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.”
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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 …
Marty / Martin Eisenstadt's Blog:
Paris Hilton's family fuming at McCain campaign — I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems that the new McCain ad criticizing Obama for being a celebrity has ruffled some unintended feathers. I, for one, quite liked the ad, but I hear whispers from the inner campaign staff …
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.
Mark Murray / MSNBC:
GRAHAM AND LIEBERMAN DEFEND AD — From NBC's Ken Strickland and Andrea Mitchell — Responding to criticism of McCain's recent TV ad depicting Obama as celebrity without substance, two of McCain's key Senate allies fired back in an unrelated news conference.
Dean Barnett / Weekly Standard Blog:
About that Ad — As you know, I haven't exactly established myself as a robotic defender of the McCain campaign. Thus, in the spirit of a very minor league Nixon going to an even more minor league China, I will be the first member of the right wing press to unequivocally defend the McCain ad …
John Riley / Spin Cycle:
Sex celebs: Why Britney and Paris?
Sex celebs: Why Britney and Paris?
Discussion:
The New Republic, The Trail, The Carpetbagger Report, Washington Monthly, Ross Douthat, Political Punch and MSNBC
Zzaki / Political Punch:
Did Obama Accuse McCain of Running a Racist, Xenophobic Campaign?
Did Obama Accuse McCain of Running a Racist, Xenophobic Campaign?
Discussion:
Marc Ambinder, Ben Smith's Blogs, michellemalkin.com, Washington Post, Hot Air, www.redstate.com, The Carpetbagger Report, Political Radar, TownHall Blog, TPM Election Central, Sister Toldjah, AMERICAblog News, baldilocks, Maggie's Farm, Balloon Juice, Casting Stones, www.redstate.com, Firedoglake, Betsy's Page and Media Blog
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:
New York Times, The Swamp, The Moderate Voice, The Gavel, Balkinization, Think Progress, Hot Air, DownWithTyranny! and The Carpetbagger Report
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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 …
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Gallup:
Gallup Daily: Obama 45%, McCain 44% — PRINCETON, NJ — The race for the presidency has moved back into a statistical tie in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update of national registered voters, with Barack Obama now ahead of John McCain by just one percentage point, 45% to 44%.
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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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.
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Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
Suggesting the race card and then denying it — Obama's camp recognizes there is both promise and peril in accusing McCain and the GOP of racially-tinged attacks. Yes, it energizes the Democratic base (black and white) while also raising the antennae of suburban swing voters.
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Big Tent Democrat / TalkLeft:
FL, OH, PA Polls — The new Quinnipiac polls for Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania are mostly encouraging for John McCain. How can that be? you might ask. McCain trails in all 3 states according to Q. Here's why - Barack Obama has lost ground in these 3 states. — First of all, I do not believe Obama is leading in Florida.
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Jane Kay / San Francisco Chronicle:
51% of Californians back offshore drilling — (07-30) 22:28 PDT San Francisco — A majority of Californians favor more oil drilling off the coast, according to a statewide survey released Wednesday, for the first time since oil prices spiked nearly three decades ago.
Discussion:
LA Times Environment Blog, The Huffington Post, michellemalkin.com, CNNMoney.com and The Foundry
Megan McArdle:
Annals of polemicism — It's hard for me to read this without thinking of Ken Rogoff's immortal open letter to Joseph Stiglitz. Consider this passage from Professor Cochrane: … Why aren't there hordes of economists studying meaningful alternatives to market capitalism?