Quick '08 Update: Richard Simmons, the Dalai Lama, and "Obamacans"

- Richard Simmons for Congress.

- According to AdAge, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's campaign dropped $5 million to be among the sponsors of NBC's Olympics coverage. His spots will run on both network and cable TV.

- Obama is in Berlin where he is set to deliver his much-anticipated speech at 1 p.m. EST (If you needed more proof, Gallup has more polling showing just how much Europeans prefer Obama to McCain). Jake Tapper has a great post on Obama's speech. Meanwhile, McCain is in Ohio at a Livestrong Summit with Lance Armstrong. Tomorrow he's off to meet the Dalai Lama in Colorado.

- U.S. Sen. John McCain's VP update: Gov. Bobby Jindal said he will not be McCain's VP yesterday and Chris Cillizza points out that the Michigan Democratic Party is going after Mitt Romney in a new web ad.

- The Obama campaign is ramping up its interaction with the Hill. Yesterday, campaign manager David Plouffe met with House Democrats to discuss strategy, and The Hill points out that the campaign is coordinating a publicity blitz with "Obamacans" (those who have been aligned with the Republican Party but back Obama).

- The Hill also reports that donors who backed Sen. Joe Lieberman in 2006 don't seem to be giving their financial support to McCain. In fact, it cites financial records which show that "only two of John McCain's post-primary contributions [over $200] have come from Sen. Joe Lieberman supporters".

- Jonathan Martin has a must-read piece in The Politico about how the GOP is losing the new-media war.

- Want a ticket to come see Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Denver? Chuck Plunkett says Steve Hildebrand, Obama's deputy campaign manager, wants you to leave as an informed Obama volunteer.

- Robert Reich compares the economic philosophies of both candidates in a clear, understandable way on his blog.

- John McCain has a new web ad out in South Florida that places Barack Obama next to Fidel Castro with "Fidel Castro thinks he is the most advanced candidate" on it. Check out the Huffington Post for an image. This is interesting, as our own Will Wallace rightly points out, because Obama's Spanish-language radio ad that is running in FL highlights issues like education, job growth, etc., which are what's really relevant. Learn more in NDN's 2006 Cuba poll.

- In the Turkish daily, Today's Zaman, Jeffrey Sachs reflects on the G8 Summit meeting in Japan and asks where all the global leaders are.

- President Bush will address the RNC Convention, but who knows where he'll fit in the line up.

- And finally, check out the Secret Pants video below where the interviewer asks participants whether phrases were said by Batman or President Bush. Thanks for the head's up, Nate! I'm not sure how I feel about the likeness in some of these, but it's amusing nonetheless: