Morning Road Map

by Michelle Levi and Steve Chaggaris

McCain will address the NAACP's Annual Conference in Cincinnati at 12:30pm where he'll focus on education and acknowledge that he needs the NAACP's support even if he is not their candidate. "I am a candidate for president who seeks your vote and hopes to earn it. But whether or not I win your support, I need your goodwill and counsel. And should I succeed, I'll need it all the more," he's expected to say, according to prepared remarks released by his campaign. Later today, he'll attend a closed fund-raiser in Ashland, Neb.

Obama attends what the campaign is billing as a "Summit on Confronting 21st Century Threats" in West Lafayette, Ind., at 1pm ET. He will be joined by potential running mates Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga.

IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN
Last night, McCain told reporters that "we know how to win in Afghanistan" but argued that corruption is rampant in the Afghan government and that he has little confidence in President Hamid Karzai during a press conference on his campaign bus. "Karzai has not been effective," he said. "Karzai has not been as strong a leader as we hoped he would be."

Boston Globe, "Candidates want Afghan buildup -- Obama, McCain remain at odds on Iraq front"

NY Times, "Obama and McCain Duel Over Foreign Policy"

Washington Post, "Candidates Find Some Accord on Afghanistan"

LA Times, "Obama stands by timetable for Iraq"

NY Daily News' Goodwin, "Barack Obama's plan ignores the facts": "He can't bring himself to acknowledge how the successful surge of our troops has altered the dynamics in Iraq and that he was wrong to oppose it. He went further than usual in citing 'the gains of the surge,' but still won't factor those gains into his commitment to withdraw combat troops over 16 months. When he says, 'I stand by my pledges to end the war,' he might as well add, 'The facts be damned.'"

Washington Times, "Obama, McCain clash on Iraq strategy"

LA Times, "Obama website's opposition to successful surge gets deleted"

CBS NEWS/NY TIMES POLL
CBSNews.com, "Obama Leads, But Race Fluid, Democrat Holds Six Point Lead Over McCain"

NY Times, "Poll Finds Obama Candidacy Isn't Closing Divide on Race"

OBAMA'S FOREIGN TRIP
The Hill, "GOPers blast Obama ahead of his Iraq-Afghanistan trip"

LA Times, "Europe awaits Obama with open arms"

VEEPSTAKES
CBSNews.com's Scott Conroy, "Will Romney's Combative Style Net VP Nod?"

Washington Times, "Small business picks VP favorites"

Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "Pawlenty raising bundles of cash for McCain"

CAMPAIGN FUND-RAISING
USA Today, "McCain uses 'bundler' money more than Obama campaign"

NY Times, "McCain Names More Top Fund-Raisers, Including Lobbyists": "Senator John McCain released an updated list of his top money collectors on Tuesday, revealing that nearly a fifth of those who have brought in the largest amounts for him, more than $500,000 each, are lobbyists or work for firms that engage in lobbying."

Politico, "John McCain: The return of the reformer": "After a primary in which John McCain sought to avoid talking about his fight to reduce the role of money in politics — an issue that put him at odds with many GOP activists — the Arizona senator is once again embracing his campaign finance reform credentials. It's a central part of McCain's political identity, the genesis of his national profile as a reformer, a fact highlighted by the attacks he endured during the nomination fight over the sweeping 2002 campaign finance overhaul that bears his name. Many Republican activists and small-government conservatives revile the McCain-Feingold reforms as the epitome of big government infringement on free speech, and as a result they remain leery of McCain today. But the McCain campaign believes that by carrying the reform mantle in the general election, he will appeal to independent voters — and potentially undercut presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama's change theme."

ELECTORAL MAP
Bloomberg News, "Obama Steers Clear of Michigan Muslims He May Need to Win State": "Most experts don't expect Republican presidential nominee John McCain to carry the Muslim vote, though they said Obama's failure to build bridges could depress turnout or boost support for potential third-party candidate Ralph Nader, who is of Lebanese descent."

Boston Globe, "Democrats' bus heads South to sign up new voters"

ALSO:
Obama told CNN's Larry King last night that the New Yorker Magazine's use of Muslim imagery to satirize him and his wife was "unfortunate" because "there are wonderful Muslim Americans all across the country who are doing wonderful things. And for this to be used as sort of an insult, or to raise suspicions about me, I think is unfortunate. And it's not what America's all about." He admitted that "in attempting to satirize something, they probably fueled some misconceptions about me" though he added that "ultimately, it's a cartoon, it's not where the American people are spending a lot of their time thinking about."

Earlier on PBS' "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," Gwen Ifill pressed Obama on changing positions on campaign finance and FISA to which he acknowledged a "shift in emphasis" but urged her to compare them to McCain's shifts. "I think is a pretty hard case to make that somehow I've been shifting substantially relative to John McCain."

The Clinton Foundation announced that former President Clinton will deliver a "major" announcement on Thursday from his Harlem office at 12:45pm ET.

NY Times, "Facing Criticism, McCain Clarifies His Statement on Gay Adoption"

Wall Street Journal, "Obama Faces Tough Choice as Democrats Split on Abortion"

NY Times, "Obama Plays a Part in Contests in Georgia"