- The New York Times reports on the large disparity between Democratic and Republican voter rolls, including those in some states that voted for the GOP in 2004: "In six states, including Iowa, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, the Democratic piece of the registration pie grew more than three percentage points, while the Republican share declined. In only three states -- Kentucky, Louisiana and Oklahoma -- did Republican registration rise while Democratic registration fell, but the Republican increase was less than a percentage point in Kentucky and Oklahoma."
- Barack Obama has hit back against John McCain on energy, mocking the "drill here, drill now" mantra so beloved of a Republican party starved for an issue it hopes it can win on: "Nowtwo points, one, they know they're lying about what my energy plan is,but the other thing is they're making fun of a step that every expertsays would absolutely reduce our oil consumption by 3 to 4 percent. It’s like these guys take pride in being ignorant." And Nancy Pelosi makes the smart political move, encouraging Democrats in tough races to support drilling as a means of defusing the potency of the issue for Republicans.
- John McCain purchased $6 million worth of advertising time during next week's Summer Olympics, matching Barack Obama's $5 million buy, fueling speculation that each camp will unveil their VP selection during the highly publicized games.
- New McCain ad: "The Original Maverick." The usual disiegenuousness abounds ("he'll battle big oil") but let's get one thing straight -- this is the original Maverick as far as I'm concerned:
- Apparently McCain is fond of entering his wife in topless competitions. Also, from the press pool report from the biker rally McCain attended in South Dakota yesterday: "A larger-than-life stone sculpture stood in the middle of the large open field, depicting a woman lying horizontally over a bike in what looked like an uncomfortable position."
- Tyler Cowen finds an academic study purporting that Oprah Winfrey's stumping for Barack Obama might have contributed as many as one million additional votes during the primaries.
- National polling continues to be a source of inconsistencies. AP/Ipsos has Obama ahead 47-41, Gallup has Obama up 47-43, and Zogby has McCain ahead narrowly, 42-41. In Florida, Survey USA has McCain ahead six points, 50-44.
- Presidential debate moderators have been announced for the Fall. Vent your MSM hatred in the comments section.
- And Finally, Justin Schaffer, son of Colorado GOP Senate candidate Bob Schaffer, posted some, shall we say, unprofessional posters mocking Barack Obama on his Facebook page, causing some consternation for the elder Schaffer's campaign. A sample: "Slavery Gets Shit Done."
--Mori Dinauer
