A round-up of this morning's must-read stories--by guest Filterer Brian No.

DEMOCRATIC AIDES WORKING ON PLAN TO KEEP THE PEACE AT THE CONVENTION
(Anne E. Kornblut, Washington Post)
The Obama and Clinton camps said this week that they agree on a central point: They would like to avoid an embarrassing display of discord from Clinton's most ardent backers when the national convention begins in just over two weeks. Conversations about how to achieve that have increasingly focused on the question of whether Clinton's name will be offered in a roll-call vote by delegates to determine the nominee, even though she has said she is not challenging Obama's claim as the party's standard-bearer.

DHL DEAL HAUNTS MCCAIN IN OHIO
(Lisa Lerer, Politico)
John McCain went on the offensive Thursday in a key battleground state, hoping to blunt criticism that he was indirectly responsible for the possible loss of more than 8,000 jobs in Wilmington, Ohio. Democrats are trying to pin the economic loss squarely on the McCain campaign, stressing ties between DHL, a global package delivery company, and his campaign manager, Rick Davis.

DEMOCRATIC JITTERS AS OBAMA HEADS HOME
(Edward Luce, Financial Times)
With polls showing [Obama] neck-and-neck with John McCain at a stage at which many Democrats expected he would be in the clear lead, they worry about the kind of stray image that helped to defeat John Kerry in 2004. Democrats say that Mr Obama needs to accomplish two critical things on his return next week. First, he must put on a good event to announce the selection of his running mate. Second, his speech at the party convention in Denver must be exceptional.

SCHUMER: ‘HIT MCCAIN HARDER’
(Ben Smith, Politico)
"I thought the Britney Spears commercial was powerful," Schumer said, referring to McCain's television ad casting Obama as a vapid "celebrity."

KNOW-NOTHING POLITICS
(Paul Krugman, New York Times)
Republicans, once hailed as the “party of ideas,” have become the party of stupid. [The] insistence that there are simple, brute-force, instant-gratification answers to every problem, and that there’s something effeminate and weak about anyone who suggests otherwise — has become the core of Republican policy and political strategy. The party’s de facto slogan has become: “Real men don’t think things through.”

POLITICAL CYCLES
(Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal)
Is Mr. Obama's self-conception in line with his gifts, depth, wisdom and character? That's the big question, I suspect, on a number of minds.

FLIP-FLOPS MORE FASHIONABLE THIS ELECTION
(Jill Lawrence, USA Today)
But because of who they are and the times they are running in, political analysts say, presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain are not likely to be felled by charges of flip-flopping.

MCCAIN, OBAMA TIPTOE ACROSS VICE PRESIDENTIAL MINEFIELD
(Janet Hook, Los Angeles Times)
Economic conservatives cringe at Mike Huckabee. Conservative evangelicals like Huckabee but wince at Mitt Romney. Gay rights activists are trying to rule out Sam Nunn. The women's movement is wary of several prominent Democrats who support abortion restrictions. That's the minefield Barack Obama and John McCain are tiptoeing across as they choose their vice presidential nominees. The goal of each: to find a running mate who adds appeal to the ticket -- while steering around the candidates who would leave key groups angry and ready to abandon the party.

MINNESOTA GOVERNOR LOOKS TO NATIONAL STAGE
(Monica Davey, New York Times)
Outside his home state, Mr. Pawlenty is among the least-known of the prospects Senator John McCain is said to be considering as a vice-presidential partner. But those who have followed his political rise here say Mr. Pawlenty’s personal story — his direct, everyman appeal to ordinary people — is among his most powerful attributes.