MCCAIN IN REPUBLICAN STRAW POLL EMBARRASSMENT  —  Facing a loss at a 2008 straw poll event this weekend, Senator John McCain of Arizona told his supporters to write in President Bush [?] as a sign of support, leaving many sputtering.  —  "For the next three years, with our country at war …

Why Not To Expect Any Changes In The White House Style  —  If you've been holding your breath for the battering of recent events since Hurricane Katrina to lead to some changes in White House staffing or style, then you're going to turn blue: … The most damning quote in the New York Times piece come at the end:

Money's Going to Talk in 2008  —  'Entry Fee' for Presidential Race Could Be $100 Million  —  Michael E. Toner, the chairman of the Federal Election Commission, has some friendly advice for presidential candidates who plan to be taken seriously by the time nominating contests start in early 2008: Bring your wallet.

Chaos At The Southern Republican Leadership Conference  —  Earlier, I'd said I was really looking forward to finding out the results of the 2008 straw poll being held at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference this weekend in Memphis.  I take it back.

Milosevic found dead in cell  —  (CNN) — Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has been found dead in his cell in The Hague, Netherlands where he was being tried on war crimes charges, according to the United Nations war crimes tribunal.  He was 64.

UPDATED: The man who moved from Red to Brown: Milosevic found dead  —  Former Serb dictator Slobodan Milosevic's long-running trial is finally over- without a conviction.  Milosevic was found dead in his jail cell in the UN detention center at The Hague, Netherlands.

The Great Stampede  —  In recent weeks prominent conservatives — William F. Buckley, Niall Ferguson, Francis Fukuyama, George Will, to a name only a very few — have, in various ways, suggested that the war in Iraq was either a mistake or unwinnable, or both.