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:
First Draft, MyDD, Confederate Yankee, American Street, No More Mister Nice Blog, Real Clear Politics and Gateway Pundit
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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 …
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, The Politico, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, The Carpetbagger Report and TIME.com
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.
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.
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 …
Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
McCain campaign chief: Obama “played the race card” — John McCain's campaign manager is accusing Barack Obama of unfairly using the issue of race, a significant accusation in a campaign featuring the first African-American major party nominee. — “Barack Obama has played the race card …
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.”
David Ignatius / Washington Post:
McCain's True Voice
McCain's True Voice
Discussion:
Reason Magazine, The Corner, Rising Hegemon, Commentary, The Carpetbagger Report, Swampland and Firedoglake
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:
The Huffington Post, Think Progress, Buck Naked Politics, Hot Air, Emptywheel, The Carpetbagger Report, Daily Kos and The Gavel
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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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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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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.”
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Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Obama's Veep Vetting Enters New Stage — Barack Obama's vice presidential vetting process has moved into a new stage in which a larger than previously reported group of candidates is being exposed to a “deeper dig” into their backgrounds — in the words of a source familiar with the process.
Discussion:
Political Radar, Associated Press, Newsweek Blogs, MSNBC, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, Donklephant and Taegan Goddard's …
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Tuned In:
McCain Tries to Britney-fy Obama — I haven't been spending much time picking apart campaign ads in this election, because I know enough about what I don't know about that I don't want to pretend to be factcheck.org. But in his newest ad, John McCain has come into Tuned In's house …
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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
CNN:
Clinton to speak Tuesday at Democratic convention, sources say — (CNN) — Sen. Hillary Clinton has agreed to speak on the second night of next month's Democratic convention, headlining on the 88th anniversary of the day women earned the right to vote, sources say.
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, Stop The ACLU, ImmigrationProf Blog, ParaPundit and Immigration Chronicles