In the Headlines:

"Poll Finds Independent Voters Split Between McCain, Obama" (Dan Balz and Jon Cohen, Washington Post) - In the first Washington Post-ABC News poll since the Democratic nomination contest ended, Obama and McCain are even among political independents, a shift toward the presumptive Republican nominee over the past month. On the issues, independents see McCain as more credible on fighting terrorism and are split evenly on who is the stronger leader and better on the Iraq war. But on other key attributes and issues -- including the economy -- Obama has advantages among independents.

"McCain calls to lift U.S. oil drilling ban" (David Jackson, USA Today) - John McCain called Monday for lifting a federal moratorium on offshore drilling for oil and gas -- a politically sensitive issue in such key states as Florida.

"Obama Plans Spending Boost, Possible Cut in Business Tax" (Bob Davis and Amy Chozick, Wall Street Journal) - Sen. Barack Obama shed new light on his economic plans for the country, saying he would rely on a heavy dose of government spending to spur growth, use the tax code to narrow the widening gap between winners and losers in the U.S. economy, and possibly back a reduction in corporate tax rates.

"Gore Endorses Obama as a Solver of Problems" (Jeff Zeleny, New York Times) - Former Vice President Al Gore made his debut appearance in the presidential campaign here Monday evening, offering a vigorous endorsement of Senator Barack Obama and urging Democrats to keep in mind the consequences of not taking the general election with grave seriousness.

On the Morning Shows:

American Morning - Carly Fiorina on the McCain campaign's attempt to reach out to women and disgruntled Clinton supporters: "The challenge for us [is] to make women understand who John McCain is and I think we will narrow that gap significantly."

Morning Joe - Chuck Todd, on MoveOn.org's anti-McCain ad: "It was a borderline shameless ad. Using a baby like that. ... That's an ad that strikes me as one that's going to backfire a lot, not a little."

From Late Night:

Letterman:

(Greg Bobrinskoy contributed to the Morning Report.)