Who Is The "Purest" Of Them All?  Clinton, Obama, Edwards Battle Over Lobbyists' Money  —  In the increasingly bitter debate over taking campaign contributions from lobbyists and special interests, there are few candidates with clean hands.  —  John Edwards and Barack Obama …

Okay, this is interesting.  It turns out Anthony Cordesman, a national security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, went to Iraq with Michael O'Hanlon and Kenneth Pollack.  That is, Cordesman — according to CNN, which just reported this moments ago …

Army Says Soldier's Articles for Magazine Were False  —  An Army investigation into the Baghdad Diarist, a soldier in Iraq who wrote anonymous columns for The New Republic, has concluded that the sometimes shockingly cruel reports were false.  —  "We are not going into the details of the investigation …

U.S. Says Iran-Supplied Bomb Is Killing More Troops in Iraq  —  Attacks on American-led forces using a lethal type of roadside bomb said to be supplied by Iran reached a new high in July, according to the American military.  —  The devices, known as explosively formed penetrators …

Clinton Tonight  —  In response to more than a few answers tonight — on Iraq, on China — I've said, "she sounds reasonable."  If I were a normal America, I think I'd really think that.  —  That's really hard to admit.  I still have both "Clinton Hater" and "Vast-Right-Wing Conspiracy" cards in my wallet.

Initial report on potential breaches to biosecurity at the Pirbright site, 2007  —  Background  — An outbreak of foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) was confirmed at a farm in Surrey on 3 August 2007.  — Preliminary Defra investigations indicated that the virus may have originated …

China threatens 'nuclear option' of dollar sales  —  The Chinese government has begun a concerted campaign of economic threats against the United States, hinting that it may liquidate its vast holding of US treasuries if Washington imposes trade sanctions to force a yuan revaluation.

The Web 2.008 Campaign  —  Web video and social networks are two of the hottest technologies for Campaign '08.  Video is ready for prime time, social networking is a relative unknown.  —  Video arrived in 2006, when George Allen, then a Republican Virginia senator, called a rival staffer the crypto-racist slur "macaca."

HOW DOES A CLOSET CASE APPEAL TO THE RADICAL RIGHT IN SOUTH CAROLINA?  LET'S ASK LINDSEY GRAHAM  —  You go, girl!  —  Forget, for a moment, that Lindsey Graham (R-SC) takes it up the tuches by night, while spewing anti-gay hatred and bigotry by day, rabble-rousing the rednecks …

For an Iraq Contractor, Duty, and Then Death  —  Brenton Thomas Gray was no longer a soldier when he died a soldier's death last August on a northern Baghdad road.  There were an armored car, a curbside bomb, a sizzling explosion.  The sky went black with smoke and melting tar.

The Greatest  —  Kevin Drum: … I say: No. The man holds the record for most career home runs and most home runs in a single season.  What's more, not only did he hit 73 home runs in 2001, but he also "managed to shatter two of Babe Ruth's longstanding records — most walks (177) and highest slugging percentage (.863) in a season."

Vacancies Whittle Away Right's Hold On Key Court  —  Four years ago, Judge Diana Gribbon Motz challenged the conservatives who dominated the federal appeals court in Richmond, urging her colleagues to reverse a decision backing the Bush administration's detention of a U.S. citizen as an "enemy combatant."

Breaking News: Glenn Murphy Faces Criminal Deviate Conduct Investigation  —  Clark County GOP Chair and newly elected Young Republican National Federation Chair Glenn Murphy is under investigation for criminal deviate conduct, a Class B felony, for allegedly engaging in oral sex with a sleeping victim.