Most foreign people, leaders included, will weigh Obama on a different scale than we do in the US. Perhaps we'd be wise wo watch and see what it is that they see in him as a potential world leader.

This is why I do not watch network news. To send every anchor to follow him now that he has finally decided to go shows how one sided the press really is. It is a disgrace how much attention he will get from the networks. How many trips to Europe and Middle East that McCain made. Fair and Balance!

Why do the clintons hae to stay out of the news? They could be campaigning for Obama, McCain just called Obama's healthcare plan Hillarycare(obama did take part of her healthcare plan). It would be more than resonable for Hillary to defend her healthcare plan.

The clintons are going to be in the news more now Bill is going to campaign for Barack, I think its good he is going on this trip gives them a chance to meet our future president go obama 08

I do not understand those who are saying why Obama is getting a bigger coverage than McCain.

If you understand the meaning of the word "news" you do not need to ask.

News are something which is new and people are not aware of it.

Obama is new, not only here but to the entire world. We are all excited and eager to know everything about him.

Gallup Tracking 07/14 - 07/16 2652 RV 46 44 Obama +2.0
Rasmussen Tracking 07/14 - 07/16 3000 LV 46 46 Tie

Given the huge media coverage of Obama vs McCain, Obama's fundraising advantage and 8 yrs of an unpopular Republican president, those numbers show serious weakness in Obama's ability to move beyond his core base.

Obama is a super star, bought and paid for by the poor and the rich.

Made by a marketing team and a PR team.
How to make a presidential candidate out of nothing at all.

Obama is out to rule the world. Will his mind conditioning speeches, his hynotic mind manipulation work on foreign lands and people. Will their governments let him have that chance.

The Oscar, Emmey, Acadamey awards all go to Obama. For a performance out of this world.

THE REAL OBAMA SAID: "We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."

IS HE PROPOSING A POLICE STATE OR WHAT?

Susan: I don't think McCain should begrudge his lighter travel on overseas trips - from not knowing the difference between Sunni and Shia, to getting wrong what terrorists Iran is backing to needing Lieberman whispering in his ear to get other basic facts right, McCain has made many of the sort of "gaffes" that Obama is now trying to avoid while under the microscope. McCain is lucky he has such friendly media coverage that has not made an issue of his consistent inability to keep critical facts straight and tendency to look like a kindly grandfather more than the future leader of a nation at war.

BHO's trip: A boondoggle funded by taxpayers. Nothing more.

em: Presidents are elected by the electoral college system, otherwise President Gore would be finishing up his second term about now (and we would not be Iraq). Currently, based on the most recent state-by-state tracking polls, Senator Obama leads Senator McCain 325 electoral votes to 199 (with 14 votes, Missouri, a dead tie). That seems like a pretty convincing lead to me - if it holds until election day it will be a landslide of the sort not seen since Reagan.

jane dane: You say that "Obama would not even be able to make this trip if it were not due to success of the SURGE" yet his last trip to Iraq was well before the surge and conditions were even worse. I hate to inject facts and reality into your world, but the short term tactical success of the surge (so glad the Republicans only took 6 years to hit on the idea of listening to their generals and send more troops) has provably zero effect on Senator Obama's ability to "make this trip."

And if the Iraqi government doesn't step up - beyond demanding the US sets a timetable for their withdrawal - the surge will have failed to meet it's objective, which was clearly and publicly stated to be to provide breathing room for a reconciliation government to be established.

Obama is a junior senator from Illinois. He had a passive involvement in government to date. He's not going to pick up any credentials by taking his first trip to Iraq. This will be seen as political opportunism at best. I guarantee he will screw it up, though, and then give another speech to cover up his screw-up, and the press will say ooooooh, aaaaaaaaah.
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Ohhhhhhh,baaaaaaa,mahhhhhh -- just messin' with you, man!!

rachel,
why should hillary defend her plan, if obama now takes it? After all, it is her plan that Obama banged during the primary - that defeated her. He should be kicked out of the race for adopting all the plans of Hillary and others. And democratic party (super delegates) of all the blues states, who ditched the popular mandate to hillary should be kicked out of democratic party.

As a matter of fact, this is the very reason why dems supporters should not vote for OBAMA, since he is double toungue, has no plans except for the gift of speeches. That will teach Super Delegates some lessions for ignoring the popular choice of the blue states.

We do not want a nominee selected by red states and corrupt, idiotic super delegates.

I like the fact that a lot of people do not know how popular Obama is other than this country. He is going to do great.

Obama wants to speak at the Brandenburg Gate so he will have a BACKDROP to bolster his foreign policy credentials---you know a picture sends a thousand words. No need for skills or experience. Why is he going to Europe, did he learn French or German? Oh, they probably speak English there because it is the universal language---you know the language that Obama voted NO to make it the official language of America. I thought this was a visit to Iraq and Afghanistan to learn as much as he can to make the decisions necessary to protect America. This is a show, a spectacle with an ego to match. The American public is being driven like sheep. Usually a man or woman is known by their deeds, work, effort and the company they keep. Obama has no deeds yet, and the company he has kept over the past 20 years is a clear indication of his character --- convicted political fixer Tony Rezko, Nadhmi Auchi, William Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn, Rashid Khalidi, and Rev. Wright, Rev. Meeks, Rev. Otis, Father Pfleger, friend to Fouis Farraklan, Aiham Alsammarae and the list goes on and on.

em: He's ahead in the popular vote polls too, and has been consistently for two months. It is unlikely we'll have another president without a popular mandate (or at least a plurality, which is not that uncommon). To stay on point, I was replying to your assertion that he should be *more* ahead. His campaign is focussed on winning the election and therefore communicating and campaigning with a view to inform the people he needs to win the election. If he was elected by popular vote, he would focus on getting his policy positions out to the population centers first and you would see a different result in the national polls.

Namrep: Regarding Obama "taking Hillary's plan," you may be surprised to hear that both Senators Clinton and Obama are Democrats and, as was widely reported during the primaries, hold very similar policy positions (almost as if they were members of the same party - wow!). Their main difference was Senator Obama preached a more bipartisan approach (which makes it odd people think it's a flip-flop that he has many long-held moderate positions, such as on faith based organizations and consulting with the military on the orderly pullout from Iraq). And - don't let this blow your mind - there is even a likelyhood Senator Clinton would be tapped to serve in an Obama administration cabinet position (some wacky theories even have her in the running for VP!).

“The trip is planned to put Obama into settings often occupied by presidents, including formal meetings with foreign leaders, public speeches..."

Plus we will get over-the-top fawning, breathless coverage by the top three TV anchors as well. Sure, they will try to appear objective and fair in their reporting as they travel with the senator, but they needn't try to hide their strong support for Obama.

No wonder the mainstream news bureaus have become increasingly irrelevant.

jhw539

Of course their plans were similar, he copied them all from other candidates, including Clinton. Obama doesn't have an original idea in his head. He may have talked about "bi-partisanship", but Hillary Clinton has practised it for years. Obama is all-talk, no action. Just ask his constituents in Illinois how happy they are with their Senator. They'll vote him out of that job because then they might get someone who gives a damn about them.

Why on earth would Hillary Clinton give up her Senate seat to be in an Obama administration? If Obama becomes the nominee-he's not yet-he'll have to grow up and take responsibility for his own actions. As that's not something he's yet done in his entire life, I'm not holding my breath.