A report that John McCain may pick his running mate soon has bloggers debating whether the move would be wise, while Obama’s lead among Hispanics has liberals forecasting long-term doom for the GOP. And congressional Republicans continue to earn plaudits from conservatives for their steadfast opposition to Democrats’ energy policies.

If McCain wants his VP announcement to be covered extensively by the media, he must make it soon, TPM Election Central’s Eric Kleefeld asserts. McCain needs to announce his choice after Obama returns from abroad and before the Beijing Olympics begin August 8, as The Washington Post reports he may, otherwise he’ll be overshadowed by those events, Kleefeld says. But McCain would be wise to wait, Time’s Mark Halperin argues, as an early announcement could detract from the GOP convention and give the new running mate more time to make campaign trail gaffes.

Obama is crushing McCain among Hispanics, signaling that President Bush’s efforts to bring Hispanics into the GOP have not panned out, Jonathan Singer proclaims at MyDD. Obama’s reported 66 percent to 23 percent lead is not just good news for his campaign—it’s bad news for the Republican Party, as they have alienated Hispanics over the years, and it could mean the death of the party, kos purports at Daily Kos.

Congress’s freshman Democrats will have a tough time explaining why gas prices have risen during their tenure this fall, and Republicans have given voters a solid alternative by pushing an expansion of offshore drilling as the answer, RedState’s Moe Lane declares. They’ve solidified their base too, as Republican voters love it when their party takes an obstructionist posture in the minority, Lane says.

And Senate Republicans scored a victory yesterday by obstructing an energy bill that lacked a provision to allow offshore drilling, Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey celebrates. Not only did the GOP keep their word to oppose Democrats’ energy plans, they frustrated Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) so much that he lashed out at reporters at a press briefing for their coverage of energy issues, Morrissey congratulates.

FROM THE BLOGS:
McCain Fully Adopts Rove Strategy - Joe Sudbay, AMERICABLOG
Bringing 'Light Unto' the World - Carol Platt Liebau, Townhall.com
Obama Can't Win Hispanic Vote (Except He Is) - kos, Daily Kos
Spitzer Administration Used Police to Spy - TChris, TalkLeft
Obama Impresses European Crowds - Chris Bowers, Open Left
The Only Place Dems Want to Drill - Michelle Malkin
Will Economy Hurt McCain? - Gary Andres, The Weekly Standard
A More Perfect (European) Union - John Hinderaker, Power Line
Gay Divorce - Kevin Drum, Political Animal
McCain, Armstrong Live Strong - Marc Ambinder

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Obama Heads for Paris and London - NY Times
U.S. Can't Keep Up on Visas for Iraqis - Washington Post
Obama: McCain's Attack on War Stance 'Disappointing' - Boston Globe
Obama's Path to Presidency Far from Clear - LA Times

Barack Obama’s upcoming speech in Berlin today has bloggers debating whether it’s a historic moment or a political stunt. John McCain, meanwhile, revealed his ignorance of the Iraq war when he credited the “Anbar Awakening” to the surge, some bloggers determine, while conservatives laud Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for promising to block bills unrelated to energy.

Obama will join Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan today in the continuum of U.S. statesmen to deliver historic addresses in Berlin, Devilstower proclaims at Daily Kos. While Obama may not be able to equal Kennedy’s early-Cold-War electricity, crowds already forming there indicate more German interest in Obama than in Reagan, Devilstower notes. The speech will surely be a major international story, TPM Election Central’s Greg Sargent agrees. But the speech will be a mere photo-op—a political stunt staged to impress an already-fawning media–Michelle Malkin argues from the right.

McCain is either ignorant or dishonest for claiming the surge led to the “Anbar Awakening,” Matthew Yglesias charges . The pro-U.S. re-posturing of Sunni sheikhs happened before the surge took effect, Yglesias says, and McCain’s explanation that “surge” can refer to a strategy, not troop levels, falls flat, according the blogger. McCain seems to credit the surge with everything good in the world, John Cole muses at Balloon Juice. McCain can probably tell lottery winners how the surge helped them win, Cole suggests.

McConnell stood up for drilling and decided to play hardball with Democrats yesterday, Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey celebrates. By promising to obstruct non-energy-related bills, McConnell has shown that he can effectively lead a minority party in the Senate, wreaking havoc on Democrats and playing to the GOP’s strong points, one of which is drilling, RedState’s Moe Lane congratulates.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Obama: I'm Happy with Speech - Greg Sargent, TPM Election Central
Wall Street Likes the Bailout - Larry Kudlow, The Corner
Obama Plays by Other Rules - Jaime Sneider, The Weekly Standard
Obama's Committee of the Hole - Scott Johnson, Power Line
Next Stop: Germany - Michelle Malkin
Candidates on Don't Ask Don't Tell - Teddy Partridge, Firedoglake
Jim Gilmore in Hot Water - Eve Fairbanks, The Stump
Beetle in a Box - Matthew Yglesias
Obama Team Begins Work on Transition - Marc Ambinder
McCain Moving in Battlegrounds - Matt Lewis, Townhall.com

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
McCain Closes Gap in Key Battleground States - Washington Post
Obamafest, but Europe Has Questions - CNN
Republicans' Grip on Alaska Is Weakened - Wall Street Journal
Senate GOP Hands Dems Oil Ultimatum - The Hill

Barack Obama must be campaigning overseas, as he has made German-language flyers for an upcoming speech in Germany, conservative bloggers allege, while liberals accuse John McCain of having a meltdown when he said the White House is more important to Obama than Iraq.

Obama has flip-flopped on promises that his trip overseas will not include political rallies, as he is promoting his upcoming speech in Berlin with flyers in German, Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey interprets. And Obama may be more concerned with reaching out to on-the-fence Germans than Americans, as attendance at the Berlin speech will be free, unlike his U.S. rallies, where voters must decide whether to pony up cash to see the senator speak, Townhall.com’s Matt Lewis suggests.

McCain made the most slanderous remark of any presidential candidate in the last 30 years when he said yesterday that Obama would “rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign,” Swampland’s Joe Klein proclaims, dubbing the attack a “meltdown.” McCain’s comment was nasty and out of place, The Stump’s Michael Crowley says. But the outrage is unwarranted, as McCain has made similar attacks before—and has a legitimate point–Ann Althouse argues.

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) receives plaudits for a new television ad that mocks Democrat Al Franken’s Senate Candidacy. The ad, in which bowlers accuse Franken of being bad at the sport, is charming and appeals to Minnesota’s tastes, Morrissey congratulates at Hot Air. But Coleman’s exposure in the blogosphere isn’t all sunny, as Senate Guru points readers to a piece in The Nation blasting the Minnesota senator for voting in lock-step with President Bush, a damning charge in 2008, according to the blogger.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Mukasey Disappoints Democrats? - Joe Sudbay, AMERICABLOG
Comparing 1996 and 2008 - John B. Judis, The Plank
Obama Ignorance Watch - Dean Barnett, The Weekly Standard
McCain-Jindal…Not Happening - Jim Geraghty, The Campaign Spot
Another Milestone for Dino Rossi - Eric Earling, The Next Right
Tales from the JV Squad: No Press Avail - Marc Ambinder
Reflections on Obama in Berlin - Streiff, RedState
McCain Platform: 4 Years of Self-Parody - Matt Stoller, Open Left
McCain-Cheney '08 - Josh Orton, MyDD
The Imagery Gap - Michael Crowley, The Stump
Spanish Obama Ad Emphasizes Fatherless Upbringing - Greg Sargent, TPM Election Central

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Bush Drops Opposition to Housing Bill - NY Times
Obama Meets Israeli, Palestinian Leaders - LA Times
Reid: Government Should Assist Solar Power Industry - Rocky Mountain News

Barack Obama’s statement that he still opposes the surge shows that foreign policy is his weak point, conservative bloggers declare. John McCain must now eat his words, liberals say, after Obama’s trip overseas—which McCain called for—has the Iraq debate swinging in the Democrat’s favor. And Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) takes heat for receiving a low approval rating among Jews.

Pundits are jumping on Obama for his “stunning” statement that, knowing what he knows now, he would still oppose the 2007 troop surge that has been credited with improving security in Iraq, Townhall.com’s Matt Lewis proclaims. Obama’s refusal to admit he was wrong shows he is a calculating politician, Lewis charges. Obama has evidently learned nothing from his meetings with U.S. military commanders in Iraq, and would probably disregard their advice as president, Power Line’s John Hinderaker alleges.

But as Obama stands by his earlier position on Iraq, McCain is changing his stance on withdrawal, Open Left’s Chris Bowers argues. While McCain has said that withdrawal would mean risking the progress achieved by the surge, his campaign now argues that the U.S. is winning and thus troops can start to come home, Bowers says, accusing McCain of flip-flopping. Perhaps suggesting Obama travel to Iraq was a mistake for McCain, as debate has shifted during Obama’s travels with the Iraqi government’s backing of his withdrawal timeline, AMERICABLOG’s Joe Sudbay muses.

Lieberman has a “Jewish problem,” Eschaton’s Atrios announces. The Connecticut senator, one of the most prominent Jewish members in Congress, has a 37 percent approval rating among Jews, according to a new poll, a rating significantly below Obama’s, notes TPM Election Central’s Greg Sargent, who questions how effectively Lieberman can rally the Jewish vote for McCain.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Coleman and Franken's Ad Duel - Todd Beeton, MyDD
How Many Lives Lost under Obama White House? - Erick Erickson, RedState
Obama Trumps McCain - Joe Sudbay, AMERICABLOG
Danger Will Robinson - John Cole, Balloon Juice
Who Isn't an Obama Foreign Policy Adviser? - Michelle Malkin
Forbes Spins Positive on Gramm - Larry Kudlow, The Corner
Why Should Iraq Need Leverage? - Big Tent Democrat, TalkLeft
The Hand of Chalabi? - Jason Zengerle, The Plank
On McCain's VP Timing - Marc Ambinder
Giuliani on Obama and the Surge - Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
Who's Biased? - Samantha Sault, The Weekly Standard