So John McCain is being bashed for his mendacious ad about Obama not visiting the troops because he could not bring cameras. Whoop dee doo. The problem is for three days that ad got run on free media. Dirty politics works and McCain has now shown who will go as far down in the gutter as it takes.

And why not? Dirty politics works. The Gallup tracker now has a once 9 point gap Obama held down to 4. Rassmussen has its Obama 7 point gap down to 2. Three guesses how that happened.

Keep waiting for the "new" politics and see where it gets you. Here is where Obama has lost his way - not in the positive side of his campaign, that's worked well. It is in his negative branding, or lack there of. When is the last time you have heard the Obama campaign use the words Bush and McCain together? This ain't rocket science. If the Obama campaign is not saying "Bush's third term" half the day, it is not doing its job. That's politics folks. Wishing won't make it not so.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Via the ACLU (link will be up here shortly):

In a brief filed late yesterday with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), the Bush administration asked that any review of the new warrantless surveillance law be kept secret and that the court refuse to accept legal briefs from anyone other than the Justice Department itself. The government is responding to a motion the American Civil Liberties Union filed earlier this month asking the FISC to ensure that any proceedings relating to the scope, meaning or constitutionality of the FISA Amendments Act (FAA) be open to the public to the extent possible.

As to the lack of transparency the Bush Administration is seeking, the ACLU says: [More...}

The House Judiciary Committee today voted to hold Karl Rove in contempt for failing to comply with its subpoena. Here's Rep. John Conyers report (pdf) to the Committee. Marcy at Empty Wheel has analysis.

Trapper John has an interesting post on how Barack Obama MIGHT be approaching his VP choice. Trapper's bottom line? Obama will choose the "do no harm" option. I suspect that is the thinking in the Obama camp and likely the McCain camp (though clearly McCain will be more likely to take a risk for some upside). Here's the problem I see with Trapper's analysis - it is impossible for any choice to not do some harm.

I know they do not like to hear this at daily kos, but the day Obama announces his VP and it is not Hillary Clinton, that will cause Obama harm. It may be unfair, it may be wrong, but it is a fact. (My own view is that picking Hillary Clinton clearly remains the best choice for Obama, both on the positive and negative side. Clinton's supporters will be energized, her fundraisers will work their heart out, the Clinton brand will help with voters on the issue of the economy, she has become a first rate campaigner, etc. But he will not pick her for reasons only Obama can and will have to explain.)

More . . .

The Nation's Chris Hayes's article on Move On has sparked a healthy debate on what exactly Move On is doing and whether it is effective. John Stauber critiques:

[Move On is] an important organization that is tremendously successful as a fundraiser, cheerleader and marketer for liberal Democratic causes, MoveOn. I have praise for MoveOn in what they have accomplished, but their limitations are becoming more and more glaring and in the case of the continued Democratic funding of the war in Iraq, problematic.

I criticize MoveOn for what they are not doing, and that is empowering a bottom-up, democratic, progressive movement for fundamental social and political change. I am certainly not trying to reform MoveOn, that would be impossible because they are a tightly controlled organization and there is no access from the outside to change their modus operandi. Rather, I think we all should learn from MoveOn and focus on how we can use the MoveOn style, which has now been copied by thousands of groups and candidates, to actually empower a movement.

Matt Stoller defends Move On:

Use your website or social networking page to take a stand for human rights. Sign up to be a part of Amnesty International's day of protest tomorrow against internet censorship in China.

Stand up against Internet censorship in China by registering your page as part of the online the Day of Protest. On the 10 day countdown to the Beijing Olympics (July 30), we will demonstrate our solidarity with netizens in China and strengthen our call on major internet companies to uphold human rights through ‘occupying’ as many online spaces as possible.

More...

Sen. Hillary Clinton is having a contest. For a $5.00 contribution to help her retire her campaign debt, you will be entered. The winner gets dinner with Hillary.

If you are a Democrat or were a Hillary supporter during the primaries, I hope you'll help her out.

I was in court and missed all the news today. Our last open thread is full, so here's another one.

The song: This is an update on my Friday night post: He's free. I'll be back in a little bit after I'm all caught up -- especially with Sen. Ted Stevens' Indictment. What else happened?

The game fixing ex-NBA ref Tim Donaghy was sentenced to 15 months today in federal court in Brooklyn:

Tim Donaghy, the former N.B.A. referee who admitted to betting on games he officiated, was sentenced on Tuesday to 15 months in prison. The sentence delivered by Judge Carol Amon of the United States District Court in Brooklyn was significantly shorter than the 24 to 30 months suggested by federal guidelines. Judge Amon said she wanted to recognize Donaghy’s cooperation, which led to the guilty pleas of two co-defendants, James Battista and Thomas Martino.

. . . “Mr. Donaghy was a central figure in the scheme, and without him, there would have been no scheme,” Judge Amon said. But, she added, “The defendant deserves to receive a benefit for his cooperation, and there is no doubt in this case that he provided substantial cooperation and he should receive a benefit.”

About that cooperation . . .

The Indictment (PDF)

Sen. Ted Stevens from Alaska, the longest serving U.S. Republican senator ever, was indicted on seven counts related to his holding of public office, a federal law enforcement official said Tuesday. The U.S. Justice Department has scheduled a news conference for 1:20 p.m. to make an announcement "regarding a significant criminal matter." The official said the news conference would announce the criminal charges against Stevens that have been returned by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C.

More from the NYTimes:

Mr. Stevens, 84, was indicted on seven counts of falsely reporting income. The charges are related to renovations on his home and to gifts he has received. They arise from an investigation that has been under way for more than a year, in connection with the senator’s relationship with a businessman who oversaw the home-remodeling project.

More . . .

Your turn.

Glenn Greenwald and Ed Kilgore debate the virtues of challenging incumbent Democrats, or as Ed puts it, "settling scores." I think a more basic problem needs to be addressed first, the bizarre penchant of the Netroots to concentrate its resources on electing Dems like Travis Childers and Heath Shuler. Now I have nothing against either of these Dems - they represent the views of their particular districts. My problem is with a so called Progressive Netroots wasting its resources working to elect candidates who basically disagree with their view of what the Democratic Party should be.

I guess, in a way, this puts me in the Kilgore camp, of not being for "score settling" against Dems like Shuler, Childers, Ben Nelson, Gene Taylor and the like. I am for getting "better" Dems in districts that will support better Dems. More . . .