Top Items:
Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
GOP's celeb-Obama message gains traction — Barack Obama's critics laid down the foundations of the strategy months ago: The Republican National Committee started the “Audacity Watch” back in April, and Karl Rove later fueled the attack by describing the first-term Illinois senator as “coolly arrogant.”
Discussion:
MyDD, The Mahablog, First Draft, Confederate Yankee, American Street, No More Mister Nice Blog, Real Clear Politics, Gateway Pundit and The Fix
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Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Where did Barack Obama's mojo go? — Something's going on. Or some things. — A new CNN/Opinion Research poll out Wednesday shows that despite nine solid days of blanket media coverage from overseas with Barack Obama cheered by adoring throngs of Germans and parlez-vousing with the French …
Washington Post:
As Aides Map Aggressive Race, McCain Often Steers Off Course — Sen. John McCain last week delivered one of his sharpest critiques yet of Sen. Barack Obama's Iraq policies, carefully reading a prepared speech that accused his Democratic rival of failing the commander-in-chief test …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Politico, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, The Carpetbagger Report, Washington Monthly, TIME.com and The RBC
Todd Purdum / Vanity Fair:
The McCain Behind the Curtain — The saddest sight on “Straight Talk Air,” the sleek flying successor to John McCain's one-time rolling caravan of candor, is the couch. It's a soft, tan leather shelf, custom-fitted for high altitude truth-telling when McCain, a former Navy pilot, took his act from the road to the skies this summer.
Zzaki / Political Punch:
Did Obama Accuse McCain of Running a Racist, Xenophobic Campaign? — “John McCain right now, he's spending an awful lot of time talking about me,” Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said today in Rolla, Mo. “You notice that? I haven't seen an ad yet where he talks about what he's gonna do.
Marc Ambinder:
Hit Me, Davis, One More Time — A night's sleep a few thoughts on celebrity, John McCain;'s ad, celebrity, and what voters will make of all of this. — 1. John McCain is the Republican least associated with the Bush brand of politics. His appeal is based on his independence …
Wall Street Journal:
Roles Are Set, as Are the Perils — Obama at Risk Of Arrogant Tag, McCain, Negative — AURORA, Colo. — Presidential rivals Barack Obama and John McCain both appear to be seizing the roles in which they have been cast: Sen. Obama as front-runner and Sen. McCain as underdog.
St. Petersburg Times:
From ‘straight talk’ to smear campaign — The Straight Talk Express has taken a nasty turn into the gutter. Sen. John McCain has resorted to lies and distortions in what sounds like an increasingly desperate attempt to slow down Sen. Barack Obama by raising questions about his patriotism.
Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
McCain campaign chief: Obama “played the race card” — John McCain's campaign manager is accusing Barack Obama of unfairly using the issue of race, a significant accusation in a campaign featuring the first African-American major party nominee. — “Barack Obama has played the race card …
Discussion:
New York Times, Ben Smith's Blogs, Gateway Pundit, The Caucus, Stop The ACLU and Hot Air
Matt Apuzzo / Associated Press:
US judge: White House aides can be subpoenaed — WASHINGTON - President Bush's top advisers are not immune from congressional subpoenas, a federal judge ruled Thursday in an unprecedented dispute between the two political branches. — House Democrats called the ruling a ringing endorsement …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Think Progress, Buck Naked Politics, Hot Air, The Carpetbagger Report, Emptywheel, Daily Kos and The Gavel
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Patrick O'Connor / The Crypt's Blogs:
Federal judge rules against Miers, White House on subpoenas
Federal judge rules against Miers, White House on subpoenas
Discussion:
The Washington Independent
Jennifer Parker / Political Radar:
Clinton Supporter Angered By ‘Other Women’ Obama VP Talk — ABC News' Jennifer Parker reports: A longtime friend of Sen. Hillary Clinton said it's “incomprehensible” that Sen. Barack Obama would choose another woman to be his vice-presidential candidate over Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Discussion:
PSoTD
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Steve Hargreaves / CNNMoney.com:
Exxon posts record $11.68 billion profit — World's largest publicly traded oil firm makes $1,485.55 a second in the quarter, but misses forecasts. — NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Exxon Mobil once again reported the largest quarterly profit in U.S. history Thursday, posting net income …
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Julia Werdigier / New York Times:
Rising Oil Prices Swell Profits at Exxon and Shell
Rising Oil Prices Swell Profits at Exxon and Shell
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, Buck Naked Politics, Blue Girl, Red State, The New Editor, Balloon Juice and Climate Progress
Marty Kaplan / The Huffington Post:
On Having Your (Political) Heart Broken — The e-mail came when I was in Mexico, at a fitness resort that — in pursuit of wellness — confines BlackBerry use to guests' rooms. — “Need to chat briefly with you regarding John Edwards and the effects of this scandal on his future political career.”
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Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Obama's Veep Vetting Enters New Stage — Barack Obama's vice presidential vetting process has moved into a new stage in which a larger than previously reported group of candidates is being exposed to a “deeper dig” into their backgrounds — in the words of a source familiar with the process.
Discussion:
Political Radar, Newsweek Blogs, Associated Press, MSNBC, Jonathan Martin's Blogs and Donklephant
RELATED:
Henry A. Kissinger / Washington Post:
New Premises in Iraq — Prospects for Withdrawal Have to Be Viewed Through the Lens of Progress — The U.S. presidential campaign has been so long and so intense that it seems to operate in a cocoon, oblivious to changes that should alter its premises. A striking example is the debate over withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.
RELATED:
Amit R. Paley / Washington Post:
Al-Qaeda in Iraq Leader May Be in Afghanistan
Al-Qaeda in Iraq Leader May Be in Afghanistan
Discussion:
MoJoBlog, The Jawa Report, Hot Air, Flopping Aces, The Strata-Sphere, A Newt One, Political Machine and Newshoggers.com
Aaron C. Davis / Washington Post:
Police Raid Berwyn Heights Mayor's Home, Kill His 2 Dogs — A police SWAT team raided the home of the mayor in the Prince George's County town of Berwyn Heights on Tuesday, shooting and killing his two dogs, after he brought in a 32-pound package of marijuana that had been delivered to his doorstep, police said.
Discussion:
Reason Magazine
Eli Stokols / cw2.trb.com:
Decision 2008: In Depth: “Swing State” — How Colorado got so close, and so crucial, so quickly — DENVER (KWGN) — On his third trip to Colorado in as many weeks, Senator John McCain Wednesday spoke directly to the importance of this “swing state” in November's presidential election.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
Glenn Reynolds / Pajamas Media:
GAFFE-O-MATIC: … Isn't there just one President on the dollar bill? — And have you noticed that it's always Obama who's actually injecting race into the campaign, under the guise of warning about what those Evil Republicans will do? And is it really likely that John McCain would be out there saying …