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The online debate over former White House press secretary Scott McClellan's tell-all book has shifted from the Bush administration to the media. McClellan was right to point the finger at reporters for not doing enough to question the rationale for war, liberal bloggers write. Bloggers on both sides lay out the paths to the White House for their respective candidates, while conservatives accept that Democrats will win Senate seats this year.

McClellan's admission that the Bush administration was less than forthcoming about its justifications for war shouldn't be a surprise to reporters, as Barack Obama, Phil Donahue and McClatchy's journalists treated them with skepticism in 2002 and 2003, according to The Huffington Post's Bob Cesca. Tucker Carlson shouldn't be shocked that the Bush administration had a "theoretical," nation-building rationale for the invasion, just as he shouldn't view the White House and John McCain's other rationale, "preemptive war," as defensible, Daily Kos's Kagro X writes. If reporters want to show they can hold the administration accountable, they should do more digging into the Pentagon's propanganda program, which used television networks to sell the war, Daily Kos's DarkSyde writes.

For McCain to win this year, he should push back against Democrats on the economy, as he's already running better on the issue than other Republicans and since economic growth under President Bush has been consistently good, according to The Next Right's Jon Henke. Obama, however, will benefit by tying McCain to Bush, since about three-quarters of voters in a new Pew Research poll want to end current policies or a new direction for the country, notes Josh Orton at MyDD. Both candidates will have opportunities to win states that their respective party's 2004 nominees lost, but Obama has the best odds of flipping more states, with Iowa, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada in play, according to Chris Cillizza's Friday Line.

The outcome of this year's Senate battle is less murky. Democrats are likely to win, concedes The Next Right's Sean Oxendine, who gives the party a 50 percent chance of coming away with 57 seats. The Republicans' candidate in Colorado, Bob Schaffer, isn't likely to help his party, as he's now facing questions over whether he secured a $3.6 million earmark as a House member for a man just convicted of defrauding the government, TalkingPointsMemo's Josh Marshall writes.

FROM THE BLOGS:
McClellan And No War For BBQ - Bob Cesca, Huffington Post
Media-Types Straddle Fence On McClellan - Kagro X, Daily Kos
David Gregory To The Rescue! - DarkSyde, Daily Kos
McClellan's Motive - Jason Zengerle, The Plank
McClellan: Hey, Wha' Hoppened? - Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
Reviewing Doug Feith's Book - Paul Mirengoff, Power Line
Economic Narrative And Counterfactuals - Jon Henke, The Next Right
What Ailments Is Obama Hiding? - Erick Erickson, RedState
Obama In Full Retreat: 4 Issues, 48 Hours - Soren Dayton, RedState
Pew Confirms McCain's Huge Weakness: Bush - Josh Orton, MyDD
Ranking The McCain-Obama Battlegrounds - Chris Cillizza, The Fix
Declaring Victory In Dem Race - Todd Beeton, MyDD
'08 Senate -- GOP In For Rough Ride - Sean Oxendine, The Next Right
Bob Schaffer: Going, Going... - Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
U.S. Cites Big Gains Against al Qaeda - Washington Post
Reid, Pelosi See End To Party Race - Washington Post
McClellan Disputes 'Disgruntled' Label - USA Today
Senate's Allure Drew McCain From Military - New York Times

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan's new memoir has earned him the ire of old colleagues and friends in the conservative blogosphere on Thursday. Barack Obama takes heat from conservative writers online for changing his positions on an Iraq trip and talks with Iran. And the pros and cons of Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) as Obama's running mate are debated by bloggers on both sides.

McClellan is "worthy of contempt" for serving and defending the president at the highest levels for months while believing that the administration took the country to war on false premises, The Corner's Mark R. Levin writes. McClellan's predecessor Ari Fleischer notes that McClellan had told him in private that his publisher had "tweaked" passages for effect, notes Hot Air's Ed Morrissey, who suggests that McClellan either lied to Fleisher or threw out his his principles in going along with his publisher.

McClellan has critics and defenders on the left. He should have raised his disagreements over the war five years earlier, when they could have made a difference, writes Arianna Huffington. But the Bush administration's defenders are absurdly trying to insinuate that McClellan was the victim of a liberal ghostwriter or editor, writes The Plank's Jason Zengerle.

Obama may now be considering a trip to Iraq, but he's doing it only after John McCain shamed him into it and after his campaign had called McCain's proposal for a joint trip "a political stunt," writes Moe Lane at RedState. Obama has shown that he might have trouble standing up to rogue nations by backing away from his plan to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the face of conservative criticism, according to RedState's Erick Erickson.

With Webb and Congress enjoying a recess this week, blogs have turned to debating whether the first-term senator could help Obama as his ticket mate. By picking Webb, who is a strong supporter of the military and a skeptic of affirmative action and increased immigration, Obama could show the rest of the country that there's room in his coalition for someone with views that aren't in line with the "left-liberal" wing of the Democratic party, Ross Douthat writes. Webb, however, hasn't taken any positions that go against the Democratic line since joining the Senate, notes Ramesh Ponnuru at The Corner. If Obama doesn't want to hurt his chances with winning women voters, he should think about offering the job to Hillary Clinton before turning to Webb, Zengerle writes.

FROM OTHER BLOGS:
McClellan Worthy Of Contempt - Mark R. Levin, The Corner
Fleischer: Maybe His Publisher Wanted $ - E. Morrissey, Hot Air
Scotty Come Lately - Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post
The Manchurian Memoirist? - Jason Zengerle, The Plank
Obama Hopes To Change Course On Iran - E. Erickson, RedState
Obama May Go To Iraq After All - Moe Lane, RedState
Surprise: Obama Considering Iraq Trip - Allahpundit, Hot Air
Obama: A Legend In His Own Mind - Paul Mirengoff, Power Line
The Case Against Webb - Ross Douthat
Debating Webb - Ramesh Ponnuru, The Corner
More Webb Obsessing - Jason Zengerle, The Plank
McCain On 'Nuclear Security' - William Hartung, TPMCafe
Hillary Clinton's General Election Strength - Todd Beeton, MyDD
Clinton's (And Supporters') Situational Ethics - kos, Daily Kos
Gay Marriage Headed For Political Dustbin - Devilstower, Daily Kos

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Dem Panel Set To Resolve Clinton-Obama Delegate Dispute - LA Times
Florida And Michigan May See Delegates Halved - New York Times
On Policy, Obama Breaks Little New Ground - Washington Post
McClellan Says He Believed In Bush As War Started - Associated Press

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan's new memoir that sears the Bush administration has prompted a push back by conservative bloggers on Wednesday. In the presidential race, Barack Obama takes heat from bloggers on the right for deciding against a visit with John McCain to Iraq, while John McCain hears it from liberal bloggers for his connections to lobbyists.

McClellan, who suggests in his new book that the Bush administration used "propaganda" and "innuendo" to sell the Iraq war, loses credibility with The Corner's Seth Leibsohn for waiting two years after his White House departure to voice his objections. McClellan didn't have much of a reason to wait to write the book until the final months of the Bush administration other than to cash out, suggests Hot Air's Ed Morrissey.

Obama should have accepted McCain's proposal that they visit Iraq together, according to conservative bloggers. Perhaps Obama is afraid of what he will see, as he hasn't visited the country since before the progress was made by the military surge, RedState's Dan McLaughlin writes. If Obama's worried about the trip becoming a mere "dog-and-pony show," he should propose his own "fact-finding mission" instead of dismissing the trip outright, suggests Hot Air's Allahpundit.

The press needs to scrutinize McCain's connections to lobbyists, bloggers on the left write. A Los Angeles Times story falsely equates worries over registered lobbyists helping run McCain's campaign to the concern over Obama strategist David Axelrod's past work as a political consultant,

Barack Obama, John McCain and Republicans left much to desire in their attempts to honor the troops on Memorial Day, according to their online critics. Bloggers also provide more suggestions on how the two presidential candidates pick running mates.

On a day reserved for honoring fallen Americans, Obama should have followed President Bush in giving a non-partisan speech and not talk about partisan issues at a town hall meeting, writes Power Line's John Hinderaker. Obama showed his inexperience by resorting to the "stock responses" of the left in his arguments against Republicans about gas prices, troop benefits and taxes, according to Townhall's Hugh Hewitt. And while Bush's critics have long harped on the president's speech patterns as evidence of past drug use and a lack of intelligence, they've yet to come up with excuses for Obama, who lauded "fallen heroes" and then tried to point them out in the crowd Monday, RedState's Moe Lane writes.

Republicans are the ones who lack respect for troops, according to liberal bloggers. McCain would do more to help them by getting behind Sen. Jim Webb's (D-Va.) GI Bill, which the Republican wrongly thinks would lower troop levels, according to MyDD's Jonathan Singer. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) was "disrespectful" by suggesting that there would be a "mass exodus" from the military if they got the education benefits Webb is calling for, Daily Kos's Brandon Friedman writes.

Both sides give more veep advice to Obama and McCain. Obama should turn to younger, "promising prospects" in the Democratic Party, instead of to Hillary Clinton, since his pick will help shape the party for next two decades, The Plank's Josh Patashnik writes. McCain should consider Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) since she could help him among women voters and a wide swath of the electorate with her "sensible" positions on energy and the environment, Michael Goldfarb writes at the Weekly Standard's blog.

And there's more evidence that Congressional Republicans face a tough road to hoe this fall. The fact that Sen. Roger Wicker (R) is running a television ad five months before the election in his ruby red state of Mississippi suggests that Republicans must defend seats across the map this year, according to TPM Election Central's Eric Kleefeld.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Obama/Bush On Mem. Day: A Contrast - J. Hinderaker, Power Line
The Obama Melt - Hugh Hewitt, Townhall.com
Excuses For Obama's Speech Patterns - Moe Lane, RedState
Al Qaeda's Unraveling - Moe Lane, RedState
McCain's Distortions On Webb GI Bill - Jonathan Singer, MyDD
Stevens, VA Sec Disrespect Troops - Brandon Friedman, Daily Kos
McCain's Record on Repro. Rights - A. Huffington, HuffPo
Waiting For The Obama Bump - Michael Goldfarb, Weekly Standard
McCain-Palin? - Michael Goldfarb, Weekly Standard
How VP Debate Misses Mark - Josh Patashnik, The Plank
Bill Clinton's Disrespect - MissLaura, Daily Kos
Bum Rap Against John Hagee - Scott Johnson, Power Line
Two Probes Into Pentagon's PR Program - David Kurtz, TPMMuck
GOP Senate Seat At Risk In Miss.? - Eric Kleefeld, TPM Election
In Defense Of Lobbyists - Amanda Carpenter, Townhall.com

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Obama And McCain Are Dueling Out West - Los Angeles Times
No Clear Map For Clinton's Political Future - Washington Post
Atomic Monitor Signals Concern Over Iran's Work - New York Times
Bush Straddles Hard Line In Engaging Sudan - Washington Post

The release of John McCain

Hillary Clinton is taking heat from bloggers over the way she's pushing for Florida and Michigan's delegates to be seated at the Democratic convention, while conservative bloggers find Barack Obama changing his position on talks with Iran.

Clinton's comparison of the fight for two states' delegates to abolitionism is an attempt to steal the nomination and shows that she's "tempermentally unfit for the presidency," writes The Plank's Jonathan Chait. One of her most hard-boiled supporters, Lanny Davis, has now joined the Liberal Media Bias Cult, according to Josh Marshall, who has video of Davis lauding Fox News's coverage.

Clinton may claim a moral victory and bolster her case for the vice presidency by winning more delegates from the two states, MyDD's Todd Beeton writes. But she's not going to get the amount of delegates she wants, since the Democrats on the committee is full of people loyal to Obama or party chairman Howard Dean, reports the Huffington Post's Thomas B. Edsall.

Obama is waffling on his call for talks with leaders of Iran and other rogue nations, as his advisers are throwing in caveats to any negotiations the Illinois Democrat would be involved in, writes RedState's Pejman Yousefzadeh. John McCain is right to take a whack at Obama's less-than-straight answer, since that may get Obama to explain what he thinks he could get out of such talks, the Weekly Standard's Michael Goldfarb writes.

Perhaps in its rush to finish work before Memorial Day, Congress sent President Bush the wrong version of the $290 billion farm bill, showing that lawmakers can't even do pork right, according to The Corner's Kathryn Jean Lopez. In the emergency war-spending bill debate, Obama and Clinton need to get behind an amendment calling for troop redeployment out of Iraq that's already backed by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), writes MyDD's Josh Orton. And Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) is correct to raise the specter of impeachment hearings, one of the few powers Congress has to compel Karl Rove to testify before lawmakers in the case of jailed former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman (D), according to Daily Kos's Kagro X.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Clinton's Shocking Florida Gambit - Jonathan Chait, The Plank
Lanny Davis's Induction Ceremony - J. Marshall, TPM
Seating Fla. And Mich. - Todd Beeton, MyDD
Opposition Grows To Clinton's Cause Celebre - Tom Edsall, HuffPo Long Primary Battle Will Help Obama Win - R. Creamer, HuffPo
Obama Once Pledged To Meet Unconditionally - Yousefzadeh, RedSt.
McCain Again Whacks At Obama-Iran Meeting - Goldfarb, Wkly Std
Number 2 - John O'Sullivan, The Corner
Lieberman Goes The Full Zell - Hunter, Daily Kos
Obama And Clinton Get Behind Iraq Timetable? - Josh Orton, MyDD
Congress Can't Even Do Pork Right - K.J. Lopez, The Corner
Can Congress Arrest Itself? - B. Faughnan, Weekly Standard
Rep. Wexler: Few Options For Rove Testimony - Kagro X, Daily Kos

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
House Overrides Farm Bill Veto - Washington Post
Illegals Haunt McCain - The Hill
Many Florida Jews Express Doubts Over Obama - New York Times
McCain Looks To Fill Ticket, And 3 Hopefuls Step Up - New York Times

Though Barack Obama has now clinched a majority of pledged delegates, his bid for the Democratic nomination remains shaky to bloggers.

His insurmountable pledged delegate lead, gained Tuesday after his Oregon win and Kentucky loss, should prompt superdelegates to finally move his way, writes Jonathan Singer at MyDD. But his Kentucky drubbing -- he won only 30 percent of the vote while Hillary Clinton netted 65 percent --

With Barack Obama about to clinch a majority of pledged delegates after Tuesday's primaries in Kentucky and Oregon, pro-Obama bloggers are becoming more magnanimous toward Hillary Clinton. Obama, meanwhile, continues to take hits from the right over his position on Iran. But all bloggers are down on Republicans running for Congress this year.

Obama should win Oregon by double digits -- 13.8 percent, to be exact -- writes Poblano, whose analysis of the Indiana and North Carolina primaries was dead on. Though Obama is nearing the nomination, no one should forget Clinton's "dedication, perseverance and indefatigable drive," qualities that should make her a role model for both women and men, writes Obama supporter Arianna Huffington. They should also know that Clinton has some juice left, as she does better against John McCain than Obama does in 13 rural battleground states, according to a new poll highlighted by TalkLeft's Jeralyn.

Online supporters of McCain, however, are completely focused on weakening Obama. Though the Democrat said over the weekend that Iran "didn't pose a serious threat to us," he contradicted himself Monday by saying that he's "made it clear that the threat from Iran is grave," according to Power Line's John Hinderaker. Obama should fire his foreign policy adviser Greg Craig, since he once represented a Panamanian lawmaker whose indictment on murder charges Obama cited as a reason to vote against a free trade deal, writes RedState's Soren Dayton. And Obama's wife, Michelle, shouldn't be exempt from scrutiny, either, since she has campaigned vigorously for her husband, writes Power Line's Paul Mirengoff.

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