Morning Read

Barack Obama

President Bush likening Barack Obama's calls for diplomacy to appeasement have started a conservative blogger pile-on. But while they criticize Obama, Democrats push back by pointing out statements they see as hypocrisy from Bush's candidate, John McCain. With the Senate still in session, conservatives are wary of McCain and others slipping illegal immigrant amnesty into legislation. But they may have fewer allies on the issue after the November elections, one blogging handicapper writes.

Hot Air's Allahpundit joins Israel's Knesset in applauding Bush's criticism of Obama, arguing that Obama's Democratic defenders don't understand the United States could be appeasing Iran by directly talking with its officials. Obama and the State Department want to reason with Iran when they should instead follow Bush and ask countries if they're "with us or against us," writes Andy McCarthy at The Corner. Bush should go even further than he has with his speeches and stop Condoleezza Rice from urging Israel to negotiate with Hamas, writes Lisa Schiffren, also at The Corner.

McCain, however, was open to talks with Hamas in 2006, something that takes away his credibility on the topic, writes MyDD's Jonathan Singer, who links to an interview with the Republican dug up by the Huffington Post. The Stump's Noam Scheiber finds irony in Bush's speech, since the president talks about ending fear a few paragraphs before he exploits fear in attacking Obama. And Josh Marshall finds one of Obama's attackers, right-wing radio host Kevin James, unable to say what former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain did to appease the Nazis, even though James repeats the word "appeasement" over and over again in an interview.

Keeping up the McCain criticism, Arianna Huffington writes that he is engaging in "pure unadulterated fantasy" when he runs down a long litany of accomplishments - ending the Iraq war, Osama bin Laden

John Edwards's endorsement of Barack Obama is more about symbolism than anything else, bloggers write on Thursday. But Edwards's support could turn into more, as he could again become the Democratic vice presidential nominee, reports the New York Times. Looking at Congress, liberal bloggers write that John McCain keeps shifting positions, while conservatives urge Republicans to get their act together to prevent tax hikes.

The endorsement means great press for Obama, which wipes his lopsided loss in West Virginia off the front pages, Marc Ambinder writes. But though Edwards may help Obama with working-class white voters and superdelegates, the former senator's choice doesn't fundamentally change the race in the way it could have had it come earlier, writes Chris Cillizza. If Edwards was really smart, he would have endorsed before the primary in his home state, North Carolina, where Obama was looking for a blow-out win, writes RedState's Pejman Yousefzadeh.

Edwards would bring to the ticket none of the executive experience or ability to win over swaths of voters that Obama is looking for, writes Victor Davis Hanson at The Corner. Obama should consider Hillary Clinton instead, since she has the support of women and working-class white voters that Obama needs for the landslide victory he wants, according to MyDD's Todd Beeton.

If Obama is now campaigning for the general election, he should attack McCain for the "hypocrisy" of opposing Sen. Jim Webb's (D-Va.) generous new G.I. Bill while lauding the previous G.I. Bill, writes Ben Crair at The Plank. McCain is also inconsistent on climate change by calling for some government intervention as a presidential candidate but having voted against investing money in renewable resources while in the Senate, writes Daily Kos's Meteor Blades.

One staffer on the Hill defends McCain to The Corner's Kathryn Jean Lopez, saying he's the one opposing the massive spending in the farm bill that House Republicans have gone along with. Blue Dog Democrats deserve blame for backing the bloated farm bill, too, writes Firedoglake's kirk murphy. If voters really want to put a clamp on waste, they should keep Democrats from winning veto-proof majorities in both chambers of Congress, since Democrats are talking about raising "government revenue" as part of their agenda, writes RedState's haystack.

FROM THE BLOGS:
The Big Show: Edwards Endorsement - Marc Ambinder
The Edwards Endorsement: What It Means - Chris Cillizza, The Fix
If John Edwards Was Smart... - Pejman Yousefzadeh, RedState
Edwards Endorses - Michael Crowley, The Stump
An Edwards VP? - Victor Davis Hanson, The Corner
Obama-Clinton, The Will Of The People - Todd Beeton, MyDD
McCain And The G.I. Bill - Ben Crair, The Plank
McCain/GOP Compromise Troops/1st Responders - BarbinMD, DKos
McCain Tries To Have It Both Ways - Meteor Blades, Daily Kos
Conservative Hill Staffer Protests - Kathryn Jean Lopez, The Corner
Blue Dogs Turn Poor Kids Into Cash Cows - kirk murphy, FDL
What Matters Is Who We Put In Congress - haystack, RedState

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Ex-Rival Throws His Support To Obama - New York Times
Republican Election Losses Stir Fall Fears - New York Times
McConnell Has A Tough Row To Hoe - The Hill
Defeats Tempt House GOP To Distance Itself From Bush - WSJ

Democrat Travis Childers's victory in a conservative Mississippi House district Tuesday has removed any doubt among bloggers that Republicans are in trouble this year. Hillary Clinton's easy victory in Tuesday's other race, the West Virginia primary, may have little meaning to some liberal bloggers, but it suggests to conservatives that Barack Obama is weak. And John McCain's new green merchandise line has those on the right cringing.

Childers and Democrats have no business winning in a district President Bush carried by 25 percentage points in 2004, writes The Plank's Josh Patashnik. The Republican brand is in such bad shape that Democrats virtually anywhere can run candidates who seem to share positions with GOP candidates and win, according to Power Line's Paul Mirengoff. And if Republican leaders in Congress don't do something quickly, their party is headed for another round of epic losses, writes Pejman Yousefzadeh at RedState.

Both Mirengoff and Yousefzadeh acknowledge that McCain, running in this poisoned atmosphere for Republicans, faces an uphill battle against Obama. But the Arizona Republican can take solace in Obama's 41-percentage-point loss in West Virginia, which is more evidence that Obama is the weaker general election candidate than Clinton, according to RedState's Erick Erickson. Clinton and her campaign are using her lopsided win to make her case to be on the ticket in November, writes MyDD's Todd Beeton. The Plank's Patashnik writes that Obama is lucky that Clinton stuck around at least for this week; Tuesday's results, in which former candidate John Edwards picked up 7 percent of the vote, show that Obama likely would have lost West Virginia to candidates not running if Clinton had dropped out, according to the blogger.

Conservatives bloggers save some of their fire for McCain's climate change speech, in which the Republican accepts that man helped cause global warming. Perhaps McCain, instead of preparing for the Oval Office, can run an honorable campaign loved by the media that results in an offer to become the Secretary of the Interior in the new administration, writes The Corner's Andy McCarthy. McCain may be trying to show himself to be more enlightened than the average Republican, but he's also giving conservatives an excuse to blame him if he loses in November, according to Scott Johnson at Power Line.

The personalities of Capitol Hill's most powerful players also get some press. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the subject of a recent glowing New York Times profile, is lauded by one Republican for single-handedly raising the public discourse in a post by The Plank's Eve Fairbanks. And Swampland's Ana Marie Cox deconstructs senators' responses to the question of whether they would accept an offer to become a vice presidential nominee, which appeared in The Hill. According to Cox, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) showed the most interest in becoming a running mate, while Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) showed the least.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Republican Losing Streak Continues - Paul Mirengoff, Power Line
GOP Has Serious Problems With Brand ID - P. Yousefzadeh, RedState
Rebranding Republicans - Robert Borosage, Huffington Post
MS-01: Voters Don't Care About Wright - kos, Daily Kos
In West Virginia, Obama Still Can't Win - Erick Erickson, RedState
A Thought About West Virginia - Josh Patashnik, The Plank
Why Doesn't She Concede? - Thomas B. Edsall, Huffington Post
Next Moves For Team Obama - Chris Cillizza, The Fix
Consistency Is Not Required - John Hinderaker, Power Line
'Green McCain Onesie W/ Recycle Logo'!! - A. McCarthy, The Corner
Looking Across The Pond? - Andrew Stuttaford, The Corner
More Praise For Barney Frank - Eve Fairbanks, The Plank
VP Responses: "Big house, big car..." - A.M. Cox, Swampland

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
House GOP Hits New Low, Faces Bleak Nov. - The Hill
Democratic Victory May Be A Bellweather - Washington Post
Repaying Debt Hard For Losing Side - USA Today
Clinton Beats Obama Handily In West Virginia - New York Times

Democrats have more reasons on Tuesday morning to be optimistic about their chances in November. A new Washington Post/ABC poll shows their candidates leading John McCain, who could lose votes to newly announced Libertarian candidate Bob Barr, liberal bloggers write. Even conservative bloggers are panning House Republicans, who attacked Barack Obama's interview on Israel and are trying to co-opt one of the Democrats' main messages.

The poll shows both Obama and Hillary Clinton with significant leads over McCain. Perhaps more worrisome for the right is that about four-fifths of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track and that voters prefer Democratic leadership to Republican leadership by a 21-percent margin, Daily Kos's DemFromCT notes. While Democrats have been concerned about a prolonged primary fight between Obama and Clinton, at least a tenth of Republicans would be willing to defect to a Democrat in November, writes Todd Beeton at MyDD. And voters are more concerned about McCain's age than Obama's race or Clinton's gender, Josh Marshall points out.

Barr, the former House Republican, tells The Corner's Stephen Spruiell he doesn

John McCain is either too close to lobbyists or the media is wrong, depending on which bloggers one reads on Monday. Democratic bloggers, however, agree that the end is near for Hillary Clinton and that they have little reason to listen to centrist members of Congress on intelligence or healthcare policy.

McCain is the senator to know for those interested in real estate, beer distributorships, phone carriers and mining companies, according to DailyKos's BarbinMD, who notes recent reporting on land deals McCain helped push through that benefited campaign contributors.

Conservative bloggers defend McCain from recent media stories. A Newsweek report suggesting that McCain and Republicans are planning an "onslaught" on Barack Obama is yet another story that fails to account for Democrats' "demagoguery," seen in debates over healthcare, free trade and the economy, writes Pejman Yousefzadeh at RedState. McCain adviser Mark Salter is right to argue the media shouldn't buy the idea that any issue raising doubts and questions about Obama's policies and judgment is a "smear campaign," writes The Weekly Standard's Michael Goldfarb.

In the Democratic race, Clinton may be helping Democrats register more voters in West Virginia, writes MyDD's Carnacki. But her campaign is wrong to argue that she's more electable because she's won the big states, has been vetted and will win the national primary and caucus popular vote, according to Transplanted Texan, also at MyDD.

Liberal bloggers also focus fire on Democrats they see as too willing to compromise. Blue Dog Democrats should think again before dealing with Republicans on a foreign intelligence surveillance bill that offers retroactive immunity for telecom companies, since those companies are funding under-the-radar efforts to pressure freshman House Democrats, writes Daily Kos's mcjoan. And Obama supporters should spend less time trying to win over Blue Dogs like Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) -- who hasn

The latest exchange between John McCain and Barack Obama over the "Hamas smear" has bloggers in general election mode Friday. Supporters for both candidates are taking issue with Hillary Clinton's statement about white voters while liberal bloggers have high hopes for a red-state Senate race.

Obama chastised McCain for pointing out a Hamas official's statement that the organization would support the Illinois Democrat

Now that pundits are declaring Barack Obama the nominee, bloggers are wondering what it will take to get Hillary Clinton out of the race. They also look ahead to the foreign and domestic policy debates between Obama and John McCain and the members of Congress that will face tough races in November.

Since Clinton is a "reasonable person," she will drop out by June 15, according to a "senior campaign official" who talks to The Huffington Post's Lawrence O'Donnell. If she leaves the race immediately, she could get Obama to pay her campaign debt, a powerful Senate post and an opportunity to heal the rift she created with the African-American community, writes Thomas B. Edsall, also at The Huffington Post. One unlikely option for her is to take the vice presidential slot, according to Josh Marshall, who thinks the position is beneath her, and Hot Air's Ed Morrissey, who concludes that Clinton either wants to win or wants more power in the Senate.

But Clinton's presidential campaign may not be over yet, according to her supporters and McCain's backers. Clinton, after all, won Indiana despite having the media narrative working against her, writes MyDD's Jerome Armstrong. By staying in, she could prolong the race, especially with Michigan and Florida's delegates still undecided, writes Clinton backer Todd Beeton and McCain supporter Erick Erickson.

The odds, however, favor an Obama-McCain matchup, which is already heating up. McCain's argument that he's stronger than Obama because of experience is inconsistent with his previous support for George W. Bush in the 2000 general election and his criticism of 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry, according to smintheus at Daily Kos. McCain, however, is poised to score among working-class voters, who favored McCain's proposal for a gas tax holiday that Obama opposed, according to new polls, notes John Hinderaker.

Amid all the presidential hubbub, many Congress members face competitive races. Democrat Kay Hagan, the opponent for Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), could be the Jim Webb of 2008, the candidate who starts behind in polls but ends up catching the favored Republican incumbent in November, according to Daily Kos's brownsox. And "liberal Republicans" need to watch out, as conservative activists like Pat Toomey at the Club For Growth are targeting them with more conservative GOP candidates, notes Townhall's Matt Lewis.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Hillary Will Drop Out By June 15 - Lawrence O'Donnell, HuffPo
Big Awards Await If She Ends Campaign Now - T. Edsall, HuffPo
Clinton Really Want the V.P. Slot? - Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
Hillary Hanging Out For V.P. Slot, Or Payday? - Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
More On What Happened In Ind. - Jerome Armstrong, MyDD
Oper. Chaos Can Still Cause More Chaos - Erick Erickson, RedState
'National Security Experience' - smintheus, Daily Kos
Good News For Conservatives - John Hinderaker, Power Line
Second Rate - Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
House And Senate Races Roundup - brownsox, Daily Kos
Pat Toomey On Hunting RINO - Matt Lewis, Townhall.com
Pelosi: 'Veto And Drill!' - Victor Davis Hanson, The Corner

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Backs Turn On Clinton - The Hill
Obama's Got A New Confident Strategy - Los Angeles Times
Clinton Makes Case For Staying In - USA Today
Support For Clinton Wanes As Obama Sees Finish Line - NYT

The Democratic race is all but over, bloggers declare. Barack Obama will become the nominee, and Hillary Clinton must now decide what's next for her, they write.

Though Clinton supporter Todd Beeton at MyDD sees his candidate leaving the race this week, he's at peace with the outcome, since primary voters in Indiana and North Carolina made a clear decision. Obama supporter Andrew Sullivan finds the demise of the Clintons at the hands of black voters "poignant" due to the Clinton's "long-running exploitation and reliance on minority votes." Even the Clinton backers at TalkLeft are resigned; Big Tent Democrat writes that though Clinton has won the right to exit the race on her terms, she shouldn't attack Obama anymore.

A few conservative bloggers believe Clinton won't willingly leave soon. Clinton comes from a family that doesn't give up a claims to power easily, according to Pejman Yousefzadeh. Though her slender hopes now rest on an Obama catastrophe, Clinton doesn't lose anything by staying in aside from time and money, writes Ed Morrissey.

But most bloggers are looking ahead to an Obama-John McCain matchup. The New Republic's Jonathan Cohn and Power Line's Paul Mirengoff see Obama with the advantage. He's the candidate of hope, much like Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton were, while McCain's the candidate of pessimism, Cohn writes. And Obama's "fundamentals" -- the economy, the war and an unpopular president -- work in his favor, Mirengoff notes.

A few bloggers looking outside of the presidential race write about the Democrats who won Tuesday's other primary races and the latest investigation of a federal agency. Daily Kos's brownsox has high hopes for state Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) after she easily won the right to face Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), who is below 50 percent in general election polls. And Morrissey notes that federal investigators Tuesday raided the Office of Special Counsel, which oversees whistleblowers, and interrogated its chief, Scott Bloch, who has come under scrutiny for questionable spending of public funds.

FROM THE BLOGS:
The Tie Has Been Broken - Todd Beeton, MyDD
Black Voters Did It - Andrew Sullivan, Daily Dish
What Clinton Should Do - Big Tent Dem, TalkLeft
Primary Night - Pejman Yousefzadeh, RedState
Why Couldn't Hillary Close The Deal? - R.J. Eskow, Huffington Post
How Long Before Hillary Admits Defeat? - Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
'Yes We Can' Vs. 'No We Can't' - Jonathan Cohn, The Plank
'Biggest Fairy Tale' About To Come True - Paul Mirengoff, Power Line
McCain Nails It On Judges - Paul Mirengoff, Power Line
The Obama Rally, From Two Angles - Mary Katharine Ham, Townhall
Hagan Wins In N.C. Sen., Ind. Gov. Deadlocked - brownsox, DKos
Office Of Special Counsel Chief Needs Lawyer - Ed Morrissey, Hot Air

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Obama Is Decisive N.C. Winner; Clinton Ekes Out Ind. Victory - WaPo
Options Dwindling For Clinton - New York Times
Clinton Fails To Get Needed Game-Changer - Associated Press
What McCain Expects From Federal Judges - LA Times

Bloggers begin the last big Democratic primary day with a pair of exclusives that raise questions about Hillary Clinton's viability in North Carolina and John McCain's Republican loyalties.

It's "Danger Day" for Hillary Clinton, according to Drudge Report, which speaks to a "top campaign official" who worries that Clinton will lose by 15 points to Barack Obama in North Carolina. The flash, however, also notes that the campaign team is working to lower expectations. But Clinton-supporter Jerome Armstrong sees hope for Clinton in both primaries Tuesday, as she's been able to pick up undecided voters in the final days of recent contests.

Obama backers need to remember that the contest isn't over yet, since both candidates need the superdelegates, reminds Armstrong's colleague Todd Beeton. kos counters Clinton's electability argument by noting polls showing Obama would have fewer states to defend and more states he could capture. One of those superdelegates, John Edwards, told People magazine that he and his wife won't endorse during the primary and that they like Clinton's tenacity and Obama's call for change but dislike her "old politics" and his lack of substance.

In the other big exclusive of primary day, Arianna Huffington reports that McCain once told her he didn