Gallup Daily: Obama Leads Clinton by 10 Points  —  Second double-digit lead for Obama in Gallup tracking  —  PRINCETON, NJ — For the third consecutive day, Barack Obama holds a significant advantage over Hillary Clinton in national Democratic preferences for the Democratic presidential nomination, now 51% to 41%.

Obama Prepares Argument to Discard Public-Financing Principle  —  Despite his previous pledge to enter into the public financing system should he be the Democratic presidential nominee,* Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has recently been reluctant to re-commit to entering the system.

The Aria of Chris Matthews  —  Whenever Chris Matthews says something he likes, which happens a lot, he repeats it often and at volumes suggesting a speaker who feels insufficiently listened to at times.  “Tim Russert finally reeled the big marlin into the boat tonight,” Matthews yelled …

AP photographer granted Iraqi amnesty  —  BAGHDAD - An Iraqi judicial committee has dismissed terrorism-related allegations against Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein and ordered him released nearly two years after he was detained by the U.S. military.

FBI probe: Lieberman campaign to blame for crashing own Web site  —  A federal investigation has concluded that U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman's 2006 re-election campaign was to blame for the crash of its Web site the day before Connecticut's heated Aug. 8 Democratic primary.

Michelle Obama visits Harrisburg  —  HARRISBURG —This was Michelle Obama's “mom time” in her husband's campaign for president.  —  She'd come Tuesday to meet with 50 working women who filled a room at a Harrisburg preschool, anxious to talk to Barack Obama's wife.  —  But they'd have to wait.

Hillary's slick willies  —  Does Hillary surround herself with girly men?  Obama and the experience question.  Plus: Lincoln, Madonna's new face and a Bush with real authority.  —  I would like to get your feedback on the subject of those who end up in Hillary's orbit.

For Many, a Boom That Wasn't  —  How has the United States economy gotten to this point?  —  It's not just the apparent recession.  Recessions happen.  If you tried to build an economy immune to the human emotions that produce boom and bust, you would end up with something that looked like East Germany.

Axelrod says will not revise Obama oil ad despite Clinton complaints.  —  MALVERN, PA.—The Clinton campaign is complaining about an Obama ad where Obama touts that he does not take money from oil companies.  But I talked to Obama top strategist David Axelrod a short time ago here and he said he has no plans to change it.

As Chicago Bids for Games, Obama Ducks Olympics Criticism  —  ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: Barack Obama doesn't seem to want to talk about the Olympics or Senator Clinton's call for a boycott of the opening ceremonies on August 8, 2008.  —  At a town hall in Malvern, Pennsylvania …

Wall of silence broken at state's Muslim public school  —  Recently, I wrote about Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights.  Charter schools are public schools and by law must not endorse or promote religion.  —  Evidence suggests, however …

Occupying Iraq Is Just Like Occupying ... Alabama?  —  Earlier this week, I mentioned that the conservative blog RedState is trying to pressure the traditional media to treat critiques of John McCain's embrace of a 100-year occupation of Iraq as lies and distortion.

Implicit Prejudice Revealed: Opposition to a Woman President … That is from an interesting new paper by Matthew Streb, Barbara Burrell, Brian Frederick, and Michael Genovese (gated here, ungated here).  —  Here's the experiment, which was conducted in a March 2006 poll.

McCain's “Goodbye To All That”  —  Ross and Mickey don't approve this message:  —  I do.  It's an encouraging sign that McCain is not going to pull a Rove this fall; it's a deft way of dealing with racial difference - check out the number of African-Americans in the ad - and it co-opts the “Goodbye To All That” appeal of Obama.

Obama's Minister Problem  —  I have tried to get over my unease surrounding Barack Obama's response to the sermons and writings of his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.  But the unanswered questions remain.  —  I am a strong supporter …

Petraeus Overplays His Hand  —  That statement by U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker pretty much sums up what he and Gen. David Petraeus presented to Congress yesterday.  Iraq is hard, but we are making headway; victory is possible, if we only persevere.  —  Except that in making this pitch, Petraeus and Crocker overplayed their hand.