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 …

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%.

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.”

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.

Say What?  John McCain, Barack Obama, and the “Race Card”  —  We know that operatives in modern-day presidential campaigns are supposed to say things that everyone knows are ridiculous — and to do it with a straight face.  —  Still, there was something surreal, and offensive …

The McCain Ad in South Florida  —  Contemplating Eve's (and Rick Perlstein's) analogy between the McCain “Celeb” ad and Leni Riefenstahl's greatest hits, it occurs to me that the similarities won't be lost on many elderly Jews in South Florida.  My late grandfather, a member of this species …

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.

This is Really Pretty Amazing  —  In a 93-page opinion in the Miers/Bolten contempt case, Judge Bates not only rejects all of the various Administration arguments against justiciability, but goes so far as to reach the merits and hold that there is no basis for the DOJ argument …

US judge: White House aides can be subpoenaed  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has sided with Congress in its fight with the Bush administration over whether top White House aides can be subpoenaed by Congress.  —  The House Judiciary Committee wants to question the president's chief of staff …

Bluffing 'Bout Bias?  —  CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA — Really, the press corps should pay attention to Barack Obama's sustained defense of his energy policies, which includes new language on John McCain's ties to the oil industry.  But we're not: we're writing about the flashpoint of the day …