MORNING READ

With the first night of the Democratic convention in the bag, bloggers are debating whether the party should have attacked John McCain more. Michelle Obama, the night’s featured speaker, impressed bloggers on both sides. But the latest ads that go after Barack Obama threaten to ruin the Democrats’ bash, according to conservative bloggers.

The Democrats on Monday did little to further the case for Obama as president, according to Townhall’s Carol Platt Liebau, who only recalls much talk about Obama’s funny name and Americans’ hard luck. The Democrats have yet to force McCain to go off-message and respond to attacks, writes TalkingPointsMemo’s Josh Marshall. But the party on Monday was able to rebut the Republicans’ “only real weapon,” which is their ability to drag Obama into the mud and paint him and his wife as un-American, writes Andrew Sullivan.

Michelle Obama’s speech was effective because she made her husband seem like “one of us,” emphasized her working class roots and talked about her father and hard work, according to The Corner’s Rich Lowry. She was “emotional, heartfelt and very authentic,” writes Arianna Huffington. Obama was “stunningly different” during her address than she has been on the campaign trail, where she has painted a picture of her country as a “dark and ugly place,” writes Byron York at The Corner.

McCain’s latest attack ad, which references Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) “3 a.m.” spot, is smart because it explicitly questions Barack Obama’s experience, writes Ed Morrissey at Hot Air. The Obama campaign, in its “biggest goof yet,” has given more oxygen to the story about its candidates’ ties to former Weather Underground member Willliam Ayers by responding directly to an outside group’s attack ad featuring Ayers, writes Contentions’ Jennifer Rubin.

FROM THE BLOGS:
The Carville Critique – Andrew Sullivan, Daily Dish
So Far, So Good – Carol Platt Liebau, Townhall.com
Attack, Attack, Attack – Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
Playing Nice is OK — For Tonight – J. Cohn, The Plank
How She Did It – Rich Lowry, The Corner
Michelle, Michelle, Michelle – A. Huffington, Huffington Post
Michelle Obama’s Two Americas – Byron York, The Corner
The Urgency of Ted Kennedy’s Message – J. Cohn, The Plank
McCain Ad: ‘3 A.M.’ – Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
Swift-Boat Group Sinks Nearly $3M on Ad – G. Sargent, TPM EC
The Biggest Goof Yet – Jennifer Rubin, Contentions

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Obama’s Family Night Out – Washington Post
Kennedy Tugs At Hearts, as Obama’s Wife Praises Values – NYT
Barack Obama Is Lauded As Everyman at Convention – LAT
Anxiety on Clinton Speech – The Hill