MORNING READ

Barack Obama and Democrats shouldn’t worry about appearing soft on terrorism by opposing the overhaul of the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), according to liberal bloggers, but conservative bloggers disagree. In fact, Democrats are playing with fire when they go after John McCain’s military record and his supposed lack of knowledge about gas prices, according to bloggers on right who find the critiques less than accurate.

Some of Obama’s own supporters are adopting his grassroots methods to urge the Illinois Democrat to vote against the FISA bill that includes telecom immunity, writes MyDD’s Jerome Armstrong. That approach is more effective than Keith Olbermann’s loud support of Obama’s decision to back the bill, Armstrong notes. But liberal blogger Glenn Greenwald gets it wrong in suggesting that the 2006 elections are evidence that Obama and Democrats can win the national security debate, since many of those congressional Democrats beat Republicans by highlighting GOP ties to Jack Abramoff and other Republican scandals, writes Sean Oxendine at The Next Right.

While Gen. Wesley Clark (D-Ark.) is questioning McCain’s military record by pointing out that the Republican never commanded a squadron or ordered bombings, the same critique can be made of Obama, who never served in the military, notes RedState’s Pejman Yousefzadeh. Matthew Yglesias calls McCain “out of touch” for failing to know how to use a computer or the price of gas. But the criticism over the gas prices gaffe is based on an inaccurate quote, according to Patterico, who digs up a recent McCain remark in which the Republican talked about gas costing more than $4 a gallon.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Obama’s FISA – Jerome Armstrong, MyDD
Beating Battle-Tested Republicans – brownsox, Daily Kos
Greenwald Wrong on 2006 Lesson – Sean Oxendine, The Next Right
Clark’s McCain Attacks Apply to Obama – P. Yousefzadeh, RedState
Lies About McCain – Patterico’s Pontifications
McCain Out of Touch – Matthew Yglesias
Baiting McCain on Immigration – Mark Krikorian, The Corner
Why Can’t the Networks Read Polls? – DarkSyde, Daily Kos
Obama Opposes Calif. Gay Marriage Ban – J. Armstrong, MyDD
McCain Coverage is Predictable – Atrios, Eschaton
The New DLC World – Matthew Yglesias
End the Judgeocracy – Mark Krikorian, The Corner
Jim Webb Pulls a Pelosi – Erick Erickson, RedState

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Amid Policy Disputes, Qaeda Grows in Pakistan – NYT
Pentagon Fights EPA on Pollution Cleanup – Washington Post
Obama and McCain Search for Running Mates – Los Angeles Times
Veterans Long to Reclaim the Name ‘Swift Boat’ – New York Times