The Republican Jewish Coalition is criticizing Senator Obama for traveling to the Middle East with a member of the Republican Party: Senator Hagel of Nebraska. The anti-war Republican is joining Mr. Obama and Senator Reed, a Democrat of Rhode Island, on a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan later this summer. Mr. Obama is also traveling to Israel, and the Republican Jewish group yesterday called on him to jettison Mr. Hagel from that leg of the trip, citing a record that they characterized as unsupportive of the Jewish state. There has been no indication that Mr. Hagel would be accompanying Mr. Obama to Israel, and the Obama campaign wouldn’t comment yesterday. The National Jewish Democratic Council suggested the coalition’s statement was bizarre. “The RJC should get its facts right. Obama is going to Iraq with Hagel, not Israel,” the Democratic group’s executive director, Ira Forman, said. He also voiced skepticism at the RJC’s newfound criticism of Mr. Hagel. “For the past 12 years, he’s been a Republican senator and they’ve never had a problem with his record up to now,” he said.

REED SAYS HE’S NOT INTERESTED IN BEING OBAMA’S VP

Senator Reed of Rhode Island says he’s not interested in being the running mate of Senator Obama. Mr. Reed, a West Point graduate and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is scheduled to accompany the presumptive Democratic nominee to Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Reed described the vice presidential spot as a “position which I have no interest in,” adding he has not been asked by the Obama campaign to provide information that could be used to scrutinize running mates. “There are people that are spending a lot of time, one, looking for candidates, and … trying to promote themselves as candidates,” Mr. Reed said. “And I’m in neither category.” The lawmaker is the latest Democratic politician to deny interest in the vice presidency. Senator Webb of Virginia and Governor Strickland of Ohio have recently taken themselves out of the running to be on the ticket.

AFTER JACKSON COMMENTS, OBAMA ADDRESSES NAACP

Senator Obama insisted last night that blacks must show greater responsibility for their actions. In remarks prepared for delivery at the annual NAACP convention in Cincinatti, the man who could become the first black president said Washington must provide greater education and economic assistance to African Americans, but that blacks must demand more of themselves. “If we’re serious about reclaiming that dream, we have to do more in our own lives, our own families and our own communities,” Mr. Obama said. He added: “I know some say I’ve been too tough on folks about this responsibility stuff. But I’m not going to stop talking about it. Because I believe that in the end, it doesn’t matter how much money we invest in our communities, or how many 10-point plans we propose, or how many government programs we launch — none of it will make any difference if we don’t seize more responsibility in our own lives.” A similar speech by the Illinois senator on Father’s Day prompted an awkward rebuke from the Reverend Jesse Jackson, a Democratic presidential contender in 1984 and 1988, a protege of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and a fellow Chicago political activist. Rev. Jackson apologized last week after being caught saying on an open microphone that he wanted to cut Mr. Obama’s genitalia for speaking down to blacks. Senator McCain is scheduled to address the 99th meeting of the nation’s largest civil rights organization tomorrow.

MCCAIN JOINS CRITICISM OF SATIRICAL NEW YORKER COVER OF OBAMA

Senator McCain is joining the Obama campaign in condemning a satirical cartoon on the cover of the New Yorker that depicts the presumptive Democratic nominee and his wife as terrorists in the White House. “I think it’s totally inappropriate and frankly I understand if Senator Obama and his supporters would find it offensive,” Mr. McCain told reporters yesterday. An Obama spokesman has denounced it as “tasteless and offensive,” while the magazine defended the art yesterday as legitimate political satire aimed at the “scare tactics” used by Mr. Obama’s critics. The cover, which hit newsstands yesterday, has sparked a spirited debate across the political spectrum. Mr. Obama is shown in Muslim garb and is fist-bumping his wife Michelle, who has a gun slung over her shoulder. A portrait of Osama bin Laden hangs on the wall and an American flag is burning in the fireplace.