memeorandum: McCain campaign accuses Obama of playing race card (Mike Glover/Associated Press)

3:05 PM ET, July 31, 2008

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.”

Discussion: The Swamp, The Reaction, MyDD, Confederate Yankee, The Mahablog, American Street, First Draft, No More Mister Nice Blog, Gateway Pundit, Real Clear Politics, American Spectator and The Fix

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%.

Discussion: Hot Air, www.redstate.com and Open Left

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 …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Wake up America, The Other McCain, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Gateway Pundit, Right Wing Nut House, Ed Driscoll.com, The Moderate Voice, Booman Tribune, Donklephant and CNN

Todd Purdum / Vanity Fair:

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.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and TIME.com

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.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and TPM Election Central

Mike Glover / Associated Press:

McCain campaign accuses Obama of playing race card — CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - A day after Democratic candidate Barack Obama warned that Republican rival John McCain would to tell voters “he doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills,” McCain's campaign on Thursday accused Obama of playing racial politics.

Discussion: Donklephant, Swampland, www.redstate.com and Maggie's Farm

Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:

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.

Discussion: Media Blog

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 …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Next Right and The RBC

John Riley / Spin Cycle:
Sex celebs: Why Britney and Paris?

Discussion: The New Republic, The Carpetbagger Report, The Daily Dish, Washington Monthly, Political Punch and MSNBC

Zzaki / Political Punch:
Did Obama Accuse McCain of Running a Racist, Xenophobic Campaign?

Discussion: Marc Ambinder, TownHall Blog, michellemalkin.com, Washington Post, The Carpetbagger Report, Hot Air, www.redstate.com, Political Radar, Sister Toldjah, TPM Election Central, AMERICAblog News, baldilocks, Balloon Juice, Casting Stones, www.redstate.com, Firedoglake, Betsy's Page and Media Blog

The Huffington Post:
Bill Press: John McCain Plays the Race Card

Discussion: Political Machine and Right Wing News

Dean Barnett / Weekly Standard Blog: About that Ad — As you know, I haven't exactly established myself …

Wall Street Journal:
Roles Are Set, as Are the Perils

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, OPENERS, Commentary, Donklephant and Blue Girl, Red State

Tuned In:
McCain Tries to Britney-fy Obama

Discussion: Time, BuzzFlash.org and The Washington Independent

Glenn Reynolds / Pajamas Media:
GAFFE-O-MATIC: … Isn't there just one President on the dollar bill?

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Dean's World, www.redstate.com and Political Punch

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Race and ‘Celeb’ — In the primary, allegations of racism …

Discussion: Hot Air, Political Punch, Balloon Juice, Ross Douthat and BAGnewsNotes

Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
McCain campaign chief: Obama ‘played the race card’

Discussion: Hot Air, Ben Smith's Blogs, Gateway Pundit, The Caucus, Stop The ACLU and New York Times

Ross Douthat:
Britney and Crypto-Racism — Via Chris Bodenner …

Discussion: The Daily Dish

CNN: The Paris Hilton comparisons

Matt Apuzzo / Associated Press:

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 …

Discussion: New York Times, The Swamp, The Moderate Voice, The Gavel, Hot Air, Think Progress, DownWithTyranny!, Daily Kos, The Carpetbagger Report and Balkinization

Dan Sweeney / The Huffington Post:
Paging Karl Rove: U.S. District Judge Sides With Congress

Discussion: Think Progress, JONATHAN TURLEY and D-Day

The Hill:
Fears of a shutdown — The prospect of a September government …

Discussion: The Crypt's Blogs, The Washington Independent and Think Progress

Emptywheel:
BREAKING: Judge Bates Rules for the House

Discussion: Salon and Daily Kos

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 …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, The Politico, The Carpetbagger Report, Washington Monthly, TIME.com and The RBC

Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:
FIRST THOUGHTS: BRITNEY-PARIS DAY AFTER — From Chuck Todd …

Discussion: The New Republic and The Trail

Rich Lowry / The Corner:
More on the “Celeb” Ad

Discussion: The Caucus

Daniel Henninger / Wall Street Journal:
Is John McCain Stupid?

Discussion: The Swamp, EconLog and Real Clear Politics

St. Petersburg Times:
From ‘straight talk’ to smear campaign

Discussion: Campaign Diaries, AMERICAblog News and The Democratic Daily

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: Newshoggers.com, Associated Press and Raising Kaine

Julia Werdigier / New York Times:
Rising Oil Prices Swell Profits at Exxon and Shell

Discussion: Wonk Room, Think Progress, Buck Naked Politics, Matthew Yglesias, Blue Girl, Red State, Balloon Juice, The New Editor and Climate Progress

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 and Balloon Juice

Associated Press:
Obama-Clinton ticket advocacy group shuts down

Discussion: New York Post, Gun Toting Liberal Blog and TIME.com

Dan Schnur / Campaign Stops:

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 …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, TPMCafe and Time

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Obama's Veep Vetting Enters New Stage

Discussion: Associated Press, Political Radar, Newsweek Blogs, MSNBC, Jonathan Martin's Blogs and Donklephant

Jane Kay / San Francisco Chronicle:

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.

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, LA Times Environment Blog, The Huffington Post, CNNMoney.com and The Foundry

Big Tent Democrat / TalkLeft:

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.

Discussion: Liberal Values, The New Republic and American Spectator

Marty Kaplan / The Huffington Post:

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.”