MORNING READ

While new polls show Barack Obama leading nationally and doing well in red states, he may have to worry about his fundraising and his online support, according to bloggers Wednesday. Obama and John McCain jousted Tuesday over who had the best plan to quell violence in Afghanistan, but liberal bloggers point out that McCain is merely parroting the Democrat on the issue. And though a southern congressman won a primary fight by sticking to his conservative values, a GOP senator from the South is taking heat for using a photo of a French jet in a television spot, the bloggers write.

Obama leads McCain 50 percent to 42 percent among all registered voters in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll, notes Daily Kos’s DemFromCT. The Democrat barely trails McCain in a Public Policy Polling survey of South Carolina, which has the Republican leading 45 percent to 39 percent, writes MyDD’s Jonathan Singer. But Obama may have damaged his brand by shifting his position on Iraq and telecom immunity, according to a Democratic source who voices concern to The Corner’s Byron York about donors’ dampened enthusiasm. Obama could help his cause online by being happy about getting bloggers’ votes, writes MyDD’s Jerome Armstrong, who noted that Obama singled out the blogosphere for having “raised hackles” over his rejection of public campaign funds.

While McCain is following Obama’s lead by proposing that U.S. troops be moved to Afghanistan, the Republican is poised to get much of the credit because he’s calling his plan a “surge,” just like the one he championed in Iraq, writes The Plank’s Dayo Olopade. McCain, however, offered multiple positions on his Afghan “surge” Tuesday, first calling for an increase in American troops, then an increase in NATO troops, and finally a deployment that involved a combination of the two, writes Josh Marshall at TalkingPointsMemo.

Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) won his primary 71 percent to 29 percent, crushing a candidate who ran to his left and thereby showing Republicans that they can win by being a champion of limited government and greater freedom, according to RedState’s Jeff Emanuel. But Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole (N.C.) showed she’s out of touch by trying to take credit for saving her state’s military bases with an ad that uses images of a French fighter jet, writes MyDD’s Todd Beeton, who links to The Hill’s story about the Dole’s television spot.

FROM THE BLOGS:
ABC/WaPo: Obama By 8 With RVs – DemFromCT, Daily Kos
Obama Within Striking Distance in S.C. – J. Singer, MyDD
Obama and Damage to the Brand – Byron York, The Corner
BlogOsphere – Jerome Armstrong, MyDD
Obama Website Purging: Deja Vu – C.P. Liebau, Townhall
Obama Writes He Attended ‘Muslim School’ – M. Lewis, Townhall
McCain’s Afg. Position in Progress – J. Marshall, TPM
Iraq: Whose Line Is It Anyway? – D. Olopade, The Plank
Congrats, Rep. Paul Broun – Jeff Emanuel, RedState
Why Does Sen. Dole Hate America? – Todd Beeton, MyDD
Fed to Bar Sketchy Lending Practices – MissLaura, Daily Kos
GOP, Online Politics and Regulation – M. Turk, Next Right

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Fed Chief Bleak on Economic Outlook – New York Times
Obama Leads By 8 Points in Poll – Washington Post
Poll Finds Obama’s Run Isn’t Closing Divide on Race – NYT
Housing Splits GOP and Bush – The Hill