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  • Early concern from Republican strategists and organizers over the ability of McCain’s campaign to find its operating niche and present a solid message against Obama has turned into near-panic as July comes along and McCain is still seen as lacking a core message for the race and even a general “game plan” for the rest of the campaign. Not tapping into the GOP’s usual deep-pocketed donor list also has some worried that summer cash flow will be a problem. Simply put, GOP insiders view McCain’s campaign as an organizational disaster who will only pull out a November win based on luck and outside circumstances. - “McCain’s campaign seems not to have a game plan. I don’t see a consistent message,” said Ed Rollins, a veteran of Republican presidential campaigns. “As someone who has run campaigns, this campaign is not running smoothly. But none of this matters if they get their act together.”
    • McCain landed in Colombia overnight our time and has already launched into a vigorous defense of his pro-free trade stance - and blasted Obama for “protectionist” ideology and not “cutting loose” Wes Clark from the campaign surrogate list. But NAFTA and free trade are the hot topics for McCain on his South American jaunt, as he tries to balance scathing criticism of Obama with overseas decorum; tries to balance support of free trade with the reality that it has irreparably hurt the people and economies of battleground states he needs to win in November. McCain admitted as much in a morning interview on ABC, where he said that “Americans are hurting very badly” in the current economic conditions. Yet he’s still touting free trade in Colombia.
    • More bad news for McCain on the free trade front. A new CNN poll shows a majority of Americans - 51% - think free trade has hurt the U.S. economy and is a dangerous policy. This is up by 15-points since 2000.
    • Joe Lieberman’s vocal and seemingly incessant stumping for McCain has pushed his Veep stock way up - but has killed him back home in Connecticut and in favorable ratings nationwide as folks begin to question his personal integrity. Lieberman had always been a popular figure in CT, but new polls have those numbers around a 50-50 split since he endorsed McCain. Similar national numbers mean Lieberman is about as unlikely a VP pick for McCain as there can be.
    • The Washington Post reports today details of a potentially sketchy loan deal Barack Obama received immediately after joining the U.S. Senate. Initial reports seem to paint the deal as basically harmless, but it’s worth watching to see if this thing blows up further or festers as a mark against Obama.  - Shortly after joining the U.S. Senate and while enjoying a surge in income, Barack Obama bought a $1.65 million restored Georgian mansion in an upscale Chicago neighborhood. To finance the purchase, he secured a $1.32 million loan from Northern Trust in Illinois. The freshman Democratic senator received a discount. He locked in an interest rate of 5.625 percent on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, below the average for such loans at the time in Chicago. The loan was unusually large, known in banker lingo as a “super super jumbo.” Obama paid no origination fee or discount points, as some consumers do to reduce their interest rates.
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