Crikey

Obama’s sold out on offshore drilling and McCain lied about supporting the Martin Luther King holiday. Who can you trust?

Obama sells out on offshore drilling - Obama now says he would be willing to open Florida’s coast for more drilling as part of a “comprehensive energy policy that can bring down gas prices.” And what’s even worse than the shift itself — yes, sometimes compromise is necessary — is the ridiculous claim that it will bring gas prices down. It’s never necessary to say something you know isn’t true.” — Slate

McCain lied about his support for Martin Luther King public holiday - John McCain’s been pinged for lying over a recent statement that he was proud of “fighting for the recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday in my state” when in fact he voted to abolish the holiday. “He’s tried to back pedal that this was some youthful ignorance on his part, but he was 48 years old when he voted against the MLK holiday.” — Crooks and Liars

Cantor on McCain’s VP list - As the VP race hots up, Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor is being vetted as a potential running mate by John McCain. He’s been appearing frequently on cable news outlets chiefly to promote McCain’s positions on domestic and economic issues and has been a forceful critic of Barack Obama’s resistance to lifting the federal ban on oil and gas drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. — ABC News

Salter and McCain’s anti-Obama campaign - It’s always a very dangerous thing when one of your closest aides shares and reinforces your worst defects. If the TNR piece is accurate, then [Key McCain advisor Mark] Salter shares and reinforces many of McCain’s. — Obsidian Wings

VP pick may chafe Hillary supporters - About one in five voters who supported Hillary Clinton in the primaries tell pollsters that they are not voting for Obama, according to a mid-July Quinnipiac University national poll of likely voters — a number that’s only slightly lower than when Clinton dropped out and the conventional wisdom had it that support would coalesce around the presumptive nominee after a brief cooling-off period. — Politico

The role of Rove - The McCain strategy Is vintage Karl Rove, the media loves it, and the Obama camp is not taking it seriously enough. — Huffington Post

The Battle for a Country’s Soul - Seven years after al-Qaeda’s attacks on America, as the Bush administration slips into history, it is clear that what began on September 11, 2001, as a battle for America’s security became, and continues to be, a battle for the country’s soul. — The New York Review of Books