Top Items:
Ross Douthat:
Barack Hitler Obama — It's remarkable what those fiendish GOP operatives can squeeze into thirty seconds: Not only does McCain's “celeb” ad have “Barack Obama will rape yo daughters overtones,” says Rick Perlstein (who's apparently under the impression that most Americans think of Paris Hilton …
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, The Corner, Sister Toldjah, Oliver Willis, Ed Driscoll.com and Stop The ACLU
RELATED:
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 …
Discussion:
Gun Toting Liberal Blog, MSNBC, michellemalkin.com, Blue Girl, Red State, Wonkette and The Anonymous Liberal
The Board:
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 …
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
McCain says ‘race card’ charges are fair — (CNN) — John McCain told CNN Thursday it is fair for his campaign manager to claim Barack Obama is playing ‘the race card.’ — “I'm sorry to say that it is. It's legitimate,” McCain told CNN's John King. “And there's no place in this campaign for that.
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Unbelievable: NYT recycles nutroots charge that McCain's Britney ad is racist — From Josh Marshall's lips to the editorial board's ear. New rule: If you're conservative, juxtaposing images of Barack Obama and white women regardless of context is racist per se.
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.
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.”
Deacon / Power Line:
OBAMA REMOVES HIS MASK — It's not even quite August yet and he's still ahead in the polls, but Barack Obama has played the race card, claiming that he expects Republicans to inject race into the campaign. In Missouri, he told a crowd: … The Obama campaign denied that the comment about …
Marc Ambinder:
Bluffing 'Bout Bias?
Bluffing 'Bout Bias?
Discussion:
Newsweek Blogs, Commentary, D-Day, The Carpetbagger Report, Grasping Reality …, MyDD, Hullabaloo, American Spectator and Swampland
Dean Barnett / Weekly Standard Blog: About that Ad — As you know, I haven't exactly established myself …
Glenn Reynolds / Pajamas Media:
GAFFE-O-MATIC: … Isn't there just one President on the dollar bill?
GAFFE-O-MATIC: … Isn't there just one President on the dollar bill?
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, www.redstate.com, Political Radar, JustOneMinute, Ben Smith's Blogs, Hot Air and Political Punch
Marty Lederman / Balkinization:
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 …
RELATED:
David Stout / New York Times:
White House Aides Can Be Subpoenaed — WASHINGTON — President Bush's top advisers cannot ignore subpoenas issued by Congress, a federal judge ruled on Thursday in a case that involves the firings of several United States attorneys but has much wider constitutional implications for all three branches of government.
Matt Apuzzo / Associated Press:
Federal judge rules Bush's aides can be subpoenaed
Federal judge rules Bush's aides can be subpoenaed
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, The Huffington Post, JONATHAN TURLEY, Emptywheel, The Gavel, Think Progress, DownWithTyranny!, Hot Air and The Moderate Voice
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%.
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Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Hope and change: Obama loses eight points in four days
Hope and change: Obama loses eight points in four days
Discussion:
www.redstate.com
Faiz / Think Progress:
EXCLUSIVE: To Provoke War, Cheney Considered Proposal To Dress Up Navy Seals As Iranians And Shoot At Them — Speaking at the Campus Progress journalism conference earlier this month, Seymour Hersh — a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist for The New Yorker — revealed that Bush administration officials held …
Avi Zenilman / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Obama: “Is that the best you can come up with?” — At an economic town hall in Cedar Rapids, Obama continues to use high-mindedness as a bludgeon against the McCain ad:
RELATED:
Randyj / TIME.com:
Obama on “Celeb” Ad: “Is That the Best You Can Come Up With?”
Obama on “Celeb” Ad: “Is That the Best You Can Come Up With?”
Discussion:
Liberal Values
Kevin Drum / Washington Monthly:
JOHN McCAIN'S “PALPABLE PAIN“....From Todd Purdum's profile of John McCain in Vanity Fair today: … That's it? McCain disagreed with some crotchety old coot who wants to throw out our child labor laws so that more white kids can work in the fields? And then followed up by — stop the presses! …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias
RELATED:
Nate / FiveThirtyEight.com:
My Least Favorite Argument — Obviously, I have a lot of nits to pick when it comes to campaign coverage, but my single least favorite brand of analysis is what I term “Match Game Arguments”: No candidate has ever [blank]. Given various intersections of geography, demography and history …
Discussion:
The Opinionator
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Avi Issacharoff / Observer:
Hamas' Christian convert: I've left a society that sanctifies terror — A moment before beginning his supper, Masab, son of West Bank Hamas leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef, glances at the friend who has accompanied him to the restaurant where we met. They whisper a few words and then say grace …
Associated Press:
Stevens gets chance to clear name before election — WASHINGTON - Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens pleaded not guilty to corruption charges Thursday and received an unusually speedy trial date, which he hopes will clear his name before voters consider re-electing him in November.
RELATED:
Logan Murphy / Crooks and Liars:
PFC LaVena Johnson Was Raped, Beaten, Set On Fire And Worse - Army Calls It Suicide — Nicole and I have both written posts about the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of PFC LaVena Johnson, and Democracy Now! had a heartbreaking interview with her family last week.
Raleigh News & Observer:
Facing questions, Edwards evades reporters — It was only three weeks ago that John Edwards was fielding media questions on his chances of filling the Democratic Party's vice presidential slot on Barack Obama's ticket or a potential Cabinet position in an Obama administration.
Peter Kirsanow / The Corner:
Presumed Racist — Obama's statement yesterday about Republican scare tactics is merely the latest in a string of statements in which he suggests that certain Americans are intrinsically racist, and those Americans aren't just confined to political opponents.
Discussion:
alicublog