Blog Buzz: Convention Speakers Are Finalized, McCain Plays the Celeb Card Again, and a New Group Warns Republican Donors

Our daily look at stories and topics lighting up the Internets:

Convention Drama Subsides

Hillary and Bill Clinton and Dick Cheney are officially scheduled to speak at the Democratic and Republican conventions (not together, of course—though that would certainly be, umm, interesting), despite weeklong reports of drama regarding their appearances. NBC News reported that Bill got the speaking role to quiet talk of Obama-Clinton drama, which Taylor Marsh thinks means the campaign is underestimating Bill Clinton's impact. Marc Ambinder points out that his speech won't be on network TV, but one blogger still thinks Bill's speech will be "scrutinized endlessly." As far as Hillary goes, one conservative blogger discussed the implications of her speech falling on Women's Equality Day, and Ben Smith thinks all eyes will be on her to see if she'll "try to lead some kind of insurrection." In other news, liberals are happy to say "good riddance" to Cheney after his speech, and Obama is making history with his sold-out acceptance speech.

McCain "Painfully" Plays the Celeb Card...Again

McCain can't quit the "celeb theme," as evident in his latest ad, "Painful," which focuses on taxes and attempts to portray Obama as an out-of-touch rock star. Jonathan Martin says the ad is "clearly aimed" at women, while another blog is already concocting paranoid theories about the magazine covers featured in the ad. The Obama camp says the ad is a "lie," but one blogger thinks the campaign's response should have attacked the celeb jab more directly. Conservative bloggers say the ad is, overall, effective.

Check out all the latest campaign ads in this week's Ad Roundup.

Group Tries to Scare Swift Boaters

Former MoveOn official Tom Matzzie's new group, Accountable America, is planning to send letters to big Republican political donors to warn them against making any more contributions, according to the New York Times. The organization's mission is to deter Swift-boating. Liberal bloggers are pointing out glitches and wondering if the effort will get off the ground, while conservative bloggers say it's "nasty stuff."

—Gretchen Hannes