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

House Republicans are getting cheered by conservative bloggers Sunday after announcing that they will resume their protest in the chamber on Monday. John McCain appears to be vetting Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and several liberal bloggers are outraged that Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) would would take a shot at retired Gen. Wesley Clark.

More than a dozen GOP lawmakers are planning to attend the protest Monday, which will push the momentum already building against Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) decision to block drilling legislation, Hot Air's Allahpundit writes. Michelle Malkin applauds the protesting Republicans, but blasts many in the media who, Malkin writes, don't get the significance of Friday's move.

McCain's campaign has reportedly asked for Cantor's personal documents, creating speculation that Cantor has moved onto the McCain veep shortlist, Taegan Goddard writes. Ed Morrissey believes Cantor would provide a boost to McCain on several fronts, especially in shoring up support among conservatives.

Recalling Clark saying that McCain's military experience was not a qualification to be president, Kerry rebuked the retired general Sunday, calling the comment "inappropriate" and praising McCain's military service, John Amato at Crook and Liars writes. Open Left's Matt Stoller, who recently helped launch obamaclark.com, is outraged that Kerry would "stab Clark in the back," especially since Clark has defended Kerry against numerous attacks.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Video: Hecklers Trail Lunsford - PolitickerKY
Who Played the Race Card? - Soren Dayton, RedState
John Kerry Throws Wes Clark Hissy Fit - Matt Stoller, Open Left
How 'Genre Politics' Hurts Progressives - Glenn W. Smith, Firedoglake
Obama Seeks Full Reinstatement of Fla., Mich. - The Swamp
Veepwatch: Cantor Gets Vetted - Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
McCain Vetting Cantor - Political Ticker
Pelosi Offers Veep Support for Chet Edwards - Political Ticker
McCain's Long Pause - The Jed Report
Are Bloggers Pundits or Operatives - Patrick Ruffini, The Next Right

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

GOP Energy Protests to Continue - The Hill
Obama Careful on Race - New York Times
Pelosi Pushes Texas Lawmaker - AP

Barack Obama switching positions on offshore drilling has conservative bloggers celebrating and liberals just plain confused. Dispatches from the "guerrilla Congress" continue to pour in and Obama pulling out the big guns by picking Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) to head his debate negotiations has conservatives wondering why the Democratic presidential candidate is so scared of debating John McCain.

Obama signaling a newfound support for offshore drilling Friday is a clear win for Republicans in Congress who have made expanded drilling a key campaign theme, The Next Right's Soren Dayton writes. MyDD's Jerome Armstrong thinks the move is a smart one, as it takes a key issue off the table for John McCain, but puts House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has been holding up drilling legislation, in an odd position.

Republicans protesting on the House floor may be a turning point for a group that has not shown much fight recently, writes The Corner's Mark Hemingway, who hopes the GOP can keep the momentum created by the move. But while many conservatives applaud the lawmakers for protesting, others wish they had gone farther. Hot Air's Allahpundit points out that rather than leaving after Pelosi ordered Capitol Police to evict them, the protesting members could have refused, forcing either Congress to reopen or Pelosi to order their arrest.

And Obama pegged Emanuel to be his chief negotiator for the three presidential debates the campaign has agreed to, The Swamp reports. RedState's Moe Lane is surprised by the hard line Obama is taking on debates, calling out the Illinois Democrat as "too scared to face a 72-year-old torture survivor who can't even move his arms properly."

FROM THE BLOGS:
How It Works - Josh Marshall, TPM
Obama's 'Shift' More of a Gesture - Marc Ambinder
Obama's Drilling Flip-Flop - Soren Dayton, The Next Right
McCain Embraces Giuliani's 'Tough' Crime Stance - TalkLeft
The Guerrilla Congress - Mark Hemingway, The Corner
GOP Missed Opportunity - Allahpundit, Hot Air
Obama Opposes Reparations - Political Ticker
Veep Watch - First Read
And Obama Caves on Drilling - Matt Stoller, Open Left

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Obama Taps Emanuel - The Hill
AIDS Infections Higher Than Thought - New York Times
Obama Switches Positions on Offshore Drilling - Palm Beach Post

Though the House adjourned Friday for August recess, Republicans stuck around to press for domestic oil drilling, giddy conservative bloggers note. Now that an old-school scribe has turned on John McCain for his latest attack ad on Barack Obama, a liberal blogger wonders what the rest of the press will do. And Obama hears it again from conservative bloggers unimpressed with his response to the McCain ad.

House Republicans gave speeches on an empty House floor to protest the Democrats

The suicide of a suspect in the FBI

Whether Barack Obama did or didn

The John McCain campaign insisting Thursday that Barack Obama is playing the race card has bloggers debating which candidate did or didn