The Pastor Returns

It always comes back to her, doesn't it?

TPM's Josh Marshall is also troubled by the differing narratives:

"Right now McCain is enjoying his post-nomination-clinching honeymoon. He's also got the field completely clear. No one's out there whacking him everyday, which means the press has no McCain-whacking stories to churn through.

"On the other hand, the Democrats are beating each other senseless. They daily hit on each others' weaknesses, which not only airs their dirty laundry, and gets the press to talk about it. It also breeds resentment between the supporters of the Democratic candidates, thus pushing up the number Democrats saying they're unwilling to vote for the possible nominee. Put that all together and John McCain is enjoying the most favorable environment he's going to get right now and the Democrat (whoever is the nominee) is probably suffering the worst. And with all that, the race appears to be essentially tied.

"I don't want to be Polyannish. With all the terrible news Republicans are getting these days and with an incumbent Republican president who is now more unpopular than any president in modern history, the fact that the Republicans have a nominee who is very much in the race is little short of astounding and very disheartening for any Democrat."

McCain got some good television footage from NOLA yesterday:

"Senator John McCain took direct aim at the Bush administration on Thursday as he stood in the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, the area hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and declared that 'never again will a disaster of this nature be handled in the terrible and disgraceful way that it was handled.' . . .

"Asked at an outdoor news conference if he traced the failure of leadership straight to the top," the New York Times reports, "Mr. McCain, who has vowed to campaign with President Bush, said, emphatically, 'yes.' "

Maybe he should call it the Bush-distancing tour.

Wondering how the GOP will go after Obama? You don't have to wait to find out:

"As they promote their candidates and try to pave the way for GOP victories this year," says the L.A. Times, "Republicans have begun making their case to voters in advertisements featuring a new star: Barack Obama.

"In North Carolina, a TV ad shows Obama's former pastor making racially charged comments. An Internet ad attacks a Pennsylvania congressman for endorsing Obama's presidential bid. A New Mexico radio ad says Obama disrespects 'the American way of life.'