SUNDAY ROUNDUP

Attacks by Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin on Barack Obama are coming under heavy scrutiny from the press, and conservatives bloggers aren’t happy about it. The Associated Press is guilty of playing the race card against John McCain and Gov. Palin (R-Alaska), according to the bloggers. Palin and McCain should be careful with their attacks, as there’s lots of material that Democrats can use to hit back, according to liberal bloggers.

After Palin said Saturday that Obama has been “palling around with terrorists” and is “not like us,” the AP’s Douglass K. Daniel wrote that Palin tried to smear Obama and could be appealing to racism. Daniel is either trying to smear Palin himself or is projecting his own fear of Muslims onto Palin, writes RedState’s Moe Lane. McCain’s critics will see racism in any attacks made against Obama, writes Michelle Malkin, who urges the Republicans to continue to fight.

If Palin wants to talk about associations, it’s time for Democrats to talk about her visits to conferences of the Alaska Independence Party, whose founder once said he has “no use” for America, writes Daily Kos’s BarbinMD. When Palin told undecided women, “If you don’t support me, you’re going to hell,” she revealed a “thuggish” populism that won’t sway anyone to her side, writes Ta-Nahesi Coates. The Obama campaign is taking the right strategy by trying to portray the McCain campaign’s new attacks as more evidence that the McCain is “erratic” and “out of touch” with Americans worried about the economy, writes Political Animal Steve Benen.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Most Bizarre Journalistic Malpractice Yet? – J. Hinderaker, Power Line
AP Desperately Tries to Play Race Card – Moe Lane, RedState
Outrageously Asinine – Jonah Goldberg, The Corner
Palin-Bashing AP Cries ‘RAAAACISM!’ – Michelle Malkin
Palin Palling Around With McCain – BarbinMD, Daily Kos
Palin Misquotes Albright – Nico Pitney, The Huffington Post
Incredible, Thuggish Stupidity of Palin – Ta-Nahesi Coates
Obama’s Pre-Emptive Attack – Steve Benen, Political Animal

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Analysis: Palin’s Words May Back Fire on McCain – AP
Economic Unrest Shifts Electoral Battlegrounds – NYT