Republican nominee John McCain has dropped another Iraq clanger — so what will the media do with it? According to Jay Rosen in The Huffington Post, bloggers are declaring war on what they perceive as bias in the mainstream media towards McCain. So is there a hero worship problem in the male dominated press corp towards the ex military hero or has it all been blown out of proportion?

Another Iraq flub by McCain?: Yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said he was “surprised” by violent clashes between central Iraqi government and militias connected to Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr last week in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. “Maliki decided to take on this operation without consulting the Americans,” McCain told reporters on his campaign bus. As MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann noted last night, at the same time McCain expressed surprise about the developments in Basra, he also got basic facts wrong about the ceasefire that halted the violence on Sunday. McCain claimed that “it was Sadr who asked for the ceasefire,” not Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Malki… — ThinkProgress

Bloggers declare war on McCain bias: Digby is right to emphasize how much it’s a guy thing between McCain and the press. “Because of his POW history and his savvy manipulation of their hero worship, they have imputed the character of the young man of integrity who stood steadfastly by his fellow prisoners forty years ago to the older sleazy, self-serving, intellectually lazy politician he became.” Something like that did happen. But I don’t it’s right to see this relationship — which is deeply neurotic — as a fixed thing. It’s more in motion, and about to come under a lot of stress, some of it from within journalists themselves. We’re in a dynamic situation. And one of the biggest unknowns is: will Obama match McCain in radical openness with the press? — Jay Rosen, The Huffington Post

Why I endorsed Obama: More than anything, to repair the damage done at home and abroad, we must unite as a country. I endorsed Sen. Obama because I believe he has the judgment, temperament and background to bridge our divisions as a nation and make America strong at home and respected in the world again. This was a difficult, even painful, decision. My affection and respect for the Clintons run deep. I do indeed owe President Clinton for the extraordinary opportunities he gave me to serve him and this country. And nobody worked harder for him or served him more loyally, during some very difficult times, than I did. — Bill Richardson, The Washington Post

Obama is the one: I am a supporter of Obama because I believe he is the right person to lead the country at this time. He offers a rare opportunity for the country and the world to start over, and to do better. It is a deep sadness to me that many of my feminist white women friends cannot see him. Cannot see what he carries in his being. Cannot hear the fresh choices toward Movement he offers. That they can believe that millions of Americans –black, white, yellow, red and brown – choose Obama over Clinton only because he is a man, and black, feels tragic to me. — Alice Walker, The Root

Be cool, people: Chill out. More specifically: “We’re going to win this election if we just chill out and let everybody have their say.” Thus, Bill Clinton’s advice to Democrats who are gnashing their collective teeth over whether the extended struggle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will cause their party to lose an election it once seemed certain to win. One person who took Clinton’s advice was Obama, who went out of his way last weekend to defend his opponent’s right to stay in the contest. — E.J Dionne Jr, The Washington Post