From Der Spiegel
By Marc Pitzke

John McCain has attempted to distract from Barack Obama’s tour of the Middle East and Europe by attacking his foreign policy record. But he’s failing to take the shine off the Democratic candidate in the US election. The Republican has a problem.

It was the ultimate humiliation for an author. The submitted essay didn’t provide enough information, the newspaper wrote in its rejection. The article could not be accepted as written, the opinion page editor wrote.

The rejection came on Friday in an e-mail and has only now come to light. The newspaper was the New York Times, and the luckless author was Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

These are hard times for him. Rival Barack Obama is scoring campaign points against McCain on his current international tour — which has turned into the media event of the summer in the US thanks to good PR choreography, a backdrop of strong public support wherever he goes and a favorable news environment.

Obama’s brief visits to Afghanistan and Iraq, the backing of Iraqi premier Nuri al-Maliki (more…) for Obama’s 16-month US troop withdrawal plan and the prospect of a rapturous welcome in Germany (more…) — these are getting top media coverage in America and bestowing superstar status on the Democratic candidate.

Read more Frustration