Elections - Politico

Addressing more than 200,000 elated Europeans massed in Berlin at twilight, presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama  promised Thursday that he would work to unite Christians, Muslims and Jews in a safer, more united world.

JERUSALEM — Barack Obama made a visit early Thursday morning to one of the most sacred spots in Jerusalem, the section of the western supporting wall of the Temple Mount. But the solemn moment was interrupted by a lone heckler.

Republicans have no lack of would-be George F. Wills.

When Erick Erickson, editor in chief of the conservative Web site RedState.com, wrote a post that called Cindy Sheehan a “left-wing media whore,” he expected angry feedback.   He didn’t, though, expect commenters at Daily Kos to post his contact information, including his work phone number.

A landmark housing bill heads to the House floor after winning President Bush’s support Wednesday despite Republican complaints over billions added by Democrats to assist low-income families and communities facing large foreclosures.

JERUSALEM — Barack Obama doesn’t travel light.

A House Republican will circulate a letter among his colleagues on Wednesday asking the New York Times whether a third-party group can take out a full-page advertisement in the paper to run a previously rejected editorial by their presidential candidate, Arizona Sen. John McCain, according to people familiar with the decision.

Christoph von Marschall, the Washington bureau chief of the Berlin-based newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, wrote in Sunday’s Washington Post about the “dirty little secret” of the Obama campaign: snubbing the foreign press.

Trying to avoid being portrayed as a whiney spoilsport, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) broke with his advisers Tuesday and told Katie Couric of CBS News that news coverage of the presidential campaign has been fair and even “fun to watch.” 

Democrats in Congress are actively considering a plan to use a pending housing bill to deal with Washington’s own mortgage problem: the federal debt ceiling. 

John McCain, resigned to what an adviser memorably called “table scraps” of news coverage this week, has blasted a fundraising e-mail to supporters arguing that the press has “a bizarre fascination with Barack Obama.”

AMMAN, Jordan – Democrat Barack Obama’s entire traveling campaign apparatus is in place. He will speak Thursday at an historic site in Berlin that could draw tens of thousands of spectators. And chief campaign strategist David Axelrod might even assemble film crews to gather footage of it, possibly for a TV commercial.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said “Iraq” on Monday when he apparently meant “Afghanistan”, adding to a string of mixed-up word choices that is giving ammunition to the opposition. 

AMMAN, Jordan – A day after Iraqi leaders agreed to the idea of removing U.S. troops from the country by 2010, Democrat Barack Obama will discuss the Iraq war and the Middle East peace process with Jordan’s King Abdullah II during their meeting Tuesday at the royal palace, the senator’s senior foreign policy adviser said Monday.

AMMAN, Jordan—An Obama campaign ban on green clothing during the candidate’s visits to Israel and Jordan has created wide puzzlement among observers of the Middle East.

After locking up his party’s presidential nomination, Barack Obama’s fundraising operation came roaring back to life in June, generating more than a million dollars in five days and more than $21 million from small donors.

It may not sway many voters, but on Friday, as Barack Obama embarked on an extended trip abroad intended in large part to relieve concerns about his commander in chief bona fides, the terms of debate on Iraq began a dramatic shift that appears to favor his candidacy.

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.

Barack Obama left Afghanistan on Sunday and made a second unannounced stop in Kuwait, Arab media reported.

Barack Obama will appear this week before the American public in a new role: as an American abroad.

A good surrogate is hard to find. Just recall Bill Clinton’s “fairy tale,” Samantha Power’s “monster” and Phil Gramm’s “nation of whiners.”

While the European leg of Barack Obama’s much-touted overseas trip will take him to nations where he’s vastly more popular than John McCain, Obama is not nearly as well-liked in Israel. Polls there show Israelis prefer John McCain by as much as 20 percentage points.

If you’ve read enough profiles of Barack Obama, chances are you’re familiar with the name Kirk Dillard. An accomplished and articulate legislator who served with Obama in the Illinois state Senate, he is frequently called on by the national media to shed light on the presumptive Democratic nominee’s early days in politics.

The Treasury Department and top Democrats took an upbeat tone after meetings Thursday to ease lawmakers’ concerns over an ambitious plan to boost investor confidence in the troubled mortgage finance giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. 

That nervous laughter you hear is the sound of party activists responding to speculation that Barack Obama or John McCain might pick a vice presidential candidate from the opposing party.

Former White House press secretary Tony Snow was remembered Thursday for "love given and love received," at what amounted to a state funeral, complete with remarks from President Bush.

Americans are deeply worried about their economic prospects and they want government to invest in expanding economic opportunity and assisting those in need, according to a new poll released today.