Today on the presidential campaign trail

IN THE HEADLINES

On first leg of his European tour, Obama discusses war and economics with Merkel ... Rice not worried by Obama's foreign policy forays overseas ... Poll: Obama builds support among Hispanic voters ... Obama wraps up tour of Israel with visit to Jerusalem holy site ... Police seek to soften protesters' disruptions at GOP convention

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Obama and German leader discuss war and economics

BERLIN (AP) _ Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as climate and energy issues at Germany's chancellery Thursday, part of a tour aimed at lifting the first-term senator's international standing.

Their meeting featured "very open" and wide-ranging talks, Merkel spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said in a statement issued after the hourlong session. Obama and Merkel also stressed the "great significance of close and friendly German-American relations," he said.

Other topics included Pakistan, the Middle East peace process, the trans-Atlantic economic partnership, the global economy and "the need for cooperation on the international level and in international organizations to solve important global questions," Wilhelm said.

The highlight of Obama's schedule was an evening speech in front of the Tiergarten's 226-foot high Victory Column before a crowd predicted to be in the tens of thousands.

Aboard his chartered campaign jet, Obama told reporters: "Hopefully it will be viewed as a substantive articulation of the relationship I would like to see between the United States and Europe. ... I am hoping to communicate across the Atlantic the value of that relationship and how we need to build on that."

Not surprisingly, Obama sought to limit comparisons to famous speeches that Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan made in Berlin during the Cold War.

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Rice unconcerned by freelance campaign diplomacy

PERTH, Australia (AP) _ If Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is worried that Democrat Barack Obama is complicating the Bush administration's foreign policy with freelance campaign diplomacy, she isn't showing it.

In her first public comments about Obama's overseas jaunt during which he has contrasted his international approach to that of President Bush in meetings with foreign officials, Rice said the trip was part of the election cycle and would not affect the administration.

"Everybody knows that we are in a presidential campaign, so this a part of America's democratic process," Rice told reporters aboard her plane as she flew from an Asian security conference in Singapore to Australia.

"Sen. Obama is a senator, let's remember. He sits on the Foreign Relations Committee and he is a candidate for president. He is all of those things," she said.

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Poll: Latinos favor Obama by big margin

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Democrat Barack Obama has opened a big lead among Hispanic voters, winning support from the vast majority of those who had voted for rival Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic primaries, according to a poll released Thursday.

The national survey, conducted by the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center, showed that 66 percent of Hispanic registered voters supported Obama, compared to 23 percent for Republican John McCain. The other 11 percent were undecided.

More than three-quarters of Latinos who had voted for Clinton now say they are for Obama. Clinton carried the Hispanic vote, an important Democratic constituency, by about a 2-1 margin in the primaries.

While Hispanics make up only about 9 percent of eligible voters, they could play an important role in four potential battleground states: Florida, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada.

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Obama pays visit to Jerusalem holy site

JERUSALEM (AP) _ Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama paid a predawn visit to the holiest place in Judaism on Thursday, bowing his head in prayer at the Western Wall.

Obama placed a small note inside a crevice in the ancient wall, a custom observed by many. He made his brief stop as he completed a trip to the Middle East in which he met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders as well as Jordan's King Abdullah II.

Orthodox men at the wall for morning prayers ran down the steps to get a look at Obama. Many reached out to shake his hand, although one booming voice called out, "Obama, Jerusalem is not for sale!"

Obama's visit lasted less than 15 minutes. He flew to Europe immediately afterward for stops in Germany, France and England before returning home over the weekend.

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Police reach out to those targeting GOP convention

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Borrowing from a European model, Minneapolis and St. Paul police hope to quell any disruptions at this summer's Republican National Convention by exchanging cell phone numbers and offering other olive branches to demonstrators.

About 10 police officers _ all schooled in hostage negotiation techniques _ met with Justice Department officials and a handful of community peace workers Wednesday at a police academy in north Minneapolis to review the strategies.

The officers, dubbed "dialogue officers" or "free speech liaison officers," have been asked to open communication lines with activist leaders at the convention, which will be held Sept. 1-4 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

The hope, in part, is that the officers will be able to stay on top of any escalating violence or other problems and alert other officers or peaceful demonstrators.

"The whole goal is to try and reach out to groups that are going to protest," said Bill Blake, a Minneapolis officer taking part in the initiative. "We recognize their free speech rights, but the concern on our end is that we don't want anybody to get hurt or have any property damage."

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THE DEMOCRATS

Barack Obama speaks at the Victory Column in Berlin.

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THE REPUBLICANS

John McCain holds a town-hall meeting on cancer with Lance Armstrong in Columbus, Ohio.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"He has said, and we continue to act on the basis, as do our foreign partners, that this government remains in power until January 2009." _ Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on Democrat Barack Obama's trip overseas.

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STAT OF THE DAY:

Liberals are three times likelier than conservatives to be more excited about the presidential campaign than they were last fall, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll conducted in June. The poll has been measuring the political sentiments of the same 2,000 adults since November.

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Compiled by Ann Sanner.