Today's Campaign Chatter

Today, Obama is in Israel - He arrived yesterday 11:00 PM their time and 4:00 PM ET. Time.com has some video of his remarks upon his arrival here. Obama will be meeting with both Israel and Palestine officials. Yesterday, in his meeting with Jordon King Abdullah, the King stressed the need for evenhanded policies by the U.S. in the region as well as the need for statehood for Palestine. Time.com has more here.

--------------------

McCain tries to capture media attention - Instead embarrasses himself - again... - In an interview with CBS Katie Couric he talks about the success of the "surge' in Iraq that led to the Sunni Anbar awakening - only problem is he got it wrong - the Sunni awakening happened before the "surge". The HuffingtonPost.com has more with a video here. Ilan Goldenberg also has a good read here.

That was not enough for McCain - he also says yesterday that Obama would rather lose a war to win a election and that he, well, he would rather win a war. A low blow that will come back to haunt him.

Seems Obama is quite comfortable taking on the failed foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration.

--------------------

Obama campaign manager to meet with Democratic caucus today - This is a good sign the campaign is trying to work directly with Democrats up for reelection. David Plouffe has done an outstanding job with the Obama campaign and this is another good move. Senator Obama is expected to meet with them as well in the future. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

--------------------

Congress is considering 2nd economic stimulus bill - one part of the bill that makes sense is 15 billion proposed for infrastructure improvements in the U.S. - it would also put many to work. One concern is a national energy program with goals and objectives should be in place so this spending would compliment the program. Reuters.com has more here.

--------------------

Two more large Banks report huge losses in 2nd quarter - Wachovia Corporation reported a 8.9 billion loss and announced plan to cut more than 10,000 jobs. Washington Mutual reported 3.3 billion in losses. The New York times has a good read entitled "Two Troubled Banks Each Post Billions in losses".

--------------------

Housing bill may get House vote today - lots in this bill which President Bush had threatened to veto at one point. Now as part of a compromise, the debt ceiling will be increased by 800 billion - wow! This would give Treasury Secretary Paulson the ability to invest in troubled Banks as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Budget deficits for next year are already projected at 490 billion. So much for the Republican mantra of trusting them with your tax dollars. Politico.com has more here.