The possibility of a shortened Democratic convention has some wondering where Barack Obama will give his nomination acceptance speech. John McCain restructuring his campaign and breaks between Obama and his liberal base also have bloggers talking going into the 4th of July weekend.

With fundraising problems continuing to plague the Democratic convention, the Obama campaign is trying to decide whether to cut the convention from four to three days, Marc Ambinder writes. But if the last day gets cut that means Obama will have to accept the nomination elsewhere, which leads kos and others to think he should accept the nomination at Invesco Field, home of the Denver Broncos and a whole lot of seats.

Steve Schmidt consolidated control in his first day on the job heading McCain's day-to-day operations with a memo restructuring the campaign, The Trail writes. Schmidt will keep the regional campaign managers around, but they will no longer have the autonomy they once enjoyed, First Read adds.

And Obama is raising more and more eyebrows among progressives as he moves to the center Top of the Ticket reports. TPM details at least one of the major factors irking liberals with a time-line showing Obama's evolving position on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that has many on his left flank upset.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Schmidt Consolidates - The Trail
Obama's FISA Time-Line - TPM
GOP Candidate Against Small Government - RedState
Vitter Rolled with Punches - Top of the Ticket
Jobs Report Keeps Congress Busy - Capitol Briefing
Will Obama Accept Nomination at Invesco Field? - DemConWatch
Obama at Mile High? - Daily Kos
Obama and the Transformational Leader - The Next Right
The Great Divide - John Hinderaker, Power Line
Regional Campaign Managers Stay - First Read

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
The Neighborhood That Launched Obama - Chicago Public Radio
Conyers Threatens Contempt Charges Against Rove - The Hill
Judge Orders Google to Turn Over YouTube Records - New York Times

Congress will inherit more problems with the closure of Guantanamo Bay, bloggers universally agree, while one blogger on the right suspects the Colombian government

With Congress away, general election chatter dominates the blogs heading into the July 4th weekend. John McCain made the right move in promoting veteran Republican operative Steve Schmidt to the head of his campaign, according to a conservative blogger and former GOP campaign aide. Retired Gen. Wesley Clark is being inconsistent by criticizing McCain, according to the Republican's backers online. And the suggestion that Barack Obama has a problem now that Iraq violence has subsided doesn't hold water, according to liberal bloggers.

Schmidt should give Republicans more confidence in McCain's operation, since Schmidt helped get President Bush and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggar elected, writes The Next Right's Patrick Ruffini, who also worked on Bush's 2004 campaign. Under Schmidt, decisions will be made more quickly and McCain will focus more on the economy, reports Marc Ambinder.

Clark has little standing to criticize McCain's judgment in supporting the Iraq war since Clark once supported Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), who also backed the U.S.-led invasion, according to Townhall's Michael Medved. Recent comments by Clark about McCain's military service reminds Ruffini of the time the general pulled rank on his former rival for the presidency in 2004, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), a former Navy lieutenant. But McCain is having trouble answering Clark's question about the relevance of his Vietnam service to this year's presidential campaign, writes kos, who notes that McCain got angry when asked about it.

Contrary to pundits, Obama doesn't have an "Iraq problem" since polls show that more voters are interested in bringing troops home than in winning the war, MyDD's Todd Beeton writes. Obama hasn't shifted his position on withdrawal by reserving the right to pause a troop pull-out, as his critics have suggested, since he put forth a withdrawal plan in January 2007 that allowed for such pauses, notes Josh Marshall through a video of Obama strategist David Axelrod.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Schmidt Takes Over McCain Camp - P. Ruffini, The Next Right
Behind the Scenes of the McCain Campaign, V. 2.5 - M. Ambinder
Weasley's 'Judgment' - Michael Medved, Townhall.com
Clark Denigrated Kerry's Service in 2004 - P. Ruffini, Next Right
Defending McCain's Service Record - P. Yousefzadeh, RedState
Even McCain Can't Answer Clark's Question - kos, Daily Kos
McCain: I'm Not An Expert! - J. Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
John 'I Didn't Say What I Said' McCain - Todd Beeton, MyDD
Axelrod's Smackdown over Iraq Record - J. Marshall, TPM
Obama Doesn't Have an Iraq Problem - Todd Beeton, MyDD
To Hell w/ The Brand for Obama - Rich Lowry, The Corner
How Obama Can Keep From Blowing It - A. Huffington, HuffPo
Obama and The Hoi Aristoi - Victor Davis Hanson, The Corner
Trade Flip-Flopping Fun Continues - P. Yousefzadeh, RedState
Why Does Limbaugh Support McCain? - Isaac Chotiner, The Plank
The Case Against Mitt Romney - Chris Cillizza, The Fix
A Sign of the Times: LAT & Rush - C. Platt Liebau, Townhall.com

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Colombia Rescues Hostages During McCain Trip - USA Today
McCain Orders Shake-Up of His Campaign - New York Times
McCain Allies Find Finance-Law Holes - Wall Street Journal
Bush Officials Backed Oil Deal - Washington Post

A shake-up at the top of John McCain's campaign is a signal the campaign is shifting to the general election, bloggers write Thursday. Day Four of the retired Gen. Wesley Clark drama and a black actor claiming he paved the way for Barack Obama's campaign also have bloggers talking.

Steve Schmidt moving up to takeover the day-to-day operations of the McCain campaign is an effort by the campaign to beef up its staff as it prepares to fully engage Barack Obama, Marc Ambinder writes. Patrick Ruffini at The Next Right supports the move, pointing out Schmidt ran California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) campaign and steered the confirmation process for both Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito.

Now four days after Clark made a comment that touched off a media firestorm, MyDD's Josh Orton thinks both the campaigns and the media went way overboard with reporting and commenting about what Clark said. TPM put together a video of over-the-top reactions to the story that is a must-watch for those who have followed the story.

And Dennis Haybert thinks his portrayal of "24" president David Palmer helped "open the eyes" of some Americans who now support Obama, Daily Intel reports. For those familiar with the show, News Busters points out that if the Palmer-as-a-precursor-to-Obama analogy is to be believed, then there's also an unflatteringly comparison of Michelle Obama to Palmer's unlikeable wife, Sherry.

FROM THE BLOGS:
The McCain Campaign Aftershock - Marc Ambinder
Five Years Since 'Bring Em On' - Think Progress
Steve Schmidt Takes Over Day-to-Day for McCain - The Next Right
McCain Reshuffles Top of Campaign - Mark Kilmer, RedState
The Obama House Story - TChris, TalkLeft
The Clark Game - Josh Orton, MyDD
McCain in Colombia - The Caucus
TV President Says He Paved Way for Obama - Daily Intel
Hitchens Gets Tortured - Wonkette
No Cherry Tree - John J. Miller, The Corner

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
GOP Candidates Visit ANWR - The Hill
Colombia Rescues Hostage Held for Years - Washington Post
McCain Orders Shake-Up - New York Times

Barack Obama

As the debate over retired Gen. Wesley Clark's remark about John McCain's military service barrels on, conservative bloggers try to figure out what the brouhaha is all about. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) doesn't impress liberal bloggers as a potential running mate for John McCain. And one Republican's effort to regain control of the House is lacking a key factor: candidates, writes pro-Democratic bloggers.

Clark and Sen. Jim Webb's (D-Va.) comments about McCain's service aren't smears, but they do raise questions about the political relevance of military service, which both Clark and Webb have used in past campaigns, writes The Next Right's Jon Henke. Because Barack Obama has yet to stop the attacks on McCain, the Democrat has shown himself to be willing to do anything to win or too weak to rein in his supporters, writes RedState's Erick Erickson. Clark, however, should reject Republican calls for him to apologize, since his own background as a military man and a politician gives him standing to question McCain's, according to MyDD's Todd Beeton.

Romney, reportedly at the top of McCain's running mate shortlist, could help McCain with his wallet and his economic expertise, writes The Fix's Chris Cillizza. But Romney, a Mormon, could hurt McCain among evangelicals, a group that's already skeptical of the Arizonan, writes sabatia on The Plank. Romney has also shown himself to be a "flip-flopper" and would be vulnerable to attacks on his corporate executive past, according to The Plank's Eve Fairbanks.

In Congress, House Minority Whip Roy Blunt's (R-Mo.) new effort to help GOP House candidates, the Regain Our Majority Program (ROMP), features only two challengers, which is 17 short of the number needed to actually recapture control of the House, notes TPM Election Central's Eric Kleefeld and Greg Sargent. Liberal activists should support Sens. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) in their efforts to strip telecom immunity from the foreign surveillance bill and make sure that the process of granting any future immunity requires a rigorous oversight process, writes Daily Kos's mcjoan.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Webb, Clark and McCain's Service - Jon Henke, The Next Right
Obama Is Full of It or Ineffectual or Weak - Erick Erickson, RedState
Gen. Clark Still Refusing to Apologize - Todd Beeton, MyDD
Obama Didn't Repudiate Clark's Comments? - Matt Lewis, Townhall
The Case for Mitt Romney - Chris Cillizza, The Fix
Would Romney Cost McCain Evangelicals? - sabatia, The Plank
Why Romney Doesn't Make Sense - Eve Fairbanks, The Stump
A Pro-Obama Spot on Christian Radio - Marc Ambinder
Obama and Same-Sex Marriage - Ramesh Ponnuru, The Corner
Is Obama's Gay Marriage Stand Incoherent? - J. Patashnik, The Plank
Feingold's Message on FISA - mcjoan, Daily Kos
GOP Promises to 'ROMP' in House Races - Sargent/Kleefeld, TPM EC
McCain Needs to Stick With An Issue - P. Ruffini, Next Right
Obama Shifts, Moves Center - Matt Lewis, Townhall.com

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Obama Pledges to Expand Aid to Religious Charities - LA Times
Obama Voters Protest His Switch on Telecom Immunity - NYT
Obama Got Home Loan Discount - Washington Post
Approps Bills May Wait - The Hill

Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and John McCain are in a war of words Tuesday afternoon after Webb said McCain needs to

Barack Obama

Barack Obama's move toward the center in the general election has his staunch online supporters disappointed. His defense of his patriotism has yet to win over his conservative blogging critics, already outraged by retired Gen. Wes Clark's (D-Ark.) questioning of John McCain's military service. And both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Democrats take heat from Republicans for stances on two recent topics to come before Congress, energy sources and foreign surveillance, bloggers on both sides write.

Because Obama is "cross" at Clark for raising questions about the pertinence of McCain's military service to the White House race and at MoveOn.org, kos has decided not to give the max donation to Obama's campaign this fundraising quarter. Obama should talk more about healthcare and workers' rights, which have been liberal causes, instead of adopting the right's messages about the "dignity of work" in his new television ad, writes MyDD's Todd Beeton. The Netroots online movement may become even less enthusiastic about Obama after he criticized MoveOn.org's "General Betray Us" ad in his speech Monday defending his patriotism, writes RedState's Pejman Yousefzadeh.

Obama and Democrats don't understand that their candidate's real problem with patriotism is that he's trying to remake the United States, a country that is already inherently "good," writes Jonah Goldberg at The Corner. Efforts to debunk those smearing Obama's patriotism are one thing, but they go too far when they dismiss Obama