al-Maliki praised Obama’s 16-month withdrawal plan in a newspaper report Saturday.

CRAWFORD, TX (CNN) – An embarrassing slip up for the White House press office Saturday, when an aide hit the wrong button and mistakenly sent to the news media a Reuters article saying Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki backs presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's troop withdrawal plan.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel says, "It was a mistake. Clips list for staff was supposed to be the addressee."

The Obama campaign quickly took advantage of the mistake, forwarding an ABC report detailing the incident to its press list.

This is not the first time the White House has emailed in error. But its timing is particularly embarrassing as the Bush administration's recent agreement with al-Maliki on a "general time horizon" for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq is being cited by some as resembling Obama's proposal that U.S. forces should leave within 16 months.

Sen. Barack Obama will visit several world leaders over the next few weeks.

(CNN) — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is in Afghanistan on a multistop overseas trip for meetings with international leaders but with an eye on the U.S. presidential race back home.

Obama's trip, which includes visits to Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, is intended to bolster his foreign policy credentials before U.S. voters.

"This is the campaign trail via satellite — pictures for the rhetoric back home," CNN's Candy Crowley said, adding that the trip was intended to demonstrate that Obama was up to the job of taking a lead role on the international stage.

"The question is, is he tough enough to stand up for America but graceful enough to improve [its] image?" Crowley said.

In a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, 48 percent of registered voters said Obama would make a good commander in chief, compared with 72 percent for his Republican rival, John McCain.

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CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from The Best Political Team.

(CNN) — As Sen. Barack Obama prepares to head overseas, attention is turning to what his rival Sen. John McCain plans to do to hold the public's attention during Obama's much anticipated trip.

In the latest episode of CNN=Politics Daily, Dana Bash reports on McCain's plan to focus on the economy while Obama is abroad focussing on foreign policy. 

Chief National Correspondent John King breaks down how Sen. Obama's policy on Iraq is likely to be received by leaders in Europe and the Middle East.

Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider takes a closer look at whether McCain is ripping a page from the political playbook of former President Bill Clinton.

A Congressman wants to know: why do we vote on Tuesday?  Internet Reporter Abbi Tatton has the story. 

Finally, earlier this week on CNN, you may have seen Brianna Keilar's interview with Cindy McCain.  In this week's podcast extra, we bring you something you probably haven't seen: more of Keilar's interview with the woman who may be the next first lady as McCain satisfies her need for speed.  Check it out.

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The cost of the new Marine One fleet could run into the billions.

WASHINGTON (AP) — John McCain and Barack Obama vow to reform the nation's defense procurement if elected president, yet each is unwilling to take a firm stand against the skyrocketing cost of a plum White House perk: the new Marine One helicopter.

Originally carrying a hefty price tag at $6.1 billion, the fleet of 28 helicopters being built to fly the next president is now projected to cost $11.2 billion.

At $400 million apiece, the helicopters far exceed a prime example McCain uses on the campaign trail to rail against congressional pork-barrel spending, a $230 million "bridge to nowhere" in Alaska. The British have bought the same base model helicopter for $57 million each.

In separate interviews with The Associated Press, the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates pledged to look at the program but stopped short of saying whether it should be canceled. Any review after the next president takes office in January would butt up against the first deliveries of the helicopters, slated for 2010.

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Gore has ruled out being Obama's running mate.

(CNN) — Eight years in the No. 2 spot is enough for Al Gore.

The former vice president, who issued a challenge to the next President of the United States on Thursday to make the country's electricity output carbon-free in 10 years, said later that he will not under any circumstances serve as Barack Obama's running mate.

Unlike the office of the presidency, there are no imposed term-limits on the second highest office in the land. But Gore, who considerably expanded the role of vice president, said he's imposing his own term limits on the job.

“I have a personal term limit,” he told CBS News Thursday. “Only two terms as VP.”

Asked by interviewer Katie Couric whether he might reconsider if the Democratic presidential candidate "begged," Gore said his answer would remain no.

Buzz swirled around a possible Obama-Gore ticket last month after the former vice president — who remains a very popular figure in the Democratic Party — gave an enthusiastic endorsement of the Illinois senator after months on sidelines during the prolonged Democratic primary.

Obama said then he doubted Gore would be willing to serve as VP again.

“Obviously Al Gore is a great public servant, he was a great vice president," he said. He may not want to be vice president again, since he's already done that for eight years, but certainly he's somebody that I'll be getting advice from as we go forward and hopefully he'll help me when I'm president."

Gore said in December that he might jump back into the political fray – but only in a bid for the top spot. A third term as vice president would mean Gore had spent more time in the office than anyone in U.S. history.

McCain is expected to continue criticism of Obama while he is overseas.

(CNN)—Senator John McCain tends to follow the old adage “politics ends at the water's edge,” but his aides tell CNN they have every intention of continuing their attacks on Obama while the presumptive Democratic nominee is on his overseas trip.

When he was in Canada in June, McCain refused to talk about Obama — and CNN was told from top advisers that McCain got angry at campaign aides back at headquarters for sending emails hitting the Illinois senator while he was abroad.

But the McCain campaign considers Obama’s trip to Europe, Iraq and Afghanistan fair game. McCain aides says the Obama campaign and the DNC both set precedent for it, by attacking McCain while he was in Europe and the Middle East in March, and during his recent trips to Canada, Colombia and Mexico.

In an e-mail response to CNN, McCain spokesman Brian Rogers attached a list of quotes from Obama and DNC press releases during the presumptive Republican nominee’s trips, and said “we don’t feel there’s any restriction on drawing contrasts while he’s abroad.”

The trip has already drawn significant media coverage — so there’s no doubt the McCain campaign will be watching Obama very closely.

The campaign has already sharpened its argument in the past week, branding the presumptive Democratic nominee’s trip to Europe as a photo opportunity, and his visits to Afghanistan and Iraq campaign stops, not a fact finding missions, since Obama announced his policies before visiting.

“I was very interested that he articulated and announced his policies and approached Iraq before he went, not after. Remarkable,” Senator McCain told Missouri voters Thursday.

“I've been on a lot of trips around the world, usually at your expense, but I usually issue my policy statements when I get back.”

CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from The Best Political Team.

(CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama’s highly publicized trip overseas could very well be one of the biggest events during the presidential race.

As the presumptive Democratic nominee prepares to leave for the Middle East and Europe, he is facing questions about his limited experience, especially in the area of foreign policy. Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley has the story on the challenges and high expectations generated by Obama's planned trip abroad.

Meanwhile: Sen. John McCain is questioning Obama’s motives for making the trip and slamming Obama's Iraq policy. Dana Bash reports on the presumptive Republican nominee's efforts to make the most of his rival's much publicized and much anticipated trip.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sits down with Wolf Blitzer and has very harsh words for President Bush.  Pelosi also addresses Congress's low approval ratings.

Finally: Obama's ad buys show he is making a play for traditionally Republican states. Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider takes a look at Obama's red state strategy.

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McCain and Obama have been trading flip-flopping charges.

(CNN) – The McCain and Obama campaigns traded flip-flopping charges Thursday, as the McCain team continued its assault on Barack Obama’s Iraq policy ahead of his upcoming trip to that nation Thursday with a hard-hitting Web video that painted Obama as an opportunist on the issue — and a tough Democratic response accused the Arizona senator of dramatically shifting his own positions on the war.

“The Obama Iraq Documentary: Whatever the Politics Demand” had a Capitol Hill debut, flanked by several GOP senators including McCain’s fellow Arizona senator, John Kyl, and South Dakota Sen. John Thune. The eight-minute video uses footage of Obama expressing seemingly contradictory positions, and “explores Senator Obama's record of shifting political positions” on Iraq, Campaign Manager Rick Davis said in a message to supporters.

The film opens with 2007 footage of Obama saying "I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence there. In fact, I think it will do the reverse."

Obama is next shown earlier this year saying he had known the surge would be effective. "I said at the time, when I opposed the surge, that given how wonderfully our troops perform, if we place 30,000 more troops in there, then we would see an improvement in the security situation and we would see a reduction in the violence."

The screen then reads, "Translation: You're Never Wrong If You Pretend You Gave The Right Answer All Along."

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McCain and Obama praised Gore Thursday for his climate change initiative.

(CNN)– Both parties' presumptive nominees praised former Vice President Al Gore as he challenged the nation Thursday to transition completely to renewable and carbon-free energy within the next decade — but parted ways on some of Gore's recommendations.

"For decades, Al Gore has challenged the skeptics in Washington on climate change and awakened the conscience of a nation to the urgency of this threat," Obama said in a statement Thursday.

Obama's environmental proposals mimic many of Gore's own: he would implement an economy-wide cap-and trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and plans to make the United States a leader in the global effort to combat climate change.

But John McCain reminded reporters he and Gore hold very divergent views on the use of at least one renewable energy source.

"I've admired the Vice President on this issue," McCain said Thursday. There may be some aspects of climate change that he and I are in disagreement on but overall — I mean, I've always been a supporter of nuclear power and he has not agreed with that."

The Arizona senator co-sponsored cap-and-trade legislation introduced last year — but has criticized later versions of the bill for failing to include further incentives for nuclear power, saying the nation would not make progress in ending global warming unless nuclear energy was greatly expanded.

McCain also continued to contrast his environmental policy with Obama's.

"Let me just say again, Sen. Obama, no storage and no reprocess. And that's nuclear power. No drilling offshore. That's a way of finding oil and gas reserves. Dr. No," McCain said.

Biden is a powerful Senate ally of Barack Obama.

(CNN) – Joe Biden is quickly becoming a powerful ally for Barack Obama in the Senate.

The Delaware Democrat, who is rumored to be on Obama's shortlist for VP, came to the Illinois senator's defense Thursday over charges Obama has not adequately addressed Afghanistan as chairman of a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee.

CNN's Political Market: Biden's VP stock on the rise

Obama is chairman of the Subcommittee on European Affairs — a panel that has jurisdiction over NATO's operations, including its efforts in Afghanistan. The McCain campaign, like Hillary Clinton's, has noted Obama has yet to hold a hearing dealing with Afghanistan since he became chairman nearly two years ago. South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, the ranking member on that committee and an ardent supporter of John McCain, wrote a formal letter earlier this week to Obama criticizing his failure to hold hearings — a move seemingly designed to undercut the Democratic presidential candidate's foreign policy credentials before he embarks on a trip abroad.

But Biden, conveniently the Chairman of the full Senate Foreign Relations Committee, hit back at DeMint Thursday, writing in a letter to him that NATO's mission in Afghanistan has been dealt with at the full committee level.

Read full letter [PDF]

"Under my chairmanship the Foreign Relations Committee has addressed most Afghanistan issues at the Full Committee level," Biden wrote. "I believe that this is the best way of ensuring the most comprehensive examination of the complex issues involved, and of ensuring the highest-level Administration participation."

The move is likely to increase speculation Biden is being considered for the VP role, or another high-ranking post in an Obama administration. The veteran senator is considered an authority on foreign policy issues — an area where many voters have given the edge to McCain over Obama. Biden made news earlier this month when he acknowledged he would accept the VP position if it was offered.

Biden said the full committee has held three hearings over the last two years directly dealing with NATO and Afghanistan. But the Republican National Committee quickly noted Obama missed two of those hearings, and said Biden is "attempting to refine Obama's empty record on Afghanistan." (The RNC also noted Biden called Obama a "Johnny come lately" on the issue of Afghanistan last August when he was battling for the Democratic nomination.)

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Barack Obama said conservative media is responsible for negative attacks on his wife.

(CNN)—Barack Obama blamed the 'conservative press' Wednesday for negative attacks on his wife Michelle.

“What happened was that the conservative press—Fox News and the National Review and columnists of every ilk—went fairly deliberately at her in a pretty systematic way,” Obama told Glamour Magazine.

In the latest NYT/CBS Poll, released this week, Michelle Obama is viewed in a favorable light by 29 percent of those questioned and unfavorably by 16 percent. Cindy McCain, wife of presumptive Republican nominee John McCain is viewed favorably by 18 percent and unfavorably by 8 percent.

Watch: What kind of first lady would Michelle Obama be?

Both presumptive nominees have urged media outlets to avoid bringing their wives into the battle for the White House

“[Our wives] should be treated with respect and if there's any disrespectful conduct on the part of anyone, those people should be rejected,” McCain told CNN last month.

Obama emphasized the plea in the interview released Wednesday, saying his wife and Cindy McCain are not fair game because “essentially, spouses are civilians. If you start being subjected to rants..day in day out, that’ll drive up your negatives.”

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Roland Martin says school vouchers should be an option for families with kids in dead-end schools.

ACCRA, Ghana (CNN) — "All I want is for my children to get the best education they can."

That statement, along with so many others, has been a consistent one that I've heard on my radio show and in discussions with parents for years, especially those whose children are stuck in inner-city schools with decrepit buildings and a lack of critical resources.

And for the past 20 years, one of the most talked-about solutions for parents stuck in dead-end, failing schools is to give them the option to use vouchers to send their children someplace where they could get a quality education.

Full story

Obama is making frequent trips to the gym

CHICAGO (AP) — Sometimes it's hard to tell if Barack Obama is running for president of the United States or Mr. Universe.

The Democratic presidential contender exercises regularly, but over a 24-hour span this week, he took it to a new extreme.

Twice on Wednesday and again Thursday morning, Obama traveled to a lakefront apartment building near his Chicago home to work out with a friend at his gym. On Wednesday night, Obama also spent an hour at the East Bank Club, a mammoth exercise facility just north of the city's famous business Loop where he is known to play basketball.

On the former occasions, reporters accompanying Obama saw him get in and out of an SUV wearing a baseball hat, white T-shirt and black sweat pants. On the visit to the East Bank Club, Obama was dressed casually as if going out to dinner, wearing slacks, a blue blazer and flip-flops.

A distinct lack of visible sweat on the Illinois senator triggered questions about whether he was actually exercising or using the gym visits as cover for conducting vice presidential vetting or interviews.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton e-mailed a succinct, two-word answer: "Working out."

That view held credence among some of the photographers who regularly accompany Obama. They said that even when he shot hoops earlier this year with members of the University of North Carolina varsity men's basketball team, they didn't see Obama sweat.

Barack Obama's campaign says it raised more than twice as much as John McCain last month.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Barack Obama's campaign raised $52 million last month, more than twice the amount of funds brought in by his rival, John McCain, according to campaign officials for the presumed Democratic presidential nominee.

Obama's campaign now has $72 million cash on hand, the term used to describe how much money they currently have to spend, campaign officials said Thursday.

The average donation to Obama in June was $68, the officials said, bringing the monthly total to more than twice the $22 million raised in May. Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee reports it raised over $22 million in June — bringing the total cash-on-hand held by Obama and the DNC to $92 million.

At that time, the Illinois senator was still locked in a fierce primary battle with Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, and Obama was spending more time campaigning for votes and delegates than simply fundraising.

With the conclusion of the primaries in early June and Clinton's suspension of her campaign just days later, Obama's campaign cash numbers had been expected to rise in June.

McCain's campaign raised $22 million in June, its best month yet. The campaign said that combined with the Republican National Committee, they have about $95 million cash on hand.

Earlier: McCain camp says GOP has $95 million

In a fundraising e-mail to supporters, Obama Campaign Manager David Plouffe acknowledged the deficit, saying that “McCain and the RNC together still have a huge cash advantage, and we need your help to close the gap.”

Obama has opted out of using public financing for his campaign, but McCain is accepting federal funds. That means at the conclusion of the political conventions in September, McCain will get about $85 million in public funds to spend on his campaign until Election Day, November 4th.

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McCain said Hagel has made an 'informed decision' about Iraq.

OMAHA, Nebraska (CNN) – John McCain said he's pleased Chuck Hagel is accompanying Barack Obama to the Middle East because the Nebraska senator — although "wrong" on Iraq — has military experience and has made "an informed decision" about the war.

McCain was peppered with questions about Hagel while campaigning in Nebraska Wednesday evening.

Speaking to reporters after meeting workers a trucking company, McCain again called it "remarkable" that Obama would give a major policy speech on Iraq and Afghanistan without first traveling to those countries or consulting with Gen. David Petraeus.

The presumptive nominee said he is "pleased" that Obama will be accompanied by Hagel, "who has military experience, who has knowledge of these issues."

"Senator Hagel is wrong," McCain said. But, he added: "Senator Hagel has visited Iraq. Senator Hagel has made an informed decision. Senator Hagel, although I disagree with some of his conclusions, the fact is that Senator Obama has never examined the issue carefully, at least from the standpoint of sitting down and discussing the situation with the commanding officer on the ground."

McCain also responded to speculation that Hagel could be tapped as Obama's running mate.

"Look," he said, "I don't know anything about that, except to say Chuck Hagel is a distinguished veteran and a very dear and close friend of mine, who I cherish his friendship for many, many years."

Watch Nunn and Bayh discuss the veepstakes.

(CNN) — Evan Bayh and Sam Nunn wanted to focus on Barack Obama's national security credentials Wednesday. The traveling press corps trailing the presumptive Democratic nominee’s campaign didn’t.

In a press conference following a campaign-sponsored roundtable discussion on emerging terrorist threats, Bayh and Nunn were bombarded by questions over reports both Democrats are on Obama's shortlist for vice president.

But Bayh, a senator from Indiana, and Nunn, a former senator from Georgia, revealed little about the Obama campaign's vetting process and their own ambitions for the job.

Veepstakes: Check out CNN's Political Market to see who's ahead

"I have never aspired to that office," said Nunn, who served in the Senate for 25 years. "It is always nice to have your name mentioned — it is an honor — but I have no expectation of being offered any office, and I am not in any way sitting on the edge of a chair ready to go back into government."

Nunn, one of the most respected Democratic voices on national security policy, seems to encounter vice presidential speculation every election cycle, given his appeal in the South and strength on issues where Republicans usually have the edge.

iReport.com: Share your picks for VP

Bayh, a former supporter of Hillary Clinton who also has red-state appeal, also brushed aside speculation he is being considered a spot on the ticket.

"I love serving the people of Indiana — and I think any questions about the vice presidential thing are understandable and it’s good for my ego, but I should probably let Senator Obama and his campaign address those kind of questions," he said.

One reporter asked the senator — whose father Birch Bayh ran for president in 1976 — if he was taking his name out of the VP running.

"I've got a plane to catch," he responded, chuckling.

CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from The Best Political Team.

(CNN) — Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain spoke at the NAACP convention Wednesday.

In the latest installment of CNN=Politics Daily, Dana Bash takes a look at McCain's outreach to African-American voters and Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley breaks down a new poll on the role that race may be playing in the presidential election.

White House Correspondent Elaine Quijano reports on the Bush adminstration's decision to send a senior State Department official to participate in nuclear talks with Iran.

Is former presidential candidate Mitt Romney vying for McCain’s VP spot? Tom Foreman takes a look at why Romney may be a good choice for the GOP ticket.

Sen. Barack Obama has been talking about national security a lot lately. Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider sheds some light on why the presumptive Democratic nominee is focussing on the topic and looks ahead at Obama's planned trip abroad.

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Obama is making a run at several states Bush won in 2004.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Critics sneered when Barack Obama vowed to challenge John McCain in states that traditionally have been Republican strongholds. But a review of early television advertising spending shows that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is making robust buys in a handful of “red states.”

So far, Obama has spent $60,000 in Alaska; $3.5 million in Florida; $1.3 million in Georgia; $1 million in Indiana; $100,000 in Montana; $1 million in North Carolina; and $1.8 million in Virginia, according to a new analysis by TNS/Campaign Media Analysis Group, CNN’s political television advertising consultant.

“Obama’s targeting of these red states is unprecedented,” said Evan Tracey, chief operating officer of CMAG. “He is clearly looking to expand the playing field.”

In all, McCain has outspent Obama — $23 million to $19 million – on political television advertising when you look at these figures through the lens of the general election. To be fair, McCain has had a head start – CMAG’s point of reference for McCain’s general election buys is mid-May and the Republican National Committee accounts for $3 million of the McCain total.

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Obama’s second national security spot this week focuses on loose nukes.

(CNN) — Barack Obama has released his second ad with a national security focus in as many days Wednesday, amid a week of events designed to highlight the presumptive Democratic nominee’s credentials on that front.

In the new 30-second spot, “Changing World” – which, like “America’s Leadership” Tuesday, does not mention Iraq and Afghanistan — Obama again highlights his work on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to end the smuggling of loose nuclear weapons. The ad debuted on the same day he held a summit on the issue in Indiana, featuring prospective VPs Senator Evan Bayh and former Senator Sam Nunn as panelists.

“Forty years ago it was missile silos and the Cold War,” says the announcer, over images of missiles and other security threats. “Today, it’s cyber attacks…loose nukes…oil money funding terrorism.

“Barack Obama understands our changing world. On the Foreign Relations Committee, he co-sponsored a law to lock down loose nuclear weapons. As president, he’ll rebuild our alliances to take out terrorist networks, and fast-track alternatives so we stop spending billions on oil from hostile nations,” continues the announcer. “New leadership for a changing world.”

The ad will run on national cable starting Thursday.

Sen. Barack Obama joins in a roundtable discussion on national security Wednesday at Purdue University.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana (CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday said he wants to rid the world of nuclear weapons and pledged to fight emerging threats posed by biological and cyber-terrorism.

"It's time to send a clear message to the world: America seeks a world with no nuclear weapons," the White House hopeful said.

"As long as nuclear weapons exist, we'll retain a strong deterrent. But we'll make the goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons a central element in our nuclear policy."

The remarks, delivered at Purdue University in Indiana before a roundtable discussion with foreign policy experts, come as the senator from Illinois is preparing for a trip abroad. Obama also is seeking to gain traction on national security issues.

Full story