The conviction of Osama bin Laden

As John McCain continues to hammer away at Barack Obama's celebrity, liberal bloggers see the Republican grasping for straws while conservative bloggers point to polls that suggest McCain is onto something. Obama, however, has gotten McCain to stop criticizing the suggestion that Americans should inflate their tires, liberal bloggers note. And the loss by a pro-life advocate in a Kansas district attorney race may portend a future Republican fight that helps Kansas Democrats such as Rep. Nancy Boyda, according to a political observer online.

McCain, who released another ad Wednesday highlighting Obama's fame, is likely shoring up conservatives' support with his attacks just as he's losing the support of pundits, writes TalkingPointsMemo's Josh Marshall. McCain spent years climbing the government ladder and seems to resent the younger Obama, writes Andrew Sullivan. But a new Pew survey finds that 48 percent of Americans believe they're hearing too much about Obama and that could make him vulnerable to McCain's attack, according to Hot Air's Allahpundit.

McCain, whose campaign passed out tire gauges to lampoon Obama's gas-saving suggestion, now says that inflating tires might be a good idea, notes MyDD's Todd Beeton, who finds it hard to take the Republican's criticisms seriously. But tire inflation and regular oil changes, which Obama also suggested, wouldn't save as much oil as domestic offshore drilling could produce, according to Townhall's Hugh Hewitt and Power Line's John Hinderaker.

Phill Kline, who tried to prosecute abortion providers when he was Kansas attorney general, was defeated in Tuesday

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

With some polls showing the presidential race tightening, bloggers and pundits wonder what

John McCain

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

Barack Obama

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is standing firm on offshore drilling while other prominent Democrats compromise with the GOP, but bloggers wonder to what end. Barack Obama may have gone too far on the offensive against John McCain with a new energy ad, one conservative blogger thinks, while reports that 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