Sooooo ... what's up?

So we can look forward to seeing those media narratives that Obama is in trouble with Jewish voters while Joe Lieberman is their voice in the Senate repudiated, right?

Among the most high-profile Jews in Congress, Lieberman is viewed far more unfavorably than the presumptive Democratic nominee, according to a new poll. Only 37 percent of Jews view the Connecticut Independent in a favorable light compared to 48 percent who have a negative perception. As for Obama, 60 percent of Jews view him favorably while 34 percent view him unfavorably.

The findings were released as part of a recent survey of American Jews by the new progressive pro-Israel group J Street. They seem to upturn some of this year's conventional political wisdom.

The survey does show Obama has room for improvement with Jewish voters, but it's clear that the notion that he's in real trouble there is absurd. As we've said here repeatedly.

(h/t Street Prophets)

Via Reuters:

After a meeting with former President George H.W. Bush, McCain was asked whether it was conceivable for U.S. troops to be fully pulled out of Iraq in about two years.

"I think they could be largely withdrawn," the Arizona senator replied, citing the success of the "surge" strategy of increasing U.S. troop levels in increasing security in the country.

"As I've said, we have succeeded. This strategy is not (just) succeeding, we have succeeded. And of course as we all know it has to be based on conditions on the ground."

McCain said U.S. military success had made it possible for troops to return. "When you win wars, troops come home. And we are winning," he said.

In fact, confused McCain surrogate Heather Wilson in a conference call seemed to claim her man might do Obama even better, bringing the troops home in less than 16 months--but she back-pedaled a bit on that later in the call, with McCain foreign policy advisor Randy Scheunemann returning to serious vagueness under eager questioning.

But as we all know, when Obama says it, he's wrong, McCain is right, and hey, look over there, gas prices are high because of Obama and please ignore the fact that I'm making shit up!

And now rumors are starting that Obama's tour of the war region is so chewing up media attention that the McCain campaign is flirting with the idea of naming its vice presidential choice this week in order to steal some of Obama's thunder. (The best commentary spotted thus far on McCain VP choices has got to be Josh Marshall's observation about Fred Thompson: "But a combined age of 140 during the first year of office is probably unconstitutional.")

Guess that taunting of Obama for not visiting Iraq isn't quite working out as expected, eh? Of all the observers of Obama's tour thus far, few capture the blockheadedness of the McCain camp's urging the Democratic presidential candidate's taking of this trip quite as well as Dave Weigel at Reason:

I don't see any of this redounding to the benefit of John McCain. McCain's goading Obama to make this trip stands tall and proud as one of the dumbest blunders of the campaign. He couldn't have helped the Democrat more if he'd challenged him to a slam dunk contest.

Not that she doesn't have a point... on MSNBC this morning last night, referring to the footage of Obama hitting a basket in front of the troops, and the other trip photos, Andrea Mitchell said something like

Let me just say something about the message management. He didn't have reporters with him, he didn't have a press pool, he didn't do a press conference while he was on the ground either in Afghanistan or Iraq. What you're seeing is not reporters brought in, you're seeing selected pictures taken by the military, questions by the military and what some would call fake interviews because they're not interviews from a journalist.

Interesting point. Andrea's right when she says the military ought not to be in the business of journalism, and we should be skeptical of what we are seeing.

I'm sure this emphasis on skepticism is exactly what she said when reporters were embedded during the war. And when the statue of Saddam came down (the wide shot showing hardly anyone there, but the close-up making it seem like a spontaneous crowd had gathered.)

And this is what she said when McCain walked around the Iraqi market in a flak jacket without the shots of his guard, repeating the point day and night (like now) so that everyone understood it.

I'm almost certain that Andrea warned us to be skeptical when George Bush maneuvered the aircraft carrier for a better backdrop for his Mission Accomplished stunt.

Andrea must have done an in-depth special report on the NY Times story about propaganda, where she did an exclusive expose on Col. Ken Allard and Gen. Mountgomery Meigs, MSNBC analysts implicated in the propaganda scandal. I just can't seem to locate the transcript, but I'm sure she did.

She must have spoken up in a very public way when Phil Donahue's MSNBC show was cancelled for being critical of the war effort.

And this is what she said about the fake turkey, the staged Bush visits, and the Photoshopped cloning of the crowd at a speech at a military base, and...

Oh, wait... it's a different standard now. It's Obama. But what do we know? We're just bloggers.

John McCain campaign memo to reporters, March 12, 2008:

Overheated rhetoric and personal attacks on our opponents distract from the big differences between John McCain's vision for the future of our nation and the Democrats'. This campaign is about John McCain: his vision, leadership, experience, courage, service to his country and ability to lead as commander in chief from day one.

Throughout his life John McCain has held himself to the highest standards and he will continue to run a respectful campaign based on the issues.

John McCain today:

I had the courage and the judgment to say that I would rather lose a political campaign than lose a war. It seems to me that Senator Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign.

Yep, because nothing says "respectful campaign" like accusing your rival of hoping America loses a war in order to serve his personal ambition.

AK-Sen: Here's a terrific poll. Maybe it is an outlier, but it's notable anyway.

Rasmussen. 7/17. MoE 4.5%. (6/26 numbers in parentheses)

Begich has 63% favorables, an eye-popping number. If that's accurate, and he can maintain it, he's in great shape.

He also has a new ad up:

CO-Sen: CQ Politics is not digging the electoral prospects of Bob Schaffer.

CQ Politics is changing its rating of the high-profile Colorado Senate race to reflect a slight edge for Udall, who is facing Republican former Rep. Bob Schaffer.

By shifting the rating of the Colorado Senate race to "Leans Democratic" from "No Clear Favorite," CQ Politics now considers Udall as a narrow front-runner in a highly competitive race that had been previously classified as a toss-up. Udall, who represents the Boulder area, and Schaffer, who represented Colorado’s eastern plains from 1997 through 2002 and sought Colorado’s other Senate seat in 2004, are unopposed in their party’s primaries on August 12.

They're a bit late to the "Lean Dem" party, but all is one.

KS-Sen: Jim Slattery is on the air, and he's hitting hard.

KY-Sen: Mitch McConnell is running an ad which blames gas-tax increases, and consequently his opponent Bruce Lunsford, for the high price of gasoline. Fortunately, Mitchie gets his just desert from the press:

McConnell's commercial is essentially dishonest.

But that's not the worst of it.

He's confusing an already perplexing picture at a time when the country desperately needs to hear the truth. We need campaigns that illuminate the nation's challenges, and energy is at the top of that list. Until we understand where we are and how we got here, we can't build a more secure future.

Hear, hear.

McConnell's misleading ad isn't unexpected. Manipulation has long been his strong suit, and the senior senator must be very pleased with the way his ad uses Lunsford's own words against him.

But this dishonesty from McConnell is disappointing all the same. It's a discredit to his lofty position and an insult to the people who have kept him in Washington for 24 years.

Savage.

House Races

NE-02: Who does Lee Terry have managing his campaign?

David Boomer, of whom it was written at My Left Nutmeg in 2006:

Nancy Johnson's campaign manager David Boomer strikes me as about as low a form of amoebic slime as one finds in politics. Boomer has led a dirty campaign against Chris Murphy and now, as Murphy's challenge is conceded by the NRCC as likely to unseat Johnson in a wave, Boomer reaches deep into the barrel of Republican smears like those used against Harold Ford and Mike Arcuri, and accused Murphy of buddying up with drug dealers.

Fortunately, Boomer's underhanded tactics backfired badly in 2006, as Chris Murphy won election by 12 points. We'll see if he's as low this time out, as Terry faces the race of his life against Democrat Jim Esch.

AL-03: Sen. Russ Feingold is holding a fundraiser for Democratic candidate Josh Segall.  

The low-dollar event — it costs just $25 to get in — takes place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Union Pub, on the Senate side.

Segall has been highly touted by Democratic House leaders but faces an uphill climb both politically and on the financial front. Through June 30, he had $411,000 in his campaign account while Rogers banked more than $1.1 million.

Incumbent Republican Mike Rogers has other friends to help him:

Meanwhile, Vice President Cheney is coming to Alabama to help Rogers — and every other Republican on the Magnolia State ballot this November.

Feingold versus Cheney. Let the games begin!

CA-11: In a truly weak year for Republican recruiting, the GOP is now getting punked even by their good recruits.

One of the most highly touted GOP House recruits is turning out to be one of the party’s weakest fundraisers, a development that has national Republicans wondering whether a prime opportunity to pick off a vulnerable Democratic freshman is slipping away.

Former GOP California state Assemblyman Dean Andal raised only $190,500 in the most recent fundraising period, marking the fourth straight quarter he has raised less than $200,000 in his race against Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.).

Andal ended June with $663,000 in his campaign account, a respectable total but well short of the money necessary to fully advertise in the expensive Sacramento and San Francisco media markets. With the National Republican Congressional Committee facing an expansive field of races and limited resources, there may not be enough national money to help him make up the difference.

As for Congressman McNerney himself? $416K last quarter, $1.3 million on hand, $2.1 million raised in toto.

KY-03: Rep. John Yarmuth has a solid lead, albeit not as strong a lead as SUSA had previously shown. Their latest, with June numbers in parentheses:

Yarmuth is still over 50%, which is great, especially considering that Northup, the district's former Rep and a former gubernatorial candidate, hardly lacks for name rec.

• Pollster.com has a brand new look today, but the same polling goodness. As with every makeover, however, there have been a few glitches, which Mark Blumenthal laments. For one thing, the map that shows 214 strong or lean Electoral votes for McCain should actually read 199. Technical issues are delaying immediate changes in the numbers. 214? 199? We'd settle for either of those results in November. - DemFromCT/Meteor Blades
• As the Young Republicans gathered to cry in their beer over the state of their Party, one offered his hope for a McCain turnaround:

  If McCain can convey his straight-shooting independence and show his authentic sense of humor through compelling YouTubevideos and smart interaction via the blogosphere, he can pull in Gen-Next and millennial voters, says [David] All.

  May I suggest this one? - BarbinMD

• Laura Frank at the Rocky Mountain News writes today of Deadly denial: For sick nuclear workers, shifting rules form quagmire of despair

  "Federal law says that the process of compensating sick nuclear weapons workers must be fair and consistent, but the Bush administration's labor department has fallen short of those standards. Indeed, the department has found multiple ways around the law, sometimes just flat-out ignoring it, a Rocky Mountain News review of scores of workers' cases, government documents, program data and internal communications found.

  - Plutonium Page

• Gregg Zoroya at USAToday reports:

  Soldiers who are physically or mentally ailing can wait two months to a year before the Army acts to medically discharge them or return them to their units, according to a House investigation. That's two or three times longer than the Army goal set last year. ...

  The committee investigation found that wait times had improved but that increased numbers of wounded soldiers caused delays to worsen in the last six months. "They're just under-resourced at a time when they are overwhelmed by the number of people that need assistance," says Rep. Susan Davis, D-Calif., the subcommittee chairwoman.

  And who would be the source of this under-resourcing? - Meteor Blades

• Sustainable agriculture advocate Margaret Krome, Policy Program Director for the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute in East Troy, Wisc., has a nice column up about Netroots Nation in The Capital Times. She was a panelist in Austin at The Recipe for Change in America's Food System. She writes that "I was awed by the people I met." We imagine many people you met were awed by you, too, Margaret. - DemFromCT/Meteor Blades



• Radovan Karadžić, the Bosnian Serb chieftain wanted for massacres of Muslims during the 1992-95 Bosnian war, hid in plain sight in the Serbian capital of Belgrade, practicing alternative medicine under an alias, until he was arrested Monday. The photos show his transformation from 1995 to 2008. Experts say that the complicated nature of the  case means it will take years to wind its way through the court at The Hague. While Bosnian Muslims celebrated in the streets of Sarajevo Monday night, there was a different reaction elsewhere, according to the Associated Press: "This is a hard day for Serbia," said Tomislav Nikolic, leader of the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party. "Karadžić was a myth and a legend of the Serbian people."

  - Meteor Blades

• The House Judiciary Committee has just a week and a half left to consider contempt of Congress charges against Karl Rove before the House recesses for all of August, not to return until September 8th.

  
  The petition circulated by Brave New Films calling on the committee to act sits at just under 100,000 signatures. Why not help put them over the top? - Kagro X

Thomas Frank in What's the Matter with Kansas:

Not long ago, Kansas would have responded to the current situation by making the bastards pay. This would have been a political certainty, as predictable as what happens when you touch a match to a puddle of gasoline. When business screwed the farmers and the workers - when it implemented monopoly strategies invasive beyond the Populists' furthest imaginings -- when it ripped off shareholders and casually tossed thousands out of work -- you could be damned sure about what would follow.

Not these days. Out here the gravity of discontent pulls in only one direction: to the right, to the right, further to the right. Strip today's Kansans of their job security, and they head out to become registered Republicans. Push them off their land, and next thing you know they're protesting in front of abortion clinics. Squander their life savings on manicures for the CEO, and there's a good chance they'll join the John Birch Society. But ask them about the remedies their ancestors proposed (unions, antitrust, public ownership), and you might as well be referring to the days when knighthood was in flower.

Why? Because Republicans have convinced people that government can't make a difference in their lives, can't solve their intractable problems, hence the only thing that matters are divisive social issues. The demands that government be ineffective has been a planned hallmark of the Bush administration. You don't put a horse lawyer in charge of FEMA if you expect the agency to actually be effective in its mission. So as far as conservative ideology was concerned, Katrina was a resounding success.

This ineffectiveness is centerpiece in conservative self-preservation. If government becomes more effective and works for people, then it could prove devastating to conservatives. William Kristol wrote a now-famous memo as conservatives geared up to fight Hillary Clinton's universal healthcare efforts in 1993:

Leading conservative operative William Kristol privately circulates a strategy document to Republicans in Congress. Kristol writes that congressional Republicans should work to "kill" — not amend — the Clinton plan because it presents a real danger to the Republican future: Its passage will give the Democrats a lock on the crucial middle-class vote and revive the reputation of the party.

And just last year, National Review writers Ramesh Ponnuru and Richard Lowry echoed those sentiments:

[2008 Republican defeats] would probably also mean a national health-insurance program that would irrevocably expand government involvement in the economy and American life, and itself make voters less likely to turn toward conservatism in the future.

Down in Austin I did a short segment on MSNBC's Road to the White House where I was asked such tripe as "what would Obama die for" and "can Obama win without the left?" I did the interview from a remote studio -- just a room with a camera, several backdrops depending on the kind of interview, and a satellite uplink to the network. The networks pay these studios for the time guests are on.

There was one middle-aged woman working the operation that day, roughly 50 years old. The TV was on the background and I heard "Obama" and "Afghanistan" in the same sentence. I asked, "Oh, is Obama already in Afghanistan?" She shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't followed the news."

I stayed quiet, because ill and desperate for sleep, I thought I might squeeze a quick catnap before my segment came on. But the woman continued on her own. "I'm really disenchanted with McCain." Oh, I responded, was she an Obama person? "No, I don't like him either. I don't trust him. And my daughter, she hates him."

I inquired further, why? "Because he's not patriotic, with the flag pin and the pledge of allegiance and his wife!" So we determined that she wasn't going to vote, which was disappointing to American democracy, but good for us because she had been a reliable Republican voter. My interest piqued, I dug a little further: given how the economy was going, people losing their homes, the cost of gas through the roof, none of that was as important as a flag pin?

"Well, they can't do nothing about those things." Aha. The Frank theory, of course. Well, I responded, what about health care, are you happy with your health care? She lit up, "I know no one who is happy with their health care!" and then segued into a rant about the disgraceful state of the health care system.  Well, I responded, Democrats are working for universal healthcare, but Republicans have gotten in the way. But we'll be able to do it next year.

"Ain't no one who can fix that stuff," she sighed, slumping. That brief expression of fire and brimstone snuffed out in an instant. She was adamant that it was all hopeless. Fair enough. She didn't look like someone who'd had an easy life. Health care had touched a nerve, so who knows what sad story or stories she had to tell on that front. But Republicans had convinced her that government was powerless to do anything about it, so ... flag pins!

I had one last argument up my sleeve. Look, I get it, I told her, government hasn't given us many reasons to be confident of late. I can certainly empathize. But can we make a deal? If Democrats push through universal health care in the next four years, will you vote for Barack Obama in 2012?

She looked initially uncomfortable at the thought, but after a pause and a brief internal struggle, she softened and said, "Yeah, I will."

That, in a nutshell, is what Kristol and Ponnuru and Lowry and every conservative in this country fears the most.

Yesterday we found out that the NRSC raised just a hair over $6 million for the month of June, even after claiming they'd raised $13.5 million at the committee's big annual fundraiser with Bush.

I mean, they made a real big deal about it:

NRSC Raises $13.5 Million For The President's Dinner

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

NRSC Press Office

Largest amount in five years

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This afternoon the National Republican Senatorial Committee announced it raised $13.5 million dollars for tonight's "The 2008 President's Dinner." The $13.5 million is the largest amount raised by the NRSC in five years.

The joint fundraising event for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and President George W. Bush's final "The President's Dinner" raised $21.5 million dollars total.

"I am very proud of the hard work that has been put in to this dinner to make it such a success," NRSC Chairman Sen. John Ensign said. "In addition to our team, Sen. Orrin Hatch has been a dedicated and diligent Chairman of the Dinner for us and I am grateful for his work."

"I believe voters will continue to react to this overreaching liberal Congress by donating money to help us stop it," Ensign added.

"The $13.5 million we raised for the dinner shows people understand that Democrats are going to do more than just increase the price of gas," Sen. Orrin Hatch, the NRSC Chairman for the President's Dinner said.

"Republican Senators, and especially John Ensign, should be congratulated for reaching out to donors and raising this money that will have a big impact this November," Hatch added.

Assuming the NRSC didn't raise another dime the entire month, who will ask Republicans what happened to the other $7.5 million the supposedly raised at Bush's dinner?

Were they trying to protect Bush, since clearly his fundraising mojo wasn't as strong as advertised? Where they gunning for cheap and easy headlines? Are they math illiterate? Do they have a new embezzling finance director?

That's a whopper of a lie. Why did they deliver it?

Georgia's U.S. Senate race disappeared from the national radar for a long period of time, as the DSCC seemed to have had a rare recruiting failure in the state.

Saxby Chambliss, last seen trashing American hero Max Cleland in the most shameless and vile manner, has enjoyed a healthy polling lead for the majority of the campaign.

His lead isn't so safe anymore.

Democrats Vernon Jones and Jim Martin head to a runoff election after completing a five-way primary race in which Jones led with 40% and Martin finished second with 34%. Here are the polling numbers for Martin and Jones against the incumbent:

Rasmussen. 7/17. MoE 4.5%. (6/26 numbers in parentheses)

Those numbers leave little room for interpretation. This is a long-shot race with Jim Martin.

It isn't any kind of race at all with Vernon Jones.

Martin is not only the only viable option in the August 5 runoff, he is the more progressive option as well (which, to be fair, is not difficult against a man like Vernon Jones, who proudly voted twice for George W. Bush). This is leaving aside Jones' personal foibles, which include two accusations of physical confrontations with women, and one of rape.

Here is the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's endorsement of Jim Martin in the Senate primary:

Fortunately, Martin offers an attractive alternative. A Vietnam veteran, he has earned deep bipartisan respect through his service in the state Legislature and as commissioner of the state Department of Human Resources under Gov. Roy Barnes, a Democrat, and Gov. Sonny Perdue, a Republican.

Martin also stresses the importance of being an independent voice for Georgia in the Senate regardless of who is elected president, drawing a contrast to the blind allegiance he claims Chambliss has given to Bush. His nomination would bring credit both to his party and to his state.

So given that this is a race, albeit still a very difficult one, with Martin in it, what are his chances at winning the runoff?

The third-place candidate in the race was journalist Dale Cardwell, who received 16% of the vote in the primary. He has endorsed Martin.

The fourth-place finisher, ecologist Rand Knight, received 5% of the vote, but accumulated a large number of union endorsements. Knight, too, has endorsed Martin. The fifth and final candidate, Josh Lanier, will not endorse.

Martin finished six points behind Jones in the primary. Given that, and the endorsements of Cardwell and Knight, there's good reason for optimism for fans of Jim Martin.

On the other hand, Jones enjoys solid support from the African-American community in Georgia (he is African-American himself). Obviously, that makes up a very large, and very critical, voting bloc within the Georgia Democratic Party. And while Jones is undeniably controversial, he is by all accounts a talented politician and an aggressive campaigner.

It's difficult to see who the nominee will be, at this point. It's far less difficult to see who it should be.

Race tracker wiki: GA-Sen

The Austin American-Statesmen has apologized for its bizarre hit job on Netroots Nation.

But frankly, when I bought the Austin American-Statesman at the Hilton’s lobby coffee shop on Sunday morning, I was just looking to catch up on some national news and the baseball scores. Yet, staring me right in the face, just below the fold on the left side of the front page, was a report on the conference by one Patrick Beach, who was IDed as a “feature writer.” That label often means trouble on the front page, and it certainly did here.

Beach described the gathering in stereotypes that better fit the aging Old Left of years ago than the much younger Netroots of today. I mean, how many of these bloggers have ever read much of Chomsky, as he suggested?

When Beach, at the start referred to the crowd as "marauding liberals" I knew it was not to be taken literally. But then we got this:

-- The audience nearly staged a "faint-in" when Gore appeared (note use of '60s term).

-- Pelosi is so far left her title should include "(D-Beijing)." This would come as a surprise to many in the crowd who have criticized her timidity – and posed hostile questions in the Q & A..

-- The liberal blogosphere is "terribly self-confirming" -- not like the mainstream media! In a contradiction, he then noted that at the conference they "critiqued themselves."

-- Paul Krugman, as if to "galvanize stereotypes," wore Birkenstocks -- but Beach throughout the article clearly needed no help in having his own stereotypes galvanized.

-- It's shooting fish in a barrel "to paint liberals as overly intellectual types incapable of having fun unless reading Noam Chomsky counts, and its sure does for them." In fact, the convention was practically "party central," few attendees were "intellectuals," and only a tiny percentage, I would guess, are Chomsky lovers -- again, an outmoded stereotype.

-- Those who protested during the Pelosi/Gore "faint-in" were "shushed" as if they were at a Nanci Griffith concert. I certainly know who she is, but I can imagine most of these particular attendees reading this reference and asking, "Who???"

Um, yeah ... who?

In any case, Mitchell, who is editor of Editor & Publisher, wrote a diary about this piece. Really, had it been stuck in the op-ed section and clearly labeled "opinion" would've been stupid yet still appropriate. But on the front page, masquerading as news? It was patently ridiculous.

After Mitchell's diary unleashed I'm sure a torrent of letters to the editor directed at the newspaper, the story disappeared from the paper's website, scrubbed clean of any traces of its existence. People emailing the author, this aforementioned Patrick Beach, received responses that they just didn't get the hilarity of his humorous account. Now, the paper's editor has published an apology:

"Readers expect front-page stories to speak directly and clearly about events and issues. Eliminating the possibility of misunderstanding from our work is a critical part of our daily newsroom routine. When we communicate in a way that could be misinterpreted, we fail to meet our standards.

"Our front-page story Sunday about the Netroots Nation convention included doses of irony and exaggeration. It made assertions (that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi might find herself at home politically in Beijing, for example) and characterizations ("marauding liberals" was one) meant to amuse. For many readers, we failed.

"In trying for a humorous take on the Netroots phenomenon without labeling it something other than a straightforward news story, we compromised our standards."

Now wouldn't it be nice if Time followed suit with its own correction of its inaccurate netroots reporting? I'm guessing not. "Accountability" is apparently not a Time Magazine organizational value.

Update: Looky here -- Time has made a correction.

The original version of this story said that Hillary Clinton's appearance at a 2007 Netroots Q&A session was greeted by boos. The writer confused that event with accounts of another Clinton appearance that had taken place earlier. Clinton was not booed at the Netroots event.

Good thing the piece wasn't written by Joe Klein, otherwise there never would've been a correction.

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2008

House meets at 12:30 p.m.: Morning Hour, 2:00 p.m.: Legislative Business
Unlimited "One Minutes" Per Side
Last vote predicted: 7:00 p.m.
Votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Suspensions (17 Bills):

1.     H.R. 6362 - To amend title 35, United States Code, and the Trademark Act of 1946 to provide that the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, shall appoint administrative patent judges and administrative trademark judges (Rep. Berman – Judiciary)

2.     S. 2565 - Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Act of 2008 (Sen. Biden – Judiciary)

3.     H.R. 6531 - The Vessel Hull Design Protection Amendments of 2008 (Rep. Berman – Judiciary)

4.     H.Res. 1241 - Congratulating Ensign DeCarol Davis upon serving as the valedictorian of the Coast Guard Academy's class of 2008 and becoming the first African-American female to earn this honor (Rep. Thompson (MS) – Transportation and Infrastructure)

5.     H.R. 6493 - The Aviation Safety Enhancement Act of 2008 (Rep. Oberstar – Transportation and Infrastructure)

6.     H.R. 5949 - The Clean Boating Act of 2008 (Rep. LaTourette – Transportation and Infrastructure)

7.     H.R. 6556 - To clarify the circumstances during which the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and applicable States may require permits for discharges from certain vessels, and to require the Administrator to conduct a study of discharges incidental to the normal operation of vessels (Transportation and Infrastructure)

8.     S. 294 - The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007 (Sen. Lautenberg - Transportation and Infrastructure)

9.     H.R. 4049 - Money Service Business Act of 2007 (Rep. Maloney – Financial Services)

10.   H.Res. 1139 - Recognizing the 100th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and congratulating the men and women who provide exceptional service to our military and keep our Pacific Fleet "fit to fight".  (Rep. Abercrombie – Armed Services)

11.   H.Con.Res. 364 - Recognizing the Significance of National Caribbean-American Heritage Month (Rep. Lee – Oversight and Government Reform)

12.   H.Res. 1311 - Expressing support for the designation of National GEAR UP Day (Rep. Fattah – Oversight and Government Reform)

13. H.Res. 1202 - Supporting the goals and ideals of a National Guard Youth Challenge Day (Rep. Tom Davis (VA) – Oversight and Government Reform)

14.   H.Res. 1128 - Expressing support of the goals and ideals of National Carriage Driving Month.  (Rep. Davis (IL) – Oversight and Government Reform)

15.   H.R. 6226 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 300 East 3rd Street in Jamestown, New York, as the "Stan Lundine Post Office Building" (Rep. Higgins – Oversight and Government Reform)

16.   H.R. 5235 - The Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission Act (Rep. Gallegly – Oversight and Government Reform)

17.   H.R. 6545 - National Energy Security Intelligence Act of 2008 (Rep. Cazayoux – Intelligence)

• Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.
• Motions to go to Conferenceshould they become available.
• Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Convenes: 10:00am

Resume motion to proceed to S.3268, the Energy Speculation bill.

12:15pm - 2:15pm Recess for the weekly caucus luncheons

If cloture is invoked on the motion to proceed to S.3268, the time from 2:15pm - 6:15pm will be equally divided and controlled in 30 minute alternating blocks of time, with the Majority controlling the first 30 minutes and the Republicans controlling the next 30 minutes.

Votes:
At approximately 11am, Roll Call Vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S.3268.

On the Radar:

• A second domestic economic stimulus package may be unveiled shortly. A markup originally scheduled for today has been postponed, but is expected to happen shortly, with an announcement on the package (expected to be in the neighborhood of $50 billion in total) by week's end. The White House is skeptical of the need for such a bill.
• The White House is also looking askance at the housing bill still making its way through Congress (H.R. 3221), and has issued a veto threat if the final product contains a program of federal grants to buy out and rehabilitate foreclosed properties.

John McCain has often said that he would run a respectful campaign, but he never said anything about running an honest one. His latest ad:

"Gas prices — $4, $5, no end in sight, because some in Washington are still saying no to drilling in America. No to independence from foreign oil. Who can you thank for rising prices at the pump?"

A photograph of Obama appears on the stage as a voiceover of a crowd chants: "Obama, Obama, Obama!"

Really? Did John McCain forget what he said two weeks ago?

Let me give you a little straight talk on energy. Our dangerous dependence on foreign oil has been thirty years in the making, not yesterday, thirty years.

Did he forget what he said two months ago?

"With those resources, which would take years to develop, you would only postpone or temporarily relieve our dependency on fossil fuels," McCain said when asked about offshore drilling.

Did he forget that his own campaign said:

...allowing new offshore drilling would have no immediate impact on supplies or gas prices.

Did he forget all that or is he just lying?

From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...

I have nothing to say about Netroots Nation. Except...

The event was insanely well-organized and orderly, especially the anarchy workshop.

Austin was hot. An oppressive, prickly, stifling, blast-furnace heat that turned human hair into glass. But at least the humidity was in check.

In my swag bag I received a condom with a note on the wrapper that said, "Protect the U.S. Constitution." I wasn't aware that the founding fathers wrote it on a penis.

If we can ever figure out how to turn sweat into fuel, Al Gore will be able to power the planet for at least the next thirty years.

Lining the walls in the rotunda of the state capitol are portraits of former Texas governors. Ann Richards' portrait sits next to George W. Bush's. If I was in charge I'd put yellow police "CRIME SCENE: DO NOT CROSS" tape between them.

Political views aside, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom looks and sounds like he could be Joe Biden's baby brother.

The boxed lunches had names like "The Norwegian" and "The Wellington," but there was nothing labeled "The American." I guess they couldn't round up enough transfats in time.

Ninety percent of the discussions were "Chomsky this" and "Chomsky that" and "Chomsky's my BFF 4evuh." Not a word about our real hero, Jane Fonda.

If Code Pink's goal is to prevent people from wanting to join Code Pink, they're succeeding.

One of the horse-and-carriage drivers on 6th Street confirmed that liberals tip much better than conservatives. Picking up a Republican by the Governor's mansion virtually guarantees no bonus carrots for Bossie.

John Dean can catch flies with a pair of chopsticks. Richard Clarke can stop your heartbeat with his index finger. Paul Krugman has the nicest toes of any New York Times columnist. Don Siegelman is always the classiest guy in any room unless Jotter's there. Darcy Burner and Donna Edwards must be cloned forthwith. And if you meet Jim Hightower and don’t want to pinch his cheeks you're not human.

There was a right-wing "counter-conference" in Austin at the same time as Netroots Nation. It sucked so bad that Bob Barr came to our place instead and even Michelle Malkin closed her laptop and spent an afternoon pole dancing.

All the front-pagers are taller and sexier in person. Their eyes, however, are a bit distracting. Not just because they glow, but because they emit a low buzzing sound.

I promised a link to the site that sells the waving Obama watches so you wouldn’t steal mine off my wrist. Fair enough---here ya go.

The only person at the whole convention to actually pull my finger was Pastor Dan's five year-old son, Billy, so he wins the secret million dollar jackpot!

Travel tip: The shorter an airline pilot's turbulence message is, the worse the turbulence will be. If he turns on the Fasten Seat Belt sign and simply says, "Flight attendants take your seats," it would be a good time to put your affairs in order.

And finally, Patrick Beach of the Austin American-Statesman is so bad at snark that his parenthetical should be I-Suck.

What'd I miss around here? Cheers and Jeers starts in There's Moreville... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]

Your one stop pundit shop.

Bret Stephens thinks it’s absurd for John F. Kennedy to propose putting a man on the moon within 10 years...check that...he thinks it’s absurd for Al Gore to propose "ending our reliance on carbon-based fuels" within 10 years.

Richard Cohen doesn't like tattoos so he decided the opinion page of the Washington Post was a good place to talk about it. Which says a lot about the state of the Washington Post's opinion page.

Michael Barone compares the current presidential campaign to 1976 and has some advice for the McCain campaign; risk the wrath of the media, go against public opinion and "fill in the blanks" about Barack Obama. One assumes Barone doesn’t mean Obama’s compelling life story. Oh, and a catchy song might help.

Stuart Koehl believes that not only is John McCain the only candidate with character, but is the only "real man" in the race...because he was a POW.

Eugene Robinson on George Bush’s "time horizon":

If Bush were known for exquisite subtlety in his use of the language, I'd note that a horizon is, by definition, a line that can never be reached. But pigs will streak across the sky at Mach 2 before this president displays a diabolical mastery of semantics. His new "time horizon" formulation is just smoke, intended to obfuscate and stall. In six months, Iraq becomes somebody else's problem.

William McGurn says the press is being unfair to David "What Constitution?" Addington because he’s not getting sympathetic press like the Guantanamo detainee who has been held for six years (since he was 15 years old) without trial, and was allegedly tortured. Damn librul media.

Bob Herbert looks at "The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals," by the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer. While the focus of the book is on the shredding of the Constitution during the Bush administration, this should give every American pause:

After reviewing 517 of the Guantánamo detainees’ cases in depth," she said, "they concluded that only 8 percent were alleged to have associated with Al Qaeda. Fifty-five percent were not alleged to have engaged in any hostile act against the United States at all, and the remainder were charged with dubious wrongdoing, including having tried to flee U.S. bombs. The overwhelming majority — all but 5 percent — had been captured by non-U.S. players, many of whom were bounty hunters.

TIME has broken the unwritten and unspoken code. They are calling it the way they see it. How dare they!

Oh, let's just admit it: John McCain is a long shot. He's got a heroic personal story, and being white has never hurt a presidential candidate, but on paper 2008 just doesn't look like his year. And considering what's happening off paper, it might be time to ask the question the horse-race-loving media are never supposed to ask: Is McCain a no-shot?

Last week, the McCain campaign's case against Barack Obama went something like this: He's irresponsible when it comes to Iraq, naive when it comes to Iran, and a big-government liberal when it comes to the economy. But now Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has more or less endorsed Obama's plan to withdraw from Iraq, forcing McCain to argue that Maliki didn't really mean it, and even the Bush administration has accepted a "time horizon" for withdrawal, if not a precise "timetable." The Bush administration has also engaged in some diplomatic outreach with Iran, just as Obama has recommended, a severe blow to McCain's efforts to portray Obama's willingness to talk as appeasement. And on the economy, a TIME/Rockefeller Foundation poll found that 82% of the country supports more federal infrastructure spending designed to create jobs. When big-government liberalism is all the rage, McCain's courage in opposing water projects or the farm bill becomes less of a selling point.

But, but... this bad news for McCain must be good for McCain, right? The networks always find something good about McCain in every news piece that's good for Obama. That's how the game is played. Isn't it?

The media will try to preserve the illusion of a toss-up; you'll keep seeing "Obama Leads, But Voters Have Concerns" headlines. But when Democrats are winning blood-red congressional districts in Mississippi and Louisiana, when the Republican president is down to 28 percent, when the economy is tanking and world affairs keep breaking Obama's way, it shouldn't be heresy to recognize that McCain needs an improbable series of breaks. Analysts get paid to analyze, and cable news has airtime to fill, so pundits have an incentive to make politics seem complicated. In the end, though, it's usually pretty simple. Everyone seems to agree that 2008 is a change election. Which of these guys looks like change?

Still, the trip so far has done for the media what the media claims Republicans fear the trip will do for the voting public. With some hems and haws, reality is setting in. The NY Times addresses its own narrative:

For Obama, a First Step Is Not a Misstep
After meeting Iraqi leaders and American officials, Senator Barack Obama seemed to have navigated the riskiest part of an international trip.

A smooth trip is news because we have been told for the last week how important it was not to make a huge gaffe. The idea that Obama could actually orchestrate the mechanics competently is part of the story, of course (I note that I've seen no lime green jello backdrops.) But the bigger picture is the air going out of the McCain rationale for being President. "The Surge is working!" propagandists don't even understand the implications of their simplistic claims. To the voters, it means "Great! Let's get out", and blows a hole in the Republican strategy of staying whether things are good or bad there (although it does make a better rallying cry than "ethnic cleansing is working!" or "Bribery is working - for now!".) But from the perspective of the Presidential race, McCain's "President without a purpose" campaign will continue until November.

This doesn't guarantee an Obama win, but it certainly guarantees some painful and embarrassing moments for McCain - and for the press, as they gyrate their way to figuring out how this is all good for McCain, who loves to be an underdog. Good, because he, at least, is going to love the rest of the campaign.

Following the lead of the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth, the League of Conservation Voters announced Monday in Colorado, Ohio, Montana, Michigan, New Mexico, and Washington, D.C., that it is endorsing Senator Barack Obama for President.

^{Included in the photograph to the right, in my old stomping grounds around Confluence Park in Denver, are Tony Massaro, the LCV's Senior Vice President for Political Affairs and Public Education,  former Secretary of Energy Federico Peña, and freshman Congressman Ed Perlmutter from Colorado's 7th District.}

"Senator Obama’s proven record and his commitment to a clean, renewable energy future make him the best choice for President," LCV President Gene Karpinski said.

"At a time when this country must reinvent itself for a new energy future, we can imagine no better steward than Barack Obama. Under his leadership, America will finally achieve the economic growth, environmental protection, and national security that are possible with a new, clean energy economy."

"We have a real choice here," said Carol Browner, LCV board member and the longest-serving EPA Administrator in the agency’s history.

"Barack Obama has been a committed leader and has offered bold and comprehensive proposals when it comes to global warming, energy and the environment. John McCain, whose plan will be a continuation of Bush-era political gimmicks, will carry on Bush’s legacy of failure when it comes to energy policy,"

For thirty-eight years, LCV’s annual Environmental Scorecard has been the nationally accepted, non-partisan, environmental report card for our leaders. Barack Obama has earned an impressive lifetime 86% score.  His opponent, Senator McCain, has earned only a 24% score.  

Juliet Eilperin at Washington Post campaign log "The Trail" wrote:

A new ad from the McCain campaign blaming Obama for rising gas prices prompted the following response from Friends of the Earth Action President Brent Blackwelder: "It's only July, but we're already seeing dishonest and hypocritical gutter politics from John McCain. Flip-flopping John McCain said just two weeks ago that our dangerous dependence on oil 'has been 30 years in the making,' but now he tries to blame Obama -- even though it's McCain who has been in Washington for 26 years. Here's the truth. The Bush/McCain drilling plan won't lower gas prices but will increase our over-reliance on oil. We can provide relief from high gas prices while growing the economy, protecting our security and fighting global warming by focusing on conservation, clean energy and transportation choices instead."

Twenty-six years in Washington. Which is just one year shy of the 27 years the U.S. has had a lousy energy policy, courtesy, originally, of Ronald Reagan and the folks who told us that low-carbon alternatives were a scam and energy conservationists just wanted us all to "freeze to death in the dark."