US Politics News

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 and that he would be barred from bringing along campaign staff and reporters. He also said that Cindy McCain recently requested to visit sailors aboard the U.S.N.S. Comfort and was denied.

"Sen. Obama is welcome to visit Landstuhl or any military hospital in his official capacity as a United States senator," Morrell said in a brief interview. "But there is a DoD policy which governs campaigning and electioneering at military facilities that would have to be respected if he were to visit. That distinction was relayed and made clear to campaign, and they made a decision on their own based on that guidance."

Obama woos Europeans despite vagueness on the issues; McCain catching up in battleground states.

Keeping up with John McCain's foreign policy gaffes is becoming a cottage industry these days, and a progressive radio host has caught another slip-up from the Republican presidential nominee talking about the war on terror.

Heck, I don't know if they are brainwashing troops overseas, who, according to reports from the field during Barack Obama's tour of the Middle East and Europe, constantly have Faux News on, but it's sure suspicious that they seem to be the only news channel over there.

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 from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness.

The Child was blessed in looks and intellect. Scion of a simple family, offspring of a miraculous union, grandson of a typical white person and an African peasant. And yea, as he grew, the Child walked in the path of righteousness, with only the occasional detour into the odd weed and a little blow.

The House Judiciary Committee has released a witness list for its hearing to examine "the imperial presidency" of George W. Bush.

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's advice to reporters who don't get his energy agenda: Check your hearing.

Reid, D-Nev., may look like a mild-mannered man, but when he's backed into a corner, this former boxer comes out swinging. On Thursday, the object of his ire was the Fourth Estate as he lashed at reporters quizzing him over stalled Democratic energy proposals.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department in 2002 told the CIA that its interrogators would be safe from prosecution for violations of anti-torture laws if they believed "in good faith" that harsh techniques used to break prisoners' will would not cause "prolonged mental harm."

That heavily censored memo, released Thursday, approved the CIA's harsh interrogation techniques method by method, but warned that if the circumstances changed, interrogators could be running afoul of anti-torture laws.

The House voted Thursday to triple money to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis around the world, giving new life and new punch to a program credited with saving or prolonging millions of lives in Africa ...

While Dick Cheney and Cheney's chief-of-staff David Addington have asserted that the vice-president’s office is a separate entity that is "attached" to the legislative branch, Attorney General Michael Mukasey begs to differ.

This is the moment when we must give hope to those left behind in a globalized world

I know that I don't look like the Americans who've previously spoken in this great city. The journey that led me here is improbable. My mother was born in the heartland of America, but my father grew up herding goats in Kenya. His father -- my grandfather -- was a cook, a domestic servant to the British.

In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help make it right, has become all too common. In America, there are voices that deride and deny the importance of Europe's role in our security and our future. Both views miss the truth -- that Europeans today are bearing new burdens and taking more responsibility in critical parts of the world; and that just as American bases built in the last century still help to defend the security of this continent, so does our country still sacrifice greatly for freedom around the globe.

Senators Barack Obama and John McCain disagree over tax policies and on the role of the government in reviving the U.S. economy.

In January 2007, America's adventure in Iraq seemed like a chaotic failure. The country was riven with sectarian violence, and al-Qaeda in Iraq had gained a foothold in western Anbar province. Attacks on U.S. troops were running well over 1,000 a week, and Iraqi civilians were dying at a rate of more than 3,000 a month.

In that context, President Bush's announcement that month that he planned to "surge" more than 20,000 extra U.S. troops into Iraq felt to many critics, including Sen. Barack Obama, like doubling down on failure.

An analysis of federal records shows that the amount of money journalists contributed so far this election cycle favors Democrats by a 15:1 ratio over Republicans, with $225,563 going to Democrats, only $16,298 to Republicans .

Two-hundred thirty-five journalists donated to Democrats, just 20 gave to Republicans — a margin greater than 10-to-1. An even greater disparity, 20-to-1, exists between the number of journalists who donated to Barack Obama and John McCain.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) says the chances of the Democrats boosting their majority from 51 to 60 senators is slim, but he said he had similar doubts before the Democrats took a majority in the chamber in the 2006 elections, according to Roll Call.

The chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is confident the party's majority will grow next year, and he said a nine-seat pickup in November is not out of the question.

A financial disclosure shows that Colorado's Democratic senatorial candidate Mark Udall could profit from the energy policies he is promoting in his campaign.

Clark then focused more specifically on rebutting Scheunemann's remarks, emphasizing that if Obama becomes president, "as the commander-in-chief, he does not have to take the advice of the commander on the ground."

"As a general, you don't necessarily say, 'You have to listen to me,'" Abrams suggested.

It's not just the fact that Robert Novak made this statement that's interesting, it's that he made it on Fox News. What, no censorship over potentially embarrassing McCain news, Mr. Murdoch?

Did he really find support for his withdrawal plan?

Or is it drawdown?

THE INITIAL MEDIA coverage of Barack Obama's visit to Iraq suggested that the Democratic candidate found agreement with his plan to withdraw all U.S. combat forces on a 16-month timetable. So it seems worthwhile to point out that, by Mr. Obama's own account, neither U.S. commanders nor Iraq's principal political leaders actually support his strategy.

As you know, Barack Obama is still trotting across the globe, sinking three pointers, ignoring military counsel and healing the occasional leper. Amidst all the hullabaloo, these Obama comments regarding Israel and terrorism have been sadly overlooked:

“Um, let me be absolutely clear. Israel is a strong friend of Israel’s.”

Hah! Truly eloquent, and still more evidence of what Marc Ambinder refers to as Obama’s “talented, incredible gift of a mind.” But that comment hasn’t been overlooked, and really isn’t important. But these comments have been overlooked and are a lot more important than the typical Obama gaffe: