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.

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 …

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%.

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.

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 …

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.

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.

Bad V.P. Picks  —  As the short lists of potential running mates for John McCain and Barack Obama grow shorter, an intriguing but somewhat unexpected question has emerged: Who would be the worse selection?  Mitt Romney or Tim Kaine?  —  Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts …

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.

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 …

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?

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.”

TSA...Seriously  —  I'm at Newark Airport for a quick flight and upon inspection we discover I have a $12 spray in my unchecked baggage.  So I trash it. as she walks away, the TSA inspector says, “you know — once I walk away — if you put that back in your bag, I won't know about it.”