Morning Read

Barack Obama didn't call Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) a pig, according to the traditional media and liberal bloggers, but conservative bloggers believe otherwise. It's John McCain who is guilty of smearing, according to Obama's online backers, who note the Republican's new ad accuses Obama of supporting sex education for kindergartners.

Obama used the "lipstick on a pig" idiom when trying to undermine McCain and Palin's case for change Tuesday. While McCain surrogates said that the pig Obama was talking about was Palin, Marc Ambinder reminds readers that it's a common analogy that Obama has used before. McCain himself has used the "lipstick on a pig" remark in the past, when he was arguing against the healthcare plan of then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, notes ABC's Jake Tapper. The McCain campaign is playing the gender card and is falsely claiming that Obama is being sexist, writes The Huffington Post's Ari Melber.

But neither Obama's "pig" remark nor his remark about an "old fish" was an accident, according to Townhall's Carol Platt Liebau, who thinks that Obama had both Palin and McCain in mind. Even if he wasn't talking about Palin, Obama has made a "bad gaffe" since many people believe that he was referring to her, writes The Corner's Yuval Levin.

McCain is the one unfairly attacking Obama by suggesting in a new ad that Obama, the father of two young daughters, voted to teach sex education to kindergartners, writes Daily Kos's georgia10. The bill Obama voted for in Illinois aimed to scare kids about sex, not teach them about it, notes TalkingPointsMemo reader JM. Even conservative blogger Allahpundit on Hot Air thinks that McCain has taken it too far, noting that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) has supported similar policies.

FROM THE BLOGS:
A Piggish Debate - Jake Tapper, Political Punch
Obama Did Not Call Palin a Pig - Marc Ambinder
Phony Lipstick Charge Won't Fly - Jeralyn, TalkLeft
McCain Plays Gender Card - Ari Melber, Huffington Post
It's A Bad Gaffe - Yuval Levin, The Corner
'Pig' Remark No Accident - Carol Platt Liebau, Townhall.com
Obama Camp's Very Bad Day - Mark Hemingway, The Corner
Grand Old Perverts - georgia10, Daily Kos
McCain's Sleazy Campaign - Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
Defending The One - Allahpundit, Hot Air

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Palin Bounce Have Democrats Off Balance - LA Times
Palin Lifts McCain's Support - Wall Street Journal
As Campaign Heats Up, Untruths Can Become Facts - Wash. Post
Bailout Hurts Charities - The Hill

The traditional media is calling out Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) for being less than truthful about her record on earmarks, liberal bloggers eagerly note. Palin, however, has helped McCain pull ahead of of Barack Obama in national polls, prompting bloggers on both sides to ruminate on her appeal to women voters.

John McCain's new lead over Barack Obama in the latest national polls has some liberal bloggers suggesting patience and others calling for more attacks against McCain. Obama's suggestion Sunday that he thought about joining the military when he was younger raises skepticism among conservative bloggers. And the news that Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews are out as MSNBC's election night anchors pleases bloggers on both sides.

McCain leads Obama in the Gallup and Rasmussen tracking polls and in a USA Today poll. But before poll watchers put too much stock in the new numbers, they should account for McCain's current convention bounce and the fact that the campaign schedule lacks other major news events right now, writes FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver. The polls show, however, that McCain has improved his standing among voters concerned about the economy, something that should make Obama increase his efforts to tie McCain to President Bush's domestic policies, writes TalkLeft's Big Tent Democrat. McCain's strategy of portraying Obama as a tax-and-spend liberal and his base-pleasing veep pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) seem to be working, writes Hot Air's Ed Morrissey.

Though Obama said on ABC News that he thought about joining the military while in college, Townhall's Carol Platt Liebau doubts that Obama actually did because he surrounded himself back then with the type of people who opposed the military's ban on gays. Obama didn't write much about his military views as a student in either of his two introspective books, writes RedState's Jeff Emanuel, who finds the Democrat's latest statement to be "dishonest opportunism."

With "partisans" Olbermann and Matthews anchoring its election coverage, MSNBC had crossed a journalistic line that Fox News tried to respect by separating talk shows from news shows, writes Contentions' Jennifer Rubin. The problem with Olbermann was that he wasn't willing to admit his bias for Obama since he started going after his opponents back in the primaries, according to Taylor Marsh. Olbermann had become just like Bill O'Reilly and other talk show hosts on the right in that he had stopped giving the news and began to give his own take on the news, writes TalkLeft's Jeralyn.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Patience, Poll Watchers - Nate Silver, FiveThirtyEight
McCain/Palin=Bush's Third Term - Big Tent Dem, TalkLeft
54-44 And Fight! - Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
Barack Claims He Wanted to Join Military - C.P. Liebau, Townhall
Sounds Like Dishonest Opportunism - Jeff Emanuel, RedState
Why Did Obama Say 'Muslim Faith'? - Althouse
Return of the Grown-Ups - Jennifer Rubin, Contentions
The Olbermann Train Wreck - Taylor Marsh
Olbermann and Matthews Dumped as Anchors - Jeralyn, TalkLeft
Olbermann's Exit Raises Questions - Jazz Shaw, Moderate Voice

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
U.S. Seizes Mortgage Giants - Wall Street Journal
Poll: Convention Lifts McCain Over Obama - USA Today
Olbermann, Matthews Dropped As Anchors - Washington Post
Fusing Politics and Motherhood In New Way - New York Times

John McCain's convention speech gets decidedly mixed reviews the morning after. McCain's address had some substance and appeal for independents, but it didn't have style, according to conservative bloggers. Liberal bloggers write that the speech just wasn't that good. The star of the Republican convention remains Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, whose speech and presence on the ticket is starting to pay off for McCain, write bloggers on both sides.

McCain didn't win style points for his speech, but he made his case to undecided voters by listing Republican sins and calling for a return to the basic tenets of conservatism, writes RedState's Erick Erickson. McCain had to neutralize the Democratic argument that he's "more of the same," so he was smart to try to distance himself from the Bush administration, writes Contentions' John Podhoretz. McCain may have done well to focus on his own narrative instead of soaring oratory, but he still needs to offer up more substance, such as another policy proposal that directly affects voters, writes Rich Lowry at The Corner.

McCain's speech wasn't a hit, largely because he tried to distance himself from a president with whom he has voted more than 90 percent of the time, writes Jonathan Singer at MyDD. The speech lacked a clear theme and was mostly recital of "Republican boilerplate," writes TalkingPointsMemo's Josh Marshall. The blogger notes that McCain's campaign couldn't even get the stagecraft right, as the candidate stood before an ugly green screen just as he had done during his widely panned address in New Orleans in June.

But McCain and Palin are now tied with Barack Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), in the latest CBS poll, thanks to the impact of Palin on voters, writes Jerome Armstrong at MyDD. The week has been defined by McCain's running mate, who forced Obama to compare himself to a veep candidate and has rallied conservatives behind the GOP ticket, writes The Corner's Yuval Levin.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Substance Over Style - Erick Erickson, RedState
Strong Speech That Crescendoed - Hugh Hewitt, Townhall.com
Who Was the Audience? - John Podhoretz, Contentions
Don't Focus on the Oratory - Rich Lowry, The Corner
McCain's Speech Wasn't a Hit - Jonathan Singer, MyDD
Surprised That It Wasn't Very Good - J. Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
McCain Is Running On Amnesia Platform - A. Huffington, HuffPo
Blow A Convention Speech? - Attaturk, Firedoglake
Pretty Good Speech, Very Good Week - Yuval Levin, The Corner
Post Palin - Jerome Armstrong, MyDD
The Palin and McCain Speeches - P. Yousefzadeh, RedState

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
'Change Is Coming,' McCain Says - Washington Post
McCain Vows to End Partisan Rancor - New York Times
The Party in Power, Running As If It Weren't - New York Times
McCain Presents Case for Leadership - The Hill

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's (R) veep nomination acceptance speech is getting rave reviews from bloggers on both the right and the left. She effectively hit back against Democrats and the media, writes conservative bloggers. She also showed herself to be a Republican who can connect with an audience and whom Democrats should fear, according to liberal bloggers. The offensive by John McCain's campaign against the media for what it sees as unfair treatment of Palin earns a backlash from one big name pundit, while another sees merits in the argument.

Palin "wielded the knife with a smile on her face," proving herself to be the best American woman speaker with her strong and funny speech, writes The Corner's Lisa Schiffren. Palin was "extremely likable" because she showed that she was "nobody's victim" while "drawing blood" from her critics, writes Townhall's Carol Platt Liebau. Palin accomplished her mission by highlighting Barack Obama's community organizer past after he had denigrated her small-town service and by portraying McCain as a reform agent, writes RedState's Jeff Emanuel.

Democrats will be battling Palin for the next decade now that she has captured the "GOP's heart and flag" with a speech that connected with the audience, writes MyDD's Jerome Armstrong. Palin was a more compelling presence than McCain, and her effective attacks on Democrats have made the election a competitive race, writes The Huffington Post's James Love. But just as liberal pundits were too worried that 1992 Democratic nominee Bill Clinton would sink after that year's negative GOP convention, pundits this year may be overstating the effectiveness of the GOP's partisan tone on undecided voters, writes The Plank's Jonathan Chait.

McCain and his surrogates are being "stupidly aggressive" and "unprofessional" in trying to bully reporters away from the necessary task of vetting Palin, according to Swampland's Joe Klein, who urges the reporters to stand strong and continue to pursue facts. But notable publications, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, have run more than one story mentioning Palin

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) is still the talk of the blogosphere entering the third day of the GOP convention. Conservative bloggers defend their enthusiasm for her, while liberal bloggers wonder why she's hiding from the public. The convention's Tuesday night session wasn't a bad start, according to bloggers, who give the best reviews to the speakers not named President Bush.

One big reason people like John McCain's running mate is that Americans are tired of being lectured at by smug elites, something which Palin certainly is not, writes The Corner's Victor Davis Hanson. Conservatives love Palin more than ever now that liberals have ratcheted up their "ability to hate this pretty little soccer mom," writes Matt Lewis at Townhall.com. If McCain drops Palin from the ticket, as liberals and pundits have suggested he might, he would disappoint conservative activists and should drop out of the race himself, writes Hot Air's Allahpundit.

Republican officials aren't talking at all about a Palin withdrawal, even though reporters are actively probing her background, notes The Huffington Post's Thomas B. Edsall. Palin has gone into virtual seclusion at the Republican convention, not even showing up at an event held by conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, writes MyDD's Jonathan Singer. Democrats should start a clock that tracks the time between Palin appearances, just as Republicans keep track of Sen. Joe Biden's (D-Del.) gaffes, writes BJ at TalkingPointsMemo.

Tuesday night wasn

As more and more revelations about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) become known, liberal bloggers criticize John McCain for making her his surprise veep pick. Palin is fast becoming a political liability and could soon drop out of the race, bloggers predict. But the brouhaha over the pregnancy of Palin's daughter and her small-town credentials merely show that Republicans are more in touch with the country, according to McCain's online allies.

McCain has shown "erratic" leadership recently by picking Palin, scaling down the GOP convention due to Hurricane Gustav and excoriating Russia in its conflict with Georgia, writes Josh Marshall at TalkingPointsMemo. When tasked with picking a running mate, among a presidential candidate's most important decisions, McCain has shown "incompetence, cynicism, and recklessness," writes Political Animal Steve Benen. More evidence in McCain's poor judgment of Palin is seen in a report that she was a member of Alaska's Secessionist Party, which put the state's interest before the country's, writes Matthew Yglesias.

Unlike Barack Obama, who spent a long period in the public eye during a prolonged primary process, Palin is relatively unknown and has shown herself to be unqualified to hold national office, writes TalkLeft's Jeralyn. She and Daily Kos's DHinMI ask readers when they think she'll drop out. Though McCain likely thought he could have picked up more support from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) backers by choosing a female running mate, a Gallup poll shows Obama has gained among that group, writes Daily Kos's DemFromCT.

But what Palin's critics don't understand is that the country will relate more to her because of her real-life experience, writes The Next Right's Patrick Ruffini. If Democrats want to have a debate over a teenage pregnancy, they would only be helping McCain and Palin, who are pro-life, and hurting Obama, who is pro-choice, writes Townhall's Mike Gallagher.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Erratic - Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
McCain is Fundamentally Unsuited - Steve Benen, Political Animal
Face It: They Didn't Vet Her - Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
Alaska Independence? - Matthew Yglesias
What Day Will Palin Drop Out? - Jeralyn, TalkLeft
Democrats Are Defining Palin - DemFromCT, Daily Kos
Saving GOP and Lightness of Palin - A. Huffington, HuffPo
The Regular People Party - Patrick Ruffini, The Next Right
Bring It On, Democrats - Mike Gallagher, Townhall.com
What CW Doesn't Get About Palin - Mark Tapscott, The Next Right

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Hurricane, Palin Roil the Start of GOP Convention - Wash. Post
Disclosures on Palin Raise Questions on Vet Process - NYT
Pregnancy of Palin's Daughter Shakes Up McCain Camp - LAT
Hurricane Gustav Fades in Gulf and Twin Cities - The Hill

Barack Obama's speech was what liberal bloggers have long been waiting for. But the speech promised too much and belied Obama's short, partisan record, according to conservative bloggers. No one yet knows John McCain's veep pick, but Friday's early word online is that he could go with a surprise out of Alaska.

Obama's speech was "aggressive," "unabashedly populist," and came from the "Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party," writes kos, while Andrew Sullivan found it to be "deeply substantive" and enough to make the case for liberalism. During the Democratic convention, both Obama and former President Bill Clinton did what Democrats should have done long ago, which is explain how the governing failure of the past eight years is due to Republican philosophy, writes MyDD's Josh Orton.

Obama's speech, though effective, was dishonest when the Illinois senator spoke of bipartisanship because he failed to mention his short, partisan record, writes The Corner's Ramesh Ponnuru. The many promises that Obama made, such as healthcare, college and pre-school for all, aren't steeped in reality, writes Michael Medved at Townhall.com. The speech had a lot of liberal boilerplate and may do little for those who weren't already sold on Obama, writes Ross Douthat.

The presumed top two contenders to become McCain's running mate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), are reportedly out of the veepstakes and the focus is now turning to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R). Palin would shake things up, undermine Obama's convention bounce and appeal to backers of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), according to Townhall's Matt Lewis. Palin, a first-term governor, would face questions over her readiness to become commander-in-chief, notes The Corner's Kathryn Jean Lopez. But a lot of that experience talk is "overblown" when it comes to foreign affairs, writes The Corner's Andy McCarthy, who wants someone who has a suspicion of Washington and international entanglements.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Obama's Speech - kos, Daily Kos
Not 'Yes We Can,' But 'We Have To' - mcjoan, Daily Kos
The Broader Argument - Josh Orton, MyDD
Very Strong Speech and Convention - Josh Marshall, TPM
The Hope We Confess - Andrew Sullivan, Daily Dish
An Effective, Dishonest Speech - Ramesh Ponnuru, The Corner
If I Were a Dem, I'd Be Delirious - J. Nordlinger, The Corner
Not. Credible. - Hugh Hewitt, Townhall.com
Obama Challenges Grown-Up Reality - M. Medved, Townhall
Obama's Night a Letdown - Ross Douthat
Palin Experienced? - Kathryn Jean Lopez, The Corner
Not Pawlenty, Not Romney - Matt Lewis, Townhall.com
Looks Like I Was Wrong - Erick Erickson, RedState

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Obama Takes Aim at Bush and McCain W/ Forceful Call - NYT
The Message That the Party Wanted to Hear - Wash. Post
McCain Prepares to Announce His Running Mate - Wash. Post
Obama Accepts and Attacks - The Hill

Both featured speakers on Wednesday at the Democratic convention, Sen. Joseph Biden (Del.) and former President Bill Clinton, are getting plaudits from liberal bloggers. But bloggers' loudest praise is reserved for Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who railed against John McCain in his speech. And as McCain gets set to announce his veep pick, liberal bloggers hope the Republican taps Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) while conservative bloggers oppose the former Democrat.

Clinton gave a "direct, personal and powerful endorsement" of Barack Obama and gave a "statesman-like assessment" of how the country needs change at home and abroad, writes Andrew Sullivan. Clinton made a "sophisticated case" that sounded sincere, and he stayed away from making a "touchy" defense of his own record, writes The Stump's Michael Crowley. But while Clinton spent much of his time attacking Republicans on domestic policy, Biden, in his veep nomination acceptance speech, fired away and made McCain seem weak on foreign policy, writes Arianna Huffington.

Kerry, who rattled off McCain's foreign policy goofs, gave the best speech of the convention so far, according to TalkingPointsMemo's Josh Marshall. Kerry defined McCain by talking about about the "mile-wide gulf" between McCain's positions in 2002 and his current ones, writes The Stump's Noam Scheiber. But when Kerry calls for a more bipartisan foreign policy, he forgets that he strongly opposed President Reagan's Cold War strategy, writes The Corner's Jay Nordlinger.

If McCain picks Lieberman as his running mate, he'll shatter the GOP base, according to Scott Hopkins of Democrat Taylor Marsh's blog. One way or another, McCain is poised to disappoint conservative bloggers; Hot Air's Allahpundit has only groans for possible picks Lieberman, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman.

FROM THE BLOGS:
A Clinton Masterpiece - Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish
The Redemption of Bill Clinton - Michael Crowley, The Stump
On Nat'l Sec. Night, Biden Fires Away - A. Huffington, HuffPo
The Ex-President - Ezra Klein
Gravitas Man Confuses Military Terms - E. Morrissey, Hot Air
John Kerry - Wow! - Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
Kerry and What Might Have Been - Noam Scheiber, The Stump
Revise, Revise, and Revise Again - Jay Nordlinger, The Corner
Reports: Romney Out, Rove v. Lieberman - Allahpundit, Hot Air
Hoping McCain Chooses Lieberman - YF, TalkingPointsMemo
McCain Makes His Choice - Scott Hopkins, Taylor Marsh
Hutchison for Veep - No - Lisa Schiffren, The Corner

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Democrats Nominate Obama - Washington Post
Obama Wins Nomination; Biden and Clinton Rally Party - NYT
Clinton, Thinking About Tomorrow - Washington Post
Retribution Sought for Lieberman - The Hill

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) convention speech on Tuesday has earned praise from Barack Obama's blogging backers but skepticism from his critics. Tuesday's Alaska House primary results, which are still too close to call, have bloggers hoping that voters oust Rep. Don Young (R).

Only Clinton could have united the Democrats behind Obama, and she did it with her speech, writes Taylor Marsh. The speech was "powerful" because it built upon themes as it went on, writes TalkingPointsMemo's Josh Marshall, who doubts Clinton could have given such an address before she ran for president. Clinton's mission was straightforward -- to embrace Obama and attack John McCain -- and she made clear she would accomplish it with her first lines, writes The Plank's Jonathan Cohn.

But Clinton said little about Obama's excellence, which makes The Corner's Victor Davis Hanson think that she's looking ahead to 2012, when she herself can take on President McCain. Clinton didn't talk about Obama in personal terms and did little to back him aside from telling her supporters to do so, writes Carol Platt Liebau at Townhall.com. Judging by the Clintons' actions, particularly former President Bill Clinton's likely decision not to attend Obama's nomination acceptance speech, they still don