NYT REJECTS MCCAIN'S EDITORIAL; SHOULD ‘MIRROR’ OBAMA  —  An editorial written by Republican presidential hopeful McCain has been rejected by the NEW YORK TIMES — less than a week after the paper published an essay written by Obama, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

Obama roars with $25M one-day haul  —  After locking up his party's presidential nomination, Barack Obama's fundraising operation came roaring back to life in June, generating more than a million dollars on five days, including a whopping $25 million that came in on the last day of the month.

Obama's Revenge: New Yorker Banned From Press Plane For Overseas Trip  —  It led with the report that Lara Logan had scored the first overseas sit-down with Barack Obama, but here's the most interesting nugget from yesterday's Mike Allen piece about the trip: … Wow.  So it's gonna be like that, is it?

McCain Warns Of ‘Hard Struggle’ On The ‘Iraq-Pakistan Border’  —  Today on Good Morning America, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) refused to call the situation in Afghanistan “precarious and urgent,” but admitted that “We have a lot of work to do.”  He warned of a “very hard struggle …

No Substitute for Victory  —  I'll go out on a limb and say that Barack Obama will be well received when he speaks in Berlin on July 24.  —  O.K., it's not exactly a limb.  A recent poll shows that the German public prefers Obama to John McCain by 67 percent to 6 percent.  —  But there is angst in Germany.

Their Fair Share  —  Washington is teeing up “the rich” for a big tax hike next year, as a way to make them “pay their fair share.”  Well, the latest IRS data have arrived on who paid what share of income taxes in 2006, and it's going to be hard for the rich to pay any more than they already do.

Times Columnist Uncovers His Darkest Story  —  David Carr's latest subject is a pathetic human being, a thug, a manipulative jerk who uses people and puts his own kids in danger.  —  The New York Times media columnist is writing about himself.  —  He is unsparing as he rips the protective bark off …

One simple way to predict a victor  —  One cannot help but be struck by the current disconnection in US presidential politics between, on one hand, the excitement and enthusiasm that attend Barack Obama's candidacy and, on the other, the tightness of the race according to recent polls.

A Strategy For McCain  —  EDITOR'S NOTE: A longer version of this piece appears in the new issue of National Review.  —  The good news for Republicans is that Obama can be beaten.  The bad news is that the McCain campaign has embarked on a course that — although it has some of the right elements — seems likely to fail.

McCain Blames Obama for High Gas Prices in New Ad  —  Susan Davis reports on the presidential race.  —  High gas prices?  Blame Barack Obama, presidential rival John McCain says in his latest ad running in 11 states.  —  “Gas prices - $4, $5, no end in sight, because some in Washington …

We Can't Handle the Truth  —  The surest way to create a campaign controversy.  —  Former Texas senator Phil Gramm ran for president in 1996.  He raised $20 million, spent nearly all of it, and won zero delegates.  Political observers had long thought such a feat was impossible, and it remains astonishing even in hindsight.

The Road To Serfdom?  —  That's what President Bush has put us on, according to Peter Robinson, who cites, to prove his point, the following chart:  —  Note that the increase looks roughly twice as shocking as it actually is because the chart-makers, John Cogan and Glenn Hubbard …

TRAIN-ING DAY FOR JIHADISTS  —  MUSLIM SUBWAY ADS HAVE TERROR TIE-IN  —  Allah board!  —  An Islamic group plans to blitz 1,000 subway cars with advertisements this September in a campaign being promoted by a Brooklyn imam whom federal officials have linked to a plot to blow up city landmarks.