Earlier today, after Barack Obama's speech in Berlin, the McCain campaign issued a this petty press release:

While Barack Obama took a premature victory lap in the heart of Berlin, proclaiming himself a citizen of the world, John McCain continued to make his case to the American citizens who will decide this election. Barack Obama offered eloquent praise for this country, but the contrast is clear. John McCain has dedicated his life to serving and protecting America, Barack Obama spent an afternoon talking about.

Yes, how dare a presidential candidate speak to the world about his ability to govern as president. And as a matter of fact, here's John McCain thoughts on this very subject before his trip to Latin America earlier this month:

Going to Latin America in the midst of a presidential campaign, he said, speaks less to his role as a senator than to what he's hoping to achieve if elected this fall. "It's more my ability to govern as president," he said, "my ability to lead as president, to keep up with these major issues."

Did he forget that he said that, or is John McCain that much of a hypocrite?

Here is the McCain campaign's response to today's speech by Barack Obama in Berlin, Germany.

While Barack Obama took a premature victory lap in the heart of Berlin, proclaiming himself a citizen of the world, John McCain continued to make his case to the American citizens who will decide this election. Barack Obama offered eloquent praise for this country, but the contrast is clear. John McCain has dedicated his life to serving and protecting America, Barack Obama spent an afternoon talking about.

Can McCain get any more petty and childish than he has been for the past week?

A final wrap-up.

These are the aspirations that joined the fates of all nations in this city. These aspirations are bigger than anything that drives us apart. It is because of these aspirations that the airlift began. It is because of these aspirations that all free people – everywhere – became citizens of Berlin. It is in pursuit of these aspirations that a new generation – our generation – must make our mark on the world.  

People of Berlin – and people of the world – the scale of our challenge is great.  The road ahead will be long. But I come before you to say that we are heirs to a struggle for freedom. We are a people of improbable hope.  With an eye toward the future, with resolve in our hearts, let us remember this history, and answer our destiny, and remake the world once again.

So history reminds us, that walls can be torn down, but the task is never easy. True partnership and true progress requires constant work and sustained sacrifice. They require sharing the burdens of development and diplomacy, of peace and progress. They require allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and most of all, trust each other.

And the speech has started.

Although tonight I speak to not as a candidate, but as a citizen. A proud citizen of the United States and a fellow citizen of the world.

Watch the livestream here.

Update: Some images:

Barack Obama's speech at Berlin's Tiergarten Park in front of the 226-foot high Victory Column is scheduled to begin at 1:00. A crowd of 100,000 to 1,000,000 is expected...and kudos to whoever went out on a limb on the estimate. Enjoy!

Watch the livestream here.

Responding to criticism for their unprofessional and unethical editing of a Katie Couric interview with John McCain, CBS News Senior Vice President Paul Friedman said:

The report was edited under extreme time constraints and one piece of tape was put in the wrong order. Fortunately, this did not in any way distort what Senator McCain was saying.

Clearly, Mr. Friedman is either stupid or a liar. Roll the tape:

Perhaps Mr. Friedman can explain how replacing McCain's incorrect claim about when the "Anbar Awakening" began and his mocking of Obama for not knowing this "matter of history," with a contemptible attack on Obama's patriotism didn't distort what McCain said.

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Karl Rove says that John McCain and Barack Obama are both flip-floppers, but when McCain does it he has a good and principled reason. And it's gutsy.

Richard Allen compares Barack Obama's foreign policy experience with that of past presidents and explains why Ronald Reagan's thin resume didn't matter:

One of Reagan's most important advantages by 1980 was the widespread notion that he was but "a B-grade movie actor" -- entirely scripted. In fact, he was a voracious reader, researcher and writer, and over the span of his career had publicly addressed practically every foreign and domestic public policy issue a president would confront.

Todd Domke is afraid that Mitt Romney will buy himself the VP slot and that this would be bad because he is too pretty, too rich, too white, and besides, Democrats might call him a Mormon as payback for the "Obama is a Muslim" claims.

Donald Lambro lauds John McCain's many trips to Iraq and Afghanistan in one paragraph and says it's "a little pathetic" to think that Barack Obama's trip to Iraq and Afghanistan has any meaning in the next.

Douglas MacKinnon says that the media is unethical, liberal, in the tank for Barack Obama, and that:

The main complaint of this editor was the liberal "monolithic-thought" that permeated management at the top newspapers in the country. "Oh, sure," he stressed. "They will let the occasional conservative on the page, but a conservative will never be hired."

MacKinnon makes his complaint on the pages of the Washington Times. More later on Mr. MacKinnon's take on the advantages of being a black in America.

Jamie Barnett, the former deputy commander of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, takes on "don't ask, don't tell."

It is up to Congress and the president to craft policy on gay men and lesbians serving in the military, but it is the responsibility of senior military commanders to advise our nation's leaders on how law and policy affect military readiness. I raised this issue in 2003 when a task force I served on worked on the Navy's diversity strategy. Senior leaders must state plainly how "don't ask, don't tell" affects recruiting, retention and our ability to develop essential military skills. They should speak up about how it affects military honor and integrity. It is our duty, something military leaders understand well, to speak openly of how "don't ask, don't tell" injures our military and weakens our preparedness.

Following yesterday's monumental screw-up by John McCain, proving once again that he either doesn't understand or has forgotten key elements about this war, McCain's campaign has responded to questions about his claim that the surge made the "Anbar Awakening" possible:

Democrats can debate whether the awakening would have survived without the surge ... but that is nothing more than a transparent effort to minimize the role of our commanders and our troops in defeating the enemy, because to credit them would be to disparage the judgment of Barack Obama and praise the leadership of John McCain.

Wrong. That is not the debate. That's a cheap strawman by the McCain campaign, has no basis in reality, and has nothing to do with what John McCain said yesterday.  

Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening. I mean, that's just a matter of history.

Portraying questions about that statement as a cricicism of McCain and the troops is nearly as contemptible as McCain's recent claims that Obama "would rather lose a war than lose a campaign." The debate, the question, is, was John McCain unaware that the "Anbar Awakening" began in 2006, did he forget, or was he lying for political gain?

McCain's campaign has been complaining endlessly about the lack of media coverage they're receiving. Well, here's a chance for the media to give McCain what he's been asking for...and a chance for them to do their job.  

John McCain today:

My friends, we have to drill off shore. We have to do it. It's out there and we can do it. And we can do that. The oil executives say within a couple of years we could be seeing results from it. So why not do it?

Well, if McCain's buddies from the oil companies say it, it must be true, right? After all, they wouldn't have any self-serving interest like those crazy energy experts who say:

...it's at least a five to seven year process before new drillling could begin — and that could be optimistic. The industry already is in a frenetic push to find more sources of hydrocarbons and faces severe shortages of rigs and other equipment and workers.

And really, it's good to know that when John McCain needs an honest answer to a tough question, he goes straight to the source...his big money donors.

John McCain has often said that he would run a respectful campaign, but he never said anything about running an honest one. His latest ad:

"Gas prices — $4, $5, no end in sight, because some in Washington are still saying no to drilling in America. No to independence from foreign oil. Who can you thank for rising prices at the pump?"

A photograph of Obama appears on the stage as a voiceover of a crowd chants: "Obama, Obama, Obama!"

Really? Did John McCain forget what he said two weeks ago?

Let me give you a little straight talk on energy. Our dangerous dependence on foreign oil has been thirty years in the making, not yesterday, thirty years.

Did he forget what he said two months ago?

"With those resources, which would take years to develop, you would only postpone or temporarily relieve our dependency on fossil fuels," McCain said when asked about offshore drilling.

Did he forget that his own campaign said:

...allowing new offshore drilling would have no immediate impact on supplies or gas prices.

Did he forget all that or is he just lying?

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Bret Stephens thinks it’s absurd for John F. Kennedy to propose putting a man on the moon within 10 years...check that...he thinks it’s absurd for Al Gore to propose "ending our reliance on carbon-based fuels" within 10 years.

Richard Cohen doesn't like tattoos so he decided the opinion page of the Washington Post was a good place to talk about it. Which says a lot about the state of the Washington Post's opinion page.

Michael Barone compares the current presidential campaign to 1976 and has some advice for the McCain campaign; risk the wrath of the media, go against public opinion and "fill in the blanks" about Barack Obama. One assumes Barone doesn’t mean Obama’s compelling life story. Oh, and a catchy song might help.

Stuart Koehl believes that not only is John McCain the only candidate with character, but is the only "real man" in the race...because he was a POW.

Eugene Robinson on George Bush’s "time horizon":

If Bush were known for exquisite subtlety in his use of the language, I'd note that a horizon is, by definition, a line that can never be reached. But pigs will streak across the sky at Mach 2 before this president displays a diabolical mastery of semantics. His new "time horizon" formulation is just smoke, intended to obfuscate and stall. In six months, Iraq becomes somebody else's problem.

William McGurn says the press is being unfair to David "What Constitution?" Addington because he’s not getting sympathetic press like the Guantanamo detainee who has been held for six years (since he was 15 years old) without trial, and was allegedly tortured. Damn librul media.

Bob Herbert looks at "The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals," by the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer. While the focus of the book is on the shredding of the Constitution during the Bush administration, this should give every American pause:

After reviewing 517 of the Guantánamo detainees’ cases in depth," she said, "they concluded that only 8 percent were alleged to have associated with Al Qaeda. Fifty-five percent were not alleged to have engaged in any hostile act against the United States at all, and the remainder were charged with dubious wrongdoing, including having tried to flee U.S. bombs. The overwhelming majority — all but 5 percent — had been captured by non-U.S. players, many of whom were bounty hunters.

John McCain recently described his town hall meetings as an hour or so of him responding to people's "hopes and dreams and aspirations" and that when it's over, they "know my plan for the future of America." Leaving aside the ridiculous notion that all that is accomplished in 90 minutes (including McCain's opening statement), let's look at the straight talk he gave a voter yesterday in Michigan:

AUDIENCE MEMBER: As a Catholic male, I'm adamantly pro-life...Between Roe v. Wade...the unproven science of embryonic stem cell research, the moral implications of human cloning - I'm hoping to pull the lever for someone who will fight for the rights of the unborn. And can I count on you to fight for the rights of the unborn?

JOHN MCCAIN: Yes you can. I believe the noblest words ever written are that all of us are created equal and endowed by certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And I think that that applies to the unborn as well as the born.

This man specifically included stem cell research as a part of the "fight for the rights of the unborn," and McCain unequivocally said that the man could count on him. So, what is McCain's position on stem cell research?

I believe that we need to fund this. This is a tough issue for those of us in the pro-life community. I would remind you that these stem cells are either going to be discarded or perpetually frozen. We need to do what we can to relieve human suffering. It's a tough issue. I support federal funding.

So unless McCain is planning to flip-flop on the only position he takes that is overwhelmingly favored by the American people, he purposely misled lied to this man. In the grand scheme of John McCain's plans to to carry out George Bush's third term, perhaps this little sin of omission isn't important, but it says a lot about the kind of person he is.  

In the annals of political writing, you would be hard-pressed to find a more ridiculous piece of dreck than the latest column by The New Republic Senior Editor Jonathan Chait on "Why a McCain Presidency Wouldn’t Be So Bad." And if the title alone doesn’t convince you of that, consider the reasons Chait gives, because despite recognizing that McCain has flip-flopped on every issue large and small in the interest of political expediency, that he lies and has anger issues, Chait says:

Yet, somehow, I still feel some pangs of affinity for the old codger. Where Bush is peevish, entitled, and insecure, McCain's charming, ironic, and self-deprecating.

Great. Chait would rather have a beer with John McCain, so let's elect him. It gets worse:

A president sets the tone for our public discourse, and McCain is pretty easy to take. His demagoguery comes with an awkward forced smile, which doesn't make it more forgivable but does make it less irritating.

As for his substantive views, they do (now) closely resemble Bush's. Yet the upside to a candidate who changes his philosophical orientation as often as McCain is that he could always switch back.

Yes, Mr. Chait, a McCain presidency might not be so bad because the angry, lying Senator who, except for when it comes to war, switches his position as often as (most) people change their underwear, just might change his views again. Let’s bet the country on that hope.

And this?

The best aspect of a McCain presidency is that, while it would probably follow the policies of George W. Bush, it would put an end to the politics of Karl Rove...A McCain presidency would promise to dismantle the whole Rovian method that has torn open such a deep wound in the national psyche.

So, a McCain presidency would continue with the disastrous policies of George Bush (unless he changes his mind, of course), but on the bright side, it would end the politics of Karl Rove? Apparently like McCain, Chait hasn't mastered "the google."

• "Karl Rove, the president’s top political hand since his Texas days, recently gave money to McCain and soon after had a private conversation with the senator. A top McCain adviser said both Mehlman and Rove are now informally advising the campaign. Rove refused to detail his conversation with McCain."
• "The elevation of Steve Schmidt -- who worked closely with Karl Rove --

  The move is the latest sign of increasing influence of veterans of Rove's shop in the McCain operation. Nicolle Wallace, who was communications director for Bush in the 2004 campaign (and in his White House) has joined the campaign as a senior adviser, and will travel with McCain every other week. Greg Jenkins, another veteran of Rove's operation who is a former Fox News producer and director of presidential advance in the Bush White House, was hired by Schmidt last week after a series of what McCain's advisers acknowledged were poorly executed campaign events."

• "Generally speaking, Rove's advice is action-oriented and useful," said another senior consultant to the McCain camp. "It's always well received." This McCain adviser noted that Rove talks periodically to Black and a few other top campaign aides on several key matters. "It can be policy ideas, messaging ideas, fundraising prospects, or people who need calls from someone in the campaign." Rove is "part of the information network that the campaign has," this adviser said, adding that Rove talks fairly regularly to such key people as Wayne Berman, a major fundraiser for McCain; Nicolle Wallace, a communications adviser; and Steve Schmidt, a senior aide."

Chait finishes by saying:

What can I say? Bush has lowered my standards.

...which brings to mind that old expression:

It is better to be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

It's official. Jonathan Chait is a fool.

It was just over a week ago we learned that John McCain didn't know to how to use a computer:

I am learning to get online myself, and I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself.

And now, in phrasing usually reserved for describing a toddler's ability to use the bathroom, a McCain spokesman says:

He's fully capable of browsing the Internet and checking Web sites.

I hope someone gave him a cookie.

• While the traditional media continues to downplay its significance, Der Spiegel stands by its story on Iraq Prime Minister Maliki’s comments about withdrawing U.S. troops as outlined by Barack Obama.
• Well, well, well...media critic Howard Kurtz finally decides to criticize the media. His target? Coverage of Barack Obama:

  Obama's excellent adventure. Katie, Charlie and Brian are all headed across the Atlantic as a frenzy builds over the Democratic candidate's trip. Is this another love fest in the making? And why do the networks barely cover McCain's international travel?

  And it all must be true because Kurtz played clips from Bernard Goldberg, Tony Blankley and Lou Dobbs complaining about it.

• No surprise here.

  Far from the combat zones, the strains and separations of no-end-in-sight wars are taking an ever-growing toll on military families despite the armed services' earnest efforts to help.  [...]

  An array of studies by the Army and outside researchers say that marital strains, risk of child maltreatment and other problems harmful to families worsen as soldiers serve multiple combat tours.

• I’m waiting for the outrage from the right over Michael Savage’s take on autism:

  Now, you want me to tell you my opinion on autism? ... A fraud, a racket. Now, the illness du jour is autism. You know what autism is? I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is.

• Condoleezza Rice knows who she’s voting for in November...but she won’t say who it is.
• Good news for...well, for someone. CBS news anchor Katie Couric says she isn’t going anywhere despite her in-the-basement ratings because she’s "committed to the people and the product." The long-term contract helps too.
• Tropical Storm Cristobal is slapping North Carolina around with high winds and heavy rain.
• The latest "Batman" movie, "The Dark Knight," is raking in the cash with sales of over $155 million in three days.

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Maureen Dowd keeps her streak alive as the biggest waste of column space in the country.

Frank Rich has fun with John McCain’s "fiscal ineptitude," saying that:

The best thing to happen to John McCain was for the three network anchors to leave him in the dust this week while they chase Barack Obama on his global Lollapalooza tour. Were voters forced to actually focus on Mr. McCain’s response to our spiraling economic crisis at home, the prospect of his ascension to the Oval Office could set off a panic that would make the IndyMac Bank bust in Pasadena look as merry as the Rose Bowl.

Jeffrey T. Kuhner objects to the White House decision to send a diplomat to Iran. He’d prefer we just bomb ‘em and get it over with.

Graham Allison on the other hand, cheers for this "flip-flop towards reality." No word on how much good it will do with six months left in office.

John Kass whines about the liberal media and their coverage of Barack Obama. And did you know that McCain was a P.O.W.?

Joan Vennochi is today’s designated columnist to write about Barack Obama’s ego. But with Krauthammer and Cantor using up so much of the good material over the past couple of days, Vennochi throws in an ode to John McCain's humility to fill her word quota. And did you know that McCain was a P.O.W.?

Lawrence J. Korb succinctly lays out why we need to get out of Iraq, and says that:

...when the president said "you know, of course, we're there at their invitation," Bush never envisioned them actually telling us to leave before his mission was accomplished. Just as he misjudged and mismanaged the situation going in, it is clear that he is equally clueless about when to get out and regain control of US policy.

Sophia A. Nelson looks at the media, Michelle Obama, and how black women are stereotyped in America:

It was supposed to be satire, but the caricature of Barack Obama and his wife that appeared on the cover of the New Yorker last week rightly caused a major flap. And among black professional women like me and many of my sisters in the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, who happened to be gathered last week in Washington for our 100th anniversary celebration, the mischaracterization of Michelle hit the rawest of nerves.

Welcome to our world.

Barack Obama in Kuwait: