There were certainly several points during the extended Democratic Primary when it really felt like Hillary Clinton was driving the news cycle day after day.

It's not so much that Barack Obama was always "on the defensive," but more so that Clinton was on the offensive.

Even though the news meter is going to swing towards Obama over the next ten days with the Democratic Convention, I still get the feeling that he isn't dominating news coverage the way he is capable of doing.

Even when the Obama Camp has tried to lash out at McCain, it certainly isn't ringing the News Alarm Bell - like McCain's fundraiser Monday night in Atlanta, originally headlined by conservative activist Ralph Reed.

"The old John McCain wouldn't have allowed one of Jack Abramoff's top cronies to raise money for him," said Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor. "But this time around, it's clear that Senator McCain is willing to do whatever it takes to win."

Earlier, the two campaigns traded barbs on Iraq.

"John McCain is intent on spending $10 billion a month on an open-ended war, while Barack Obama thinks we should bring this war to a responsible end and invest in our pressing needs here at home," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.

That jab over Iraq came after McCain's speech Monday morning to a national VFW convention in Orlando, Florida, where Obama was scheduled to be on Tuesday (weather permitting.)

McCain used that speech, in part, to again zero in on Obama's position on the Iraq war.

"First, he opposed the surge and confidently predicted that it would fail. Then he tried to prevent funding for the troops who carried out the surge," said the GOP candidate of Obama.

As for Obama, reports from his first post-vacation stop were of a candidate who was taking off the gloves. Whether that continues, we'll see.

"We've been hearing for a few weeks that the Obama campaign believes it hasn't been tough enough on McCain," wrote Josh Marshall on talkingpointsmemo.com, a liberal blog.

"Does this mean the convention week will be tougher on McCain than either Gore or Kerry were on Bush?"

I will have to see that to believe it. Just four years ago, the Kerry campaign stayed quiet as the Swift Boat attacks gained steam, and they hardly lifted a finger from the attacks during the GOP convention, like one where former Sen. Zell Miller (D-GA) accused Kerry of wanting to arm the troops with spitballs.

The lack of response even turned up in a Saturday Night Live skit where "James Carville" was speaking to "John Kerry."

"Zell Miller says you give the troops spitballs to defend themselves. And what did you do? Nothin'."

As usual, the SNL gang was dead on. Kerry did nothing.

Four years later, Obama will probably have to do more than just react to whatever McCain is throwing at him that day.

I don't sense that many of the recent lines of attack by Obama have worked that well on McCain. So they may as well get back to domestic issues like the economy, jobs, home foreclosures, etc.

That's where Democrats have the advantage in 2008.