ABC/WaPo poll:

Obama maintains a narrow, six-point edge over McCain among registered voters. Among those most likely to vote, 49 percent back Obama and 45 percent back McCain.

Curiously, WaPo shows a narrowing from the previous RV result but a slight increase in its LV result. It all amounts to no change really. But the changes in the RV result track with two key indicators - President Bush's approval rating, which ticked up 2 (from 28 to 30) and the right track/wrong track result (right track went up from 14 to 19).

The other curious result here is this - "Obama's overall lead in the new poll is attributable in large measure to a nearly 20-point advantage among female voters. He trails McCain by nine points among men." This does not translate for me. Women are likelier voters than men. this should translate into a 6 point LV lead for Obama. the only explanation I can see is that Obama does not have as big a lead among the likeliest women voters (older womnen). More . . .

Dateline Denver, 1:00 am: Anita and I just returned from a party hosted by Salon.com at a very beautiful townhouse they rented for the convention.

We had a terrific time. How was it different than past convention parties? There was much more mingling of Mainstream Media with bloggers, and not only did the MSM attendees know each and every blog, they read us and, if I can be Sally Field for the moment, they like us!

It was great to see Duncan Black (aka Atrios of Eschaton), Jane of Firedoglake, Glenn Greenwald, John Amato of Crooks and Liars, Taylor Marsh to name just a few.

I had a great time talking to Jeffrey Toobin, and we reminisced about the time in 2003 when I took him to dinner at a Vegan restaurant in San Francisco with Markos of Daily Kos and his wife Elisa. Back then, Jeffrey was trying to figure out what a blog was. Now, he's reading all of us on that laptop as he's sitting on the set providing his commentary. [More...]

Overnight Open Thread.

Immigration Judges appointed during the Bush years have been justly criticized by federal judges and TalkLeft for writing opinions that, to put it nicely, don't make much sense. Monica Goodling and Kyle Sampson chose IJ's for their loyalty to George Bush and Jesus, not for their understanding of immigration law or due process.

Federal appellate courts must be getting fed up with decisions from IJ's that ignore evidence, that fail to apply or even acknowledge the controlling legal standard, that are absent of legal reasoning. Reversals of immigation decisions are common, particularly when IJ's reject requests for political asylum.

According to an analysis by The New York Times, IJ's who were vetted by the Justice Department during the Goodling/Sampson years disproportionately reject asylum applications. [more ...]

Provided by Frank Rich:

What Obama also should have learned by now is that the press is not his friend.

Of course, Rich is so for Obama, that he hurts him like this:

So while Obama can continue to try to reassure resistant Clinton loyalists in Appalachia that he’s not a bogeyman from Madrassaland . . .

Relatedly, Todd Beeton provides an interesting anecdote from Denver:

On my shuttle to the hotel, I encountered a storm of another kind: an Obama delegate from Illinois and a Clinton delegate from Massachusetts. When she said she was a Hillary delegate, the Obama delegate said facetiously: "Oh they're letting you in here, are they?" She retorted (in a friendly but stern way): "That's what's wrong with Obama folks. You're not reaching out to the Hillary people." It was the second time in as many days that I'd heard the same complaint from a Hillary supporter.

It is this arrogance that could sink Obama's campaign. Obama's supporters I find are his worst enemies now.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

I hate to rain on the parade, but when MSNBC has as its primary news anchor the most biased and ridiculous person in journalism, it ill behooves Left blogs, who fawn all over Olbermann, to complain when Ron Fournier, does what he always does, editorialize the news. ESPECIALLY when he does it in piece labelled as an opinion piece.

As Bob Somerby ably argues, Barack Obama is the Media's choice for this election, and thanks for that. I am happy about it. Indeed, I COUNTED ON IT when I supported him for the nomination. To play the victim now with the Media and Ron Fournier's OPINION piece proves once and for all, the Left blogs have become that which they purport to hate - mindless cheerleaders. Of course Fournier's behavior is reprehensible. But so is Keith Olbermann's and the entirety of NBC News. But no one demands Olbermann resign. It is silly to ask it of Ron Fournier now. But that is all we are now - hypocrites. Like, Paul Krugman, I see, understand and even applaud, the fact that Barack Obama played the silly games of politics regarding John McCain's houses. Politics is stupid. But I do not believe we need to play the same game with ourselves. At least I know I won't.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Yes, I've been brooding about our new VP candidate. The only people I've seen doing back flips over the Biden affair are Joe Biden and John McCain. A million unlikely voters got text messages at 3am with the "The VP Announcement!" Yeah!!! They opened their texts and saw...What? Joe Biden?  Oh. And went back to sleep.

If Joe Biden had his way all these years with the laws he's been writing, Hunter would have been in jail.[more...]

I've said all I can or want to say about the VP stuff.

I'm watching the Olympics now. And I can tell you what I am really thinking about - The Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii coming to The Swamp (Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the home of the Florida Fighting Gators) a week from today to learn a little bit more (Georgia gave them a demonstration in the Sugar Bowl last year) what SEC football is all about.

This is an Open Thread.

Tommy Chong, a TalkLeft favorite, had this to say to the Washington Post about Joe Biden:

"Check out the people you're voting for.... "For instance, Joseph Biden comes off as a liberal Democrat, but he's the one who authored the bill that put me in jail. He wrote the law against shipping drug paraphernalia through the mail - which could be anything from a pipe to a clip or cigarette papers."

[Hat tip to Celeb Stoner.]

Conservative reporter Stacy McCain, recalls Hunter S. Thompsons's words on McGovern's selection of Tom Eagleton from Fear and Loathing:

I am not going to live blog it but I may add some thoughts if something interesting happens. Here is a thread for you to share your thoughts on the Springfield appearance.

This is a thread about the Springfield appearance only so keep it on topic please.

3:10 pm EDT -Pretty typical event. Not particularly interesting or exciting. The event seems flat to me. Obama's intro is kind of weak to boot. Not great so far. Maybe when Biden gets his chance to praise Obama the excitement level will go up.

More...

Personally, I am not a fan of Joe Biden's policies, especially on foreign policy. But, the most important function of a Vice Presidential pick is to help the Presidential nominee win. Under that standard, given the Obama Rules (no Clinton or Clark), Biden was his best option.

Below, I criticize the rollout of Biden. But I do not criticize the choice from a political standpoint, given Obama's stubborn refusal to pick the person who would have helped him the most politically, Hillary Clinton.

Once the Not Hillary decision was made (and once Obama ran for the hills on McCain's Hanoi Hilton defense to everything), Joe Biden made the most sense. He does not help much, but he helps. And that is better than hurting - as a Bayh, Kaine or Sebelius would have done.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

It's getting busy around here. Jane of Firedoglake is on her way over, I'm going to give her a tour of downtown.

Anita Thompson and photographer Lynn Goldsmith (photo here) will be arriving late this afternoon. Anita and Lynn are staying with me for the Convention. Lynn, whose amazing rock and roll photographs are available in this book, will be photographing the convention for Corbis. (More on Anita and Lynn here.)

Anita will blog a bit for TalkLeft and also at her Owl Farm blog and at Huffington Post. And yes, we'll be toasting and quoting her late husband, Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, frequently.

More...