SPB News for Thursday.

Obama In Berlin — Yes, of course the Hitler comparisons are absurd, but I'd really like to know which genius on the Obama campaign thought it would be a good idea to have their candidate conduct a major campaign rally in Europe with three months to go till the election and their candidate …

David Gregory: NBC's Lame-Duck? — On the morning of Sunday, July 20, NBC News paterfamilias Tom Brokaw was wrapping up Meet the Press, where he has been anchor since the sudden and untimely death of Tim Russert. — The weekly round table had ended, and it was time to say goodbye to his guests …

Olympic Deal Sealed: Obama Makes $5 Million Buy — Candidate's Package Includes National Network, Cable — WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) — It's official. Sen. Barack Obama's campaign will be among the TV sponsors of NBC Universal's Olympics coverage. In the first significant network-TV buy …

Talkleft:
Tuesday, John McCain wanted more Media attention. Matt Yglesias notes Ben Smith's piece on John McCain cancelling his press availability:
[McCain] hasn't explained what he meant by juggling the timeline on the surge and Awakening . . . ; whether he meant that Obama was deliberately selling out the country; whether he shares his campaign's grievance with the press; or what he thinks of his staff's genocide-themed attack. And now he's canceled the avail.

Pentagon Pressured, Intimidated Auditors to Favor Contractors, GAO Says --7 contractors cited: Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Fluor, Parker Hannifin, Sparta, SRS Technologies and a subsidiary of L3 Communications Auditors at a Pentagon oversight agency were pressured by supervisors to skew their reports on major defense contractors to make them look more favorable instead of exposing wrongdoing and charges of overbilling, according to an 80-page report released yesterday by the Government Accountability Office. The Defense Contract Audit Agency, which oversees contractors for the Defense Department, "improperly influenced the audit scope, conclusions and opinions" of reviews of contractor performance, the GAO said, creating a "serious independence issue." Supervisors at DCAA attempted to intimidate auditors, prevented them from speaking with GAO investigators and created a "generally abusive work environment," the report said. It cited incidents of "verbal admonishments, reassignments and threats of disciplinary action" against workers who "raised questions about management guidance."

Merkel: Only diplomacy works with Iran German Chancellor Angela Merkel says only diplomacy can put an end to the standoff between Iran and the West over its nuclear program. "We are clearly counting on a diplomatic solution in the dispute over Iran," she said. "The more consequent and consistent we are with sanctions if Iran does not give in - as we are hearing very diverse signals - the better are the chances for such a diplomatic solution. I am counting on that and nothing else," Merkel added.

Obama: air strike on Iran useless The White House hopeful Barack Obama says an air strike on Iran will not halt its nuclear program, calling for tougher Iran sanctions. "Iran is a big country. They have dispersed their nuclear capabilities in a way that you are not going to see smooth, surgical strikes solving the problem entirely the way that Israel was able to deal with Iraq's nuclear threat," he told ABC News. The Illinois senator called for "tough sanctions" coupled with "tough diplomacy that makes the calculus for the Iranians different."

Army Times Alarm: McCain Suggests Rationing Vets Health Care Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain appeared Tuesday to suggest rationing of veterans' health care may be needed so combat veterans can receive the care they deserve. At a town hall meeting in Dover, N.H., McCain talked about the need to "concentrate" veterans' health care on people with injuries that "are a direct result of combat."

Guantanamo suspect walks out --Hamdan protests showing of interrogation video Osama bin Laden's former driver briefly walked out of his war crimes 'trial' before a military tribunal on Wednesday as the prosecution showed videos of his interrogations. "Mr (Salim) Hamdan does not want to watch the video," one of his lawyers told the military officer presiding over the terrorism trial at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The terror suspect was then escorted out by two soldiers, but the judge, Keith Allred, said the video of Hamdan's first interrogation in 2001 would be shown in any event.

Fliers Complain About X-Rated Security Screenings --TSA Agents Forced Woman to Remove Nipple Rings, Pulled Pants Off Disabled Man CBS 2 reports that thousands of travelers have complained that some Transportation Security Adminstration screenings can become abusive and even x-rated. For arguing with a TSA agent, Robin Kassner wound up being slammed to the floor. She's filed a lawsuit. "I kept begging them over and over again get off of me... and they wouldn't stop," Kassner said. In Chicago, people like Robert Perry are subjected to exhaustive security checks. He was patted down, his wheel chair was examined and his hands were swabbed, all in public view in a see-through room at the security checkpoint. Perry, 71, is not alone.