain is about. Bush III, next.

The McCain Campaign is bracing itself for the Berlin Germany speech, tomorrow. To offset Obama they attempted to have a photo-op on an oil rig out in the gulf, but had to cancel it because of Hurricane Dolly. In other words, too dangerous. Ok, big (rolleyes) here.

But the biggest boo-boo today was this:

The McCain campaign implied on Wednesday that Barack Obama's commitment to preventing a future genocide was not sincere, attacking the Democratic candidate during his appearance at the Israeli Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem.

In an early morning press release, entitled "Obama on Genocide," McCain aide Tucker Bounds emailed reporters a quote from Obama's appearance in which the Illinois Democrat reiterated the cry "never again." He followed that quote with one taken a year ago from an interview that the Senator gave with the Associated Press in which he said that genocide or humanitarian crises were not a prerequisite for keeping U.S. troops in Iraq (a statement he has since walked back)

To take Obama's statement while at the holocaust memorial and attach it to genocide is really beyond the pale. They are really pulling low blows here, but the thing is that the McCain Campaign is being called on it and they have had to back peddle. Yes, double (rolleyes) here.

As, John McCain continues the "Hillary Clinton Campaign Deux", Obama would have passed the commander-in-chief test or thresh hold test. Meaning, watch the polling that comes out after this tour is completed and expect a bump in the polling. And watch the McCain Campaign continue to spiral in the gutter.


race for the white house

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New NBC/WSJ Poll

Obama 47, McCain 41

Article and internals, here.


nightly news with brian williams

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rnc negative ad against obama not funding the troops

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Obama Berlin Speech, 1PM EST

All the information is here. The Obama Campaign expects up to one million people to hear Obama speak. Advertisement is here.

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obama at Yad Vashem, Israel

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and......

Obama's 5M Olympic Ad Buy.....

Congress Approves Housing Rescue Bill.....

Spanish-language radio ad, "Bootstraps"......

Obama's outreach to young evangelicals....

McCain struggling to stay on message.....

Obama Press Conference in Israel.....

Morning Brew, here....

Damn, the end of google bombs.....

Republicans for Obama? Are they coming out?

Star-studded Obama music video is coming to a mouse click near you, soon.....

and fantastic, fabulous pictures and video by the infamous Al Rodgers.....


from the campaign blog

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Obama Press Conference in Israel (FULL VIDEO)

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part one


part two

and bad assssssss pics and vids from the notorious al rodgers.................

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McCain needs to be around "YOUNG PEOPLE"

from morning joe, yikes

And McCain has cancelled all press availability since he got caught, gaffing again, thanks to the botched job of CBS trying to cover it up. Read it, here.

Morning Brew...Obama in Israel, West Bank and CBS McCain Coverup...

Barack Obama lays a wreath in the Hall Of Remembrance visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum

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CBS's snafu and editing of the McCain's misunderstanding of the Surge and Sunni Awakening

This was first pointed out by Keith Olbermann, last night on Countdown, as follows:



How this was found out is because extended video of both McCain and Obama's interview was posted on CBS's website with transcript. I have the link here, with the original Couric interview and the extended video.

Then on Anderson Cooper 360, CNN, last night this incident was talked about extensively, with David Gergen questioning the continuous gaffes and confusion of McCain and brought up McCain's age.



Joe Klein wraps this up about the danger of John McCain making hard, heavy hits on Obama and the overstating of the insurgency of al-Qaeda in Iraq, this along with the scurillious statements that Obama would rather "loose the war to win an election". This is worth repeating.



And JedReport's take on it:



and h/t over at kos for how it really went down:



My take, CBS lost credibility, period. McCain gaffed, again. Don't hide it, show it. And if you are going to do the "sneaky", at least don't put the sh*t on your website to discredit you. (rolleyes)

Obama Campaign don't let this sit out there and fester, the McCain words, that is. I know that many would rather Obama take the gloves off and fight right now, this is understood, but remember we will never win the war, but rather pick the battles that you can win.

I expect some response, when it comes it will be irrevocably on point, factual and hard hitting that the McCain Campaign will have to move along.

Full rundown by turneresq and Huffington Post. A good read.

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Obama with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas



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McCain and his Negativity

First Read gives a good rundown on John McCain and his spiraling campaign.

Sometimes body language can tell you a lot. And the body language coming from the McCain campaign -- as Obama continues his overseas trip -- doesn’t look too pretty right now. Let us count the ways: It has aired its first two negative TV ads of general election, one of which (on energy) was panned by virtually every media outlet for being factually incorrect. It later sent the press on what appears to be a wild goose VP chase, when it leaked to Bob Novak that a veep decision could be coming this week (and now even Novak admits that he might have been used). Next came the McCain Web video blasting the media’s attention on Obama, as well as those luggage tags calling the reporters who have followed McCain for much of this election the “JV Squad” while others are covering Obama overseas; the other side of the luggage tag was in French with a beret-wearing guy pouring wine. (Side thought: Why does McCain think belittling his own press corps is a good idea? But we digress…) And then yesterday came McCain’s line that “Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign” --

We all should digress.

John McCain and his Camp belittled Obama, challenged him to go to Afghanistan and Iraq. Of course, McCain wanted to go with Obama, but Obama side-stepped that one.

Since, Obama has been in the middle east, the whole Iraq thingy has unraveled to favor Obama, with the White House coinciding with the junior senator from Illinois, without publicly stating so.

I think yesterday's Katie Couric interview told the story about McCain. Couric let him go through his diatribe hate of Obama, because that is what his was, then just stated that he was frustrated with Obama.

Well, he is. He challenged Obama, thought Obama would mess up, big time and has come out on the losing end. That is it in the nutshell.

McCain need to wash his mouth out with "straight talk mouthwash" and get back on the straight and narrow trail of truth. Stop worrying about Barack Obama, but worry about how you are coming across to the American public right now. That is shrill, bitter, jealous and totally frustrated.

The only one looking presidential is Barack Obama.

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chuck todd, first read


Lieberman speaking to Hagee Group, so when are the Dems going to kick him OUT....

Full Obama Jordan Press Conference, here...

Missed Evening Wrapup, here....

NBC/WSJ Poll out later today....

Obama Israel Press Conference this morning, will post video when available....

catch you guys later....

and.....



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CBS Katie Couric Interview with Barack Obama in Amman, Jordan

cbs evening news exclusive with katie couric

View Extended Versions of the interview, here

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Evening Wrap Up with Obama and a Collage of Stuff, including a Slideshow

obama and king abdullah II in jordan

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WAMU or Washington Mutual in trouble

I once worked for Washington Mutual, the mortgage portion to be precise, so it is not a surprised to see this bank being taken down by deliquent mortgages.

Washington Mutual Inc., the biggest U.S. savings and loan, reported a 3.3 billion second-quarter loss on uncollectible loans as a record number of borrowers were unable to keep up with mortgage payments.

The loss of $6.58 a share compared with net income of $830 million, or 92 cents a share, a year earlier, Seattle-based Washington Mutual said today in a statement. The company said mortgage-related losses through 2011 will be at the high end of its previous forecast of $12 billion to $19 billion.

Chief Executive Officer Kerry Killinger, 59, stripped of the chairman position last month, is facing increased pressure from investors after the stock dropped 86 percent over the past year and his peers from Citigroup Inc. and Wachovia Corp. were fired. The company, which has raised capital, cut employees and reduced the size of its home-lending business, increased provisions for loan losses 69 percent to $5.9 billion.

In the late 90s, early 00's this bank was heavy in the mortgage business. Bought out quite a few smaller banks throughout the United States, including PNC, which was a small regional bank in Illinois and opened up all these mortgage banking offices, only to end up closing them, along with many of the retail branches that WAMU opened.

Well, again as we saw IndyMac tank, keep an eye out on many of these banks. As Enron, who cooked the books for as long as they could, why not these banks? If the mortgage meltdown has taken IndyMac down, why not any other bank? Yeah, you can tell, I just don't trust them.

All of us should ask these questions. And even though FDIC is stating they don't foresee another IndyMac, who knows?

And while I am in a banking "bitchery" mood, good old Fannie and Freddie will not help any American, anytime soon.

Now we know why U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was reluctant to reveal to lawmakers last week the potential cost of the Bush administration's rescue plan for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

It's going to be a mind-popping $25 billion over fiscal 2009 and 2010, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which released its estimate of the rescue plan Tuesday morning. Let's put that in perspective: $25 billion for two financial institutions compared with $125 billion for the entire S&L industry in 1989-1991? Ouch.

But, this being Washington, there's a catch. CBO Director Peter Orszag told reporters Tuesday that the plan could also cost nothing--or as much as $100 billion.

And who is going to pay for this? You got it? Good ol' us. 'nuff said.

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hardball on obama in the middle east

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Obama got a stylish 'ride' to the Jordan airport

Yes, the King, himself drove Obama to the tarmac with security whirling around. His ride?

Barack Obama got the ultimate ride to the airport here Tuesday night, personally driven by King Abdullah in the king's Mercedes 600.

Hey, when you are the KING, you can do that.

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Again, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, is talking 2010, too

Gordon Brown today paved the way for the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq, promising a "fundamental change" of mission in the first half of 2009.

In a Commons statement, the prime minister heaped praise on the work of British soldiers and insisted the security situation in Basra had been "transformed".

"We will continue to reduce the number of British troops in Iraq," Brown said.

"Just as last year we moved from combat to 'overwatch', we would expect a further fundamental change of mission in the first months of 2009 as we make the transition to a long term bilateral partnership with Iraq, similar to the normal relationships which our military forces have with other important countries in the region."

This bolsters Obama's 16 month plan of troop withdrawal from Iraq. This is important.

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moveon.org ad "timetable"

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John McCain's Neverending War

This video is by JedReport. It is nine minutes long, but extremely informative and to the point.



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and...

Obama vows to work for Mideast breakthrough...

Obama says committed to Iraq withdrawal timetable....

Citizens United to Release Anti-Obama Documentary....

Obama Press Conference in Jordan Video Here.....

Missed the Morning Brew? Here....

this is the real military excitement for obama....h/t al rodgers....



and the slideshow....



Home Page

Obama Press Conference in Jordan (Full Video)

obama is greeted by king abdullah of jordan

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part one


part two


part three


part four


part five


part six

and the incredible pixs and video by al rodgers

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New Ad by McCain "Obama Love"

You know things are in the toilet when you have to put an ad out like this:



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Morning Brew...Obama, Iraq, Jordan, and the Media Desk Clerks....

obama meeting anbar province tribal leaders in iraq

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I caught Anderson Cooper 360 before hitting the bed last night, one of the many glorified media desk clerks.

One thing that caught my ear was the framing of Obama "supposedly" in Iraq talking negotiations. Now this came from David Gergen and agreed with by Gloria Borger. Both stating that there is one president and that he should not be doing this. When I get a clip, I will post it, but I went to bed with a "WTF", here. One thing that Barack Obama has been clear on is that he is on this expedition to "listen" and there is only one president, that is George W. Bush. Sooooooo......?????

Then we have Andrea Mitchell, NBC, who is skeptical about the images, video, etc., coming out of Iraq. Well, there is nothing that Obama can do about that, it is controlled by the DoD. Maybe because as a "journalist", that is Mitchell, Obama has given a scoop to CBS's Face the Nation and ABC's Nightline there is some chomping at the bit? Obama's press conference today in Jordan, expect the press core to attempt to eat his lunch, per se. Sorry, they have not had their "Obama fix".

Oh, and there was no room for New Yorker reporter Ryan Cilizza on the Obama plane that left Chicago to meet up with Obama today in Jordan.

Ummmm, wonder if that wonderful "New Yorker Magazine" satire cover of The Obamas had anything to do with it?

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morning joe on obama's trip, thus far

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Now NBC/MSNBC is pushing the McCain picking a VP this week story...

Citing Bob Novak, who can be out there, there sometimes, but hey this is not far off the mark. When you are the other party's candidate and got rejected by the NYT or told to rewrite your op-ed piece, sucking for free media air, maybe picking a VP pick is not a bad idea. At least the press will be talking about you??



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Obama is in Jordan

His plane has hit the tarmac.



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PM Gordon Brown, UK, pulling troops out of Iraq?

Seems like he is on the same page as Barack Obama on this 16 month pullout.

n a Commons statement, he will reiterate the Government's intention to pare down the remaining 4,000-strong force as Iraq becomes more secure.

The Prime Minister's statement comes as two senior figures in the armed forces stated that British withdrawal should now be quickened. At the weekend, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the Chief of the Defence Staff, said that British troop levels in Iraq should come down significantly in 2009.

Acknowledging that the numbers had not come down as quickly as had been hoped, and again emphasising that the forces were not structured to maintain two large operations for an extended period, Sir Jock said: "I would expect us to see further substantial progress towards a more sustainable tempo in the course of the next year."

Meanwhile Brigadier Julian Free said that the Iraqi Security Forces "are in a position now where they can maintain security almost without our help". Paying tribute to the British troops' "transformation" of the security situation, Brig Free said: "The Iraqis are keen to do more for themselves and I think they will soon be in a position when they can take over." continue

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Obamamania is full flight ahead of Europe

And all the information of the Berlin speech is on his website, here.

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obama and general petraeus in iraq

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and.....

Obama more popular among Jews than Lieberman....

Obama will visit a frequently "targeted" Israeli town.....

McCain's advisor states, 2020 is a realistic withdrawal date....damn we will be over there, what, almost 20 years????

Michelle Obama being defended, one article at a time....

Obama Trip information....

Obama, al-Maliki and McCain.....

More, Maliki Madness......

Missed Evening Wrap Up, read it here...

and Be Careful What You Wish For....

check back in later for the press conference video clip....

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Be Careful, What You Wish For......

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I don't know about you, but I thought this weekend would be nice and quiet.

We got to our fishing cabin and I plugged in and all hell had broke loose.

As, I was reading all this der Spiegel, al Maliki, Obama, Bush, McCain drama, I just could not help but think the following:

But it was McCain who teased, taunted and made speeches of Obama not going to Iraq and never been to Afghanistan...

Now, the McCain Campaign is sitting in its D.C. laden campaign offices, pounding their heads against the desk, asking themselves the only question:

WHY??? WHY DID WE CHALLENGE OBAMA??? WHY????

I have been in and out today but what I have gathered is that now the Bush White House has something called a time horizons? On the horizons?

I mean, WTF, this is nothing but a timeline, one that Barack Obama has been talking about for almost two years. So, in other words, they have decided to follow the lead. Obama.

And then McCain. I mean, staying in Iraq is his campaign? Is it? Tell me if I am wrong, but isn't this it for him?

I mean, we know that he is not the economy king, unless he is talking about his rich friends economy. We don't need to look any further, just ask Phil Gramm.

So, if he is not the economy guru, this was it for him. Right?

Poor, McCain. He got what he wished for.

He kept whining about Obama not having enough foreign policy/national security experience and now he can not even compete with this:



Poor John, you got just what you wished for....

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Evening Wrap Up...Obama, Iraq Flap-Up, McCain and Al Rodgers Pictures...

obama and senators hagel and reed in iraq

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The Iraqi Statement of US Troops out in 2010 has everyone talking.

And it should. Look, we had to deal with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's statement that he "basically" agree with the Obama timeline of 16 months out of Iraq. This was given to the German magazine, der Spiegel, who had an audio and gave it to the NYT. So, yes, there was no misspeak, misunderstanding al-Maliki said this.

Prime Minister al-Maliki is playing politics here. It is apparent that he feels that the violence has quelled in Iraq, he has gotten stronger with his post and along with this comes power.

It is obvious that the Iraqis want us out and that the al-Maliki regime is looking past the Bush White House to the "next White House". The problem for the Bush White House and McCain is what is the argument for staying in Iraq? If they are saying get out, what is the argument?

Lastly, now Bush is stating a "time horizon" for Iraq. (rolleyes, here) You mean, an actual timeline as Obama has been talking about for almost two years now? And you mean the Bush White House is now following the lead of the Democratic Nominee?

Sure, seems that way to me.



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McCain insists he was right, Obama wrong on Iraq

Republican John McCain worked on Monday to wrestle the spotlight from rival Barack Obama's tour of Iraq by insisting he was right and the Democrat was wrong about the war and releasing a new critical ad blaming higher gas prices on his opponent.

As Obama toured the war zones trailed by U.S. network TV anchors, McCain ridiculed him from afar during a visit with the first President George Bush at his summer home on the Atlantic. At the same time, the Republican contender released an eyebrow-raising new ad flatly blaming the Illinois senator for higher gasoline prices.

The Republican and Democratic presidential contenders have differed sharply over Iraq. Obama has said he would withdraw U.S. troops from combat there over 16 months while reinforcing the U.S. effort against al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan. McCain has resisted any timetable for withdrawal, insisting that victory in Iraq is a necessary precursor to success in Afghanistan.

Any withdrawal of troops from Iraq "must be based on conditions on the ground," McCain told reporters as he stood beside the 84-year-old former president.

The Arizona senator disparaged Obama as "someone who has no military experience whatsoever." continue

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obama meeting prime minister al-maliki

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John McCain was told by the New York Times to "rewrite" your op-ed

For real. No shit.

The crux of this decision is for McCain to "clarify" what winning the war is.

That is a good question, one that many of us have been asking ourselves since we invaded Iraq. For me, I want to know what McCain means by "winning the war", "coming home in honors", and what "victory" is.

See, any soldier coming home from Iraq or Afghanistan alive, not in a coffin, represents all those coined phrases above to me.

We will never win this war on terror. This has been going on since biblical times. What we can do is have different foreign policy directions and strong diplomacy to bring us all to the table and come to an agreement.

This is something that the Bush "Wild, Wild, West" White House never understood. All these decision makers, many who have resigned, resignations requested or was just straight up "fired", have put this country in a precarious position.

That is why the tune of John McCain is old, tired, and null and void to many.

We want change and it sure does not represent McCain, and the New York Times was correct to ask precise and distinct questions of McCain. Meaning? We need more than just "winning a war", "cut and run", "home with honors", we need specifics and that is what McCain surely lacks.

Read the NY Times take on this here.



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hardball's take on obama in iraq

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and....

McCain's weak and laughable ad to blame Obama for the current gas prices...

Iraqi's want us out 2010, in English....

Morning Break, here......

Rumor is, McCain will name is VP this week.....it will give him some "free media"....

Hillary donors gave 1.8M to Obama for June.......

Obama on ABC's Nightline, tonight.....

Keith and Rachel.....



And the great Al Rodgers pictures....

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New McCain Ad, Blames Obama for GAS PRICES...

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Iraqi Spokesman says IN ENGLISH, "Out by 2010"....Pictures and Video of Obama in Iraq

obama in iraq with pm nouri al-maliki

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2010?

This backs up Obama's timeline. Oy, what will Bush and McCain do?



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obama and iraq pm nouri al-maliki




in iraq with us ambassador to iraq, ryan crocker




msnbc's first read, rumor obama will pick vp before olympics start

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Morning Break...Today Show Hard on McCain....

Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah greets Obama

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meredith viera, today show

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Look down my threads and you can read the drama over the der Spiegel, German interview given by Nouri al Malaki.

New York Times got the AUDIO TAPE from der Spiegel and guess what? You got it. It again, backs up what al Malaki originally said of backing Obama's 16 month plan.

Read it here.

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Obama raises 54.2M and raised a whopping 25M in one day.

Expect Obama and the DNC to surpass the RNC anyday now.

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obama in iraq

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Obama and McCain will attend Megachurch Forum

Yes, McCain will be in church. Read it, here.

Missed yesterday's 'This Week', click here

and Andy Card tries to explain the Bush "Time Horizon", a.k.a. "Time Line" of leaving Iraq...


h/t Bob Sackamento

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McCain is confused, again

Bumbles Iraq vs. Afghanistan

Asked by ABC's Diane Sawyer Monday morning whether the "the situation in Afghanistan in precarious and urgent," McCain responded:

"I think it's serious. . . . It's a serious situation, but there's a lot of things we need to do. We have a lot of work to do and I'm afraid it's a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq/Pakistan border," said McCain, R-Ariz., said on "Good Morning America."

Iraq and Pakistan do not share a border. Afghanistan and Pakistan do.

Video, here

ok, in vacation mode, will post later today....

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This Week With 'The Presumptive Democratic Nominee' Barack Obama, July 13-19, 2008

obama with president hamid karzai at presidential palace in kabul, afghanistan

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obama in kuwait

shoutouts

Obama, one million Germans, and history by by MBNYC; Chuck Todd: GOP panicked, Maliki sticks with "timetable" by JedReport; Dead Black Man Tasered 9 Times by White Cop by by Steven D; 8,500 U.S. banks many will die soon by Stranded Wind; Barack, through a soldier's eyes two roads; Frank Rich SLAMS McCain in the NYT! by ItsJessMe; Bob Barr at NN! by Jerome a Paris; Republicans Lose 1 Million Registered Voters by lapin; Lunch with Michelle Obama by Governor Chris Gregoire; The McCain campaign declares war on "the Muslims." by Geekesque; Why The GOP Is Seriously Screwed if Obama Wins by thereisnospoon; Simple Credit Card Advice. by Lava2020; Note to media: John McCain is a disgusting misogynist by Geekesque; Imagine if Michelle Obama said this: by icebergslim; Want to see what Guantanamo torture does to a boy? by Bobs Telecaster; The HUGE McCain Blunder No One Knows About....Yet by slinkerwink; Happy 90th Birthday Nelson Mandela, Madiba by maureen; obama in afghanistan and kuwait with video and pictures by icebergslim

weekly slideshow review.....


al Maliki, Obama, der Spiegel, CENTCOM and the Truth

I wrote about all of this yesterday. I should have known better, me thinking a slow news day and can just lounge around, but it ended up with a bang and the bang is still coming.

Now we know that al Maliki favors the Obama plan of withdrawing the troops in 16 months. He stated so to the German magazine, der Spiegel. In fact, der Spiegel stands by their story and have released the full transcript. If the White House or CENTCOM continues to press and change al Maliki’s statement, I will not be surprised at either an audio or video popping up from der Spiegel. OUCH to McCain, Bush and the lame CENTCOM.

But let us look at CENTCOM. First, CENTCOM is a theater-level Unified Combatant Command unit of the U.S. armed forces, established in 1983 under the operational control of the U.S. Secretary of Defense. It was originally conceived of as the Rapid Deployment Forces.

So, why CENTCOM is used to release statements for al Maliki’s retraction is highly suspect? The so called clarification came from Dr. Ali al-Dabbagh a spokesman for the Iraqi government, via CENTCOM. You can read the statement, here. My thing is this, why is any statement from an important Iraqi spokesperson coming from CENTCOM? Does anyone think this stinks or is not right? In reading the statement it basically 'attempts' to denounces what al Maliki said, but the verbiage was weak. Next, it puts the question and suspect back on the U.S. for using their high command post to release a statement on behalf of the government of another country. Get it? Oh, Ben Smith gets it and is questioning the use of CENTCOM, along with the power of al Maliki's words. Also, Chuck Todd of MSNBC/NBC gets it and states on Meet the Press, it is significant that the Iraqi government mentioned "timetables' in its statement walking back the Der Spiegel interview. Meaning, that is the crux of the Obama argument that is not being removed from the table.

Let’s be clear here. We knew a rebuttal was going to come, it was. We also knew that it would either be hard hitting and totally discrediting der Spiegel or it was going to be weak. The rebuttal was weak. (the carpetbagger runs it down here) This makes the conclusion that al Maliki agrees with the Obama 16 month timetable and puts McCain and Bush in a very bad position. The position is to rationalize staying in Iraq when the Prime Minister of the country wants you out by a timeline of 16 months.

Lastly, Ezra Klein wraps this up perfectly for justifying the American mindset to leave Iraq and move on:

...They're massively underestimating the psychological impact of Maliki's statement. A lot of voters desperately want to leave Iraq, but feel a sense of responsibility to the Iraqi people, and they're told the Iraqi people need them, and so they reluctantly resign themselves to perpetual occupation. Maliki's comments free them of that responsibility. The political impact of this is tremendous: The long-standing moral blackmail of "we broke it, now we have to fix it" just dissipated. The Crate-and-Barrel theory is finished: The proprietors just told us to leave the store. If we don't want to be there, and the Iraqis don't want us there, what's the point?

Now the ball is in the Bush/McCain court to explain to the public why we should continue to remain in Iraq, when we are being asked nicely to leave. It is also up to the Obama Campaign to continue to pressure this point that al Maliki want us to leave and that we should honor what this government is asking us to do. Just as the Obama Campaign is asserting this assimilation of McCain with the premise that McCain is following in Obama's footsteps and not leading anything.

Is your popcorn popping, yet?

h/t for getting the story straight: VirginiaDem, karpaty lviv, DanK is Back, turneresq, MLDB, and Excelscior1. Not only did they get it right, but kept it a lively topic all of Saturday and moved it into today, Sunday. Job well done. Oh, and clammyc for comic relief!


michelle greeted by jeannie ritter, first lady of colorado

audio/video

Obama on his foreign policy experience; jibjab video; NCLR Conference Speech in San Diego; NAACP Speech in Cincinnati, OH; National Security Ad; Obama on Larry King; Obama's Security Speech in Lafayette, IN; Obama's World Tour Stops In Afghanistan, Iraq; 2nd National Security Ad; In Europe, A Fascination With Obama-McCain; Obama addresses Netroots Nation; 'It's All Politics': NPR's Weekly News Roundup; David Plouffe's Strategy Update

iraq speech, washington, dc, july 15th


icebergslim's last word: obama is big noise

I don’t care what you say or more in fact, what McCain says, Obama is “Big Noise”.

I was watching one of my favorite movies last week, Cover Girl, with Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth. The premise of the movie is about a Brooklyn girl’s quest to become NYC’s “Big Noise.” And she did.

This is Obama’s quest. If you outlined this past week it is as follows:

New Yorker’s magazine cover
Jesse Jackson’s contiuned rhetoric
Obama’s Iraq Speech
Obama’s Speech on Security and Nuclear Proliferation
Obama’s Afghanistan’s Trip
Obama in Kuwait and Afghanistan
And the Nouri al Maliki agreement with Obama’s timeline of leaving Iraq

See, the McCain Campaign is not a “Big Noise”, though they are trying to be, they just can’t quite make it.

All the above was followed with intent interest and angst by the McCain Campaign. The fear of what the international community would think of Barack Obama and how it would be received here, in the United States.

So, far so good. The al Maliki comments were a godsend to the Obama Campaign. It made the Bush White House and McCain scramble, justify why we should remain in Iraq when we are being asked to bring this to closure. The New Yorker magazine cover, which many assailed as the worst satire, butchery ever, also elevated Obama to many. It kept his name in the news and may just play on the sympathy vote for many towards Obama and against the New Yorker Magazine. The Jesse Jackson rhetoric is just more dumb Fox News noise that made more angry at Jackson and sympathetic towards Obama. And the photos and videos of Obama out of Kuwait and Afghanistan could not be more positive.

This is what McCain is up against. Sure he and his campaign are whining. They are not getting covered. Hell, McCain has been to the same countries that Obama is now touring. Guess what? They were “little noise.”

Barack Obama is being viewed worldwide as the new face of the United States. With a new face comes new policies and fresh ideas. All these foreign dignitaries, leaders want to sit down with Obama and meet him, talk with him. They have already concluded that McCain is the continuation of George W. Bush, who is hated internationally.

So, while we watch the Obama Trip, live and continuous with all the cable desk clerks harping about it, the McCain Camp continues being the “little noise”, as they rightfully are.

polls

Rasmussen SD, MN, LA, MI and IA Poll; PPP Poll Colorado; Rasmussen National Poll; WAPO/ABC National Economic/Iraq Security Poll; Quinnipiac National Poll; PPP SC Poll; SUSA NC Poll; CBS/NYT National Poll; Reuters/Zogby National Poll; California Field Poll; Rasmussen OR and KS Poll; Rasmussen NC, NV, AR Poll; SUSA Washington State Poll; Obama maintaining support amongst liberals; Rasmussen VA Poll; Pew Research Older Women; Strategic Vision NJ Poll; J Street Jewish Adults Poll; AP/Yahoo "Excitement" Poll; Rasmussen ME Poll; Daily Kos Alaska Poll

obama in kuwait and afghanistan slideshow...a candle to light the way for obama...



this is a reduced diary this week, since i am in a lazy mode, vacation mode. but had to comment on a few things like, al maliki and the incredible obama foreign trip thus far. the candle is to light the way for obama, while he is overseas. we all need light, some of us have been in the dark far too long. as always remember to focus on obama and not the drama....

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Tip the Obama Jar, Here

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Get Involved Here
For Inspiration: Yes.We.Can!!!

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icebergslim1047 (at) gmail (dot) com
cross-posted @ Daily Kos

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