Elections

An Israeli newspaper publishes a prayer left by presidential contender Barack Obama in the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site. The decision to reveal the note is being criticized by the rabbi in charge of the Western Wall. (July 25)

PARIS - An aide to Sen. Barack Obama said Friday the Democratic presidential contender believed he could visit wounded troops at a military hospital in Germany without involving them in a campaign controversy and scrapped his plans after the Pentagon raised concerns.

As Barack Obama’s overseas tour continues to prompt swoons of European delight — more than 200,000 came out to see him speak in Berlin Thursday — Friday’s stop in France seemed likely to provoke more than simple adoration as it's digested by the French public.

DENVER - Republican presidential candidate John McCain, ridiculing Barack Obama for "the audacity of hopelessness" in his policies on Iraq, said Friday that the entire Middle East could have plunged into war had U.S. troops been withdrawn as his rival advocated.

WASHINGTON - There's something familiar about this stage of the presidential campaign. A candidate running on inevitability. A candidate running on experience. A candidate complaining about a rival's media coverage.

Uncertain economic times have returned Americans to a pre-Sept. 11mind-set, according to recent polling, placing John McCain at a disadvantage on pocketbook issues reminiscent of the failed reelection campaigns of Presidents George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter.

Blog: McCain's slip this evening -- he used the word "timetable" twice, and seemed to embrace the notion, before (sort of) correcting himself --

Blog: Obama has his semi-endorsement...

The new poll by Quinnipiac University now shows Obama with just a two point lead over McCain 46 to 44 percent, Pat Kessler reports (3:23)

LONDON - Presidential contender Barack Obama is meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on the last leg of his European and Middle Eastern tour.

DENVER (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain slammed Democratic rival Barack Obama on Friday for poor judgment on the Iraq war, laying out in sharp terms his argument the Illinois senator should not be commander in chief.

ASPEN, Colo. (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain urged China on Friday to address human rights concerns and free Tibetan prisoners after he met with the Dalai Lama in Colorado.

MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin Democrats on Friday ousted a delegate to their national convention for saying she would vote for Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain in November.

Obama says Iran should accept EU nuclear proposal and not wait for next US president ... McCain mocks Obama policy for Iraq as 'audacity of hopelessness' that could have lost the war ... German leader's office praises Obama speech as 'positive signal' to Europe ... Secret Service needs $9.5 million more to protect presidential candidates

PEORIA, Ill. - President Bush spent a second day this week traveling to raise money for Republicans, all out of public view.

PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama dropped a plan to visit wounded U.S. troops in Germany on Friday amid concerns the stop would be viewed as a political event.

JERUSALEM - 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.

BOSTON - The man giving John Kerry his first Democratic primary fight since his election to the Senate more than 20 years ago proposed a series of debates Friday.

BERLIN - Barack Obama's speech to a huge Berlin crowd sent a "positive signal" to Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said Friday, praising the Democratic presidential candidate's focus on working with U.S. partners.

LONDON - Barack Obama's campaign has received roughly 10 times more money from declared U.S. donors living in Germany, France and Britain than his Republican rival, reflecting his popularity in Europe as he makes his first tour of the continent as the presumed Democratic nominee.

WASHINGTON - Thomas Nast's political caricatures in the early 1870s so bedeviled New York City's corrupt Boss Tweed that he once bellowed: "Stop them damn pictures! I don't care what the papers write about me. My constituents can't read. But, damn it, they can see pictures."

PHOENIX - It's a political oddity: a TV commercial extolling the public safety record of a sitting mayor, except the spot isn't soliciting votes and the politician's name isn't scheduled to appear on the November ballot.

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama wants to sound like the voice of reason on U.S. foreign policy — the guy who would abandon Bush administration policies he sees as shortsighted, self-defeating or just plain wrong. Problem is, George Bush keeps beating him to it.

WASHINGTON - President Bush pulled the rug out from under Republicans this week when he abruptly dropped his opposition to a massive housing rescue.

WASHINGTON - The Secret Service has asked for an extra $9.5 million to cover unexpected costs of protecting the presidential candidates during what has turned into an historic year for the agency's campaign security job.

JERUSALEM - Both Israelis and Palestinians came away from Barack Obama's visit to the Holy Land with the feeling he would do more for Mideast peace than President Bush has. But neither side seemed fully convinced that Obama would have their interests at heart.

PERTH, Australia - If Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is worried that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is complicating the Bush administration's foreign policy with freelance campaign diplomacy, she isn't showing it.

Calculated political ploy. Timely foreign outreach. A dash of each? Ask voters across the country about Barack Obama's image-packed week of foreign travel and you'll get a mix of admiration, suspicion, even a couple of bored shrugs.

July 25 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, addressing a cheering crowd of 200,000 in Berlin, called for renewed worldwide cooperation to combat terrorism, global warming and poverty, implicitly criticizing the Bush administration for unilateralism.