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 …
Mike Glover / Associated Press:
Obama says Republicans trying to scare voters — SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - Democrat Barack Obama, the first black candidate with a shot at winning the White House, says John McCain and his Republican allies will try to scare them by saying Obama “doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.”
Marc Ambinder:
Hit Me, Davis, One More Time — A night's sleep a few thoughts on celebrity, John McCain;'s ad, celebrity, and what voters will make of all of this. — 1. John McCain is the Republican least associated with the Bush brand of politics. His appeal is based on his independence …
Wall Street Journal:
Roles Are Set, as Are the Perils — Obama at Risk Of Arrogant Tag, McCain, Negative — AURORA, Colo. — Presidential rivals Barack Obama and John McCain both appear to be seizing the roles in which they have been cast: Sen. Obama as front-runner and Sen. McCain as underdog.
Discussion:
Donklephant
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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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:
TownHall Blog, Hot Air, Sister Toldjah, Betsy's Page, Political Radar, Casting Stones, www.redstate.com, Balloon Juice and www.redstate.com
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Race and ‘Celeb’ — In the primary, allegations of racism and racial insensitivity were there almost from the start, beginning with Joe Biden's botched roll-out, in which he told the Observer that Obama was clean and articulate. — In the general election, the theme had been largely absent.
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 …
Discussion:
Raising Kaine
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Rex Nutting / MarketWatch:
GDP accelerates to 1.9% pace in second quarter — Domestic demand falls for second time in the past three quarters — WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Boosted by stimulus checks from Uncle Sam and a big drop in imports, real growth in the U.S. economy accelerated in the second quarter to a 1.9% annual rate …
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Jeannine Aversa / Associated Press:
Growth weaker than hoped; economy shrinks in Q4
Growth weaker than hoped; economy shrinks in Q4
Discussion:
Don Surber
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.
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Rick Perlstein / Blog entry:
Liberal Fascism — Recall that John McCain's new adviser Karl Rove …
Liberal Fascism — Recall that John McCain's new adviser Karl Rove …
Discussion:
BAGnewsNotes
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.
Discussion:
PSoTD
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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:
Los Angeles Times, The Swamp, Newsday, Front page feed, ImmigrationProf Blog, Stop The ACLU, Immigration Chronicles and ParaPundit
Aaron C. Davis / Washington Post:
Police Raid Berwyn Heights Mayor's Home, Kill His 2 Dogs — A police SWAT team raided the home of the mayor in the Prince George's County town of Berwyn Heights on Tuesday, shooting and killing his two dogs, after he brought in a 32-pound package of marijuana that had been delivered to his doorstep, police said.
Discussion:
Reason Magazine
Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
Obama's Iraq Fumble — In a race supposedly dominated by the economy, both Barack Obama and John McCain have spent a lot of time talking about Iraq. Why? Because both men have Iraq problems that are causing difficulties for their campaigns. — How each candidate resolves his Iraq problems …
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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.”