More Barack Obama advisers receive scrutiny from conservative bloggers. Obama, however, has hit his stride on the economy, writes liberal ones. And the Senate Intelligence Committee report on the case for the Iraq invasion is evidence either of Democratic straw-grasping or of the Bush administration's dishonesty, depending on which bloggers one reads.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) should think again before meeting with two of Obama's veep selection advisers, as Reid did yesterday, writes Ed Morrissey at Hot Air. One of them, Eric Holder, played a role in President Clinton's controversial pardon of Marc Rich, Morrissey notes, while the other, Jim Johnson, faces questions over loans he took from Countrywide Financial and the non-disclosure of his Fannie Mae salary, writes The Corner's Byron York. Obama himself may be engaging in hypocrisy, as he's attacking John McCain for wanting to bail out Wall Street just months after Obama refused to challenge the federal bailout of Bear Stearns, writes The Corner's Mark Hemingway.

Obama, however, has found the right tone in attacking Republicans over the economy. Instead of using a laundry list of reasons why Republicans have been wrong, Obama makes a cohesive case in arguing that the Bush administration's "ownership society" approach is to blame for current economic woes, writes Daily Kos's SusanG. Obama goes beyond the usual argument about Bush's incompetence to show that Bush's policies have failed, writes Josh Orton at MyDD.

The emphasis in the Senate report on the run-up to the Iraq invasion, put out by Sen. Jay Rockefeller's (D-W.Va.) Intelligence Committee, shows that Democrats can't argue the merits of the military surge and have instead returned to the pre-war debate, according to RedState's California Yankee. But it's important that someone document the Bush administration's statements, since the country is still at war and since the White House is using similar arguments for an attack on Iran, writes Arianna Huffington.

FROM THE BLOGS:
The Jim Johnson Affair - Byron York, The Corner
When Harry Met Jimmy And Eric - Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
Obama For Bailout Before Against It - Mark Hemingway, The Corner
Obama Goes On Offensive On Economy - SusanG, Daily Kos
Obama's Economic Speech, A Step Beyond Bush - Josh Orton, MyDD
Fear Itself - Gary Hart, TPMCafe
Democrats' New Political Threat To Security - Cal. Yankee, RedState
Senate Report Reveals White House 'Lies' - A. Huffington, HuffPo
Halperin On How They'll Choose Veeps - Jonathan Cohn, The Plank
'Constitutional Crisis?' Eh - Josh Patashnik, The Plank
Right On Time: Abramoff Sentencing - Josh Marshall, TPM
Obama Is Not Going To Get $100M In June - Moe Lane, RedState
McCain: Obama Runs For Carter's 2nd Term - Allahpundit, Hot Air
Selling Limited Government - Jon Henke, The Next Right
New GOP Energy Czar: Hitler - Kagro X, Daily Kos
Hang On, Saxby! - Todd Beeton, MyDD

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Lobbying's Good Guys? Invisible On Campaign Trail - Wash. Post
Barack Obama Is $100 Million Man - The Hill
Obama, In Economic Tour, Criticizes McCain - New York Times
Obama Ramps Up Search For Running Mate - Associated Press

A disputed Bob Novak column that suggests Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) want Emanuel to succeed Barack Obama in the Senate has bloggers wondering just who is pedaling the rumor. John McCain

Conservatives will turn to negative, Swift Boat Veterans-style attacks on Barack Obama as it is their only chance to win the presidency, liberal bloggers charge, while conservatives celebrate a surprise free-market move by Democrats, who have decided to privatize food services in Senate cafeterias. And Democrats need to set new energy policies and talk to voters about gas prices, bloggers from both sides agree.

Swift Boat-style attacks have officially returned to national politics, Firedoglake

John McCain has a rough road ahead, according to members of his own party and liberal bloggers. Barack Obama deserves more scrutiny for his ties to lobbyists, a group he has railed against during the campaign, conservative bloggers write. And Democrats in Congress have yet to achieve the earmark reform they talk about and may have a tough time retaining one House freshman's seat, pro-Republican bloggers note.

McCain has yet to make ground with his "reformer" and "maverick" labels, which he'll need to do if he wants to overcome the organization and enthusiasm driving Obama's presidential bid, according to GOP insiders who talk to the Huffington Post's Thomas B. Edsall. McCain's general election campaign has been "schizophrenic," going from outreach to independents, a pledge to appoint conservative judges and a recent decision to co-opt Obama's message of change, writes MyDD's J Ro. A poll shows that McCain is only getting 48 percent of voters in South Carolina, a state that President Bush won with 58 percent, notes MyDD's Jonathan Singer.

Obama's problems with conservative bloggers stem from his lobbyist ties. While he says he won't accept their contributions, he takes money from former lobbyists, unregistered members of lobbyist firms and lobbyists registered at the state level, notes Pejman Yousefzadeh at RedState. A top member of his running mate selection team, Jim Johnson, has not only served as a lobbyist but has taken approximately $7 million in loans from Countrywide Financial, the mortgage firm blamed for much of the subprime housing mess, RedState's Soren Dayton charges.

Like Obama, Congressional Democrats have also talked about increasing government transparency. But they've yet to make much headway, as shown by the more than 28,000 earmark requests that crashed a House committee Web site, cites The Corner's Mark Hemingway. And in a year when everything seems to be working against them, House Republicans can find hope in a new poll that has freshman Democratic Rep. Zack Space behind his GOP challenger Fred Dailey, 32 percent to 46 percent, Dayton writes at The Next Right.

FROM THE BLOGS:
GOP Insiders Worry About McCain - T. Edsall, Huffington Post
McCain Can't Crack 50 Percent In S.C. - Jonathan Singer, MyDD
McCain's Vision Thing - J Ro, MyDD
Obama: Still Friendly To Lobbyists - Pejman Yousefzadeh, RedState
SEIU: Things To Fear In Obama Presidency - Dayton, Next Right
Obama's Johnson: Lobbyist, Mortgage Exec - Dayton, RedState
Memo To President Obama - Jared Bernstein, Huffington Post
Stop Attacking My.BarackObama.com - P. Ruffini, Next Right
Trivial Matter Of Whether War Was Mistake - J. Cohn, The Plank
Bipartisan Agreement On NYC Debate - Josh Marshall, TPM
CNN Climbing Out Of Obama Tank - Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
War Injuries? What War Injuries? - Mark Hemingway, The Corner
Reid's & Pelosi's Fiscal Reforms - M. Hemingway, The Corner
Rep. Space Down By Double Digits - Soren Dayton, The Next Right

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Voters Rank Economy As Election's No. 1 Issue - Wall Street Journal
John McCain's Ohio Disconnect - Los Angeles Times
McCain Extends Outreach, But Evangelicals Still Wary - New York Times
Senate Votes To Privatize Its Failing Restaurants - Washington Post

Hillary Clinton doesn't need to look far to figure out what went wrong, according to bloggers writing postmortems Sunday about her campaign. Having taken down Clinton, Barack Obama and his money-making machine are poised to vanquish John McCain, bloggers surmise. And both parties' congressional candidates need to watch out for bloggers looking to expose special interests.

The "hilarious" analysis of the Democratic race by Clinton strategist Mark Penn shows that he still doesn't get his "anachronistic," "poll-driven" campaign was a reason Clinton couldn't raise enough money to win, writes Swampland's Joe Klein. Compared to Obama, Clinton had a flawed organization and a flawed campaign message, one that was just about regaining power, writes RedState's Pejman Yousefzadeh.

With Clinton out of the way, Obama is enjoying a six-point bounce in the latest Rasmussen tracking poll and leading McCain, 48 percent to 40 percent, writes Todd Beeton at MyDD. The tongue-twisted performance of Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), in which he doesn't even try to defend McCain's support for Democratic climate change proposals, may be a "sad harbinger of things to come" for Republicans, writes a despondent John Hinderaker at Power Line.

Bloggers on both sides push for independent-minded candidates in two heated congressional primaries. Democrats should back Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) in his race against the candidate of Emily's List, Nikki Tinker, who hasn't distanced herself from anti-Semitic and homophobic attacks against Cohen, writes Paul Rosenberg at Open Left. And if Republicans want to turn the tide, they should support pork-busting Sean Parnell, the Alaska lieutenant governor running in a GOP primary against the "uber-purveyor of pork," Rep. Don Young (R), writes Eric Earling at The Next Right.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Hilarious: Penn's Analysis In NYT - Joe Klein, Swampland
So Long, Farewell... - P. Yousefzadeh, RedState
Unity: The Day After - Big Tent Democrat, TalkLeft
Hillary As Veep? - Kevin Drum, Political Animal
Obama's Bounce - Todd Beeton, MyDD
Unilateral Disarmament - John Hinderaker, Power Line
A Fully Partisan Iraq Report - P. Mirengoff, Power Line
No One Trusts Election Coverage - Allahpundit, Hot Air
Emily's List Backing Homophobic Campaign? - Rosenberg, Open Left
MA-Sen.-Republicans Humiliated Again - brownsox, Daily Kos
Clear Out The Deadwood - Eric Earling, The Next Right

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
The Long Road To A Clinton Exit - New York Times
Each Party Is Set To Hunt The Other's Ground - Washington Post
Obama Maps Nationwide Push In GOP Strongholds - New York Times
Iraq, Not The Economy, Frames The National Debate - Wash. Post

Hillary Clinton's campaign valedictory is the only show in town Saturday. By backing Barack Obama wholeheartedly, she did what she had to do, according to liberal bloggers. But Clinton's endorsement seemed a little forced to conservative bloggers, who note her backers' boos for Obama. Though she's leaving one campaign, she's not finished with public life yet, bloggers on all sides agree.

Clinton's unequivocal endorsement was what Obama supporters were waiting for, according to The Stump's Michael Crowley. Obama now has the full support of Clinton's most vocal supporter online, Talkleft's Jeralyn, who thanks Clinton for her commitment and passion and calls a John McCain presidency "simply unacceptable." The applause from Clinton supporters for Obama drowned out the "few boos" cried at the mention his name, writes MyDD's Jonathan Singer, who sees a united Democratic Party going forward.

But the boos for Obama were certainly there, notes Allahpundit, who suggests that the feminist theme of Clinton's farewell might foreshadow "Clinton 2012: Woman Warrior." When she talked about her own campaign, she was the smiling "New Hillary," but when she talked Obama, she reverted back to the "mean" "Old Hillary," writes Townhall's Matt Lewis. Clinton's defeat validates conservative pundit Peggy Noonan's case against Clinton, built on the argument that she and her husband were "not quite stable," writes The Corner's Kathryn Jean Lopez.

Clinton now returns to the Senate, where she has four years left on her term. She made clear in her speech that she'll continue to fight for her causes and she'll try to to rehabilitate her husband's image, dinged during a rough-and-tumble primary campaign, writes The Fix's Chris Cillizza.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Barack Obama Has Our Full Support - Jeralyn, TalkLeft
Unity - Jonathan Singer, MyDD
Exit Hillary - Michael Crowley, The Stump
Hillary Clinton: A Personal View - DemFromCT, Daily Kos
The Old Hillary And New Hillary - Matt Lewis, Townhall.com
Noonan Should Be Declaring Victory - K.J. Lopez, The Corner
Boos And Cheers As Hillary Endorses Obama - Allahpundit, Hot Air
Clinton Badly Needs Help With Debt - Adam B, Daily Kos
Legacy And Future In Mind, Clinton Ends Run - C. Cillizza, The Fix
Chuck Schumer On Moving Forward - Jonathan Singer, MyDD
Democratic And Independent Swing Voters - P. Rosenberg, Open Left
David Broder: Embodiment Of Beltway Values - Glenn Greenwald

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Ending Her Bid, Clinton Backs Obama - New York Times
In Money Race, Obama Has The Advantage - Washington Post
Franken Wins Endorsement For Senate in Minn. - Associated Press

Is the Democratic Party finally on track after Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton met face to face last night? liberal bloggers ask, while conservatives doubt a rumored videotape of Michelle Obama using the term

Barack Obama is waffling on two issues key to Israel, conservative bloggers charge, while Sen. Jim Webb

Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-Conn.) latest efforts to help John McCain are antagonizing bloggers on the left again, to the delight of the conservative blogosphere. Supporters of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are ready to unify on one blog, but those on another are still debating Clinton's exit from the race. And with Congress in full swing, conservatives rejoice at the fall of the climate change bill while liberals see hope for yet another congressional race long dominated by Republicans.

Lieberman is leading an effort to stir up grassroots support and possibly take Democratic voters who backed Hillary Clinton away from Barack Obama, notes RedState's Moe Lane, who wonders why Senate Democrats don't strip him of his committee chairmanship. If Lieberman goes for re-election in 2012, he'll get knocked off, writes kos, who is looking forward to the pleasure. Lieberman may be earning points in the GOP veepstakes, but he'll find much resistance from the conservative base for opposing an abortion ban, writes the pro-life Kathryn Jean Lopez at The Corner.

Though Clinton supporters may be disappointed that their candidate didn't win, it's time for them to coalesce around Obama, who also supports ending the war, finding a new energy policy and increasing healthcare coverage, writes MyDD's pollbuster, a Clinton supporter. There's no need for Obama supporters to get to riled up about Clinton's decision to wait a few days after the last primaries to drop out, as other failed Democratic candidates had waited longer, notes David Greenberg at The Plank. But his colleague, Isaac Chotiner, writes that it was Clinton's combative speech on Tuesday, the night Obama had clinched the nomination, that has irked Obama supporters.

Conservative activists have reason to be happy now that the $6.7 trillion "green boondoggle" is about to die, but they still need to press senators on the fence like John Sununu (R-N.H.) not to support it if it comes to a vote, writes Michelle Malkin. Democrats find more electoral good news in Kansas, where former Rep. Jim Slattery (D) trails Sen. Pat Roberts (R) by just 12 percentage points, a margin that should close once Obama, a son of a Kansan, and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) start campaigning for him, MyDD's Jonathan Singer writes.

And in a bit of lighthearted ridicule about a serious topic, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) hears it from TalkingPointsMemo's Kate Klonick for being fixated on the phrase "panties in a bunch" during a hearing about torture instead of decrying the Geneva Convention violations.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Lieberman: Veep Pack Leader? - Kathryn Jean Lopez, The Corner
Lieberman: 'Democrat Party' - kos, Daily Kos
The Lamont Thing Keeps Paying Dividends - Moe Lane, RedState
View From A Hillary Supporter - pollbuster, MyDD
Clinton Speech, Continued - Isaac Chotiner, The Plank
Historical Perspective On Clinton's Exit - D. Greenberg, The Plank
Obama Rises In Missouri - kos, Daily Kos
America's 40 Years War At End - Robert McElvaine, Huffington Post
How Obama Presidency Will Devolve - Sean Oxendine, The Next Right
McCain: Surprised I'm Not Being Blown Out - Allahpundit, Hot Air
Obama Caves Under Palestinian Pressure - Soren Dayton, RedState
McCain Campaign's Awkward Speaking Style - Josh Marshall, TPM
How The Right Can Renew Itself Online - Publius, The Next Right
Green Boondoggle Set To Go Down In Flames - Michelle Malkin
Slattery Competitive In Kan. Senate Race - J. Singer, MyDD
Rep. Rohrabacher: 'Panties In A Bunch' - Kate Klonick, TPM

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Obama Moves To Next Phase As Clinton Douses VP Talk - NYT
In D.C., Obama Meets With Clinton - Washington Post
Adviser Says McCain Backs Bush Wiretaps - New York Times
Lieberman under Reid's Protection - The Hill