I heard this announced on German radio earlier today, but it still looks like everyone is still referring to unnamed government sources for this information.

das2003,

i agree. Americans should celebrate the moment in history when an American politician will beloved and respected in the world again.

We now see the mainstream media getting its talking points from the McLame campaign. As good citizens its our obligation to push back against the the McLame campaign and the MSM distortion of Obama.

Stop worrying. Presidents go overseas, give speeches. The one of biggest doubt that voters have about Obama is doubts about his experience on foreign policy. All he really has to do is a) give a good speech, which the man can do in his sleep, and b) not say anything that can be portrayed by the RNC and Faux Noise as critical of the US. That's a little trickier but the man is smart, so he'll be fine.

I'm glad they're talking more about the risks beforehand. If they were talking about how great this is going to be for him, there could be a big letdown.

The more people play up the "risks," the bigger the payoff will be in the end. This is Obama at his best. I have no doubt the reward will be "yuge." Americans have forgotten what it's like to be loved by the rest of the world. The age of Freedom Fries is over. Reminding us what it's like to be proud to be an American outside of the jingoistic bull$hit that has counted for pride these last 7 years will be truly inspirational and reawaken our better angels. That's gold on Election Day.

I still worry about security at such a setting. Also who is he talking to here? Why would a German want to go to a speech by a foreign leader, let alone candidate?

I mean if Merkel came to Washington to give a speech at the Washington Monument would she be accepted/allowed to do so and would she draw a crowd?

Germans, if not all western Europeans, love politics. Love to talk it, read it, hear it. So it will draw a pretty big crowd. When I was in Germany, the dem. Primary was front page news, obviously a woman vs. a black man in the American presidential race was recognized. We met with the editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and when asked about a line we read about how Obama was being viewed as the next Kennedy, he responded, "Yes, but you have to understand, we've said that every 4 years for the last 40."

Matthews' show running right into Countdown is blurring in my mind, but I am quite sure a number of people made this claim, that by having all the big media people going with him, that all it would take is the slightest misstep--or perception of one, someone on one of the shows said last night--for this to be a problem for Obama. I'm sorry to be so vague but I heard this at least twice last night. Obama is risking everything! was the general message.

The problem with that location is that when I hear of the Victory Column, I spontaneously think of Siegessaüle, the Berlin gay magazine named after it.

Andrea Mitchell this morning in Morning Joe, predicted a backslash for BHO

Per the "risk" of cozying up to the Europeans, the "we need to learn another language"...

I've got several friends who are dyed-in-the-wool Republicans. Chamber of Commerce types, small businessmen & women, who went Republican because they favored (note past tense) R fiscal policies.

These people are educated, well-read, and are distressed about the position of the US in the world. They know that we need to compete and cooperate internationally. They have been the Republican middle management, the ones who help organize the local efforts. No longer.

They are voting for and donating to Obama.

I am sure that anti-euro hysteria will be played up by the McCain camp. And they'll get the single-wide crowd all riled. But it's not playing with the people who in the past were the precinct captains, the local fundraisers, the foot soldiers.

Did anyone see this blog, and read it before it got changed?

The secret hidden within John McCain's campaign schedule

You can tell a lot about any political campaign by how it invests its most precious resource: the 1,440 minutes in each candidate's day.

UPDATE: An earlier version of this item had a minute-by-minute schedule that was provided to the media for planning purposes and not intended for publication. But even if you examine the broad current schedule for John McCain's campaign, you'll still notice something very revealing:

The LA Times made this blogger pull this post, and add much more positive spin on his comments BECAUSE it didn't read AT ALL like this the first time this blogger placed this comment online.

Wish I had a copy of first time it was submitted without the schedule even, it still read nothing like the second time it was submitted. It was a very negative comment - but the LA Times made this guy rewite the entire comment.

Obama has 800 full time staffers that cost upwards of $40M/month? He better hope he keeps pulling $50M+ each month or he could get in trouble rather quickly. No wonder he's not running a lot of television ads.

McCain is planning a swing state blitz while Obama is overseas. No doubt to hammer home the message that while Obama is off gallivanting around Europe, giving speeches to Europeans, Good Ol' McCain is here to talk and listen to you the swing state voter.

That is his best plan of attack really. It's all he's got.

I'm still not hot about this big speech in downtown berlin. I think he should just meet and greet the foreign leaders. No big speech's. It seems arrogant and presumptuous to me. I know that I am in the minority, but that's what I think. Let's wait until he's president and does a world tour. That's the time for big speeches.

The "risk" Obama may be taking is that he is contradicting the Bush/McCain bullying foreign policy. Bush/McCain assume Americans prefer this policy. Obama assumes Americans see that the Bush/MCain policy is wrong and has led to our diminished status world wide. Obama, in his visit next week, is attempting to began to restore the Atlantic alliance which has suffered under Bush's arrogance.The real risk is in continuing the Bush policies which McCain seems intent upon doing.

The Victory Column in Berlin is an interesting site -- the Victory it celebrates is Prussia's victory over France in the Franco-Prussian War. 1870's, Bismark and all that.

I don't think there is much at risk. There are enough Americans in Germany who can vote absentee with the help of Democrats Abroad to get up a pretty good crowd, but years ago I watched Kennedy's 1963 Berlin Speech with Danes on Danish TV who were sometimes critics of US Policy (mostly Socialists), and they were totally turned on by the Berliner's welcome for Kennedy. Comments such as -- "First time in this century that I've felt positive about Berliners' cheering for anything." I suspect that politically pissed off Americans might just have a similar reaction. We are now so familiar with the US President making a fool of himself, and attracting massive anti-American demo's, a massive friendly welcome will be contrasted with Bush's "up your's" attitude, and the parallel response.

Remember, he is also going to London and Paris -- will he have a big event there too?

And oh yea, the division of the Senate Foreign Relations Sub-committees changed in the 90's, after the Cold War. Afghanistan was always grouped in with Europe (particularly soviet blok e. European countries) during the Cold War -- but after the 90's, the divisions were changed, and Afghanistan became part of S. Asia along with India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Burma, and a few others. I think the change was made in 92, so those who argue Obama's sub-committee has to do with Afghanistan are at least 15 years behind on this change.