Barack Obama’s stances on energy issues are full of contradictions, conservative bloggers charge, while the Iraq war will be Sen. Susan Collins’s (R-Maine) downfall in her November reelection bid, liberals claim. And Democrats are losing the fight over Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) overhaul, both sides agree.

Obama’s support for ethanol and opposition to coastal drilling contradict each other, The Corner’s Andrew Stuttaford charges. Obama says coastal drilling will take too long to lower gas prices, but ethanol won’t be a viable fuel alternative for years, Stuttaford argues. And Obama’s campaign has wrongly blamed former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas), a John McCain adviser, for creating the “Enron loophole,” blackhedd proclaims at RedState. Obama should look to his own party first, blackhedd says, as it was President Bill Clinton who signed the regulation changes into law.

Collins has flip-flopped over the Iraq war, and it will hurt her with Maine voters this fall, AMERICABLOG’s Joe Subday charges. After supporting the war and then whining that it shouldn’t be a political issue, she has turned to fear as a political weapon in making national security a prominent part of her platform against Rep. Tom Allen (D-Maine), Subday claims. Collins failed to provide oversight of the war when she chaired the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in the 109th Congress, Senate Guru alleges. Now all she can do is try to hide it from her constituents, Senate Guru suggests.

Democrats are getting beaten in the FISA debate, The Corner’s Ramesh Ponnuru proclaims. While they may tell themselves that letting temporary surveillance laws expire was a good political move, liberals are not pleased with Democrats’ concessions on civil liberties issues, and the Democrats are losing, Ponnuru argues. And Democratic leaders look ready to cave, giving immunity to telecommunications companies who released customer information to the government, Christy Hardin Smith laments at Firedoglake. Smith calls on liberal readers to call their representatives and senators before it’s too late.

FROM THE BLOGS:
State of the Race - kos, DailyKos
The Ultimate Obama Endorsement - Michelle Malkin
The Making of a Messiah - Warner Todd Huston, RedState
The McCains Throw Stones - Joe Subday, AMERICABLOG
Punishing the Successful - Michael Medved, Townhall.com
Obama and the Governors - Noam Scheiber, The Stump
China Goes to South America - Jennifer Chou, The Weekly Standard
Court Test of Terrorism Laws - Andy McCarthy, The Corner
Boeing v. Airbus - Erick Erickson, RedState
VP Searches: An Update - Marc Ambinder
Attack Iran? - Kevin Drum, Political Animal
GOP Candidate Paid for Abortion? - Eric Kleefeld, TPM Election Central
Adviser: Another Attack Would Help McCain - Matt Corley, ThinkProgress

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
U.S. Military to Hand Anbar back to Iraq - AFP
McCain Pitches $300 Million Prize for Energy Innovation - The Hill
U.N. Council Weighs Zimbabwe Action - International Herald Tribune