From NBC's Alex Wall
Fresh off Obama's speech on energy earlier today, his campaign wasted no time in attacking McCain on his small business plan. Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee, and Obama campaign Director of Economic Policy Jason Furman called McCain's small business plan a "laundry list of benefits for corporate America," in a conference call this afternoon.

Furman blasted McCain's corporate tax proposal, which he said calls for $4 billion in tax breaks to oil companies (including $1.6 billion to ExxonMobil), while citing "McCain's lack of tax breaks for small businesses."

Velazquez added that most small-business owners wouldn't benefit from McCain's tax plan, arguing that the group makes up only 4% of the taxpayers in the top income bracket. She contrasted the two candidates by touting Obama's support for targeted investments into small business, while criticizing McCain for his lack of support for small business legislation.

"Sen. McCain is supporting the same tax policies that have been supported by President Bush," Velazquez said.

On Obama's tax proposals: Furman called Obama's plan an "overall business agenda" and pointed to two "key" small business tax credits in Obama's plan: (1) a health care tax credit, and (2) an exemption from the capital gains tax. When asked to define a cutoff for how small a business had to be to qualify for the health care credit, Furman said, "It would be more than 10 employees" yet wouldn't give an exact number before working with the Treasury.

"The key thing is to lower the cost of health care for small businesses," Furman said.

From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
LANSING, MI -- Seeking to refocus the campaign on proposals and not pop stars, Obama discussed additional plans on energy that he says would bring jobs back to this state and wean the nation off its oil addiction, something McCain would only worsen.

Obama actually began his remarks by agreeing with his Republican opponent, whom he quoted as saying that the dependence on foreign oil "was caused by the failure of politicians in Washington to think long term." But he quickly added that McCain has been part of Washington for most of the last three decades, and "did little to reduce our dependence on foreign oil."

"When Sen. McCain talks about the failure of politicians in Washington to do anything about our energy crisis, it's important to remember that he's been a part of that failure," he said. "And now, after years of inaction, and in the face of public frustration over rising gas prices, the only energy proposal he's really promoting is more offshore drilling -- a position he recently adopted that has become the centerpiece of his plan, and one that will not make a real dent in current gas prices."

Obama, who last week himself said he might consider offshore drilling, reiterated today that he doesn't think it is a "particularly meaningful short-term or long-term solution." But he said he's "willing to consider it if it's necessary to actually pass a comprehensive plan." Obama also called it "a political answer of the sort Washington has given us" for years, and referred several times to former oil man T. Boone Pickens.

"We can't simply pretend, as Sen, McCain does, that we can drill our way out of this problem," Obama said. "T. Boone Pickens is right. We need a much bolder and much bigger set of solutions."

Obama's proposals, he said, might sound "like pie in the sky," but claimed that if adopted, could lead to enough renewable energy "to replace all the oil we import from the Middle East" in 10 years.

"So there is a real choice in this election," he said. "Sen. McCain would not take the steps or achieve the goals that I outlined today... Like George Bush and Dick Cheney before him, he sees more drilling as the answer to all of our energy problems. And like George Bush and Dick Cheney, he's found a receptive audience in the very same oil companies that have blocked our progress for so long."

Referring to oil interests have donated to McCain's campaign, Obama said: "Make no mistake -- the oil companies have placed their bet on Sen. McCain. And if he wins, they will continue to cash in while our families and our economy suffer and our future is put in jeopardy."

Obama was greeted here with a standing ovation, and, as has been the case for the last few days, a chorus of, "Happy Birthday" from the audience.

From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
On a conference call this morning, Obama energy advisers Elgie Holstein and Heather Zichal discussed the plan Obama will discuss today, including supporting the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Specifically, the campaign calls it a swapping out of light crude for heavy crude, which they say will be replaced when the market is less volatile.

Asked if this is a reversal, adviser Zichal says: "Sen. Obama has looked at this issue. He recognizes that Americans are suffering, that we have a unique situation with rising gas prices. And this is one occasion where we really need to look at this strategically and he made the decision that we do need to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve."

The other new parts of the plan, per the campaign:

- He'll announce a goal of putting one million plug-in hybrids on the road by 2015. These are cars capable of getting 150 miles to the gallon. This will be paired with a $7,000 tax credit for the purchase of these vehicles.

- He'll announce a "major commitment" to helping the auto industry build new factories or renovate existing ones to retool for the production of these new generation vehicles.

*** UPDATE *** As Republicans point out, Obama was against tapping the preserve just earlier this month. "I do not believe that we should use the strategic oil reserves at this point," Obama said July 7. "I have said and, in fact, supported a congressional resolution that said that we should suspend putting more oil into the strategic oil reserve, but the strategic oil reserve, I think, has to be reserved for a genuine emergency. You have a situation, let's say, where there was a major oil facility in Saudi Arabia that was destroyed as a consequence of terrorist acts, and you suddenly had huge amounts of oil taken out of the world market, we wouldn't just be seeing $4-a-gallon oil. We could see a situation where entire sectors of the country had no oil to function at all. And that's what the strategic oil reserve has to be for." (See video here.) 

From NBC's Mike Viqueira
House Republicans -- both giddy and emboldened after their impromptu speechifying on the House floor last Friday to a dark House of Representatives gained attention and provided a much needed morale boost -- are going to do it all over again today.

At around 10:00 am ET, 12 to 15 of their number will muster in historic Statuary Hall, then march past cameras as they advance on the House chamber, where inside the lights and microphones are still cold. No matter, for once inside the gates they will turn and deliver a series of addresses urging Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring the body back into session in order to vote on offshore drilling.

One thing that this isn't -- it's not a session of Congress. The House has adjourned until after Labor Day. What we have here is a group of Republicans who have delayed or busted their vacations in order to invite staffers and bewildered -- yet delighted -- tourists onto the floor to listen to them rail against Democrats and for more drilling.

And yet who knows? Maybe the guerilla tactics will really catch fire and the speaker's hand will be forced. It's worth noting that they are specifically not going to be calling on the president to call Congress back, as he has the power to do. They are focusing their attentions on Pelosi, who at this point is not likely to cave in. That might have something to do with it, since it is an open question whether or not members -- both Rs and Ds -- really want to come back here from hither and yon in the middle of the sacrosanct August recess to deal with this. Would the president bust his vacation, too? Best to keep the focus on Pelosi.

In any event, it's been obvious for weeks that Republicans think they have a winner with the issue of expanded offshore drilling. They have seized upon it like a lifeline in a year when most expect them to lose yet more seats in both the House and the Senate come November. Now, from the depths of their electoral despair, they are discovering that they still have some fight left in them.

So the House remains dark, the mics are off. The robo cameras in the chamber -- the ones whose output we see on C-Span -- are controlled by the House itself (read: Nancy Pelosi) and are also off and turned to face the wall.

Again, the revolution will not be televised. (But there was a video shot by a staffer from the last one that's on YouTube.)

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** A new, aggressive Obama? As we mentioned on Friday, one thing that McCain's negative turn did last week was knock Obama off message when his focus was supposed to be the economy. We'll see if Obama can dominate the message today, when his campaign plans a full blitz on the issue of energy -- which includes hitting McCain for the millions in campaign contributions he's received from the oil industry, as well as the billions in tax breaks the industry would receive under McCain's tax plan. This effort comes in three parts. The first is a new TV ad that the campaign says will be rotated into national buy. ("Every time you fill your tank, the oil companies fill their pockets. Now Big Oil's filling John McCain's campaign with $2 million dollars in contributions," the ad goes." Because instead of taxing their windfall profits to help drivers, McCain wants to give them another $4 billion in tax breaks.") Second is a conference call the Obama campaign held just before publication time. And third, Obama gives a speech later this morning outlining his energy plan, which includes a $1,000 rebate financed by a windfall profit tax on US oil companies. Can this break through in the way McCain broke through last week? Probably not, but if he can control the message debate for a few days, it will be seen as a good week for Obama. 

*** Easy Rider? McCain should feel at home today in Sturgis, SD, where motorcycle enthusiasts from all over will be hanging out. But this visit may not be about appealing to Harley voters -- but voters actually living in the Dakotas. Of the red states where Obama has been spending money, the one where he's had the most impact is clearly North Dakota. In fact, Obama's been polling so well in that state, there is speculation the campaign may add neighbor South Dakota to its target list. The McCain camp knows Obama's been gaining some ground in the region, so this event seemed like a way to at least get some local coverage in the Dakotas and see if they can easily snap these states back into the Red column like some in the GOP believe.

*** Three months to go: With exactly three months until Election Day and three weeks until the Democratic convention, it's worth recounting what has taken place during this summer lull in the presidential race. Clinton stumped for Obama in Unity, NH; Obama began moving to the center on several issues (most recently on offshore drilling); Obama also went on his highly publicized (and pretty well-received) overseas trip; Maliki ended up endorsing Obama's timeline for withdrawal at a time when many began praising the surge for reducing violence in Iraq; and McCain's campaign took a negative turn (airing the Britney-Paris ad, charging the Obama camp for playing the race card, and producing that Jesus-Moses Web video). And still, the race is pretty much where it was when the summer began. (That's why they call it a lull, right?) Nationally, Obama holds a lead over McCain in the mid-single digits, and the Illinois senator has a wider map to play with, although McCain does have chances to turn New Hampshire and Michigan red. Where the race was three months ago is where it is now…

*** Veepstakes lull: Speaking of lulls, we've hit one in the veep chatter. In fact, it's such a lull we're starting to see House members make token appearances on the VP lists. It was leaked to someone in the Virginia press corps that Rep. Eric Cantor (R) of Virginia is being vetted. Considering that leaks like this haven't come from McCain, one can only guess who was behind it. Cantor's profile as a rising Jewish conservative from a swing state has no doubt drawn some attention from McCain. But it's hard to imagine either candidate picking a sitting House member as a running mate. The last time it happened -- 1964 and that didn't work out so well for Mr. Goldwater, the last Arizona senator to secure the GOP nomination. Cantor's not alone in the House on the VP speculation lists. There's a new round of chatter about Chet Edwards (D), the Texas Democratic Congressman Nancy Pelosi has been pushing.... *** UPDATE *** As many have reminded us, the last time was 1984, when Mondale picked Geraldine Ferraro (more on Ferraro here). 

*** Remembering 1988: Speaking of veepstakes, one has to assume that both campaigns have studied 1988 very hard, because it was a unique year when both nominees followed the conventional wisdom -- and ended up not doing too well. Dukakis needed someone to help his presidential resume, and he found someone who perhaps looked TOO presidential standing next to the Duke (Lloyd Bentsen). Bush 41, meanwhile, needed someone to show he was going to bring some change and newness to the Oval Office, and he picked someone a bit too green at the time (Quayle). No doubt Obama doesn't want to pick someone who overshadows him, and McCain doesn't want to pick someone who looks too uncomfortable standing on the national stage.

*** On the trail: McCain holds a small business roundtable at the National Label Company in Lafayette Hill, PA before heading to a veterans' motorcycle rally in Sturgis, SD. Obama gives a speech on energy in Lansing, MI and then goes to Boston for a fundraiser celebrating his 47th birthday.
 
Countdown to Dem convention: 21 days
Countdown to GOP convention: 28 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 92 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 169 days
 
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Under the headline "Here we go again," Newsweek wonders what happened to the new type of campaigning a McCain-Obama match-up promised. "It's clear McCain's handlers are determined now to keep him 'on message' and not allow much spontaneity to creep into his performances. They can't persuade him to give up town halls, but last week he was noticeably kept away from the national press corps, whom he once called his 'base.' Although McCain requested that a couch be put on his campaign plane so he could sit around with reporters as he did on his Straight Talk Express bus during the primaries, the couch has lately been occupied only by overflow staff. McCain looked cranky most of last week, as if he could sense the potential harm he was doing to his reputation as a high-road politician."

"Modern political campaigns, aided and abetted by the press, exert a powerful downward force. The Democratic handlers are no more high-minded. If anything, they have been rattled by Republican attacks in years past and are now determined to show their toughness. In 2004, as John Kerry was getting 'Swift-Boated,' depressed Democrats would recite a meme attributed to Bill Clinton's war room: 'If you're not hitting, you're getting hit.'"

Here's an interesting poll of low-income workers in today's Washington Post, conducted in conjunction with the Kaiser Foundation and Harvard. Obama has a 2-1 lead among these folks. "Obama's advantage is attributable largely to overwhelming support from two traditional Democratic constituencies: African Americans and Hispanics. But even among white workers -- a group of voters that has been targeted by both parties as a key to victory in November -- Obama leads McCain by 10 percentage points, 47 percent to 37 percent, and has the advantage as the more empathetic candidate."

More: "The new poll included interviews with 1,350 randomly selected workers 18 to 64 years old who put in at least 30 hours a week but earned $27,000 or less last year. As a group, they are somewhat less likely to be Republicans than all adults under age 65 and are also less likely to be registered to vote. As many call themselves conservatives as liberal, and nearly four in 10 said their views on most political matters are 'moderate.'

"The group, which accounts for nearly a quarter of U.S. adults, gives the Democrat the nod both as the more empathetic candidate and as the one who more closely shares their values. And while many express no opinion about who would do more to improve the economy or health care -- or the voters' finances -- Obama has the clear edge among those who picked a favorite on these core issues."

EDUCATION: McCain has an op-ed in the New York Daily News today on education. "Campaigning at town halls across America, I am often asked about my plans to reform our public schools. And the answer begins with two points on which most everyone agrees: Every public school child deserves a first-rate education. And too many of our schools are producing second-rate results. Beyond that, the education debate divides quickly into two camps. Some say all that's needed is more taxpayer money, along with more prekindergarten and after-school programs. Others believe that the basic structure of the education system is flawed, and that fundamental reform is needed. You can put me squarely on the side of major reform."

"These days, the cause of education reform crosses all boundaries of party, race and financial means. In New York, Mayor Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein have taken up the cause of reform, as have many others, including the Rev. Al Sharpton. These men are strong supporters of the Education Equality Project, a group dedicated to finally changing the status quo in our education system. This group of leaders is no longer willing to accept a public school system in which many students never even graduate or learn the basics of math, science and English. As Chancellor Klein puts it, 'In large urban areas the culture of public education is broken. If you don't fix this culture, then you are not going to be able to make the kind of changes that are needed."

ENERGY: Look who's supporting some additional oil drilling? Obama. "In the latest sign of a shift on a key issue, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama said on Saturday he would support an expansion of offshore drilling as part of a broader bipartisan energy bill. Critics are branding this a flip-flop, but Sen. Obama is citing it as an example of a central tenet of his candidacy: a willingness to bridge divisions to address long-festering problems." 

By the way, it appears McCain will now also support the compromise legislation 

T. Boone Pickens and Gore are not quite ready to join up together, but they are close. Meanwhile, Ted Turner and Pickens are ready to work together... Go figure.

IRAQ: USA Today does a version of the Obama-McCain are coming together on Iraq.

Geraldine Ferraro is at it again -- this time over Clinton as VP. She claims Obama won't be "gracious" if he doesn't offer her the slot.

Kudos to Bill Kristol for writing a very readable and interesting VP speculation column about McCain -- while also leaving himself wiggle room on who could get picked. 

More compiled by Matthew Berger and Carrie Dann…
The McCain camp is unsure when to announce its veep choice, but it's more likely to wait for Obama to go first. Advisers believe waiting until after Obama's Invesco Field speech on Aug. 28 will allow the campaign to shift focus to them quickly before their convention. "We'd be stupid to pick before they do," one advisor told Politico. Newsweek's Michael Isikoff says the Obama campaign is now planning to make their veep announcement the week before the Denver convention, because the short list is more fluid than generally thought.
 
REPUBLICANS: The candidate du jour is Rep. Eric Cantor, who was asked to provide McCain with personal documents. He is a prominent Jewish Republican and a young fiscal conservative with House leadership experience.
 
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge says he's still pro-choice, but doesn't think that precludes him from being McCain's veep. "I would think John would never make it a litmus test, but when it comes down to a nominee selecting a vice presidential running mate, it's their decision exclusively," Ridge said on "This Week." "And I would respect that decision one way or another." 
 
Former Rep. Rob Portman said he hasn't been vetted. "I think the whole VP thing is a little bit overrated," he said on "Late Edition." "It's important, but maybe the media is giving it a little bit more importance than it deserves." 

DEMOCRATS: Speculation has grown about Sen. Evan Bayh, because Obama will be in Indiana on Wednesday. Sources told Howey Politics Indiana that "details appear to be different than a normal presidential candidate visit." And apparently if you type in obamabayh08.com, you get redirected to the DNC's site. That doesn't happen with other potential running mates, but a DNC official says whoever bought the domain name just chose to redirect it, and its not an official party site.  

Kaine endorsed Joe Lieberman in 2004 in the primary over John Kerry and John Edwards. Said Kaine at the time: "Joe is the right person to revive the Harry Truman wing of the Democratic Party, which has traditionally been strong for national defense, strong for the economy and strong for equal opportunity." Kaine's hometown paper offers a lengthy description of his political style. Allies say that he's a compromiser who believes in bipartisanship and sunny optimism; opponents note a partisan streak with a penchant for stalemate.
 
Nancy Pelosi again pushed Rep. Chet Edwards on "This Week."

Newsweek dedicates most of its political coverage this week to the South. Writes the magazine's Christopher Dickey: "The election, and Obama's candidacy, have focused these anxieties like a lens. I found whites frustrated and indecisive about the campaign, families at odds, generations divided. Many who thought themselves beyond prejudice were surprised by their suspicions of the young black man from up north. Meanwhile, many slave-descended blacks, hugely supportive of the half-Kenyan, half-Kansan, Hawaii-reared Obama, seemed afraid to hope too much, inoculating themselves with pessimism about the chances that any man of color could win the presidency, even this man, even today, or that, if he does, he will survive. As I say, emotions are raw."

"People remember what they want to the way they want to, and call it history. That much is true almost any place in the world. But in the South, if people aren't careful, history can start to run their lives, even put them at risk. My father's brother, Tom, was a case in point: in the basement of his split-level home in suburban Atlanta he stored tons of artillery projectiles he'd dug up on Civil War battlefields. Many of them were still live ammunition. 'I do worry,' he told me in the 1970s. 'If this house ever caught on fire, it could do a lot of damage around the neighborhood. You'd hear the last shots fired in the Civil War.' (After Tom's death from natural causes in 1987, the core of the collection, duly defused, went to the Atlanta History Center.)"

MICHIGAN: The campaigns have spent more than $7 million combined in advertising in Michigan. And both candidates will be in Michigan over the next two days. 
 
OHIO: Next week, McCain visits Lima -- a traditionally Republican territory, but a county where Ted Strickland eked out a win in 2006.

VIRGINIA: The Washington Post looks at Obama's push to make VA a battleground. "For the past month, much of the Obama campaign's focus has been on registering voters. Virginia has recorded 147,000 new registrations this year -- it does not register by party -- and the campaign's goal is 150,000 more. It estimates that if 80 percent of those new registrants are for Obama, and that if 75 percent show up at the polls, that will mean a gain of more than 60,000 votes -- or an extra 1.75 percent, assuming turnout is around 3.5 million."

"To further close the gap, the campaign is targeting what it calls "sporadic" Democrats  -- potential supporters who missed at least one recent statewide race and may need a nudge to turn out for Obama -- plus moderate Republicans and independents who may be tempted to cross over. To reach this second group, the campaign is using 'micro-targeting' techniques popularized by the 2004 Bush campaign, divining voters' leanings through consumer preferences or other hints."

"'For a race that's going to be as close as this is, it will take a lot of pieces of the puzzle for us to add to be successful,' said Virginia campaign director Mitch Stewart, a South Dakota native who helped run Obama's primary campaigns in states including Iowa and Indiana. For the McCain campaign, the challenge is holding on to as much of Bush's 2004 advantage as possible, particularly by trying to win back voters who favored the president but also voted for Warner, Kaine or Webb. It is being undertaken with a ground operation more limited in scope and more hierarchical than Obama's. The campaign, which as elsewhere is working in close concert with the Republican National Committee, has opened six offices statewide, with three more on the way, on the theory that Obama's greater visibility is mostly for show and not worth the cost to match." 

The AP looks at Obama's push in seven reliably red states -- including Alaska, Georgia, Montana, North Dakota, and Indiana.

The Washington Post's Kurtz writes a C.W.-changing piece about press access to McCain. The campaign is not offering near the access to McCain as some might have thought. "In the old days, reporters would have had hours to chew over the latest controversy, and plenty of other subjects, with McCain. But for a campaign struggling to regain control of its message, the old days are definitely gone."

Kurtz also says that McCain "is having a bumpier ride with journalists than when he ran for president eight years ago. The popular image of the campaign -- McCain bantering with national journalists in the back of his bus -- has, in reality, all but vanished. The traveling press is now routinely stiffed in favor of five-minute sit-downs with local reporters."

The AP looks at McCain's first run for office and notes how he used his Vietnam hero status to get elected.

Et tu, Paris? Paris Hilton's mother, Kathy, is not happy with McCain for including her daughter in his political ad. "It is a complete waste of the country's time and attention at the very moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their jobs," Kathy Hilton said in a short article posted on the liberal Huffington Post Web site. "And it is a completely frivolous way to choose the next president of the United States."
 
This from a woman who contributed, with her husband, $4,600 to McCain. 
 
The New York Post: "Mama rips McC: Leave Paris alone!"
 
Speaking of celebrity... "If Barack Obama gave new meaning to the term 'political celebrity,' then John McCain helped define it," Politico writes. "He emerged as the most popular Republican in Hollywood following his 2000 presidential primary defeat, winning more screen time than the rest of Congress combined. McCain made cameos in 'Wedding Crashers' and '24,' saw his memoir turned into a popular biopic on A&E, and appeared more than 30 times on late night comedy shows."

McCain defended his "The One" ad, which mocks Obama as akin to Biblical Moses. "Asked about the ad, which was e-mailed to supporters, [McCain] told reporters in Florida, 'We were having some fun with supporters.'"

In the continued negativity, "A new Spanish-language web ad from Republican John McCain needles Democratic rival Barack Obama for ignoring Latin America on his foreign tour. ... 'And the Latinos?' appears on the screen. 'Did he perhaps forget about us?'"

Variety takes a look at McCain's Hollywood support. Check out the list of actors, they have similar personalities. They're all tough guys, including Jon Voight and "McCain's industry support ranges from such actors as Kelsey Grammer, Tom Selleck, Gary Sinise and Robert Duvall, to execs like MGM's Harry Sloan and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Clint Eastwood has attended a fund-raiser."

This week is the campaign's Energy Week. Per the campaign, Obama is kicking it off with a speech in Michigan today, and he'll be traveling to Ohio and Indiana later in the week to talk about his short-term and long-term solutions to high gas prices and high energy bills.

Here's Obama's new TV ad on energy. 

McCain spokesman Tucker Bound issues this statement in response to Obama's ad. "Barack Obama's latest negative attack ad shows his celebrity is matched only by his hypocrisy, after all it was Senator Obama, not John McCain, who voted for the Bush-Cheney energy bill that was a sweetheart deal for oil companies. Also not mentioned is the $400,000 from big oil contributors that Barack Obama has already pocketed in this election."

Not surprisingly, Obama is asking that Florida and Michigan get their full votes at the Dem convention.

Obama agreed to the three presidential debates, but no more.

The Los Angeles Times' Rainey wonders if Obama's biggest problem is acting TOO presidential.  Remember when the critique was he's not presidential enough?

The Boston Globe warns Obama about his upcoming vacation, and it looks at the images created by other candidate vacations (Kerry and windsurfing, Reagan chopping wood, JFK sailing, Eisenhower golfing.) "In an arena dominated by personality-stifling suits and cookie-cutter rallies, vacations are colorful departures from the everyday and a window into our leaders' hearts, showing us what they find beautiful and relaxing, the people and places they value most. But a vacation is also a prime setting for a political fiasco, a kaleidoscope of dorky outfits, unplanned digressions, and luxurious backdrops that can look (always in hindsight) awfully inappropriate during times of economic hardship. For Kerry, what might have seemed like an impressively athletic activity for a man in late middle age morphed into the perfect visual metaphor for his opponents' case against him."

Bloomberg's Al Hunt gives Nancy Pelosi some political praise. There was a ton of doom and gloom predicted by some at the prospect of a Speaker Pelosi. And she has been remarkable political astute.

The New York Times takes a look at Republican Sen. John Sununu's rematch with Democrat Jeanne Shaheen. If Shaheen wins, she'll do something that's rarely been done in Senate races: win a rematch after losing her initial challenge.  

From NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger
CLEVELAND, Ohio --  The Democratic Party will formally call the decision to go to war with Iraq a "strategic blunder" in its 2008 platform, according to a draft debated Saturday. The party also included language on Iraq withdrawal echoed by its presumptive nomine, Barack Obama, as it expressed a desire to "be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in."

The party will also add calls for universal healthcare coverage, while keeping the current employer-centric system.

A drafting committee unveiled the 44-page platform for the national party, encompassing both traditional Democratic values and the plans unveiled by Obama.

The party's draft differs from four years ago on Iraq, when it said "people of good will disagree about whether America should have gone to war in Iraq." This time, reflecting a shift in American public opinion, the committee hopes to emphasize that "Iraq was a diversion from the fight against the terrorists who struck us on 9-11" while reiterating complaints about the war's execution. It also echoes Obama's calls to remove one to two military brigades each month.

"I think the facts are clear now," Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, drafting committee chair, said after the hearing. "People of good will could disagree with the facts, but as clear as they are now, the facts are manifest that it was a blunder."

The language on Iraq is consistent with Obama's position, and is significant for a party that includes many leaders who initially backed the war in Congress. While some, including former Sen. John Edwards, have called the initial support a mistake, others, like Sen. Hillary Clinton, have said the error was largely in the war's execution.

Obama Senior Foreign Policy Advisor Susan Rice, who presented that section of the draft, said she had not heard complaints from other committee members, but would not know until the full Platform Committee meets and votes on the platform whether it represented the view of most Democrats.

On healthcare, the draft platform adds a call for universal coverage, offering a public plan while stressing people "should have the option of keeping the coverage they have" or participating in private programs.

"The Democratic Party is absolutely unified in a commitment to covering every single American," said Karen Kornbluth, Obama's policy director.

The 2004 platform called for "quality, affordable health care for all Americans," but stopped short of expanding a public program beyond one designed for children. It instead called for individual and business tax credits for more affordable health care and cutting costs.

On the economy, the draft platform calls for an "immediate energy rebate" for American families struggling with the price of gasoline and a $50 billion stimulus plan for building the economy and preventing job loss.

Throughout the meetings Saturday, committee members stressed proposals and language used by both Obama and Clinton during the primary cycle, a sign that the views of both candidates were being incorporated into the party's updated mission statement.

The committee's work came after the party received thousands of reports from small group meetings across the country, and after a day and a half of testimony from party members. Those that testified complained of the rising cost of healthcare and fuel, as well as the declining number of blue-collar jobs throughout the country.

"I hear every day about the struggles that are being faced," said Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.). "This is a phenomenal start in terms of presenting our party's values, as we hope to engage in this epic challenge in our next session, with our new president."

The document also includes a section on gender equity, noting the historic nature of Clinton's presidential campaign, the first woman to win presidential primaries. But it does not include language, advocated by some Clinton supporters, suggesting a "pervasive gender bias in the media."

"I haven't seen that yet, but obviously we're not done with deliberations," Napolitano said after the meeting.

There was little to no resistance to anything in the draft, with committee members offering new observations and language but not opposing anything in the document. The only opposition came from a small handful of protesters who yelled against going to war with Iran, but then quickly left the room.

The Drafting Committee will conclude its work Sunday. The draft will be voted on by the full Platform Committee next weekend in Pittsburgh, before being formally adopted by the party at the Denver convention later this month.

From NBC's Mark Hudspeth and NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
On the Veepwatch front, nothing's on Obama's schedule yet, but the traveling press registration e-mail has us flying to South Bend at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and not leaving until 3:25 p.m. the next day.

It seems seems like an awfully long time to be in one place. (Where exactly is Evan Bayh?)

Bayh's home town is near Terre Haute, Ind. -- about four-hour drive from South Bend. But South Bend is a nice geographical point between Illinois and Ohio, and just south of the Michigan line.

Obama communications stretegist Robert Gibbs says all that should be taken from it is that "Indiana is competitive and winnable for us," he said.

From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Obama used his address to the National Urban League to defend his record on education, saying he would put his ideas up against McCain's "any day."

"Now, I recognize my opponent came before you yesterday, he attacked my record on education reform," he said. "This is someone who's been in Washington nearly 30 years, he's got a pretty slim record on education, and when he has taken a stand, he's been on the wrong side of the line."

He said McCain voted against increased funding for No Child Left Behind, Head Start and Pell Grants, and supported the abolishment of the Education Department.

"His only proposal seems to be recycling tired rhetoric about vouchers," he said. "Now, I've been a proponent of public school choice throughout my career. … What I won't do, what I do oppose is using public money for private school vouchers. We need to focus on fixing and improving our public schools; not throwing our hands up and walking away from them. We need to stop the partisan attacks, and start getting results for our children."

Obama received an enthusiastic greeting from members of the organization, and pledged to revive urban areas, saying that the problem of cities aren't "just 'urban' problems anymore."

"They are America's problems, and have to be solved with effort and resolve by all Americans," he said.

Alluding to his historic candidacy, Obama said his "story, and so many other improbable stories, would not be possible without all that the Urban League has done to put opportunity within the reach of every American."

"I will never forget how my journey began," he said. "I'll never forget that I got my start as a foot soldier in the movement that the Urban League helped build -- the movement to bring opportunity to every corner of our cities."

He also quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who said that the "inseparable twin of racial justice is economic justice."

"You know that you can't take that seat at the front of the bus if you can't afford the bus fare," he said. "You can't live in an integrated neighborhood if you can't afford the house. And it doesn't mean a whole lot to sit down at that lunch counter if you can't afford the lunch."

Obama promised to attend the organization's next meeting, in his hometown of Chicago, next year if elected. And he said he'd welcome them to the White House in two years when the organization celebrates its centennial.

"In my administration I expect that the White House will be the people's house," he said.

From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL -- Obama said today that he doesn't think the notion that he is arrogant -- advanced this week by the McCain campaign in TV ads and Web videos -- has stuck in the American psyche, challenging that while the Republicans are good at negative campaigning, they fail when it comes to governing. He also responded to questions of race in the campaign, saying the McCain campaign was not "racist," but "cynical."

"That's why, if you think about this week, what they've been good at is distraction," Obama told reporters at a press conference this morning. "You've got statistics saying we've lost another 50,000 jobs. That Florida's in recession for the first time in a decade and a half. And what was being talked about were Paris and Britney. And so they're clever on creating distractions from the issues that really matter in people's lives."

But perceptions matter, and Obama was asked how he could fight the view that he's being arrogant or presumptuous. "You know, I don't know that there's that perception," he said. "That's something that's being fed to the media by them... And I think what would be useful is to ask the question, what's this based on?... If I was presumptuous or taking this for granted, I wouldn't be working this hard this week. I'm beat."

Later, Obama actually repeated Republican attack lines of the past few weeks, point by point. And he signaled that he would not be tempted to go on the offensive with negative attacks of his own. "What I think we've got to do is just keep on driving home the essential message of this campaign -- which is we've got to change business as usual," he said. "We've got to change economic policies, and we've got to change Washington. And we've got to change how our politics is done."

Obama also was asked about his comments this week regarding what he said would be the Republican attack, comments which the McCain campaign said were playing the race card. Obama turned back to the room of reporters noting that many were on hand in Missouri when he said things like the fact he didn't look like presidents on currency.

"Almost none of you, maybe none of you, thought that I was making a racially incendiary remark or playing the race card," he said. "It wasn't until John McCain's team started pushing it, that it ended up being on the front page of the New York Times two days in a row."

He then looked broadly, repeating the idea that he does not "come out of central casting," noting, "I'm young, I'm new to the national scene, my name is Barack Obama, I am African-American, I was born in Hawaii, I spent time in Indonesia. I do not have the typical biography of a presidential candidate."

"Let me be clear," he said later. "In no way do I think that John McCain's campaign was being racist, I think they're cynical. And I think they want to distract people from talking about the real issues."

Offshore drilling
The Illinois senator also claimed today that his view of offshore drilling has not changed. He still believes that it is not a cure-all to the energy crisis, and that "if we want to have true energy independence then we're going to have to become much more efficient in terms of how we use energy."

"I remain skeptical of some of the drilling provisions," he said. "What I don't want to do is for the best to be the enemy of the good here. And if we can come up with a genuine bipartisan compromise, in which I have to accept some things I don't like or the Democrats have to accept some things that they don't like in exchange for actually moving us in the direction of energy independence, then that is something I am open to."

Asked if this was the latest in a line of issues in which he could be accused of softening his positions, Obama said that he's more interested in governing, not politics.

"We're going to try to get things done. That's what the American people are looking for," he said. "I have very clear ideas about where America needs to go. I also recognize that in the House and the Senate there are Republicans who have very clear ideas about what they want. And at some point people are going to have to make decisions."

From NBC's Mark Murray
This morning, the Democratic National Committee released a memo criticizing the McCain campaign's negative tactics of the past week. "[I]f you're looking for the right word to sum up McCain's week, try one of these: 'desperate,' 'dishonorable,' 'outright lies,' 'off the mark,' 'nasty,' 'the gutter,' 'baloney,' or 'baseless.'"

The memo adds, "McCain may be proud of his shameful campaign tactics, but the voters expect and deserve better. Polls consistently show the American people are looking for real leadership that offers big ideas for confronting the big challenges facing our country. Since voters already agree that McCain's policies are too close to President Bush's and he has failed to offer proposals that will create jobs, provide tax relief for middle class families or help Americans stay in their homes, McCain has apparently decided that embracing the same old politics is his only path to victory. All of this from a candidate who promised to run a respectful campaign as recently as June."

From NBC's Mark Murray
The Palm Beach Post reports, "U.S. Sen. Barack Obama said today he would be willing to open Florida's coast for more oil drilling if it meant winning approval for broad energy changes. 'My interest is in making sure we've got the kind of comprehensive energy policy that can bring down gas prices,' Obama said..."

"'If, in order to get that passed, we have to compromise in terms of a careful, well thought-out drilling strategy that was carefully circumscribed to avoid significant environmental damage - I don't want to be so rigid that we can't get something done,' Obama said."

More: "[H]e told the Post he would be open to expanding the current drilling boundaries if it meant winning approval for more fuel-efficient cars, developing alternative energy sources and making the country more 'energy independent.'"

"'I think it's important for the American people to understand we're not going to drill our way out of this problem,' he said. 'It's also important to recognize if you start drilling now you won't see a drop of oil for ten years, which means its not going to have a significant impact on short-term prices. Every expert agrees on that.'"

From NBC's Mark Murray, Lauren Appelbaum, and NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy
In an NPR interview, Obama was asked about the McCain campaign's charge that he played the race card. "This notion that somehow I was playing the race card is ridiculous," he answered. "What I said in front of a 98% conservative rural white audience in Missouri is nothing that I haven't said before."

"I don't come out of central casting when it comes to what presidential candidates typically look like," he continued. "It doesn't just have to do with race. It has to do with my name. It has to do with my biography and my background. It has to do with our message of change."

Obama added, "In no ways do I think the McCain campaign has targeted race issues. Although I will say the way they have amplified this is has been troublesome. And the eagerness in which they've done it, they think they can exploit this politically. In fact, what I have said -- and there's no doubt about this -- is that they want me to appear risky to the American people. And I don't think that there is any doubt that people are still trying to figure out what's this young guy doing here running for president."

"Our job is to make sure that the changes we're promoting is the changes that have to be made. If we don't make them, in fact, that's the riskier course."

In his press avail in Panama City, FL, McCain also commented on the issue. "I think his comments were clearly, were clearly the race card because of what he said. Everybody can read his remarks and in fact his campaign retracted those remarks so I think it's very clear and I was very disappointed. I was very disappointed at his comments. So his campaign retracted those remarks so let's move on."

But the Obama campaign didn't necessarily retract those remarks. The McCain camp cites a Politico article, which noted that "Obama's campaign quickly put out a statement Thursday retracting the candidate's suggestion that McCain had improperly used race." But here's the Obama statement, and it doesn't seem to retract what he said in Missouri on Wednesday: "This is a race about big challenges -- a slumping economy, a broken foreign policy, and an energy crisis for everyone but the oil companies. Barack Obama in no way believes that the McCain campaign is using race as an issue, but he does believe they're using the same old low-road politics to distract voters from the real issues in this campaign, and those are the issues he'll continue to talk about."

From NBC's Mike Viqueira
Ok. The event that was described earlier, where rebellious Republicans were making speeches on the floor after the House had literally turned out the lights and gone home is now potentially turning into something more. It's not the Bastille and it's not Stonewall, but for this place it's getting exciting.

The situation is taking on a life of its own now, as more and more GOP members have put off their travel plans for a few hours to make speeches to staff. Tourists who might usually come into the balconies for a five-minute look at an empty chamber are being treated to some real stemwinders from very unlikely sources.

Rep. Don Manzullo (R-IL), heretofore not known for a fiery oratorical style, just delivered an incendiary address to the assembled GOP staffers sitting in seats normally reserved for members. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), a member I don't ever remember hearing say anything at all, followed Manzullo with a patriotic appeal for justice -- which in this case, as he sees it, is defined by a House vote on offshore drilling.

So they're fired up down there. For Capitol Hill, it's quite a spectacle. The next big moment comes at 4:30 pm ET, when the galleries and the entire building are shut down to tourists. Will the members keep their uprising alive? A spokesperson for Speaker Pelosi says they can talk to staffers on the floor all they want. But the tourists have to go at 4:30 pm ET.

And there still are no lights, no cameras, no sound system or PA for them to use.

*** UPDATE *** The daring insurrection on the House floor has come to a quiet end. There was a presser that included a call for the president to exercise his right to call Congress back into session.

In response, Nancy Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly offers the following quote: "The New Direction Congress led by Democrats has offered real solutions to bring down energy costs, promote renewable fuels and energy efficiency, and promote oil production right here in America. But a majority of Congressional Republicans have voted NO each time. They should go home to their districts and explain their record of obstructing common-sense proposals to address the pain at the pump being felt by American consumers and businesses."

From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy and NBC's Mark Murray
On the candidate's plane en route Panama City, FL McCain senior adviser Nicolle Wallace responded to the campaign's new Web video entitled "The One," in which Obama seemingly is compared to Jesus and Moses.

"It was a communication to our supporters and it was kind of a bookend to a week that we thought was very successful and it was the intention to use a little bit of humor," Wallace said.

Wallace added that the campaign was "proud to use a little bit of humor," reiterating that McCain was the underdog and they are simply trying to remind their supporters not to be discouraged by Obama's large crowds. "As the underdog campaign, sometimes our crowds aren't 200,000 strong and roaring. But that it's just a different approach and style and imagery, and we're holding our own. We're very pleased with the way things are going and where we are."

Citing New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd as an example, Wallace said that it was the media and not the McCain campaign that originally "anointed" Obama "The One."

In fact, First Read found three recent Dowd columns referring to Obama as "The One" -- but the references were attributed to the McCain campaign.  

-- "How does he like the McCain camp mocking him as 'The One'?" (New York Times, 7/27/08)

--  "The One, as McCain aides sardonically call Obama, glided through Afghanistan, Iraq and Jordan, girding his messianic loins for the inevitable kvetching he would face in Israel as skeptical Jews 'try to get a better sense of what's in Obama's kishkes.'" (New York Times, 7/23/08)

-- "'I don't know that people in Missouri are going to like seeing tens of thousands of Europeans screaming for The One,' a McCain aide snarked to The Politico." (New York Times, 7/20/08)

*** UPDATE *** Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan reponds to the McCain Web ad: "It's downright sad that on a day when we learned that 51,000 Americans lost their jobs, a candidate for the presidency is spending all of his time and the powerful platform he has on these sorts of juvenile antics.  Sen. McCain can keep telling everyone how 'proud' he is of these political stunts which even his Republican friends and advisors have called 'childish', but Barack Obama will continue talking about his plan to jumpstart our economy by giving working families $1,000 of immediate relief." 

From NBC's Mark Murray
[Youtube:mopkn0lPzM8]

From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy
ORLANDO, FL -- Just a day after his campaign accused Obama of playing the race card, McCain appeared at the National Urban League's conference here this afternoon and received a much cooler reception than his appearance last month before the NAACP.

The crowd sat in silence for much of the first half of McCain's prepared remarks before hesitantly clapping when McCain called for school funding to be placed in the control of "the office of the school principal," rather than district or national offices. The audience warmed up when McCain began taking questions, and Urban League President Marc Morial commended McCain's decision to take questions as "unprecedented."

VIDEO: John McCain warns the National Urban League that rival Barack Obama's ideas are not always as impressive as hi rhetoric. Watch his entire speech.

Part of the response could be attributed to McCain's early criticisms of Obama. Unlike his earlier NAACP speech, in which McCain prefaced any criticisms of his opponent with glowing praise, McCain today began to criticize Obama in the second paragraph of his speech -- without any senatorial pleasantries.

"You'll hear from my opponent, Sen. Obama, tomorrow, and if there's one thing he always delivers it's a great speech," McCain said. "But I hope you'll listen carefully, because his ideas are not always as impressive as his rhetoric."

Much of McCain's remarks pertained to education, which he often calls the "civil rights issue of the 21st Century," and he used today's forum to announce his support for the Education Equality Project -- an education opportunity advocacy program that McCain noted was supported by both Al Sharpton and JC Watts.

During the question and answer session, McCain was confronted about his support for an Arizona initiative that would ban affirmative action in the state.

"Affirmative action is in the eye of the beholder," McCain began. "I think the United States of America has reached a point where we should provide equal economic opportunities for all Americans, and I do not and Americans have rejected a quota system. And that, frankly, is something that I don't think helps anyone and has not helped anyone. But I want to assure that I don't believe that any of these initiatives that we're talking about in any way eliminates our abilities to assist small businesses, the economic disadvantaged, and others."

He was also asked about how he would propose to fund public and charter school systems -- specifically the New York City school system that McCain often commends -- without raising taxes, and McCain responded that he had been very appreciative of the impressive philanthropy that has helped New York City schools thus far.

"I'm very grateful for the fact that people like Bill Gates and many others have contributed additional funds to the New York City school system so they can have a leadership program for school principles, for many of the additional extra curricula activities, including the building even of new schools that's taking place," McCain said. "So, I'm not exactly sure which budgetary aspects you're talking about, but one of the things that has been of enormous help is the tremendous charity and generosity of people all over America, not necessarily from New York City that have contributed tens of millions of dollars to make possible this transition that the New York City school system is going through."

From NBC's Mike Viqueira
House Republicans really want us to understand that they are outraged about the House's departure today for a five-week recess while the question of more drilling for oil goes unanswered here in Washington.

The House had its last vote at around 11:23 am ET, a motion to adjourn that was greeted by Republican catcalls from the floor and cries of "Work! Work!" from their side of the aisle. In case you missed it, they have been trying to force votes on an expansion of offshore drilling and in ANWR for weeks now.

Nancy Pelosi has dug in, calling the proposal a "hoax." Ad hoc bipartisan groups have formed in an effort to seek compromise, but so far they haven't gotten anywhere. The House has now gone, and members have streamed out of the exits on their way to the airport, with the Senate soon to follow. They will be back after Labor Day for perhaps just three weeks before leaving again -- not to return until January and a new Congress, followed by a new administration.

Now the lights are out in the House, but somebody is still home. In a effort that could be called a grandstand play -- if there were people actually in the grandstand -- a handful of House GOP leaders is on the floor talking to an amen chorus of what looks like a few dozen staffers, speaking at the top of their lungs for lack of an active amplification system about the need for drilling legislation. No cameras, but the press balcony is open and reporters can witness the odd spectacle if they choose to, as many are.

A cynic would call this theatrics. But where would politics be without theatrics?

From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- Obama came to this Florida city today, hoping to turn the subject from race back to his intended theme of the week: the economy.

His campaign rolled out what it called an "Economic Emergency Plan," mixing some previously announced proposals with a more urgent timetable. Another round of rebates -- $500 for individuals and $1,000 for married couples -- would go out this fall, to offset fuel and heating costs. He'd also devote $50 billion to be split evenly between infrastructure improvements and a fund for states to tap for assistance without raising taxes.

The new rollout, advisers said, was spurred by Obama's meeting Monday with his economic team in Washington. "Many of the attendees at the meeting, myself included, view the risks of inaction, the failure to craft an efficient, effective policy to offset these serious problems we face, as too high to ignore," adviser Jared Bernstein said on a conference call this morning.

In announcing his initiatives, Obama pulled a reverse Reagan. "The first thing I'm going to do, Florida, is just ask you a very simple question: Do you think that you are better off now than you were four years ago or eight years ago?" he told the crowd here at Gibbs High School. "If you don't think you're better off, do you think you can afford another four years of the same failed economic policies that we've had under George W. Bush?"

He referred to a headline this morning -- that Florida saw its first quarter of economic decline in 16 years. McCain, he added, agrees with economic proposals that led to the downturn, and said the nation can't "keep on doing the same thing that we've been doing and somehow expect a different result."

"You know, John McCain has spent most of the last month not talking about his ideas, but talking about me," he said. "And frankly, I say this respectfully, he's doing that because he doesn't have any new ideas."

Obama said McCain would give tax breaks to oil companies like Exxon Mobil with record profits. Obama, on the other hand, said he'd impose a windfall profits tax to pay for his assistance plan.

"These are the choices we face in November," he said. "Unfortunately, instead of talking about these real choices, my opponent has been spending most of his time getting negative, distorting my record, using the same old Washington political attacks... John McCain is an honorable man. We can have a serious debate about the issues. But we shouldn't be spending time talking about Britney. We shouldn't be spending time talking about Paris. The American people deserve better."

Obama closed his remarks here by again saying that the Republicans are painting him as a "risky choice," but that the real risk is "doing the same things."

"The real risk is shying away from seizing a bold future for America," he said. "That's why I'm running for president because I think we can do better."

*** UPDATE *** McCain adviser Taylor Griffin issued this response to Obama's economic remarks today: "The higher taxes that Barack Obama supports are one of the surest ways to kill jobs and exactly the wrong approach to a slowing economy. While American jobs and families suffer from high gas prices, Barack Obama stubbornly opposes additional oil drilling, more nuclear power, and the gas tax relief we need."

From NBC's Mark Murray
The Democratic National Committee has released a Web video criticizing McCain for saying yesterday that he's proud of his campaign's Britney-Paris ad.

[Youtube:x5VaA6sMabk]

*** UPDATE *** In a political world where no charge goes unanswered, the folks at the RNC send over this "Celebrity quiz" that hits Obama.