New York Times columnist Bob Herbert, in defending Barack Obama, went "pretty far afield" when he suggested that images in a John McCain celebrity attack ad were phallic symbols, writes Byron York. Paris Hilton response to McCain's political ad, which she starred in, was clever and showed how silly the ad was, writes Kathleen Parker, citing Hilton’s satirical political ad where the celebrity calls McCain old and thanks him for suggesting she run for president.

The contrast between the "uber-serious" John McCain and Barack Obama is never greater than when the Democrat is "lecturing America" on inflating tires to save gas, writes Hugh Hewitt, who hopes that Obama keeps talking about the issue. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) has put forth a measure that would prohibit so-called "Monuments to Me" earmarks that fund buildings in home districts bearing names of congressional members, writes John Campbell. Some existing monuments include an airport named after Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), a highway named after Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) and a gold center named after Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.).

Barack Obama's volunteer Muslim-outreach coordinator has resigned from the campaign after an Internet newsletter raised questions about his sitting on the board of an Islamic investment fund, which also included a fundamentalist imam, notes Erick Erickson who cites a Wall Street Journal article. John McCain's new ad attacking oil and drug companies is demagoguery, writes Pejman Yousefzadeh, who finds revenues in both industries unfairly criticized for being too large.

Polls in the presidential race are inconclusive, with some showing Barack Obama ahead and others showing the race tied, writes Nate Silver, who determines that most Americans aren't paying nearly as much attention to the race as journalists. Though a new Republican National Committee fundraising pitch says Obama would support a global poverty measure that would require $845 billion over 13 years in U.S. spending at the United Nations, the Congressional Budget Office's estimates spending on the measure would amount to less than $1 million annually, notes Jonathan Cohn.

Republican Senate candidate and former Rep. Bob Schaffer (Colo.) is accused of being "pro-slavery” by Josh Marshall, who cites as proof Schaffer's praise for a guest worker program on the Mariana Islands that had ties to jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff and a sign on Schaffer’s son’s Facebook page that seemingly endorses the concept. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) remained defiant in the face of charges that he failed to report corporate gifts, appearing at a rally with motorcycle-riding veterans and telling them he'll prove his innocent at a trial, notes Kate Klonick in a video.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's (R) praise for Barack Obama's energy plan says much about the decline of Republicans in the state and Obama's chances of winning there, writes Jonathan Singer. It's a good sign for Democrats when centrists GOP Sens. Gordon Smith (Ore.) and Susan Collins (Maine) won’t attend their party's convention, even when John McCain has talked about making the party more friendly to independents and women, writes Todd Beeton.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) wasn't able to cite any of John McCain's significant legislative accomplishments on energy during a television interview because McCain doesn't have any, writes kos. Former Georgia state Rep. Jim Martin's victory in a Democratic primary over a candidate facing ethics questions gives Democrats a viable challenger to Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), writes brownsox.

House Republicans’ protests from the House floor aren’t significant because of their political gamesmanship or even the energy issues, but rather because GOP lawmakers are reaching out to the conservative blogosphere to an unprecedented degree, documenting their protest online and appealing to bloggers for coverage, Allahpundit declares. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) failed to explain to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos why she won’t permit an up-or-down vote on offshore drilling, looking bad in an interview that conservatives should enjoy, Allahpundit says.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) has shut out liberal bloggers from its Minneapolis convention, granting press credentials only to conservatives and mainstream news outlets, Phoenix Woman alleges, decrying the RNC’s tactics as draconian and unfair. Barack Obama name Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) as his running mate when he travels to Indiana today, Teddy Partridge muses, but Obama should be warned: Bayh’s position as co-chairman of the pro-war Committee for the Liberation of Iraq makes him damaged goods, Partridge says.

Barack Obama is no Ronald Reagan, Dan McLaughlin proclaims, reacting to a YouTube video comparing the two. The video, made by an Obama supporter in response to John McCain’s ad comparing Obama to Paris Hilton, has ignored the politicians’ stark difference in experience by suggesting Reagan’s acting career made him as much of a “celebrity” as Obama is now, McLaughlin says. President Bush has let down his congressional allies in refusing to call a special session of Congress to continue the energy debate, Pejman Yousefzadeh declares, accusing the White House of lacking the stomach for a tough political fight over energy.