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Drudge Report
Drudge banners: "IOU" and links to this LA Times story on the budget crisis in California. And the U.S. says North Korea does not appear to be readying a missile launch in this Bloomberg story is also highlighed on Drudge. ... READ MORE

Huffington Post
The Huffington Post banners: "Obama's first major military operation underway in Afghanistan" and links to this AP story. Unemployment to hit a 9.6 percent, a 26 year high, according to this AP report, highlighted on the HuffPo. And Jesse Berney ... READ MORE

HotAir
The Obama administration doesn't see the contradiction between calling for free elections in Honduras and staying out of the election in Iran, writes Allahpundit. And veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas went "nuclear" on the White House for controlling the ... READ MORE

DailyKos
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) wants to president but "she couldn't even get her own campaign's scheduling staff to give her enough time to run," writes Jed Lewison. And South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's (R) recent confessions have set off ... READ MORE

Townhall
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's (R) Republican enemies hope he stays in office, writes Matt Lewis. And, drawing on examples from other countries, Carol Platt Liebau writes what ObamaCare "really means." READ MORE

OpenLeft
Advancing the debate over torture is always going to be difficult, writes Daniel de Groot. And Mike Lux takes a look at the fight over a new Pecora commission. READ MORE

RedState
The press is "finally" calling out the Obama administration for controlling the press, writes Paint it Red. And Moe Lane takes a detailed look at the 2010 election and the ages of several Democratic committee chair people. READ MORE

MyDD
Mitt Romney appears to be urging Republicans to stand up to President Obama, writes Charles Lemos. And Lemos also writes that South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) must think the Associated Press is a "licensed therapist." READ MORE

Powerline
Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) appeared to open the door to the Obama administration making more demands Israel in the peace process while in the country, writes Paul. And new polling shows that support for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is ... READ MORE

Matthew Yglesias
The entire committee system in Congress "leaves a lot to be desired," writes Matthew Yglesias. And Yglesias also points out a general thought among the punditry right now: Congress is asserting its dominance in setting and controlling the agenda, not ... READ MORE

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Morning Read | Midday Blog Roundup | Day's End Roundup

July 15, 2008

MIDDAY ROUNDUP

@ 1:03 pm by Chris Good

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura (I) decision not to run for the U.S. Senate is good news for Democratic challenger Al Franken, liberal bloggers determine, while Barack Obama takes hits from conservatives for his campaign’s decision to remove criticism of the “surge” from his website. And President Bush may have held a press conference this morning to deliberately preempt an Obama speech, bloggers on both sides speculate.

Ventura’s candidacy would have split Franken’s base, ensuring the reelection of incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), brownsox supposes at Daily Kos. Without Ventura in the race, Franken’s fundraising and Obama’s popularity give the former comedian a fighting chance, brownsox says. Franken should be relieved, as even a usually friendly poll shows him losing to Coleman with Ventura in the race, Swing State Project’s James L. contends.

In eradicating criticism of the surge from his website, Obama has gone back on his original stance on Iraq, RedState’s Erick Erickson alleges. The fact that Obama has to change his tune on the surge only shows his inexperience, as he took the wrong position early, Erickson says. Obama’s campaign said they constantly update the site to reflect changes in current events, but perhaps Obama should update his policy and stop calling for withdrawal, Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey quips.

Bush has shown that he will stop at nothing to put partisan politics above serious policy, AMERICABLOG’s Joe Sudbay gripes after Bush’s 10:20 a.m. press conference appeared to push Obama’s national security speech back by half an hour. But Bush demonstrated political acumen, announcing the press conference this morning and timing it perfectly to work himself into media coverage that otherwise would have focused on Obama’s criticism of the Iraq war, Townhall.com’s Amanda Carpenter argues.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Bush Presser at 10:20 A.M. - Joe Sudbay, AMERICABLOG
The Adults Take Over - Josh Orton, MyDD
Burr: Obama Will Probably Ignore Petraeus - Erick Erickson, RedState
McCain: Borders Will Soon Be Secure - Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
Video of Gitmo Questioning Released - Jeralyn, TalkLeft
Obama, Meet Google - Greg Pollowitz, Media Blog
Google's Cool Campaign Tool - Marc Ambinder
McCain Capitulation Complete - Michelle Malkin
Club Unleashes Ads against Young - Patrick Ruffini, The Next Right
Shale Oil - Kevin Drum, Political Animal
Blue America vs. Freedom's Watch - Jane Hamsher, Firedoglake
McCain Hits Obama over Ahmadinejad Visit - Greg Sargent, TPM Election Central

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Obama Purges Website Critique of Surge in Iraq - NY Daily News
Bad News Ben - Forbes
Bush: Banking System Is 'Sound' - The Hill
McCain Asks for Latinos' Trust - San Jose Mercury News

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