MORNING READ

John McCain’s new tactic of attacking the press for its so-called positive coverage of Barack Obama failed once before, when Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) tried it, bloggers write. McCain is also getting hammered by liberal bloggers for his latest statement about the surge, while Obama is reminded by a conservative that the surge debate isn’t settled. And in congressional elections, the Democrats continue their strong fundraising and now have another reason to think that they can win a House seat in Alaska, their supporters online write.

McCain is emulating Clinton with a new video painting the press as being in the tank for Obama, even though Clinton’s attacks fell flat, writes MyDD’s Todd Beeton. Instead of getting angry at Obama and the press, McCain should stick to his domestic themes and be confident in the knowledge that he knows the military better than Obama, writes The Corner’s Victor Davis Hanson. But The Next Right’s Patrick Ruffini writes that McCain will benefit from taking on the media, which he courted in the past but has yet to help him during the campaign.

McCain was wrong when he said on CBS that the surge caused Sunnis in Anbar to turn against al Qaeda, writes the Huffington Post’s Seth Colter Walls, who notes that the “Anbar Awakening” preceded the U.S. troop increase. The larger point of McCain’s mistake is that it shows the Republican’s lack of understanding of the surge, which increased the U.S. troop presence in Baghdad, not Anbar, writes Matthew Yglesias. But even though Obama may be benefiting politically from Iraqi support for a withdrawal timetable, the Democrat still gets the surge wrong by continuing to oppose it, writes The Corner’s Peter Wehner.

The Democratic campaign committees for the House and Senate now have a combined $100 million in cash on hand, which is triple the amount that their Republican counterparts have, writes MyDD’s Jonathan Singer. And in Alaska’s lone House race, Democrats may get to face their preferred candidate, Rep. Don Young (R), instead of Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell (R), who could be hurt by Gov. Sarah Palin’s (R) decision to fire a former brother-in-law, writes kos.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Should Tell McCain that Hillary Lost – T. Beeton, MyDD
Hillaryitis – Victor Davis Hanson, The Corner
Finally Taking on The Media – P. Ruffini, The Next Right
McCain Gets Surge History Wrong – S.C. Walls, HuffPo
McCain’s Surge of Time Travel – Matthew Yglesias
McCain Can’t Decide if We’re Winning – T. Beeton, MyDD
Obama and the Surge – Peter Wehner, The Corner
Maliki’s Endorsement Not Lost in Trans. – Z. Krieger, The Plank
Palin Scandal Shakes Up House Race – kos, Daily Kos
Dem Campaign Cmtes. Hit $100M – J. Singer, MyDD
Obama Prints German-Language Flyers – P. Ruffini, Next Right
Edwards, Busted – Mickey Kaus, kausfiles
DNC’s Denver Gas Tax Holiday – A. Carpenter, Townhall
Trouble on the Home Front – Nate Silver, The Plank
Paul Casts a Larger Shadow (Convention) – S. Wheaton, The Caucus

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Health Plan From Obama Spurs Debate – New York Times
Obama Shifts the Foreign Policy Debate – Washington Post
After Visit, Obama Defends Iraq Plan – Washington Post
Dems Pressured on Guns – The Hill