New RNC Ad: McCain For "Balance" On Energy, Obama "The Party Line"
Here's the Republican National Committee's new ad on energy policy, which is airing in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The ad pitches John McCain as a moderate who has a balanced approach to energy, while Barack Obama is depicted as a hardline Democrat who doesn't have a plan:

Pro-War Ad: Victory In Iraq Is "Change We Can Believe In"
Here's the new ad from Vets For Freedom, a pro-Iraq War group, declaring that gains in Iraq brought on by the surge are "change we can believe in," an obvious hit against Barack Obama's calls for withdrawal. The spot will air in Ohio, New Mexico and Virginia, with an initial ad buy of $1 million:

Neither Candidate On The Trail Today
Both presumptive nominees are taking the day off from the campaign trail. After a busy July 4 and more events on Saturday, Barack Obama is spending the day in Chicago with no public events. John McCain has been taking his Independence Day weekend off.

Obama: I'm "Puzzled" By Reaction To Iraq Comments
Barack Obama told reporters yesterday that his statement about refining his policy of withdrawing from Iraq was not in any way inconsistent with his previous statements. "I was a little puzzled by the frenzy that I set off with what I thought was a pretty innocuous statement," Obama said on a plane flight.

NYT: Dem Convention Planning Beset By Delays And Rising Costs
The New York Times has an interesting article on the planning of the Democratic convention -- profiling an organizational wreck that has gone over-budget and under-performed its fundraising goals. The DNC has since blasted out a statement from Howard Dean and convention CEO Leah Daughtry, disputing the article's characterizations: "In fact we are ahead of the game."

Hewitt Pushing Use Of Obama's Audiobook
Right-wing talker Hugh Hewitt has been promoting a new method of going after Barack Obama, which could find its way into third-party ads: Using clips from the audiobook of Dreams From My Father, in which the candidate himself narrates his youthful indiscretions and identity crises. "It turns out to be very jarring to many ears to hear Obama talking about his youthful adventures, his attitudes on race," Hewitt said.