Obama's Michigan Campaign Will Be 2x The Size Of Kerry's. A Michigan source sends along a memo from the Obama campaign's Michigan state director, Amy Chapman -- an "update," she calls it, on what the campaign is doing. And what they are doing is bringing jobs to Michigan: To date, the campaign has hired more than 90 paid staffers and plans to hire another 80 by the national convention. 11:49 AM; Marc Ambinder.

What Surveys Show About the Attitudes and Priorities of African Americans. Are critics like Jesse Jackson more in touch with the African American public? A look at what survey data tell us about black attitudes and priorities. 10:49 AM; PewResearch.org | All Feeds.

Biden: McCain 'Has No Notion of What Is Going on' in Iraq. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) took aim at John McCain over Iraq Monday, saying the Arizona senator and longtime military officer's Iraq policy fails to understand the reality of the situation. 10:48 AM; The Hill.

McCain to defend immigration record before Latino group. Sen. John McCain on Monday is seeking to reassure Hispanic voters of his commitment to them after Sen. Barack Obama accused him of backing down on immigration reform for political reasons. 10:47 AM; CNN.

Why Vietnam Loves McCain. They like the way McCain pushed Washington to normalize relations in the 1990s and the way trade has mushroomed from $1.5 billion in 2001 to $12 billion last year, and they believe he'll help them even more if he wins. 8:11 AM; Newsweek.

Can you hear me now? Obama's missing 2 percent. By failing to survey cellphone-only voters, pollsters could be undercounting Barack Obama's support by millions of voters. 6:00 AM; Salon.

Courts expect crush of cases during GOP convention. With September's Republican National Convention approaching, Ramsey County court officials are preparing to hold round-the-clock hearings for arrested protesters. 7/13/2008; MPR.

New Yorker cartoon cover w/Obamas. A small version of the New Yorker cover on Flickr. 7/13/2008; New Yorker.

'New Yorker' Cover With Obama as Muslim. If it was meant to be provocative -- it succeeded. The cover of this week's New Yorker features Baack Obama in Muslim garb, with his gun-toting Afro-ed wife, an American flag burning in the fireplace. 7/13/2008; E&P.

Campaign: Obama cartoon tasteless. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is indifferent to his cartoon on the cover of the New Yorker while his supporters are angry. 7/13/2008; Press TV.

Lieberman Finds Middle a Tricky Path. Senator Joseph I. Lieberman's criticism of Senator Barack Obama has infuriated many of his Democratic colleagues. 7/13/2008; NYT.

New Yorker's Cover: Tastless and Offensive or A Bee Sting? My first reaction to the New Yorker's new cover is simple: New Yorker editor David Remnick has more guts -- for good or ill, I'm not sure -- than the entire hotel bar at a Magazine Publishers of America conference. The campaigns are both outraged. 7/13/2008; Time.

Who listens to blogging heads? Political blog readers tend to read just a few blogs. About 40% of them named only one political blog they regularly visit, and 90% said they read four or fewer blogs. 7/13/2008; LA Times.

Arnold may consider Obama energy post. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in an interview aired Sunday that he would be open to the idea of serving as energy czar in a Barack Obama administration. 7/13/2008; Politico.

Democrats Wave Goodbye to Lieberman. Sen. Joseph Lieberman next year will be kicked out of the party's caucus and lose his Senate chairmanship if he addresses the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., as planned. 7/13/2008; RealClearPolitics.

The Shame of Postville, Iowa. Deporting unauthorized workers is one thing; sending desperate breadwinners to prison, and their families deeper into poverty, is another. 7/13/2008; NYT.

Making It: How Chicago Shaped Obama. "Can you get where he is and maintain your personal integrity?" she said. "Is that the question?" She stared at me and grimaced. "I'm going to pass on that." 7/13/2008; New Yorker.

Obama Picks Senators as Iraq Partners. Senator Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska, and Senator Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, will join Mr. Obama on his first trip to Iraq as a presidential candidate. All three senators share similar views -- critical ones -- of the administration's Iraq policy. 7/13/2008; NYT.

In House, Tweets Fly Over Web Plan. It began with a twitter from one of Capitol Hill's best-known technophiles. 7/13/2008; NYT.

John McCain goes online. McCain, who admitted in January that he is a computer "illiterate," now says he is "learning to get online." 7/13/2008; Politico.

Nouri al-Maliki ready to oust US from Iraq green zone. The green zone of Baghdad, a highly fortified slice of American suburbia on the banks of the Tigris river, may soon be handed over to Iraqi control if the increasingly assertive government of Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, gets its way. 7/13/2008; Times of London.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac's $5 trillion mess. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac own or guarantee $5 trillion worth of mortgages, nearly half of all the country's outstanding home loan debt. Now, both companies are teetering on financial ruin. How could the companies end up in such awful straits? Given the way they were created and run, a better question might be: how could they not? 7/13/2008; CNN.

Obama cautious on steps to help Freddie/Fannie. Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama said on Saturday he was confident "prudent steps" by the U.S. government would stabilize mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but that it was necessary to see how the situation developed before deciding on what steps to take. 7/13/2008; Reuters.

The Times Interviews John McCain. Following are excerpts of a transcript of an interview conducted by The New York Times's Adam Nagourney and Michael Cooper with Senator John McCain in Hudson, Wisconsin, on July 11. 7/12/2008; NYT.

Feds cite Schumer in collapse of IndyMac. The immediate cause of the closing was a deposit run that began and continued after the public release of a June 26 letter to the OTS and the FDIC from Senator Charles Schumer of New York. The letter expressed concerns about IndyMac's viability. In the following 11 business days, depositors withdrew more than $1.3 billion from their accounts. 7/12/2008; LA Times.

Barack Obama's Strategic Miscalculation on Public Finance. With him formally capturing the nomination in June, that doesn't seem to be happening. In fact, Obama's opting out is starting to look at best premature and at worst a complete strategic blunder. 7/12/2008; Patrick Ruffini.

The rise and fall of IndyMac. Feds seize bank -- once a leading mortgage lender. It may turn out to be most expensive collapse ever. One thing is sure: The credit crisis is still with us. 7/12/2008; CNN.

Bill Clinton addresses governors. Former President Bill Clinton journeyed to the "center of wonkdom" this afternoon, as he spoke to current and former governors about the challenges America faces and potential solutions to them -- with climate change among the most pressing. 7/12/2008; MSNBC.

U.S. Considers Increasing Pace of Iraq Pullout. The Bush administration is considering the withdrawal of additional combat forces from Iraq beginning in September, and one factor is a need for more troops in Afghanistan, officials said. 7/12/2008; NYT.

Phil Gramm Is No Longer 'Giving Advice To Senator McCain' Appearing on PBS's Nightly Business Report last night, McCain’s senior policy adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, claimed that because of the comments, Gramm would no longer be giving McCain advice. 7/12/2008; Think Progress.

Voter registrations in Florida show 'huge swing' toward Democrats. An escalating number of voters registering as Democrats is providing evidence that the 2008 election could produce a wave of support for Barack Obama and trigger a decades-long shift of party allegiance that could affect elections for a generation. 7/12/2008; Sun-Sentinel.

Bush backs Israeli plan for strike on Iran. President George W Bush has told the Israeli government that he may be prepared to approve a future military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations with Tehran break down, according to a senior Pentagon official. 7/12/2008; Times of London.

John McCain's Home While He Was a POW in Vietnam. These are the never-before-seen last known photos of Sen. John McCain's Hoa Lo prison cell, images that prove that even after being cleaned up for an American historical filmmaker, the terror of the Hanoi Hilton is real. 7/12/2008; US News.

Obama Supporters on Far Left Cry Foul. "I'm disgusted with him," said Ms. Shade, an artist. "I can't even listen to him anymore. He had such an opportunity, but all this 'audacity of hope' stuff, it's blah, blah, blah. For all the independents he's going to gain, he's going to lose a lot of progressives." 7/12/2008; NYT.

Border fence concerns Rio Grande defenders. The federal government's border fence plans in South Texas have been attacked by property owners, wildlife advocates and land conservationists. The next wave of opponents could come from the water - and they're carrying paddles. 7/12/2008; AP.

German row over Obama speech plan. A leading German politician is the latest to reject a tentative plan by Barack Obama to speak at Berlin's historic Brandenburg Gate. 7/12/2008; BBC.

Phil Gramm is right. Gas prices are ruining vacation plans and killing businesses. Many Americans have lost or are about to lose their homes to foreclosure or in distress sales. The federal government may not be talking about it much yet, but inflation plagues the country. The weak dollar is altering our everyday calculations. For many, this is not a happy summer. 7/12/2008; Washington Post.

Tony Snow, Former White House Press Secretary, Dies at 53. The conservative columnist and television commentator, who served for 17 months as President Bush's press secretary, died after a long battle with colon cancer. 7/12/2008; NYT.

MO Poll: Obama +5. Research 2000 has done a new poll in Missouri for the St. Louis Post Dispatch which shows Barack Obama leading John McCain by 5 points: Obama 48 McCain 43 Undecided 9. 7/12/2008; Time.

Fox News: Ex-Bush spokesman Tony Snow dies. Fox News is reporting that conservative commentator and former White House press secretary Tony Snow has died of cancer. 7/12/2008; USA Today.

World Bank's Zoellick says food prices high until 2012. World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Saturday he expected food prices to remain above 2004 levels until at least 2012 and energy prices would also remain high and volatile. 7/12/2008; Reuters.

Editorial: There He Goes Again. A leader who wants to steer the nation through tough times should not spend the campaign, as Senator John McCain has so far, telling Americans they can have it all. 7/12/2008; NYT.

Hagel to Join Obama on Iraq Trip. The buzz this week that Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska is planning to join Sen. Barack Obama on an up-coming visit to Iraq is correct, two sources with knowledge of the trip confirmed Friday. 7/11/2008; WSJ.

Obama campaign turns down NASCAR sponsorship offer. "The Obama campaign will not be sponsoring a car in the Sprint Cup series, though we will continue to look for ways to reach out to voters and convey Senator Obama's message of change." Bill Burton, Obama Campaign Spokesman. 7/11/2008; USA Today.

Political Memo: Friendly Campaigning, Only Not So Much. Despite promises of civility, the presidential candidates are locked in a minute-by-minute fight with rhetoric as harsh and misleading as that of any previous campaign. 7/11/2008; NYT.

McCain staff asked for protester's ouster. "Contrary to some recent reporting, the Secret Service had no involvement in Ms. Kreck being removed from the area," said Malcolm D. Wiley Sr., spokesman for the Secret Service. "It was not done at our request or suggestion. Any assertion to the contrary is inaccurate and inconsistent with our established policies and procedures." 7/11/2008; Denver Post.

Some Evidence FISA Hurt Obama. Obama has dropped in the latest Newsweek poll. He's gone from 51-36 over McCain to 44-41. The most striking piece of data though is that 53% of registered voters think that he has changed his position on key policy issues to try to gain political advantage since becoming the nominee. 7/11/2008; Open Left.

Meet the New FISA. After years of debate, President Bush signed a warrantless wiretapping bill on Thursday. It allows foreigners outside the U.S. to be wiretapped without court oversight, grants immunity to the telecoms who made wiretapping possible and invalidates dozens of legal challenges. 7/11/2008; On The Media.

Another bad week for John McCain. He's sputtering about birth control and the economy and shape-shifting on immigration. 7/11/2008; Salon.

Conservative Movement Woes, I. Conservatives Mickey Edwards and Ross Douthat discuss why they believe their movement has gone off track during the last eight years and what it means for the Republican Party. Douthat is senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly and co-author of Grand New Party, and Mickey Edwards is a former Republican Congressman and author of Reclaiming Conservatism. 7/11/2008; Bill Moyers.

Meet Luke Russert. Washington Whispers podcast #7 7/11/2008; US News.

Senate passes foreclosure-crisis bill. After months of debate on Capitol Hill, the Senate on Friday passed a comprehensive housing and foreclosure prevention bill. 7/11/2008; CNN.

Obama: Death penalty for bin Laden. Barack Obama again said Friday he favors the death penalty for Osama bin Laden should the 9/11 mastermind be captured. 7/11/2008; CNN.

Meet the New FISA. After years of debate, President Bush signed a warrantless wiretapping bill on Thursday. It allows foreigners outside the U.S. to be wiretapped without court oversight, grants immunity to the telecoms who made wiretapping possible and invalidates dozens of legal challenges. Tim Starks of Congressional Quarterly explains how the bill became a law. 7/11/2008; On The Media.

McCain's broken marriage and fractured Reagan friendship. In a written statement, she described McCain as "a good friend for over 30 years." But that friendship was strained in the late 1970s by McCain's decision to divorce his first wife, Carol, who was particularly close to the Reagans, and within weeks marry Cindy Hensley, the young heiress to a lucrative Arizona beer distributorship. 7/11/2008; LA Times.

Photo: Bush and US Treasury Secy Paulson. US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (L) looks on as US President George W. Bush talks to the media after a meeting with members of his economic team at the Department of Energy in Washington, DC on July 11, 2008. AFP PHOTO/YURI GRIPAS 7/11/2008; AFP.

Weekend Lineup. Here are the scheduled guests for the Sunday public affairs shows and other weekend programs. 7/11/2008; Natl Journal.

Whiner-gate Day Two: There's Tape. Now you can watch the whole segment in its fully glory. 7/11/2008; MyDD.

Obama may team with NASCAR. SI.com has learned that for the first time in history, a major presidential candidate may sponsor a race car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. 7/11/2008; CNN.

Rep. Sanchez: Rove Should Go to Jail. Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) thinks former White House adviser Karl Rove should go to jail after ignoring a subpoena seeking his appearance at a House Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday. 7/11/2008; The Hill.

Stop the new FISA. The new FISA Amendments Act nearly eviscerates oversight of government surveillance. It allows the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to review only general procedures for spying rather than individual warrants. The court will not be told specifics about who will be wiretapped. 7/11/2008; LA Times.

ACLU Sues Over Unconstitutional Dragnet Wiretapping Law. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a landmark lawsuit today to stop the government from conducting surveillance under a new wiretapping law that gives the Bush administration virtually unchecked power to intercept Americans' international e-mails and telephone calls. 7/11/2008; ACLU.

Some in U.S. replace oil heat with wood stoves. It's summer in the United States, but many Americans are already fretting about winter. 7/10/2008; Reuters.

McCain Reaps $22 Million. June was Senator John McCain's best fund-raising month of the campaign, according to figures released Thursday by an aide. 7/10/2008; NYT.

Straight talk about Viagra. "I certainly don't want to discuss that issue." 7/10/2008; Daily Kos.

McCain misfires on Obama attack. The problem with the critique? McCain also missed that vote on the Kyl-Lieberman amendment on September 26, 2007. Records show that Obama was in New Hampshire and McCain was in New York instead of being in the Senate chamber for the vote in question. 7/10/2008; CNN.

Tough Moments On The Campaign Trail. Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain both found themselves at an embarrassing loss for words this week. Obama's problems came at a Wednesday night fundraiser, while McCain had to field a question about Viagra. 7/10/2008; NPR.

Why John McCain is So Awful. McCain's 2000 campaign was appealing to liberals because it consisted of us watching a Republican talk smack about Republicans, comparing the conservative machine to the Death Star, pointing out that GOP tax policies serve only the interests of a tiny elite, etc. But as an electoral strategy this was perverse and the results were predictable. 7/10/2008; Yglesias.

Video of Barak Obama on "Dr Phil" "...America already has one Dr. Phil. We don't need another one when it comes to the economy..." 7/10/2008; MyDD.

Who Speaks for John McCain. If McCain doesn't agree with his top economics surrogates about it, he probably needs a new team. 7/10/2008; Yglesias.

McCain adviser explains 'nation of whiners' Phil Gramm, a top adviser to Sen. John McCain, on Thursday stood by his comment that the country is in a "mental recession," and said he was trying to say the nation's leaders, not its people, were "whiners." 7/10/2008; CNN.

McCain rejects comments from economic adviser. Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Thursday sharply rejected a top economic adviser's description of the United States as "a nation of whiners" who are in a mental recession. 7/10/2008; Reuters.

Obama on Gramm: 'America already has one Dr. Phil' Democrat Barack Obama ridiculed Phil Gramm, an economic adviser to Republican rival John McCain, on Thursday for dubbing the United States "a nation of whiners" and suggesting the country is in a "mental recession." 7/10/2008; USA Today.

Kucinich Gives Impeachment Another Try. Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who introduced 35 articles of impeachment last month, is set to introduce just one article on the House floor today. 7/10/2008; Time.

POLL: Rasmussen Illinois, North Dakota. Rasmussen Reports 7/8/08 - 500 LV each, 4.5% Illinois Obama 50, McCain 37 North Dakota Obama 43, McCain 43 7/10/2008; Pollster.com.

No missing parts or tampering found on Obama plane. An initial examination of the plane that had maintenance problems while carrying Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama found no evidence of missing parts or tampering, federal investigators said Thursday. 7/10/2008; AP.

McCain says U.S. cannot let Fannie, Freddie fail. Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Thursday that the United States should intervene to support government-sponsored mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if either firm runs into serious financial difficulties. 7/10/2008; Reuters.

Rove defies subpoena from Hill Dems on Justice Dept. Former White House adviser Karl Rove defied a congressional subpoena to testify Thursday about allegations of political pressure at the Justice Department, including whether he tried to influence the prosecution of a former Democratic governor of Alabama. 7/10/2008; USA Today.

How to Surrender, Without Preconditions. With Iran back in the news, Obama continues to blame the U.S. government and our allies for the impasse in confronting Iran's nuclear program. It is the insistence on preconditions before entering into negotiations that has prevented a major breakthrough according to Obama. 7/10/2008; John McCain.

Clinton, Obama, and FISA. Regarding Clinton, I have no doubt she would've voted incorrectly were she the nominee. She's shown over the past few years that on every controversial "national security" bill, she has voted incorrectly, whether it was the Iraq War authorization bill, the Kyl-Lieberman Iran bill, or plenty of war funding bills. It's easy to vote the right way when you don't have advisors telling you to "take issues off the table" by betraying things like, you know, the Constitution. 7/10/2008; Daily Kos.

Reports: Iran test-fires more missiles. Iran test-fired more missiles Thursday, according to Iran's Press TV, one day after it tested a long-range Shahab-3 and other missiles in the Persian Gulf region. The test came only hours after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States is determined to prevent Iran from threatening its interests or those of its allies. 7/10/2008; CNN.

Bush Is A 4 Letter Word. Why would Republicans who voted for Bush find it offensive that the sign says McCain = Bush? Because Bush is toxic and they all know it. 7/9/2008; MyDD.

Protesters want to change time of RNC march. A group of Iraq war protesters asked a federal judge today to allow a protest march during the Republican National Convention at a time later than St. Paul city officials have proposed. 7/9/2008; MPR.

Mukasey Vows Smooth Transition At Justice for Next Administration. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey yesterday pledged to use the final six months of his tenure to guard against political interference in Justice Department operations and ensure a smooth transition to the next administration. 7/9/2008; Washington Post.

Obama Silent About Unannounced Stop. Barack Obama made an unannounced stop Wednesday at a downtown building that houses the law firm of one member of his vice presidential search team but he wouldn't say why afterward. 7/9/2008; CBS.

Jesse Jackson says Obama 'talking down' to blacks. U.S. civil rights leader Jesse Jackson complained on Tuesday that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama can seem to be "talking down to black people" at times and should broaden his message. 7/9/2008; Reuters.

Betrayed by Obama. The Democrat's FISA sellout is unforgivable, but he's counting on supporters having no place else to go. And McCain's nutty neocon Iran talk helps him make his case. 7/9/2008; Salon.

Blogtalk: Obama's F.I.S.A. Vote. Liberal bloggers mostly give the cold shoulder to Barack Obama after he voted today in favor of federal surveillance legislation. 7/9/2008; NYT.

Jackson apologizes for 'crude' Obama remark. The Rev. Jesse Jackson apologized Wednesday for "crude and hurtful" remarks he made against Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama after finishing an interview with a Fox News correspondent. 7/9/2008; CNN.

Obama, Clinton head to NY with veep vetter. Democrat Barack Obama and his former rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, headed to New York on Wednesday along with his vice presidential searcher Caroline Kennedy. 7/9/2008; AP.

McCain: Social Security funding now `a disgrace' The system for funding Social Security is "a disgrace" because it forces young Americans to pay into a program that is unlikely to benefit them in its current form, Republican presidential candidate John McCain said this week. 7/9/2008; AP.

Senate Backs Wiretap Bill to Shield Phone Companies. The Senate gave final approval to broadening government spy powers and providing immunity for the phone companies that took part in secret wiretapping. 7/9/2008; NYT.

Senate Approves Wiretapping Measure With Telecom Immunity. The Senate has approved a bill Wednesday overhauling the rules on government eavesdropping and granting immunity to phone companies that help with communications monitoring. The bill's passage ends almost a year of political wrangling over wiretapping rules. 7/9/2008; NewsHour/PBS.

Absolute Disgrace Video. Here's the video of John McCain calling Social Security an "absolute disgrace." 7/9/2008; Yglesias.

Ailing Kennedy returns to the Senate for vote. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, ill with brain cancer, returned to the Capitol to vote on long-stalled Medicare legislation. It was a surprise move designed to ease the bill past Republican stalling tactics.... 7/9/2008; AP.

Obama and McCain debate ways to deal with Iran. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Wednesday Iran's missile tests proved a need for direct U.S. talks with Tehran while Republican John McCain emphasized sanctions and an anti-missile shield. 7/9/2008; Reuters.

Obama triples Missouri staff. Obama's campaign tripling paid staff in Missouri, making it one of the largest Democratic campaign efforts in the state's history. 7/9/2008; USA Today.

Clinton donors hesitant to show love for Obama. Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton team up again Wednesday, but not all Clinton's supporters are jumping on the Obama bandwagon despite her calls for unity. 7/9/2008; CNN.

McCain, Obama slam Iran's missile test. Sen. John McCain said Wednesday that Iran's missile test shows the need for an effective missile defense system, while rival Sen. Barack Obama believes it shows aggressive diplomacy, combined with sanctions, is necessary. 7/9/2008; CNN.

McCain's Latest Iran Joke. Sen. John McCain hasn't had good luck joking about Iran. But he tried it again Tuesday. Responding to a question about a survey that shows increased exports to Iran, mainly from cigarettes, McCain said, "Maybe that's a way of killing them." 7/9/2008; Washington Post.