MORNING READ

Campaigns for the White House and the House of Representatives dominate blog discussion on Tuesday.

Pundits continue to weigh in on Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s media offensive, in which the minister defends some of the controversial comments that have dogged Barack Obama’s campaign. If Obama goes on to lose the presidential race, political observers will say that his downfall was helped brought about by the past few days, writes Dana Milbank at his new blog, Rough Sketch. Milbank also posts a video of Wright at the National Press Club entitled “How To Destroy Your Parishioner’s Presidential Campaign.” Peter Wehner at The Corner adds that Obama won’t be able to easily disassociated himself with Wright’s latest remarks, since he himself has said that he can’t “disown” Wright just as he couldn’t disown the black community.

Liberal bloggers, unsurprisingly, focus their fire on John McCain. Sam Stein at The Huffington Post unearths McCain’s January 2005 statements about a U.S. troop presence in Iraq that don’t mesh with his current comments. While McCain talks about a long-term presence now, he was against it back then, Stein writes. Josh Marshall at TalkingPointsMemo calls on Democrats, now running an ad about McCain’s “100 years in Iraq” statement, not to let the media give McCain and his allies get special treatment in defending his remark.

Critics of Hillary Clinton haven’t let up, either. Allahpundit at Hot Air and Mary Katharine Ham at Townhall.com both note The Hill’s story about Clinton’s requests for $2.3 billion in earmarks for next fiscal year. That’s almost triple the amount that any other single senator had received this year. Obama and McCain have requested no earmarks this year.

And bloggers on both sides take a look at hot House races. RedState’s Erick Erickson wants Greg Davis, the GOP candidate in an upcoming Mississippi special election, to focus on his Democratic opponent’s failure to denounce the statements of Obama’s former minister. Erickson urges other Republican House hopefuls to do the same. The Corner’s David Freddoso writes that Woody Jenkins, the Republican running in Louisiana, is in trouble against Democrat Don Cazayoux, even though he’s running in a conservative district and looking to succeed a conservative congressman. Cazayoux has done well in polls and in fundraising, and he has received the support of unions and national Democrats. And brownsox at Daily Kos remains optimistic about Democrats’ chances of taking over the Nevada swing district now represented by Rep. Jon Porter (R). The blogger notes that though the Democrats’ initial candidate dropped out, the party’s House and presidential candidates are poised to do well in the Silver State this November

FROM THE BLOGS:
Wright’s Voice Could Spell Doom – D. Milbank, Rough Sketch
Joined At The Hip – Peter Wehner, The Corner
The Media Roll Over For Wright – John McCormack, Weekly Standard
McCain in ’05: ‘Bring Them All Home’ – Sam Stein, Huffington Post
McCain & Media: Hook, Line and Sinker – Josh Marshall, TPM
Paging Greg Davis and GOP Candidates – Erick Erickson, RedState
Red Stick Rumble – David Freddoso, The Corner
NV-03: Daskas Drops Out, Titus Steps In – brownsox, Daily Kos
Gas Tax Holiday: Not Great Idea – Karen Tumulty, Swampland
On ‘Barack Vs. Bill’ – David Greenberg, The Plank
The GOP Generational Time Bomb – Marc Ambinder
Hillary Requests $2.3 Billion in Earmarks – Allahpundit, Hot Air
McAuliffe Adopts June 15 Deadline? – DHinMI, Daily Kos

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
In 6-3 Vote, Justices Uphold Voter ID Law – New York Times
Clinton: $2.3B In Earmarks – The Hill
Rev. Repeats Comments, Obama Tries To Quiet Fray – Wash. Post
Democrats Divided Over Gas Tax Break – New York Times