Morning Read

John McCain's decision to send two of his closest allies to Georgia is receiving grudging praise from bloggers on left but surprising skepticism from a blogger on the right. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has sharp words for one McCain buddy, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), liberal bloggers note. And possible centrist veep picks get blasted by online backers of both candidates.

McCain, who will send Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Lieberman to Georgia, is using the Russian invasion to his political advantage while his opponent, Barack Obama, is on vacation, writes Firedoglake's Jane Hamsher. The trip by two of McCain's closest colleagues seems designed to shoulder President Bush aside as the primary Republican leader, writes TPM Election Central's Greg Sargent. But a mission by senators, who can receive State and Defense department briefings, appears to be an attempt to squeeze a photo op out of a crisis that the White House doesn't need distractions on, writes Hot Air's Allahpundit.

Now that Pelosi has said that Lieberman's standing within the Senate Democratic caucus is in danger, maybe Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will firm up and give a similar statement, writes Josh Orton at MyDD. Pelosi, who knocked Lieberman only after he criticized Obama's patriotism, should have been criticizing the former Democrat earlier, writes Firedoglake's Hamsher.

McCain's statement in an interview that he'd consider a pro-choice running mate such as former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge (R) prompts Michelle Malkin to urge her pro-life readers to let McCain know what they think. And though kos thinks that the boomlet for Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) as a possible Obama veep may be a way to make Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) seem more palatable to liberals, a text message announcing either of them as the pick would make many Obama backers hurl their cell phones against the wall.

FROM THE BLOGS:
McCain's Got The Stage and He's Using It - J. Hamsher, Firedoglake
McCain to Send Lieberman, Graham to Georgia - G. Sargent, TPM EC
McCain: Lieberman, Graham to Georgia - Allahpundit, Hot Air
McCain: 'Nations Don't Invade Other Nations' - smintheus, Daily Kos
Pelosi Questions Lieberman's Standing - Josh Orton, MyDD
Pelosi Smacks Lieberman Around - Jane Hamsher, Firedoglake
McCain Floats VP Pro-Choice Trial Balloon - Michelle Malkin
McCain's Pro-Choice Trial Balloon? - Chris Cillizza, The Fix
Bayh? Kaine? - kos, Daily Kos

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
McCain Won't Rule Out Pro-Choice Running Mate - Weekly Standard
Democrats Pick Warner as Keynote Speaker - Washington Post
Charismatic Gov. Kaine Rises to Short List - New York Times
Pelosi Joins Dems Softening Stance on Drilling - Los Angeles Times

John McCain is showing how a president should lead in his response to the crisis in Georgia, according to conservative bloggers. Former blogging supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) propose ways to address lingering Clinton-Obama friction at the convention. And Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) receives ridicule from liberal bloggers for suggesting that Jesus has already saved the planet from global warming.

McCain, whose staunch support for Georgia was cited Tuesday by President Mikheil Saakashvili, has become the international spokesman on the issue, writes John Hinderaker at Power Line. Barack Obama has been caught napping on the conflict, as a new poll shows that McCain is trusted by most Americans to handle a similar crisis, writes Hot Air's Allahpundit. But it's not such a good sign that former U.N. ambassador John Bolton and other foreign policy hardliners are now turning to McCain instead of Bush, writes TalkingPointsMemo's Josh Marshall.

With former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner slotted as the keynote speaker at the Democratic convention instead of Clinton, her supporters in need of a catharsis should place her name in nomination for president on the convention floor, writes former Clinton backer Jerome Armstrong at MyDD. Another Clinton backer, TalkLeft's Jeralyn, would be fine with retired Gen. Wesley Clark as Obama's running mate. Clark, whose motto of "Securing America's Future" is the same as the theme for the convention's Wednesday session, was skeptical about the Patriot Act, is open to medical marijuana and called for former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's ouster before many others did, Jeralyn notes.

Bachmann said there's no need for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to save the planet because Jesus already did 2,000 years ago, notes TPM Election Central's Eric Kleefeld. But Jesus' story was about Christian salvation, not climate change, reminds Firedoglake's Eli.

FROM THE BLOGS:
McCain Leads The Way - John Hinderaker, Power Line
Majority Prefers McCain on Similar Crisis - Allahpundit, Hot Air
Bolton And Hardliners to McCain - Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
What Did We Tell Georgia? - Josh Patashnik, The Plank
Mark Warner to Keynote on Tuesday - Jerome Armstrong, MyDD
Could Clark Be the Veep Pick? - Jeralyn, TalkLeft
Bachmann: Jesus Already Saved Planet - E. Kleefeld, TPM EC
The Environment Is Not a Truck - Eli, Firedoglake
Bachmann: Jesus, Not Environmentalists - S. Benen, Carpetbagger

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Virginia's Warner Tapped for Democrats' Key Speech - Associated Press
On Georgia's Crisis, McCain's Tone Grows Sharper - Washington Post
Book on Obama Hopes to Repeat Anti-Kerry Feat - New York Times
McCain Ignoring Calls to Cancel Controversial Fundraiser - The Hill

President Bush is being blamed by his blogging critics for promising too much to Georgia. John McCain hears it from liberal bloggers for running an ad featuring "hot chicks" and Barack Obama. And Mark Penn again comes out the villain to bloggers on both sides in the latest post-mortem of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) presidential campaign.

The Bush administration, which has shown "feckless" support for Georgia, has failed to carry out its foreign policy with the required prudence, writes Swampland's Joe Klein. With the United States having no reason to be as committed to Georgia as Russia is,

Barack Obama's decision to announce his veep pick via text message receives plaudits from conservative bloggers, but the move's timing puzzles others. An upcoming John McCain fundraiser hosted by a former Jack Abramoff associate gives liberal bloggers a chance to question McCain's reformist credentials. And bloggers on the right keep after Obama and Russia, linking the two by highlighting their similar criticisms of McCain.

Obama's text message ploy is all about adding to his database of supporters and furthering the connection between them and his campaign, writes Robert Stacy McCain. While Obama is taking his strategy of using the Internet to the next level, The Next Right's Patrick Ruffini wonders if McCain will do something similar. But Obama would be mad to announce his veep pick soon, when the Olympics, the war in Georgia and revelations about former Sen. John Edwards's (D-N.C.) affair are dominating the news cycle, writes The Campaign Spot's Jim Geraghty.

McCain, who will benefit from a fundraiser organized by former Abramoff pal Ralph Reed, has talked about reform while embracing Reed and others with ties to the jailed lobbyist, writes Jonathan Singer at MyDD. Not only has Reed worked closely with Abramoff, he has written a novel featuring female characters who have drinking problems, are eager to use sex to get ahead and are belittled as intellectual lightweights, notes TalkLeft's Jeralyn.

Attacks on McCain by Russia, whose forces are pushing into central Georgia, won't help Obama, who already has a reputation for "dictator-coddling," writes The Next Right's Josh Kahn. Obama has already moved toward McCain's harsher stance toward Russia, but he hasn't apologized for attacks on McCain adviser with lobbying ties to Georgia, an American ally, writes RedState's Erick Erickson.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Obama Marketing Savvy - R.S. McCain, The Other McCain
Will McCain Announce His VP Online? - P. Ruffini, The Next Right
Why Announce During Olympics? - J. Geraghty, Campaign Spot
Discover Obama's VP By Text Message? - E. Morrissey, Hot Air
McCain: The Ties That Bind - Jeralyn, TalkLeft
McCain to Accept More Abramoff-Linked $ - Jonathan Singer, MyDD
Russia Helps McCain by Attacking Him - Josh Kahn, The Next Right
Obama on Russia and Georgia - Erick Erickson, RedState
Is Georgia '08 Like Hungary '56? - see-dubya, Michelle Malkin

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Georgia Conflict Tests Candidates on Foreign Policy - Wall Street Journal
For a Week, McCain Has Trail to Himself - New York Times
McCain Adviser Was Lobbyist for Georgia - Wall Street Journal
Bush, Cheney Increasingly Critical of Russia - Washington Post

The Beijing Olympics may look grand as they kick off today, but ultimately they will spotlight China

If Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) pushes for a convention vote that could make her the nominee, she could soothe her supporters or commit a gigantic blunder, liberal bloggers argue, while others debate whether Barack Obama is or is not a celebrity. And former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) has

Paris Hilton's response to John McCain's use of her image in an attack ad wins her critical acclaim online. The debate over the best way to address the energy crisis continues to roil the blogosphere. And more auspicious signs for Democrats in Alaska has liberal bloggers excited.

Hilton hit back at McCain by cutting her own spot mocking the Republican as "the oldest celebrity in the world." Then, in a swimsuit, she taped a response calling for an energy solution that would allow more domestic offshore oil drilling, which McCain has called for, and tax incentives to get car companies to build hybrids, which Barack Obama has called for. Hilton's sense of humor, thoughtful energy policy and amount of experience when compared to Obama could make her a strong third-party candidate, jokes Hot Air's Allahpundit. Hilton's response showed the silliness of McCain's ad comparing her and Britney Spears to Obama and will perhaps make McCain start acting like the elder stateman he should be, writes The Corner's Kathleen Parker. But Hilton's assertion that offshore drilling can help lower energy costs in the short term is wrong, since it will take at least five years for drilling to make a difference, writes Dayo Olopade at The Vine.

Obama can only help the "uber-serious" McCain by continuing to preach about tire inflation as part of the solution to high gas prices, writes Townhall's Hugh Hewitt. But while McCain attacks Big Oil in his new ad, he's taken millions from oil executives and has called for drilling that would do more to help their profits, writes The Huffington Post's Robert Borosage. McCain should lay off the oil companies, who don't have the kind of profit margins of firms in other industries, and drug companies, who need a lot of revenue to pay for medical research, according to RedState's Pejman Yousefzadeh.

Sen. Ted Stevens (R), back in his home state of Alaska after being indicted, was accompanied by a convoy of motorcycle-riding veterans and greeted by a crowd that chanted "10 more years!" during a rally for his bid to win another 6-year Senate term, notes TalkingPointsMemo's Kate Klonick in a video. Republicans should be worried about losing the state in the presidential election now that popular Gov. Sarah Palin (R), mentioned as a possible McCain running mate, has praised Obama's energy plan, writes MyDD's Jonathan Singer.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Paris Hilton Responds to McCain Ad - Funny Or Die
Fact-Checking Paris Hilton on Drilling - Dayo Olopade, The Vine
New Third-Party Ad - Allahpundit, Hot Air
Paris, And Other Sites of Interest - Kathleen Parker, The Corner
Obama, The Leaning Tower, Paris, Britney - B. York, The Corner
Obama's Drilling Compromise Makes Sense - M. Stoller, Open Left
Party Demagoguery Knows No Party ID - P. Yousefzadeh, RedState
Let Obama Preach Tire Inflation - Hugh Hewitt, Townhall.com
The Audacity of Contempt - Robert L. Borosage, Huffington Post
Sen. Stevens Rally - Kate Klonick, TalkingPointsMemo
Mitt Draws Blank on McCain Record - kos, Daily Kos
Alaska Troubles for McCain - Jonathan Singer, MyDD

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
McCain Bundler Collects From Unlikely Donors - Washington Post
In Obama Campaign, Big Donors Are Major Force - New York Times
Obama Leads McCain Nationally in AP/Ipsos Poll - Associated Press
GOP Escalates Revolt - The Hill

Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) is Barack Obama

John McCain is picking up ground in the polls now that he has gone on offense, conservative bloggers write. The suggestion by one pundit that McCain is speaking "code" to Southerners about Barack Obama is dismissed by the Republican's blogging backers. And while House Republicans plan to continue their sit-in protest for more offshore oil drilling, House Democrats are pushing back and Obama is considering a reasonable compromise, liberal bloggers write.

McCain will be accused of racism by the press if he keeps attacking Obama, but going after the Democrat is the only way he's going to win, writes Townhall's Carol Platt Liebau. The presidential race is now a "tie game," as Obama leads by insignificant margins in Ohio, Michigan and other key swing states, writes RedState's Adam C in an analysis of poll averages. McCain's cry of "racism" worked, as a new poll shows that 53 percent of Americans believe Obama's "dollar bill" remark was racist, TalkingPointsMemo's RY notes.

While RY praises pundit David Gergen for suggesting Sunday that McCain is using "code" about affirmative action quotas to tell Southern voters that Obama is "uppity," Hot Air's Allahpundit dismisses the charge by noting that McCain could use the same attack on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y) or other Democrats. Bill Clinton's insistence in a recent interview that he isn't the racist he was portrayed to be during the Democratic primaries is serving to bolster McCain's defense against Democratic attacks, writes Hot Air's Ed Morrissey.

House Republicans will continue their energy independence "revolution" this week by remaining in Washington during a congressional recess, writes Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) on RedState. But opening more areas for drilling won't lead to lower gas prices tomorrow, so House Democrats should hold firm and force big oil companies to drill where they are now allowed to, writes The Huffington Post's Jared Bernstein. Obama is right to move toward a compromise on drilling when he frames the debate in terms of protecting the environment and how it can be part of a larger energy solution, writes Firedoglake's scarecrow.

FROM THE BLOGS:
McCain's Choice: Press Love or Winning - C.P. Liebau, Townhall
Pres-08: Tie Game - Adam C, RedState
Obama Up 30 Points Among Low-Wage Voters - J. Singer, MyDD
McCain Takes Page from Clinton's Book - J. Harwood, The Caucus
McCain's Crying 'Racism' Worked - RY, TalkingPointsMemo
Why Bill Clinton May Cheer John McCain - E. Morrissey, Hot Air
Gergen: McCain Calling Obama 'Uppity' - Allahpundit, Hot Air
House GOP Speak-In - Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, RedState
Not-So-Great Energy Debate - Jared Bernstein, Huffington Post
Obama and McCain Move To Drilling Deal - Scarecrow, Firedoglake
O-pulence on O-Force One - absentee, RedState
Obama and McCain Planes - Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
Bring in A Fighter - Todd Beeton, MyDD
Peter Rodman, RIP - Scott Johnson, Power Line
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - Rick Brookheiser, The Corner

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Obama Leads, Pessimism Reigns Among Key Group - Washington Post
Rematch in N.H. Senate Race Finds New Climate - New York Times
Obama Ad Calls For Return of Windfall Profits Tax - Associated Press
Poll: McCain's Attack Strategy Paying Dividends - Associated Press

Whether Barack Obama did or didn