Oliver Willis

Did McCain invite the entire AP staff over for barbecue? Can someone please ask the crew over there how Sen. McCain’s ass tastes? Thanks.

The Real McCain: Why Conservatives Don’t Trust Him and Why Independents Shouldn’t

Or is he just a clever trick of the light? Questions swirl.

• Raw Video: Bush Heckled at July 4th Speech 5 months to go.
• Here Comes Another Monkey Trial…
• \Heaven And Helms
• Karl Rove To Debate John Edwards
• Hark! A Vagrant - Sweet Freedom
• In The Case Of A Water Landing, Your Seat Can Be Used As A Flotation Device Seriously, more of a medical oddity than anything titilating. So to speak.
• Michael Bay’s Rejected “The Dark Knight” Script I am sorry, but this movie reads AWESOME. It’s not fashionable to say, but I love Bay’s movies like The Rock, Transformers, for what they are: Summer Movie Go Boom Awesome.

There’s an amazing whitewash of his record in the official obits making the rounds.

There’s an amazing whitewash of his record in the official obits making the rounds.

Remember, America, it’s hot out there. Be careful.

Remember, America, it’s hot out there. Be careful.

• Rove’s Third Term
• One is Big. One is Small.
• Alba for Red Sonja? Please.

Regular people who buy $3,000 designer dresses like they were candy.

So, let me get this straight, Sen. Obama says what he has said for almost two years now - that he will draw down troops from Iraq in a responsible matter while consulting the generals… and the media sees some kind of change? Are the barbecues on John McCain’s palatial ranch that good that they have to resort to this sort of distortion so early?

MORE: TPM on how wrong they are.

• Cindy’s fortune: An asset and a liability
• Campaign Fleecee: We’re Loving It!!!
• DC Universe Online MySpace page launches Want. Want. Want. Want. PS3 only? OK, I may have to buy a PS3 now.
• Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe Buying this too

Leaking this kind of thing to the New York Times before the campaign has even ramped up is not a good sign for John McCain, almost as bad as the campaign reorganization that prompted the story in the first place.

The shift was approved by Mr. McCain after several of his aides, including Mr. Schmidt, went to him about 10 days ago and warned him that he was in danger of losing the presidential election to Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, unless he revamped his campaign operation, two officials close to the campaign said.

McCain is seeking to apparently “relaunch” his campaign. The man has had the nomination for months now, and for a good stretch of that time his eventual opponent paid him little to no attention as he was engaged in a close primary fight.

AND McCain is already buying up air time in Virginia, a state President Bush won pretty handidly. Defense, so soon?

Just a bunch of dummies without a clue. History’s coming, and they still want to sit in the back of the bus.

Conservative news web site Newsmax is using the following ad to push one of their hucksterish “Wellness Report” email newsletters. Nice.

Hey, MSM, if you’re going to try and swing this race for John McCain, try not to be so blatant with it.

Bret Favre giving up on that retirement thing? Come on.

John McCain has again shifted around who is in charge of his campaign. Anyone notice that through the Clinton and McCain shakeups the Obama camp has kept its head down and is being run smooth as silk?

UPDATE: Josh Marshall has more detail on why this is a bad sign for McCain. They’re scrapping everything and giving up whatever advantage they had during the extended Democratic primary.

This is a good time to remind people that the Democratic party has operations in all 50 states, and that the Obama campaign has been able to build on that with their volunteers and infusion of enthusiasm.

It’s like a national party or something.

John McCain has again shifted around who is in charge of his campaign. Anyone notice that through the Clinton and McCain shakeups the Obama camp has kept its head down and is being run smooth as silk?

The Washington Post ignores so much about John McCain (the Post, for instance, has been silent on the McCains evading taxes on their condo) but they rush a big nothing story about Sen. Obama’s mortgage on to page one. The “liberal media strikes” again! I worked at a mortgage company for a little while, and the idea that the lender gives a few fractions of a percent to a borrower of a jumbo loan is about as common as breathing air. That’s kind of how they do business, especially in 2005 when the mortgage business was locking loans at such a good clip.

I know the mainstream media desperately wants John McCain to win so they can get some more of his sweet barbecue, but this is pretty ridiculous - even for them.

Free Ride: John Mccain and the Media

Folks complaining that Sen. Obama is now moving to the center would have more room to speak if he hadn’t been at the center all this time. I saw a similar thing happen with Howard Dean (someone whose candidacy I supported). Dean was a centrist governor, even praised by the NRA, who happened to be against the war. Like Obama, once you are against the war - no matter your other moderate positions on the issues - the right and the press consider you a radical liberal, perhaps just a few steps away from someone like Dennis Kucinich. Unlike President Clinton, Sen. Obama isn’t seriously moving on any issues. He’s been in that center-left position for his whole time on the national scene. Now you may or may not agree with his stance on some issues (I don’t like his FISA stance but have little to no problem with everything else), but let’s not pretend his position is something it never was.