Photos of Obama in Iraq

geecee; It's the people behind Obama that are pulling the media strings, that's the part of power that concerns me. Shouldn't we know equal info on candidates involved? We are getting info under control by the same type of forces that did it for Bush. By the way, the only contiuous negative coverage Obama ever really receives is on Fox. Even the Rev. Wright issue was driven into the ground by other cable news analyzing it over and over while DEFENDING Obama.

Why does the Messiah need a teleprompter to make sense? His interviews are comical, and when I say comical, I mean "completely incoherent babble".

We've got to be the dumbest people in the world to put up two candidates like we have now. Chicago politician/socialist who is the emptiest suit around and Grandpa, who failed miserably in his attempts at the presidency the past 12 yrs.

"nothing can compensate for his vote for the FISA bill"

Senator Badass just said at a press conference about what the relationship with Israel would be like under his administration that, "Israel is a strong friend of Israel" and will be whether he or McCain is elected. (Via Ace of Spades HQ.)

I guess his Alzheimer's meds haven't kicked in yet. Can't the Dems find someone younger to run?

Good Lord! First Obama gets raked over the coals for NOT having been in Iraq/Afghanistan, now he's getting raked over the coals FOR going. As if this is any different than McCain's (in)famous market visit. It's any senators/representatives prerogative to visit these countries, esp. given the billions of taxpayer dollars being funneled into each.

As for the sunglasses - again - give me a break - they're sunglasses. It looks like it was pretty bright out to me...

You people are nuts.

@dl: "len read something will you."

dl, understand what you read. Obama isn't even the nominee of his party. To take a government sponsored campaign trip and pretend to be President is the height of arrogance. He just managed to undo years of progress.

As for events in Afghanistan, you really should read the assessments by the people who were there instead of the propaganda of the Taliban for Obama Committee. The failure to rebuild after the war was the reason for the rise of the Taliban. The country was left in ruins. It was America's responsibility to clean-up. Instead we signed a Contract With America and spent the rest of the time trying to chase a sitting President out of office.

Imbeciles can't make foreign policy no matter how smooth they are or bad-ass in dark glasses.

Senator Bad-ass for sure. Obama is going to be such a cool president. It's time.

I suppose that it's a positive thing for Senator Obama to travel to Afghanistan and Iraq, and he clearly has his act together, but nothing can compensate for his vote for the FISA bill. That was a monumental capitulation and calculation that I cannot forgive him. Naturally, I would not vote for McCain, either.

In any case, the success of this trip and McCain's lack of intelligent policies on any subject strongly suggest that Obama will be our next president. I'll vote for his reelection if he reverses all the government's illegal spying programs.

Thanks Mr. Tapper for the photos.

You ought to send them to the RNC. Apparently, the clock on their website shows they still don't believe Obama has visited Iraq...

Obama is wearing sunglasses to hide his lyin' eyes! Or could be - he is afraid of heights and it doesn't look so scary through dark glasses! Or could be he doesn't want to see things clearly and so run the risk of changing his mind on Iraq - again! lol! He looks like a kid playing war - a great Dukakis moment!

How can people claim that the MSM is in the tank for OBAMA when they raked him over the coals for Rev. Wright, his "bitter" comment, his "refining" of his foreign policies and his wife's first time being really proud of her country??

There was no reporting about Clinton's travelgate or Peter Paul fundraiser and ensuing law suit or her election law contribution violations for which she was fined.

There has been no reporting of McCain's insistence on withdrawal of the troops from Somalia in 1993 when the enemy they were fighting was Al Quaeda; Cindy McCain's criminal wrongdoing (imagine Michell Obama had this in her past!); John McCain's values considering he left his first wife who was disfigured in a car accident for his 18 year younger mistress! (what would they say if Obama had done such a thing!)

The MSM is not more favourable to Barack or else 12% of the people polled would not believe that he is Muslim!!

I would agree that Obama gets MORE coverage but MORE is not necessarily a benefit when that coverage includes endless loops of Rev. Wright sound bites.

With 300 advisors Obama won't have to do anything except come out and give a scripted speech based on their decisions.

And pose for pictures of course.

and Len

McCain has been giving the same speeches he gave before Iraq about Iran now.

so I don't see too much negotiation coming out of his path.

In fact he still is sabre rattling today.

He has made things worse and Bush should tell Mccain maybe HE should shut-up.

I can't believe I would want Bush to tell anybody anything but Mccain makes Bush look like a harvard grad to his missile riding beach boy singing cowboy.

Len

duh

do you see what the surge is?

it is a page out of how we dealt with afghanistan back in 80's (mcCain's prime)

when we gave money and guns to "insurgent types" to fight against our enemy...

guess what happened

we got Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban...an al-Zawaree.

This is bad policy.

and when they grew stronger with the money and guns...al qaeda was created and formed and strengthended because it wqas built on the fatwa they had stated at the time about "occupying nations on Muslim lands"... that is the fatwa that al qaeda made it's biggest growth out of when muslim from all different tribes and differences backed them fighting the attempted occupation of afghanistan by Russia...sound familiar?

have you read that al qaeda (by several terrorist experts) realized that they could not let the fighting continue with their involvement in Iraq because they were getting blamed. they need the focus of anger to be on the US and it's "occupation" so they can gather recruits and good will... the fighting between the two tribes was not helping them.

did you also know that Iran says al qaeda is helping the US and al zawarhee says that Iran should be blamed for helping the us.

that McCain stated that Iran was working to have al qaeda do better...when they do not like each other.

that alqaeda has promised a fatwa on destroying the US...Iran has not.

without Iran's help we could not have dealt with afghanistan.

len read something will you.

McCain is an old screwy cold war guy who doesn't have the politics and diplomacy of the Muslim tribes figured out... his foreign policy is wrong.

and Bush is stuck between the bull headed stupidity and John McCauins continuous drumbeat of war and figuring out that their policy toward iran doesn't work.

Robert gallup has his lead growing...and the bounce that people like Clinton got happened at the convention.

that's why they mean very little until the conventions.

but as you can see things like the 5 or 4 to 1 (depending on if you include Russia) that our allies pick obama over Mccain

that speaks a lot to how effective they will be on the world stage when we need to ask these countries to work with us.

Looking good, Obama (and Petraeus). Please hurry back to us. The other candidate is embarrassing us, talking about non-existent borders. Don't ever leave us alone with him again! He may accidentally trip a nuke.... or even worse appear on Jepoardy.

" Gallup and Rasmussen polls show a very close presidential race. This is hard to explain given Obama's huge money lead, media exposure, and the damaged Republican brand name. I just don't get it."

Don't you think it might be due to the fact that the candidate has such a pathetic record?
His political career has been entirely devoted to running for higher office.

He is simply a political P.T. Barnum and the mania he seems to generate in so many shows the truth in Barnum's maxim. There's a sucker born every minute.

This is really good stuff. I mean, after using a tele-prompter Obama's 2nd best skill is posing for photo-opps. Call me a cynic - or whatever you want - but I half-believe he'd spend more time in his term doing this kind of stuff than getting anything done. "Yeah, I've been to Iraq and Afghanistan...etc." Big deal.

Guess what - true leaders and influential people don't need a title and mantle to get things done. If you want my vote, show you can actually do something. Stop globe-trotting and sit down with US enemies while you're there. Show why your opinions would produce results. After all, we have no track record to judge you by.

@dl: "thus the reason we see the slow creep of foreign policy toward Obama's plans."

Actually (and you know this but are ashamed to admit it), you are seeing the success of the McCain sponsored surge that Obama opposed then nervously scrubbed from his web site. As we can free up brigades, we will move them to the hot zones. Anyone knows this is how that will work. It isn't Obama's plan. It is military expediency that his campaign gloms onto then tries to take credit for. It's sleezy.

Also note that the talks with Iran produced nothing substantive. As expected, they deflected and now we are having to assume an even tougher posture.

Because no one wants a nuclear blow out where we have to obliterate Persia, in the end everyone will negotiate.

All predictable so again, Obama makes the predictions that are safe then tries to get credit. If he had ever been serious about national security or foreign affairs he would have done his job in the Senate instead of running after photo-ops and leaving his committee to founder.

Yes, of course, the media did all the campaigning so that they may be blessed with photo ops of their "Pretty Boy". He does look cute with the glasses on, but I won't know how lovely he is deep down until he makes Hillary his VP. Until then, unlike the media, I am not motivated by the superficial stuff.