Top Items:
Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:
McCain Tries to Define Obama as Out of Touch — WASHINGTON — After spending much of the summer searching for an effective line of attack against Senator Barack Obama, Senator John McCain is beginning a newly aggressive campaign to define Mr. Obama as arrogant, out of touch and unprepared for the presidency.
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CNN:
The Paris Hilton comparisons — (CNN) — John McCain is facing criticism from many Democrats for likening Barack Obama to Paris Hilton, but the Illinois senator made the same comparison himself at a dinner in 2004. — “Andy Warhol said we all get our 15 minutes of fame,” …
Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
GOP's celeb-Obama message gains traction
GOP's celeb-Obama message gains traction
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics
Marc Ambinder:
Weaver, McCain's Former Strategist, Calls “Celeb” Ad “Childish”
Weaver, McCain's Former Strategist, Calls “Celeb” Ad “Childish”
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Video Log, Ross Douthat, Political Machine, The RBC, First Draft, The Carpetbagger Report, Real Clear Politics, No More Mister Nice Blog, Comments from Left Field, NewsBusters.org, Blue Girl, Red State, The New Republic, TIME.com, The Anonymous Liberal, Talking Points Memo, Pajamas Media, American Spectator, Tom Watson, Washington Monthly, Political Punch, PoliticalBase.com Blog, Hot Air, Macsmind, The Huffington Post, Campaign Diaries and The Nation
TPM Election Central:
McCain Camp's Comparison Of Obama To Britney: Defining Him As Puffed-Up Dandy
McCain Camp's Comparison Of Obama To Britney: Defining Him As Puffed-Up Dandy
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Boston Globe, No More Mister Nice Blog, Sister Toldjah, Comments from Left Field and MSNBC
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
McCain's Risky Ad Strategy
McCain's Risky Ad Strategy
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, MyDD, DownWithTyranny!, The Trail, Truthdig, Political Machine, Oliver Willis and The New Republic
Gomonkeygo / The New Disease:
What's the Word, John? — Miscegenation (Latin miscere “to mix” + genus “kind") is the mixing of different racial groups, that is, marrying, cohabiting, having sexual relations and having children with a partner from outside of one's racially or ethnically defined group. — Obama. Britney.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
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Rick Perlstein / Blog entry:
Liberal Fascism — Recall that John McCain's new adviser Karl Rove has said he creates campaigns for people who watch TV with the sound off. I watched John McCain's new TV commercial with the sound off, the one, it's already been well-explicated, with the Barack Obama will rape yo daughta overtones:
Discussion:
BAGnewsNotes
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.
Discussion:
Casting Stones, Political Radar, Balloon Juice, Betsy's Page, www.redstate.com and www.redstate.com
Publications:
Homeward Bound: Recent Immigration Enforcement and the Decline in the Illegal Alien Population — Monthly data collected by the Census Bureau through May 2008 shows a significant decline in the number of less-educated, young Hispanic immigrants in the country.
Discussion:
Newsday, Los Angeles Times, The Swamp, Stop The ACLU, ImmigrationProf Blog, Immigration Chronicles and ParaPundit
Barak Ravid / Haaretz:
Olmert to step down in September, vows to push for peace first — Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday that he has decided not to contend in the Kadima primary election and would resign as soon as the new party leader was chosen, due to the criminal investigations in which he has been embroiled in recent months.
Discussion:
Israel Matzav, Outside The Beltway, Guardian, Pajamas Media, The American Scene and American Footprints
RELATED:
New York Post:
HILLARY IN MYSTERY POWWOW — IT sure looked like Hillary Rodham Clinton was plotting her political future at a secret ladies-only dinner in Washington the other night. — The New York senator was guest of honor at Tuesday's hush-hush powwow that raised speculation about a possible White House run in 2012.
David Ignatius / Washington Post:
McCain's True Voice — In the dog days of summer, John McCain's political personality has become so fuzzy that even some Republicans are worrying about his viability. But if you want a reminder of why McCain should be a formidable candidate, take another look at his remarkable 1999 autobiography, “Faith of My Fathers.”
Daniel Henninger / Wall Street Journal:
Is John McCain Stupid? — Is John McCain losing it? — On Sunday, he said on national television that to solve Social Security “everything's on the table,” which of course means raising payroll taxes. On July 7 in Denver he said: “Senator Obama will raise your taxes. I won't.”
Peter S. Goodman / New York Times:
A Hidden Toll on Employment: Cut to Part Time — The number of Americans who have seen their full-time jobs chopped to part time because of weak business has swelled to more than 3.7 million — the largest figure since the government began tracking such data more than half a century ago.
Ann Coulter / Human Events:
A Baby Daddy For Both Americas — The mainstream media really seem to imagine they can prevent Americans from knowing information by refusing to mention it in newspapers or on TV. — For those few Americans without an Internet connection and to whom I have not faxed the National Enquirer stories …
Discussion:
Don Surber
Emptywheel:
Rove's Contempt: For All the Reasons We've Been Talking About — As many of you noted while we were having our little server issues this morning, HJC just recommended Rove be held in contempt by a vote of 20-14. The big challenge at this point will be convincing Speaker Pelosi …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Brave New Films blog, Blog entry, The Huffington Post and KIKO'S HOUSE
RELATED:
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
For White House, Hiring Is Political
For White House, Hiring Is Political
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report, At-Largely, The Raw Story, TPMMuckraker, Buck Naked Politics, Hullabaloo and Think Progress
The Politico:
Cohen lacks DCCC support — Democratic insiders say House Democratic leaders have refused a request from Tennessee Rep. Stephen I. Cohen — a white man in a majority-black district — for money to fend off a primary challenge from a black woman. — But they gave Cohen a consolation prize this week …
Karl Vick / Washington Post:
Alaskans Fret About a Future Without Help From ‘Uncle Ted’ — Alaska's vast landscape is littered with federally funded tributes to Sen. Ted Stevens's single-minded promotion of the state, from the brushed steel of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport to the $187 million …
Jay Cost / HorseRaceBlog:
McCain Should Pick Romney, And Soon — As John McCain mulls his veep pick, I'd offer some thoughts on what he should do. As the title indicates, I think Mitt Romney is quite possibly the best choice, and McCain should pick him soon. — Analysts have given multiple reasons for picking Romney …