| 11:34 PM: | Canada looms large in U.S. health care debate. As U.S. politicians debate what to do about the 47 million Americans without health insurance, in the background of the discussion stands another country's health care system: Canada's single payer health system. MPR. | |
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| 9:24 PM: | Photo: John & Cindy McCain arrive in Mexico City. US Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, accompanied by his wife Cindy, arrive in Mexico City, on July 02, 2008. McCain is in Mexico for a brief visit. AFP PHOTO/Alfredo ESTRELLA AFP. | |
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| 9:22 PM: | Hostage Rescue Is Happy Coincidence for McCain in Colombia. Though the timing of an operation to free hostages in Colombia was unrelated to John McCain’s visit, the events helped the candidate highlight his foreign policy credentials. NYT. | |
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| 9:20 PM: | McCain and Obama Differ on Same-Sex Marriage Initiative. Barack Obama and John McCain are at odds over a California ballot initiative that would amend the state’s Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. NYT. | |
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| 8:30 PM: | McCain arrives in Mexico for free trade push. U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain arrived in Mexico on Wednesday to promote free trade after his visit to Colombia coincided with the daring rescue of 15 hostages from leftist rebels. Reuters. | |
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| 8:29 PM: | June Unemployment Numbers Out Thursday. The Labor Department will release last month's job figures at 8:30 am ET. Mark Halperin. | |
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| 8:28 PM: | Obama Moves to North Dakota Next. The presumptive Democratic nominee continues his swing state tour. Mark Halperin. | |
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| 4:18 PM: | Turning Obama Into A Punchline: How Democrats Can Lose. Once upon a time there was a candidate who was 17 points ahead of his foe. The election, it seemed, was his. His name was Dukakis, and he lost that election to George Bush Sr. Or, more accurately, he lost it to Lee Atwater, Rove's mentor. By the time Atwater got through with him, Dukakis wasn't even a respected politician anymore, he was a punchline. Firedoglake. | |
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| 3:55 PM: | Irresponsible Journalism Alert. So Obama's rate was 30 basis points better than the average. However, the amount of the loan and the nature of the property are not the only factors that determine a mortgage rate. Another major consideration is the creditworthiness of the borrower. FiveThirtyEight. | |
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| 3:52 PM: | McCain Buys Up Air Time in Virginia. The presumptive GOP nominee's campaign purchased minute-long spot in at least four major markets including Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke and Tri-Cities. Mark Halperin. | |
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| 3:52 PM: | McCain Denies Roughing Up A Sandinista. John McCain denied a Republican colleague's claim that he roughed up an associate of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega on a diplomatic mission in 1987, saying the allegation was "simply not true." CBS. | |
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| 3:51 PM: | Group Opposing Obama on FISA Becoming Largest on Candidate's Site. A group on Barack Obama's social networking site opposed to the Illinois senator's support for the FISA rewrite grew to 12,000 on Wednesday, making it the second largest group on the site. The group has grown exponentially in membership since being created a week ago. The Hill. | |
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| 3:50 PM: | Campaign in cartoons. Capturing the 2008 presidential campaign in cartoons. NYT. | |
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| 1:37 PM: | Gallup: Obama has no problem with Hispanic voters. The Gallup Poll today tries today, yet again, to put to rest the idea that Democrat Barack Obama has a problem with Hispanic voters. USA Today. | |
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| 1:20 PM: | Conservative Christian Leaders Agree to Rally Around McCain. About 100 leaders meeting in Denver Tuesday decided they would unite around the Arizonan despite a long held distrust for the presumptive GOP nominee. Mark Halperin. | |
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| 1:04 PM: | Terror profiling without evidence considered in U.S. The Justice Department is considering letting the FBI investigate Americans without any evidence of wrongdoing, relying instead on a terrorist profile that could single out Muslims, Arabs or other racial or ethnic groups. USA Today. | |
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| 1:03 PM: | GOP to launch TV ad blitz against Obama. Beginning this weekend, the Republican National Committee will launch a $3 million advertising blitz against Obama in the battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. MSNBC. | |
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| 1:00 PM: | Elizabeth Edwards to Headline $40M Health Care Coalition. The wife of the former presidential candidate plans to lead the group Health Care for America Now, which will push for quality, affordable universal health care. Mark Halperin. | |
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| 1:00 PM: | Analysis: Why VPs Are Important. As we await Barack Obama's and John McCain's choices for vice president, we do so with the knowledge that vice presidents in the last five administrations have been important officers of government. CBS. | |
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| 12:58 PM: | The McCain Campaign Aftershock. Steve Schmidt takes control of John McCain's scheduling and messaging operations. Was this a shake-up? A natural evolution? A scaling up? Try a combination of the three. Marc Ambinder. | |
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| 12:57 PM: | McCain Likely To Drop Regional Campaign Manager Structure. Sources close to John McCain's campaign say that Steve Schmidt has been given the authority to "completely" overhaul the campaign's political department and is likely to abandon the regional campaign manager structure that Rick Davis set up. Marc Ambinder. | |
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| 12:57 PM: | McCain denies claim that he roughed up Sandinista. John McCain denied a Republican colleague's claim that he roughed up an associate of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega on a diplomatic mission in 1987, saying the allegation was "simply not true." AP. | |
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| 12:57 PM: | RNC to run first ad of presidential campaign. An independent arm of the Republican National Committee plans to spend $3 million on an ad campaign contrasting Republican presidential candidate John McCain to rival Barack Obama on energy security. AP. | |
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| 12:56 PM: | McCain Campaign 'Has Yet to Find Its Cruising Speed' WashPost veteran questions McCain's trip to Latin America. Says it doesn't "make political sense" for the candidate– and reveals larger problems in his campaign. Mark Halperin. | |
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| 11:03 AM: | McCain taps Bush-Cheney '04 vet to run 'day to day' operations. Steve Schmidt, one of the "rapid responders" at Bush-Cheney '04 headquarters and the manager of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's successful re-election campaign in California, is taking over day-to-day operations of Republican John McCain's presidential campaign, The Politico and CNN are reporting. USA Today. | |
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| 11:01 AM: | What Happens to the Homeless During the Democratic Convention? Denver announced that it will not sweep the homeless off the streets during the Democratic National Convention. Instead, city officials plan to involve them in the political process. NPR. | |
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| 10:35 AM: | Gallup Daily: Obama 46%, McCain 44% The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking results show a tightening of the race following a brief period where Barack Obama moved into a lead over John McCain. Gallup. | |
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| 10:35 AM: | Shakeup in McCain Campaign. Steve Schmidt will take over the day-to-day operations of John McCain's presidential campaign. Washington Post. | |
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| 9:26 AM: | What the Public Hears. What the public has taken away from the back and forth between Wes Clark and John McCain: Clark: blah, blah, blah, John McCain is a war hero, blah, blah, blah. McCain: I'm a war hero, blah, blah, blah. Time. | |
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| 9:22 AM: | GOP senator: McCain roughed up a Sandinista in '87. One of John McCain's Republican colleagues says he saw the party's presumed presidential nominee roughly grab an associate of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and lift him out of his chair during a diplomatic mission to the Central American nation in 1987. USA Today. | |
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| 5:43 AM: | More Confusion. It may be small beans compared to insulting a war hero and it may not be as egregious as reversing course on guns, welfare reform, NAFTA, gay marriage, and campaign financing. But Barack Obama also zig-zagged within the course of a day on the subject of support for faith-based organizations. Commentary. | |
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| 4:54 AM: | Poll: Terrorism fears are fading. As Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama battle over who has the best approach to national security, a new CNN poll finds Americans' concerns about terrorism have hit an all-time low for the post-September 11 era. CNN. | |
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| 4:51 AM: | McCain: Obama's word cannot be trusted. Hours after sparring with Barack Obama over immigration, John McCain told crowd at fundraiser Saturday night that "Sen. Obama's word cannot be trusted." CNN. | |
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| 4:46 AM: | The Case for Mitt Romney. No one in either primary field boasts similar economic bona fides. Romney made millions during his time as the head of Bain Capital, and his most effective moments during the primary season came when he insisted his experience in the private sector had taught him "why jobs come....[and] why they go." Washington Post. | |
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| 4:28 AM: | Poll: Obama beats McCain as barbecue guest. People would rather barbecue burgers with Barack Obama than with John McCain. AP. | |
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| 2:50 AM: | Cindy's fortune: An asset and a liability. Having established precedent for increased scrutiny of spousal finances, the GOP now finds its own presumptive nominee under the spotlight. Politico. | |
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| 2:16 AM: | US politicians find ways to play on racial fears. A Republican congressional candidate in a majority-white Mississippi district runs ads trying to tie his Democratic rival with Barack Obama's former pastor, seen by some as an anti-white firebrand. AP. | |
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| 2:14 AM: | California mayor takes step toward governor's race. Mayor Gavin Newsom has taken his first public step toward seeking higher office, filing papers to form an exploratory committee for a potential gubernatorial bid in 2010. AP. | |
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| 2:13 AM: | NRA to target Obama in ad blitz. The National Rifle Association will unveil a $15 million ad campaign against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama this fall over his record on gun control. CNN. | |
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| 2:13 AM: | The three geographies. We believe Americans' political perspective — if not their final voting behavior — is largely shaped not so much by their state but, rather, by the type of place they reside in. Defining an area are factors such as how many people are homeowners, take transit and have children living at home, as well as the preponderance of middle-class households and the extent of economic and racial diversity. Politico. | |
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| 2:12 AM: | Limbaugh Calls McCain 'The Team You Hate Less' Profile of radio titan Rush Limbaugh and his role in GOP politics fronts Sunday's New York Times magazine. On McCain: 'If your team isn't in it, you root for the team you hate less. That's McCain.' Mark Halperin. | |
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