McCain and Obama are engaged in a war of words over the Republican candidate’s ad likening Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. So have we abandoned the detente of a few weeks ago?

The Race Card – Bluffing ’bout Bias? Really, the press corps should pay attention to Barack Obama’s sustained defense of his energy policies, which includes new language on John McCain’s ties to the oil industry. But we’re not: we’re writing about the flashpoint of the day, which is the McCain campaign’s contention that Obama is illegally playing the “race card,” of bluffing about bias. — The Atlantic

Obama’s faux “new politics” campaign. Or, more colourfully, “Obama jabs McCain from behind with pointy stick, hustles behind folds of mothers’s skirt to cry preemptively about reprisal”. — Red State

Audacity Watch. The Republican National Committee has launched the Barack Obama Audacity Watch website which links to news stories and videos showing Obama’s hubristic behaviour. — Tech President

The meaninglessness of political analogies. The best thing about the year in analogy is how diverse the comparisons have been. Almost simultaneously, Obama has been described as 2008’s version of 49-state winner Ronald Reagan as well as its incarnation of 49-state loser George McGovern — in fact, he’s been compared to every presidential candidate since World War II. — The New Republic [via Larvatus Prodeo]

Swing states and the VP choice. Most people vote based upon president, not the vice-presidential choice. The choice has far more downside risk from making a bad selection than the ability to help a candidate. — Liberal Values

Obama at the Western Wall. A prayer note that Barack Obama left in Jerusalem’s Western Wall was removed last Thursday and published in an Israeli newspaper. The newspaper that published the note, Maariv, came under sharp criticism for exposing a private prayer — but did it break the law? — Slate

Judge: White House Aides can be subpoenaed. A federal judge has ruled that President Bush’s top advisers are not immune from congressional subpoenas, a ruling hailed by Congressional Democrats. They swiftly announced that the Bush officials who have defied their subpoenas, including Bush’s former top adviser Karl Rove, must appear as part of a probe of whether the White House directed the firings of nine federal prosecutors. — Huffington Post