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(CNN) — In the latest installment of CNN=Politics Daily, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama spar over McCain's accusation that Obama is playing the “race card." Dana Bash reports on McCain’s aggressive claim that Obama is using racial tactics on the campaign trail.

The Obama camp fights back with the launch of a new website. The presumptive Democratic nominee blasts McCain by accusing the Arizona senator of distracting voters from the issues and engaging in “low-road politics.” Suzanne Malveaux reports.

Meanwhile: American voters are in a bad mood. Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider takes a look at the latest polls that reveals voters are unhappy with how things are going in the country.

Energy policy is one of a handful of issues dominating political debate, but are the candidates really providing solutions to America’s growing energy crisis? Suzanne Malveaux has the story.

Finally: Pro-McCain or Anti-Obama? Mary Snow reports on how New York Democrats are defecting from their party and throwing their support behind McCain.

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The Obama campaign launched a new Web site Thursday.

(CNN) – A day after the Obama campaign released an advertisement entitled “Low Road,” the presumptive Democratic nominee’s camp is following up with the Web site “Low Road Express.”

The new site collects media coverage – editorials, fact check articles, and video clips — about the strategies and tactics of Sen. John McCain’s campaign in recent weeks.

The Republican National Committee recently launched two Web sites focused on Obama. On Wednesday, the RNC rolled out “Audacity Watch,” a Web site that collects together video clips of media coverage about Obama and an RSS feed of information from GOP.com. Earlier this week, the RNC also launched “BarackBook,” a site that parodies Facebook, a popular social networking Web site where Obama has amassed more than a million supporters.

The Obama and McCain campaigns have traded fire this week as McCain released an ad entitled “Celeb” that likened Obama’s public notoriety with that of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. The Obama campaign quickly responded with the “Low Road” advertisement.

UPDATE: McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds issued the following statement about the Obama campaign's "Low Road Express" Web site: “Barack Obama’s campaign created his global celebrity status — we are celebrating it and informing voters of his inexperience. If there’s a low road in this campaign, Obama’s campaign paved it when they launched the first negative attack ad in this election.”

Obama and McCain are sparring over the Paris-Britney ad.

(CNN) — The attacks and counter attacks in the presidential campaign are getting more personal.

Barack Obama today dismissed as "game playing" the McCain campaign's new attack ad comparing Obama's celebrity to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. At a town hall rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Obama taunted McCain, "I do have to ask my opponent: Is that the best you can come up with?"

When the subject came up at a McCain town hall rally in Racine, Wisconsin, McCain told a questioner, "We're proud of that commercial," and added, "campaigns are tough."

WATCH: Viewers react to McCain's "Celeb" ad

But Obama told the Iowa crowd: "Given the seriousness of the issues; given the fact that the decisions we make right now are going to help determine the future not just of the next generation but perhaps generations after that; given the magnitude of our challenges when it comes to energy and health care and jobs and our foreign policy; you'd think we'd been having a serious debate. But so far all we've been hearing about is Paris Hilton and Britney Spears."

For more on the the latest political news, tune into Campbell Brown: Election Center tonight at 8 pm ET.

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McCain talked with CNN's John King Thursday.

(CNN) — John McCain told CNN Thursday it is fair for his campaign manager to claim Barack Obama is playing 'the race card.'

Watch McCain: Obama's playing the race card

"I'm sorry to say that it is. It's legitimate," McCain told CNN's John King. "And there's no place in this campaign for that. There's no place for it and we shouldn't be doing it."

Earlier Thursday, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis lashed out at the Democratic presidential candidate over his comments that Republicans are making an issue of his race.

"Barack Obama has played the race card, and he played it from the bottom of the deck. It's divisive, negative, shameful and wrong," Davis said in a statement sent to reporters.

An Obama spokesman immediately denied the assertion, but noted that the presumptive Democratic nominee believes that the McCain campaign was “using the same old low-road politics to distract voters from the real issues.”

At three stops in the battleground state of Missouri, Obama told audiences that his opponent is trying to make voters “scared” of him because he doesn’t look like past presidents – an apparent reference to being black — and has a “funny name.”

A new poll Thursday finds 76 percent of Americans are not happy with how things are going in the country.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A new poll out Thursday indicates that less than quarter of Americans think things are going well in the country.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. Poll showed that only 24 percent have a positive outlook for the country, while 76 percent say things are on the wrong track.

That figure is the lowest number on record since 1980, and the third time in four decades that the number has dropped so low.

Recent CNN/Opinion Research Corp. polling has shown a steady drop in the country's mood. In April 2007, 51 percent said things in the country were going badly. A year later, 70 percent felt that way.

"Only three events — Watergate, the Iran hostage crisis, and the economic downturn of 1992 — have driven below 30 percent the number who think things are going well," CNN's polling director Keating Holland said. The mood of the country has been assessed since 1974.

The poll sampled 1,041 adult Americans by telephone on July 27-29, 2008. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The McCain campaign says Obama is 'playing the race card.'

WASHINGTON (CNN) – John McCain’s campaign manager charged Thursday that Barack Obama falsely accused the McCain campaign of injecting race into the presidential contest.

"Barack Obama has played the race card, and he played it from the bottom of the deck. It's divisive, negative, shameful and wrong," McCain campaign manger Rick Davis said in a prepared statement sent to reporters one day after Obama alluded to his own race during several stops in Missouri.

An Obama spokesman immediately denied the assertion, but noted that the presumptive Democratic nominee believes that the McCain campaign was “using the same old low-road politics to distract voters from the real issues.”

“This is a race about big challenges — a slumping economy, a broken foreign policy, and an energy crisis for everyone but the oil companies,” Obama spokesman Bill Burton said. “Barack Obama in no way believes that the McCain campaign is using race as an issue, but he does believe they’re using the same old low-road politics to distract voters from the real issues in this campaign, and those are the issues he’ll continue to talk about.”

At three stops in the battleground state of Missouri, Obama told audiences that his opponent is trying to make voters “scared” of him because he doesn’t look like past presidents – an apparent reference to being black — and has a “funny name.”

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Congress is about to go on a five week vacation.

Our Congress should be ashamed of itself.

Despite getting nothing done about the issues troubling millions of Americans – like energy costs, high gasoline prices, offshore drilling – Congress is going to take a month-long vacation starting tomorrow.

In the Senate, Republicans have been blocking any other legislation until they get a vote on drilling. And since the Democrats' prospects seem pretty good for November, they don't want to cave in to the Republicans' demands to vote on drilling now, months before a new administration and Congress. To hell with what the public needs or wants…how can we turn the oil drilling issue into a political advantage for ourselves?

To read more and contribute to the Cafferty File discussion click here

Stevens pleaded not guilty.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Indicted Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of scheming to conceal thousands of dollars worth of gifts from an oil-services company.

His lawyer requested that the trial be moved to Alaska from Washington, and that it take place before November because Stevens is up for re-election.

"I want to make a request if at all possible that the trial be in October so that he can clear his name before the general elections," said the attorney, Brendan Sullivan.

He proposed moving the trial to Alaska because a majority of the witnesses are there and the events in question took place there.

Judge Emmet Sullivan, who is not related to Stevens' attorney, said he thought Washington is an appropriate location for the trial but that he will entertain a motion to move it to Alaska.

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McCain has narrowed Obama's lead in three key states.

(CNN) — Barack Obama and John McCain are statistically tied in Florida and Ohio while Obama holds a clear advantage in Pennsylvania, new Quinnipiac polls out of those crucial battleground states Thursday show.

But in what could be a warning sign for Obama as voters begin to turn their attention to the general election race, Obama's lead appears to have dwindled, or barely remained steady, in all three states, even as the Democratic presidential candidate has enjoyed a wave of intense media coverage surrounding his trip abroad.

CNN Election Center: View the latest state polls

In Florida, Obama now holds a statistically insignificant 2-point lead over McCain, 46-44 percent. In a similar poll taken one month ago, Obama held a wider, and statistically significant, 47-43 percent advantage over the Arizona senator there. The difference appears to be a shift among independent voters, who now support McCain in Florida by a 5-point margin. In the June poll, Obama held the advantage among the same group of voters by a 10-percent advantage.

CNN's Electoral Map: Check out the lay of the land

In Ohio, the battleground state where a weak economy should give Democrats an advantage, Obama is ahead by a 2-point margin, 46-44 percent. That lead, also statistically insignificant, is down from the 6-point advantage the Illinois senator held there one month ago.

Obama's lead has also narrowed in Pennsylvania, though he still enjoys a clear edge there. Obama now leads McCain by a 7-point advantage, 49-42 percent, down from the 11 point advantage he had in June.

The poll was conducted from July 23-29, in the midst of Obama's trip abroad, and carries a margin of error of just under 3 points in each state.

Many Clinton backers feel the so-called 'dream ticket' is off the table.

(CNN) – The grassroots group "VoteBoth" announced Thursday it is abandoning its efforts to land Hillary Clinton on the bottom half of the Democratic presidential ticket, a sign even the New York senator's most ardent backers now believe she has little chance of being named Barack Obama's running mate.

Reacting to reports that Barack Obama has tapped Clinton to speak at the party's convention Tuesday night — as opposed to the Wednesday-night slot traditionally reserved for the vice presidential candidate — VoteBoth founders Adam Parkhomenko and Sam Arora said in a letter to supporters it no longer makes sense to press for the one-time presidential candidate to be Obama's No. 2.

"Senator Hillary Clinton is no longer under consideration as Senator Obama’s running mate," Parkhomenko and Arora wrote. "While we all were working toward a different result, ultimately we and Barack Obama are working for the same eventual outcome — getting ready to take back the White House and bring our country the change Americans deserve and so desperately need. There is nothing more important than that."

Watch: What happened to Hillary?

Parkhomenko and Arora, both of whom once worked for Clinton, say they amassed more than 40,000 supporters in the course of their campaign.

Watch: Clinton makes case for Obama

In Thursday's letter, both also stressed the importance of supporting Obama's presidential bid, even if Clinton is not a part of his ticket.

"To those who are hesitant to support Obama right now, we urge you to keep giving him the chance to earn your vote. We are confident he will," they wrote. "Because, when it comes down to it, even the most ardent Hillary-supporter must ask himself or herself, 'Do I want John McCain sending our soldiers off to more wars, giving Big Oil free rein to gouge us at the pump, and letting ideology overrule decisions that should be made on the basis of science and health?'"

Sen. Barack Obama says Sen. John McCain offers a continuation of failed policies.

(CNN) — Barack Obama is charging that rival John McCain doesn't have any new ideas and that's why the Arizona senator's campaign is focusing its energy on anti-Obama ads.

"You haven't heard a positive thing out of that campaign in a month. All they do is try to run me down," Obama said while campaigning Wednesday in Union, Missouri.

The accusation came the same day that the Obama campaign released an ad comparing McCain to President Bush, and the McCain campaign released one likening Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

"Since they don't have any new ideas, the only strategy they've got in this election is to try to scare you about me," Obama said.

Obama said McCain and Republicans are trying to paint him as a candidate who is "too risky."

"Basically what they're saying to you is, 'We know we didn't do a good job, but he's too risky.' Well let me tell you something. When we are in such dire straits economically, when our foreign policy has gotten so messed up, what's the bigger risk: choosing change, or choosing to do the same things that got us into this mess in the first place?"

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Workers clear debris during reconstruction along al-Mutanabi Street in central Baghdad, Iraq, in May.

(CNN) — When it comes to Iraq, Americans agree with both John McCain and Barack Obama.

According to a just-released CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, a majority agree with the Arizona senator's assertion that the troop surge policy in Iraq has been a success. But an even larger majority agree with Obama's plan to set a timetable for troop withdrawal.

The new survey shows 52 percent of Americans rate the surge as a success while 41 percent say it has been a failure. McCain has been sharply critical of Obama for not calling the policy, implemented in January 2007, an outright success. The Illinois senator has said he thinks the surge has improved conditions on the ground but would still have not supported it, instead favoring a "strategy that actually concludes our involvement in Iraq and moves Iraqis to take responsibility for the country."

More than 60 percent of Americans appear to agree with Obama on that front, while 37 percent agree with McCain and say it would not be wise for the U.S. to set a timetable for withdrawal.

There is also good news and bad news on Iraq: The number of Americans who say the U.S. is winning the war is on the rise, and is at its highest level in 2 1/2 years. Now 37 percent say the U.S. is winning the war — that number is five points higher than it was in March and nine points higher than it was at the end of last year.

But 57 percent still say neither side is winning and 6 percent say the insurgents are on top.

Meanwhile, 56 percent of Americans agree with the view that the number of troops in Afghanistan should be boosted as the number of troops in Iraq is reduced. That may be because more Americans support the war in Afghanistan, although most Americans oppose both wars — 46 percent favor the war in Afghanistan; just 33 percent support the war in Iraq.

Telegraph: US election: Senator Barack Obama faces backlash in American media
The increasingly presidential posture of the first-term Illinois senator and his campaign staff is beginning to stick in the throats of commentators, particularly given the narrowness of his lead over Senator John McCain.

Politico: Romney could lift McCain in West
As Republican presidential candidate John McCain weighs his running-mate options, political experts say Mitt Romney would energize fundraising and generate the most enthusiasm in the Rocky Mountain West.

WSJ: Revisions Haunt Debate on Recession
Hold your noses. It is time again to exhume the recession debate. The Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday offers its first reading of second-quarter gross domestic product, the U.S. economy's broadest measure. Economists think it grew at a 2.3% annualized pace, up from 1% in the first quarter.

LA Times: In Congress, no anti-corruption legislation in sight
Congress has been awash in corruption scandals, the latest being the indictment of long-serving Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, but prospects for legislation to make questionable practices like Stevens' alleged acceptance of gifts illegal in their own right appear grim.

CNN Radio: Obama and Paris and Britney, oh my!
So just what is a celebrity? Sen. John McCain’s campaign has a theory. Also, Sen. Ted Stevens tries to smile in a swarm of reporters and, in what is sure to be an awkward encounter, it seems that two former presidential candidates may be making up. Lisa Desjardins has today's CNN Radio Political Ticker.

NY Times: A New Generation of Republicans in Alaska
For the first time in four decades, politics in Alaska is a brand-new game for both Republicans and Democrats because of the indictment of Senator Ted Stevens, the state’s longtime Republican patriarch.
 

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* Sen. John McCain delivers the keynote speech at the National Urban League Annual Conference in Orlando, FL.

* Sen. Barack Obama is in Cedar Rapids, IA, where he meets with local flood victims and then holds an afternoon economic town hall meeting.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux has learned that Sen. Clinton will speak Tuesday night at the Democratic convention. Photo credit: Getty Images/File.

(CNN) — Sen. Hillary Clinton has agreed to speak on the second night of next month's Democratic convention, headlining on the 88th anniversary of the day women earned the right to vote, sources say.

Two sources close to Clinton said the former presidential candidate will speak August 26 with all female U.S. senators on stage with her.

"Tuesday night is Hillary night," said one supporter.

That night is the anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote.

A new Obama ad hits back at McCain.

(CNN) — Barack Obama's campaign launched a new television ad Wednesday night declaring John McCain has taken the "low road" over the course of the presidential campaign — a direct response to the Arizona senator's television spot released earlier in the day likening Obama to celebrities Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.

"He’s practicing the politics of the past," the ad's narrator says as headlines from various medial outlets stating McCain has gone negative flash across the screen.

"John McCain. Same old politics, same failed policies," the ad's narrator also says.

Earlier: McCain camp links Obama to big celebs

McCain's ad, released earlier Wednesday declares Obama "the biggest celebrity in the world," while flashing images of both Hilton and Spears.

"But is he ready to lead? With gas prices soaring, Barack Obama says no to offshore drilling and says he'll raise taxes on electricity. Higher taxes, more foreign oil — that's the real Obama," the ad's narrator says while crowds screaming, "Obama!" are shown.

The McCain ad is the latest in a string of hard-hitting television commercials from the McCain campaign. Earlier spots suggest Obama is playing politics with the Iraq war, is against funding American troops and bears some of the responsibility for high gas prices.

UPDATE: Tucker Bounds, spokesman for the McCain campaign, released the following statement in response to the Obama campaign's new "Low Road" ad: "Pointing out your opponent’s worldwide celebrity is not the ‘low road,' and neither is pointing out that he opposes oil drilling and supports higher taxes.”

CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from The Best Political Team.

(CNN) –The McCain campaign wants to know: do you want to elect “the biggest celebrity in the world?"

In the latest episode of CNN=Politics Daily, Dana Bash reports on John McCain’s new ad released Wednesday. You won’t believe who makes an appearance along with Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee.

There has been a lot of talk recently about Sen. Barack Obama’s vice presidential contenders, but Hillary Clinton seems to have faded from conversation. Suzanne Malveaux examines Clinton’s chance of making it onto Obama’s presidential ticket.

And Obama was well received abroad; how did he fair at home? Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider takes a look at a new poll that may have the answer.

Finally, Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens’ indictment may further damage the Republican Party in what is already a tough year for the GOP. Brian Todd investigates.

Click here to subscribe to CNN=Politics Daily.

The Obama campaign is criticizing Ludacris' new song.

(CNN) – Barack Obama's campaign sharply condemned rapper Ludacris Wednesday over his new song celebrating the Illinois senator's presidential bid while referring to Hillary Clinton by an offensive remark.

The song, called "Politics: Obama Is Here," was released earlier in the day and refers to the New York senator as an "irrelevant b***h." Ludacris, whose real name is Chris Bridges, also takes aim at John McCain in the song, saying the Arizona senator "don't belong in ANY chair unless he's paralyzed."

The song, which largely celebrates the rise of Obama on the national political scene, also criticizes the Rev. Jesse Jackson and President Bush.

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton said Ludacris should be "ashamed of these lyrics."

"As Barack Obama has said many, many times in the past, rap lyrics today too often perpetuate misogyny, materialism, and degrading images that he doesn’t want his daughters or any children exposed to," Burton said. "This song is not only outrageously offensive to Senator Clinton, Reverend Jackson, Senator McCain, and President Bush, it is offensive to all of us who are trying to raise our children with the values we hold dear. While Ludacris is a talented individual he should be ashamed of these lyrics."

Obama has praised Ludacris in the past and the two men sat down privately in 2006 together to discuss ways to empower youth.

Obama criticized McCain's campaign tactics.

ROLLA, Missouri (CNN) — In the wake of John McCain’s new ad that paints Barack Obama as a global celebrity on par with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, Obama told supporters at a rally Wednesday, “don’t let the other side scare you,” and said McCain is attacking him because Republicans know they don’t have the answers.

“He’s spending an awful lot of time talking about me. You notice that?” Obama asked a crowd of just over one thousand seated in a university gym. “I haven’t seen an ad yet where he talks about what he’s going to do. And the reason is because those folks know they don’t have any good answers, they know they’ve had their turn over the last eight years and made a mess of things."

“They know that you’re not real happy with them and so the only way they figure they’re going to win this election is if they make you scared of me,” Obama continued, repeating an attack from earlier in the day. “What they’re saying is ‘Well, we know we’re not very good but you can’t risk electing Obama. You know, he’s new, he doesn’t look like the other presidents on the currency, he’s a got a funny name.’”

Obama was more serious with a pool reporter at a diner stop on the way to Rolla when asked about McCain’s new ad, saying, “You need to ask John McCain what he’s for and not just what he’s against."

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds responded in an e-mail to reporters entitled “Baseless.”

“This is a typically superfluous response from Barack Obama. Like most celebrities, he reacts to fair criticism with a mix of fussiness and hysteria,” wrote Bounds. “Barack Obama’s plans to raise taxes on energy and opposition to offshore drilling show that he fundamentally lacks judgment and experience, and is not ready to lead.”

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