Obama Campaign: “McCain Is Not A Warmonger”  —  Yesterday evening, Senator Barack Obama dropped by a fundraiser for North Dakota Democrats.  The campaign arranged with the state party to allow a print pool reporter to accompany the senator, but no cameras were allowed, which has been typical at fundraisers …

Bill Clinton: N.C. now crucial  —  He says wife's bid to get nomination will hinge on Tar Heel state  —  Like it did in Texas and Ohio, the Clinton campaign for president has drawn a line in the sand, down the middle of the Tar Heel state.  —  Bill Clinton said Friday in Charlotte …

Colombia fires Penn  —  Mark Penn yesterday called his meeting with Colombia, a client of the firm he heads, an “error,” and the Colombian government, in a statement from its embassy, calls the notion that its hired gun won't meet with it “unacceptable,” and fires the firm.  —  Here's the statement:

Walls close in on Phelpses  —  Judge orders liens on church building, law office  —  A federal judge in Maryland on Thursday ordered liens on the Westboro Baptist Church building and the Phelps-Chartered Law office.  —  If the case presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Richard D. Bennett …

MCCAIN, OBAMA, CLINTON, PETRAEUS  —  Gen. David Petraeus' return engagement on Capitol Hill next week will be of particular interest to a few of the senators on committees hearing his testimony: Sens. McCain, Obama and Clinton.  —  McCain, as the AP's Liz Sidoti points out today …

Army Worried by Rising Stress of Return Tours to Iraq  —  WASHINGTON — Army leaders are expressing increased alarm about the mental health of soldiers who would be sent back to the front again and again under plans that call for troop numbers to be sustained at high levels in Iraq for this year and beyond.

Ohio Hospital Contests a Story Clinton Tells  —  Over the last five weeks, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has featured in her campaign stump speeches the story of a health care horror: an uninsured pregnant woman who lost her baby and died herself after being denied care …

In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop  —  SAN FRANCISCO — They work long hours, often to exhaustion.  Many are paid by the piece — not garments, but blog posts.  This is the digital-era sweatshop.  You may know it by a different name: home.

The Media's defense of McCain's 100-years in Iraq comment  —  It's not surprising that McCain's Media must defend him at every turn.  Here's a typical example from emailer Candice: … We know that wasn't the case, Mr.Williams.  —  Bob Somerby asks: “Are these life-forms actually human?”

Phil Gramm: McCain's Terrorist In Pinstripes  —  There is a ticking time bomb in the John McCain campaign and the sooner that Barack Obama can turn his full attention to exploiting it the bigger and consequential the explosion should be for this phony maverick.

Reality Check  — Worst-Case Scenarios by Cass Sunstein Buy this book  —  Two months after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, Dick Cheney was told about a meeting that Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri had had a month before the attacks around a campfire in Kandahar …

Sen. Biden: Troop buildup is failure  —  WASHINGTON - A leading Democrat on Saturday declared last year's troop buildup in Iraq a failure.  —  Sen. Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the military push didn't succeed because U.S. troops remain committed …

British fear US commander is beating the drum for Iran strikes  —  British officials gave warning yesterday that America's commander in Iraq will declare that Iran is waging war against the US-backed Baghdad government.  —  A strong statement from General David Petraeus about Iran's intervention …

HOW WE GOT HERE!  McCain could still win it.  Here's why:  —  WHERE THE WH*RES ARE: In our view, it's been a sad and sobering week for “liberal” and “progressive” values.  We'll start with the suspension of Randi Rhodes, who displayed appalling bad judgment in letting us know “Where the Wh*res Are.”

Lawmaker apologizes for comment on Iraq guard  —  A North Carolina congressman has apologized for calling a contract employee in Baghdad a “two-bit security guard.”  —  Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., used that term when talking about a visit to Iraq where he was denied access to a gymnasium.