The Note: Serve Somebody

July 2, 2008 -- So let's get this straight:

One candidate is swiping a policy page from President Bush . . .

As well as a page from Karl Rove's playbook . . .

And is trying to swipe a Bush Cabinet secretary . . .

While The Wall Street Journal editorial page places him as the president's heir . . .

The president himself swipes one of that candidate's funkier moves . . .

(And the candidate is letting him have it.)

Hint -- it's the candidate who is currently in the United States of America.

And it's the candidate who right now might be sparking an interesting debate -- if only he could break through some surrogate silliness.

The inherent problem with the message-a-day campaign is that today's only registers if yesterday's story is closed. (And why, with Sen. John McCain stumping where the voters ain't, is he talking faith-patriotism-service, not jobs-gas prices-economy?)

In the meantime, Sen. Barack Obama is not quite getting past retired Gen. Wesley Clark's Sunday remarks -- and he can blame an aggressive McCain campaign, a stubborn Clark, another off-message surrogate -- plus his very own political instincts.

All of which combined to let McCain up the ante, just before landing in Colombia (when a political hit, by unwritten rule, would be verboten).

"I think it's up to Sen. Obama now to not only repudiate him, but to cut him loose," McCain told reporters in the airspace between Indianapolis, Ind., and Cartagena, Colombia.

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., may have made things worse for his advice for McCain to "calm down" about his military record: "Don't be standing up and uttering your political views and implying that all the people in the military support them, because they don't," Webb said on MSNBC.

(And why the hint of a shift on how strongly Obama is denouncing Clark? Doesn't this just keep the story alive a bit longer than he wants? Obama is right that it's not keeping Ohioans up at night -- but it is keeping a small group of Chicagoans awake past their bedtimes.)

Might the Clark story get one more turn? "Republicans sent e-mails to reporters suggesting new avenues of inquiry: Did Obama mislead the public when he said at Tuesday's news conference that the patriotism speech he gave the day before was not a response to the Clark dust-up?" Peter Nicholas writes in the Los Angeles Times. "If you care deeply about these matters, rest assured there's more to come."

This means more questions for Obama as he turns his focus to national service in a speech in Colorado Springs. Per the Obama campaign: "He will lay out his comprehensive national service agenda, which will create new opportunities for Americans to serve and direct that service to our most pressing national challenges."

And new questions for Obama's home loan, in are-you-sure-there's-a-there-a-there-there look at the mortgage deal he scored in 2005 (for the home with the Rezko-expanded yard).

"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," Joe Stephens writes in The Washington Post. "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. Compared with the average terms offered at the time in Chicago, Obama's rate could have saved him more than $300 per month."

Here's the whiff you're looking for (but it's not a very strong one): "The bottom line is, this was a business proposition for us," Northern Trust Vice President John O'Connell said. "Our business model is to service and pursue successful individuals, families and institutions."

And a new poll argues for the close race, not the early landslide: It's Obama 50, McCain 45 among registered voters -- "a statistical dead heat in the race for the White House," per CNN.

McCain, R-Ariz., took his new plane south of the border -- but he squeezed in some Clark digs and some trade comments before landing. "He called Mr. Obama 'a protectionist' and cast him as ignorant about economic forces in the United States," Elisabeth Bumiller and Simon Romero write in The New York Times.

In Cartagena: "In a 20-hour visit, Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, is seeking to use the city as a photogenic backdrop to score political points against Mr. Obama and to promote his foreign policy and national security credentials," Bumiller and Romero report.

"The visit to Colombia and then Mexico Wednesday was meant to send images back home of the Republican presidential candidate comfortable engaged in critical issues on the world stage," Laura Meckler writes in The Wall Street Journal. "He was also highlighting his support for the pending free-trade agreement with Colombia, which he says is needed to support a vital partner in the region."

This remains about optics more than optimal use of campaign time: The foreign trip's "value has been questioned by campaign strategists in both parties," Juliet Eilperin and Michael Shear write in The Washington Post. "His insistence on the virtues of free trade remain suspect in Rust Belt swing states, and his position on immigration continues to make many conservatives wary."

They continue: "That raises a difficult question for his campaign: Can a presidential candidate really win by 'expanding the map' to Mexico, Colombia, Canada and Europe?"

And by not seeming to focus the American economy? McCain wants you to know he knows his stuff -- and that he's ready to fight the drug war (?). "I know Americans are hurting very badly right now," he told ABC's Robin Roberts on "Good Morning America" Wednesday. "I'm very strong on the economy. I understand it. I have a lot more experience than my opponent."