Today on the presidential campaign trail

IN THE HEADLINES

Obama's trip to Mideast, Europe: Campaign-season audition for pledge of new era in diplomacy ... Obama campaign raised $52 million last month, has $92.3 million in bank with DNC ... Evangelicals quietly worry about McCain ... Barack Obama says criticism of his wife is 'infuriating,' blames conservative news media ... NYC mayor offers to ease Clinton's transition back to senator

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Obama's trip: 1st high-profile step on world stage

WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Barack Obama's trip to the Middle East and Europe marks his first high-profile step onto the international stage, a campaign-season audition of sorts for a presidential hopeful pledging a new era in diplomacy and an end to the U.S. combat role in Iraq.

"The stakes are very high for Obama," said Lee Hamilton, president of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a supporter of the Illinois Democrat.

While Obama currently leads in the polls, "foreign policy is one area where they (voters) have their doubts" about him, Hamilton said.

Campaign officials have announced stops in Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and England. Obama also has pledged to travel to Iraq and Afghanistan this summer, but aides have not said whether those war zones will be part of the same trip.

The trip is planned to put Obama into settings often occupied by presidents, including formal meetings with foreign leaders, public speeches and visits to historical sites.

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Obama campaign raised $52 million in June

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrat Barack Obama raised $52 million last month for his presidential campaign, more than twice as much as Republican rival John McCain in a significant boost to his financial cache for the fall contest.

The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee ended June with a combined total of $92.3 million in the bank. The figure represents a notable fundraising jump, especially for the DNC.

Obama reported $72 million cash on hand and the DNC $20.3 million. But the Democrats still lag Republican John McCain's presidential campaign and the Republican Party.

Last week, McCain reported raising more than $22 million in June, which was his best month of the year. Together, the McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee began July with about $95 million in the bank.

The reason for the discrepancy - greater fundraising by Obama and the DNC but less money in the bank than McCain and the GOP - is because until now the DNC had spent much of its money, leaving little cash on hand.

The $52 million is Obama's second-best fundraising month of the year - he raised $55 million in February. Of his June total, about $50 million was money that can be spent in the remaining summer primary season and about $2 million can only be spent in the fall.

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McCain hasn't ignited the passions of evangelicals

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (AP) - Stirring her morning coffee, lifelong Republican Grace Droog voiced her doubts - and those of many evangelical voters - about what she isn't hearing from John McCain in this year's presidential election.

"I look for something about his faith," she said. "It's very important, it's what our nation was founded on."

In this part of the country - halfway between Sioux City, Iowa, and Sioux Falls, S.D., - separating religion from politics is folly. Religious conservatives here were energized by President Bush's public declaration of faith and handed him a landslide in 2004. With growing sway in the state GOP, they recently captured a prominent party leadership post.

In the ongoing AP-Yahoo News Poll, only 10 percent of white evangelical Christians say they are excited by this election, compared with 20 percent of Americans overall. A third of these evangelicals said they were interested in the election, but half said they were frustrated by it.

Nevertheless, they support McCain over Obama by 62 percent to 18 percent. Although the AP-Yahoo News Poll is of all adults, not the smaller, more energized group of likely voters, McCain's figures lag behind Bush's showing among white evangelical Christian voters in the 2004 election, when exit polls indicated 78 percent supported him.

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Obama calls criticism of wife 'infuriating'

WASHINGTON (AP) - What gets under Barack Obama's skin? Criticism of his wife, Michelle Obama.

In an interview with Glamour magazine, Obama said attacks on his wife are "infuriating." The likely Democratic presidential nominee blamed the conservative press for going after his wife as if she were the candidate.

"If they have a difference with me on policy, they should debate me. Not her," Obama told the magazine.

An Associated Press-Yahoo poll suggests Michelle Obama has higher favorable ratings than Cindy McCain, wife of presumed Republican nominee John McCain. However, Michelle Obama's unfavorable ratings are also higher.

Michelle Obama came under fire in February when she said she was proud of her country for the first time in her adult life. She later clarified her remark, saying she has always been proud of her country and was particularly proud to see so many people involved in the political process.

Obama said the attacks are ironic because his wife is "the most quintessentially American woman I know."

Michelle Obama, 44, has worked as a lawyer and hospital executive. The couple has two daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7.

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NYC mayor: Welcome back Hillary

NEW YORK (AP) - Mayor Michael Bloomberg is planning to host a party for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to ease her transition back from the presidential campaign trail.

The billionaire mayor, who had toyed with the idea of his own independent presidential run, met with the New York senator in Washington on Thursday and offered to host a welcome back event for her, Clinton's spokesman said.

Bloomberg did not endorse any candidate during the primary, and has still not said whom he is supporting in the presidential race. He has been friends with Republican John McCain for years but has also recently begun to forge a relationship with Democrat Barack Obama.

The event for Clinton, who is still raising money to pay down her $10 million campaign debt, will not be a fundraiser, Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines said.

The unusual offer came up when the mayor and Clinton were meeting privately to discuss 9/11 health issues.

"She immediately and gladly accepted," Reines said. "She's really looking forward to it and thanks the mayor for his generosity."

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DAILY TRACK

Democrat Barack Obama is running about even nationally with Republican John McCain - 46 percent to 44 percent - among registered voters in the presidential race, according to the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update.

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THE DEMOCRATS

Barack Obama is in Chicago and has no scheduled public events.

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THE REPUBLICANS

John McCain talked to voters in Kansas City, Mo.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"If you make $30,000 a year, you drive a pickup, with a gun rack in the back, historically in the last few decades you voted Republican, except for one thing. If you belong to the union, you still vote Democratic. ... The difference is somebody talks to you that you know and you've worked with for 12 years about why it's important to vote for a Democrat." - Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean at a voter registration rally in Austin, Texas.

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STAT OF THE DAY:

People are divided over whether they like Michelle Obama, Democrat Barack Obama's wife. Thirty percent see her favorably and 35 percent unfavorably, according to a recent Associated Press-Yahoo News.

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Compiled by Ann Sanner.