Veep speculation continues to be a hot topic, Barack Obama is called gaffe-prone for mixing up which concentration camp his grandfather helped liberate, and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn) takes heat for agreeing to appear with Pastor John Hagee after John McCain rejected the controversial endorsement.

The Next Right

Should Barack Obama travel to Iraq with John McCain? That

Barack Obama, John McCain and Republicans left much to desire in their attempts to honor the troops on Memorial Day, according to their online critics. Bloggers also provide more suggestions on how the two presidential candidates pick running mates.

On a day reserved for honoring fallen Americans, Obama should have followed President Bush in giving a non-partisan speech and not talk about partisan issues at a town hall meeting, writes Power Line's John Hinderaker. Obama showed his inexperience by resorting to the "stock responses" of the left in his arguments against Republicans about gas prices, troop benefits and taxes, according to Townhall's Hugh Hewitt. And while Bush's critics have long harped on the president's speech patterns as evidence of past drug use and a lack of intelligence, they've yet to come up with excuses for Obama, who lauded "fallen heroes" and then tried to point them out in the crowd Monday, RedState's Moe Lane writes.

Republicans are the ones who lack respect for troops, according to liberal bloggers. McCain would do more to help them by getting behind Sen. Jim Webb's (D-Va.) GI Bill, which the Republican wrongly thinks would lower troop levels, according to MyDD's Jonathan Singer. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) was "disrespectful" by suggesting that there would be a "mass exodus" from the military if they got the education benefits Webb is calling for, Daily Kos's Brandon Friedman writes.

Both sides give more veep advice to Obama and McCain. Obama should turn to younger, "promising prospects" in the Democratic Party, instead of to Hillary Clinton, since his pick will help shape the party for next two decades, The Plank's Josh Patashnik writes. McCain should consider Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) since she could help him among women voters and a wide swath of the electorate with her "sensible" positions on energy and the environment, Michael Goldfarb writes at the Weekly Standard's blog.

And there's more evidence that Congressional Republicans face a tough road to hoe this fall. The fact that Sen. Roger Wicker (R) is running a television ad five months before the election in his ruby red state of Mississippi suggests that Republicans must defend seats across the map this year, according to TPM Election Central's Eric Kleefeld.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Obama/Bush On Mem. Day: A Contrast - J. Hinderaker, Power Line
The Obama Melt - Hugh Hewitt, Townhall.com
Excuses For Obama's Speech Patterns - Moe Lane, RedState
Al Qaeda's Unraveling - Moe Lane, RedState
McCain's Distortions On Webb GI Bill - Jonathan Singer, MyDD
Stevens, VA Sec Disrespect Troops - Brandon Friedman, Daily Kos
McCain's Record on Repro. Rights - A. Huffington, HuffPo
Waiting For The Obama Bump - Michael Goldfarb, Weekly Standard
McCain-Palin? - Michael Goldfarb, Weekly Standard
How VP Debate Misses Mark - Josh Patashnik, The Plank
Bill Clinton's Disrespect - MissLaura, Daily Kos
Bum Rap Against John Hagee - Scott Johnson, Power Line
Two Probes Into Pentagon's PR Program - David Kurtz, TPMMuck
GOP Senate Seat At Risk In Miss.? - Eric Kleefeld, TPM Election
In Defense Of Lobbyists - Amanda Carpenter, Townhall.com

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Obama And McCain Are Dueling Out West - Los Angeles Times
No Clear Map For Clinton's Political Future - Washington Post
Atomic Monitor Signals Concern Over Iran's Work - New York Times
Bush Straddles Hard Line In Engaging Sudan - Washington Post

U.S. military operations in Iraq and the fight against terrorists are on bloggers' minds this Memorial Day. Conservatives find troops making clear progress on both fronts, while liberals write about Congress's attempts to stop Bush administration's policies from weakening the military and civil liberties at home.

Since 2003, terrorist attacks against the United States and its interests abroad have been unsuccessful, thanks in part to the Bush administration efforts in Iraq and against Al Qaeda, according to Power Line's John Hinderaker. Al Qaeda and Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have been weakened by the military surge in Iraq over the past year, according to RedState's Charles Bird. But should Al Qaeda become crippled, groups like Hamas and Hezbollah would still be around to threaten the West, writes Michelle Malkin.

President Bush's choices have hurt the troops and freedom that Americans at home deserve, liberal bloggers counter. John McCain should get behind a "common-sense bill" sponsored by Senate Democrats that offers troops financial compensation if their Iraq tours were involuntary extended, Daily Kos's georgia10 writes. Also at Kos, Kagro X again urges Congress not to cave into the White House's demands for a more surveillance powers, finding the Bush administration's argument -- that Congress authorized the powers in 2001 -- just as specious as the one it has used to detain terror suspects indefinitely.

In the presidential race, Libertarian Bob Barr,

With Barack Obama closing in on the Democratic presidential nomination, bloggers on Sunday are debating whether Obama should pick Hillary Clinton or Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) as his running mate. What will it take for Obama to win over Democratic voters who haven't supported him is on the minds of liberal bloggers while conservatives question whether the Illinois Democrat is up for dealing with Iran.

Webb would be a far stronger pick than Clinton, since he can help Obama with Appalachian voters and has shown legislative skill in getting 75 senators to back his new G.I. Bill, writes The Current's Reihan Salam. If Obama picks a woman, he must pick Clinton, who's much more qualified than Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-Kan.) or Gov. Janet Napolitano (D-Ariz.), MyDD's Todd Beeton believes. RedState's Pejman Yousefzadeh thinks Clinton would hurt Obama on the ticket and suggests Republicans engineer a vice presidential nomination for the New York senator at the Democratic convention.

While pundits urge Obama to appeal to Reagan Democrats, Ezra Klein writes that Obama should look forward and not try to rebuild Reagan's coalition. That was unique to the 1980s, Klein suggests. One way Obama could appeal to a wider group of Democrats is to run with Clinton,and heal the intra-party rift created during the primary, according to Big Tent Democrat at TalkLeft.

When it comes to his Iranian policy, Obama doesn't understand that the United States already tried dialogue and found few points of compromise, notes Power Line's Scott Johnson.

TPMCafe's Dean Baker finds that Rep. Raul Grijalva's (D-Ariz.) new bill to help low-income homeowners doesn't bail out banks and avoids taking money away from other low-income homeowners who aren't in danger, which Republicans don't want to happen.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Master Of The Senate: Webb For Veep - Reihan Salam, The Current
Obama's Veep - Todd Beeton, MyDD
Second Banana: Mischief Opportnities - Yousefzadeh, RedState
Virginia On The Map - Jonathan Singer, MyDD
Can Obama Win Without Clinton Dems? - Big Tent Dem, TalkLeft
Obama-Hillary: Dream Or Nightmare? - John Judis, The Plank
The Reagan Democrats - Ezra Klein
The Long View On GOP - Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
Olbermann On Obama And RFK - Chris Cillizza, The Fix
Obama's Lobbyist Problem: Axlerod - Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
DNC Blog Credentials And Party-Building - MissLaura, Daily Kos
The Gathering Storm: Obama And Iran - Scott Johnson, Power Line
Awaiting Obama's Reply - Abe Greenwald, Contentions
Rove's Non-Denial Denial - Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
Housing Bill Doesn't Whack Low-Inc. Renters - D. Baker, TPMCafe

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Obama Stands In For Kennedy At Wesleyan - New York Times
To Claim Pop. Vote, Clinton Seeks Last Primary Wins - WaPo

Hillary Clinton has apologized for referencing Bobby Kennedy's assassination, but bloggers Saturday aren't ready to move on.

Barack Obama should consider Hillary Clinton as his running mate, according to some pro-Obama bloggers who write that a

Just because Hillary Clinton may be considering the vice presidency doesn

The release of John McCain