MORNING READ

Before John McCain again attacks Barack Obama for opting out of the general election public financing system, he may want to examine his own actions, according to Obama’s online defenders. Obama is already putting his privately funded war chest to work, airing an ad that has liberal bloggers dreaming of victories in red states and conservative bloggers crying foul. In Congress, Republicans have secured legislative victories over Iraq war funding and wiretaps, their blogging supporters eagerly note.

While McCain is attacking Obama for going back on his pledge to take public funding, the Republican is the one who has broken campaign finance law by unilaterally opting out of the primary public funding system, writes Josh Marshall at TalkingPointsMemo. McCain once praised the private, small-donor fundraising model that Obama will rely on, back when former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D-Vt.) pioneered it in 2004, notes Daily Kos’s DHinMI.

Obama’s first general election ad is airing in a slew of red states, including Georgia, Montana and North Dakota, showing that the Democrats will be on the offensive this year, writes kos. By contesting Georgia, where McCain barely leads Obama, 44 percent to 43 percent in the latest poll, Obama will force the Republican to defend a state he must win and thereby increase his chances of winning overall, writes MyDD’s Jonathan Singer. But Obama, in his ad, “exaggerates” his accomplishments on welfare reform, middle-class tax cuts and healthcare for troops, according to Townhall’s Matt Lewis.

The Democrat-led House approved on Thursday the emergency war-spending bill that President Bush called for, something that should frustrate Code Pink and other liberal activists, notes Jeff Emanuel at RedState. The House compromise over the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act rewrite makes it too easy for telecom companies who participated in domestic wiretapping to get immunity from lawsuits, writes Matthew Yglesias. And now that two Florida freshmen in the House, Reps. Tim Mahoney and Ron Klein, have stated support for more offshore oil drilling restrictions, Republicans should go after them hard in November, according to RedState’s pilgrim.

FROM THE BLOGS:
McCain Breaking the Law in Plain Sight – Josh Marshall, TPM
McCain Backs Obama’s on Private Funds – DHinMI, Daily Kos
Bauer v. Potter: The Lawyers Spar – Marc Ambinder
McCain ‘Never Loved’ Country Before Capture – J. Marshall, TPM
The Early Obama Map – kos, Daily Kos
Georgia on My Mind – Jonathan Singer, MyDD
Obama Ad Exaggerates Accomplishments – Matt Lewis, Townhall
House Passes Bush Iraq War Funds Bill – J. Emanuel, RedState
Two Florida House Dems Ripe for Defeat – pilgrim, RedState
FISA Followup – Matthew Yglesias
Burned Again by Oil Companies – Texas Nate, MyDD
Debating Cap-and-Trade – Jim Manzi, The Corner
The 11 Moral Senators – Amanda Carpenter, Townhall
Generic Ballot Distress for House GOP – C. Cillizza, The Fix
McCain Reiterates ANWR Drilling Opposition – The Caucus
McCain Campaign Chief’s Ukraine Ties – S.C. Walls, HuffPo
Oppose Bush’s Lies: Send Money to Franken – P. Begala, HuffPo

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Surveillance Bill Offers Protection to Telecom Firms – WaPo
Obama, in Shift, Says He’ll Reject Public Financing – NYT
Obama’s Decision is Biggest Threat to Pub. Financing – NYT
Cheney Gets Last Laugh – The Hill