FBI probe: Lieberman campaign to blame for crashing own Web site  —  A federal investigation has concluded that U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman's 2006 re-election campaign was to blame for the crash of its Web site the day before Connecticut's heated Aug. 8 Democratic primary.

Obama Prepares Argument to Discard Public-Financing Principle  —  Despite his previous pledge to enter into the public financing system should he be the Democratic presidential nominee,* Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has recently been reluctant to re-commit to entering the system.

Petraeus Overplays His Hand  —  That statement by U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker pretty much sums up what he and Gen. David Petraeus presented to Congress yesterday.  Iraq is hard, but we are making headway; victory is possible, if we only persevere.  —  Except that in making this pitch, Petraeus and Crocker overplayed their hand.

Clinton leadership a study in missteps  —  Hillary Rodham Clinton wants voters to decide the nomination based on who can coolly and competently run the country.  She had better hope they don't study her recent campaign too closely for the answer.  —  Clinton has overseen two major staff shake-ups in two months.

Chris Matthews, Seriously.  (O.K., Not That Seriously.)  —  Whenever Chris Matthews says something he likes, which happens a lot, he repeats it often and at volumes suggesting a speaker who feels insufficiently listened to at times.  “Tim Russert finally reeled the big marlin into the boat tonight …

Wall of silence broken at state's Muslim public school  —  Recently, I wrote about Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights.  Charter schools are public schools and by law must not endorse or promote religion.  —  Evidence suggests, however …

Michelle Obama visits Harrisburg  —  HARRISBURG —This was Michelle Obama's “mom time” in her husband's campaign for president.  —  She'd come Tuesday to meet with 50 working women who filled a room at a Harrisburg preschool, anxious to talk to Barack Obama's wife.  —  But they'd have to wait.

Richard Warman suing conservative bloggers — including me  —  Richard “The Boy Named Sue” Warman has finally filed his statement of claim.  —  Canada's busiest litigant, serial “human rights” complainant and — the guy Mark Steyn has called “Canada's most sensitive man” …

Hillary's slick willies  —  Does Hillary surround herself with girly men?  Obama and the experience question.  Plus: Lincoln, Madonna's new face and a Bush with real authority.  —  I would like to get your feedback on the subject of those who end up in Hillary's orbit.

Obama's Minister Problem  —  I have tried to get over my unease surrounding Barack Obama's response to the sermons and writings of his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.  But the unanswered questions remain.  —  I am a strong supporter …

PENNSYLVANIA RESULTS BY RACE AND EDUCATION  —  I got a bit sidetracked yesterday, so apologies for the delay in posting this additional data from the Quinnipiac University Poll of Pennsylvania released yesterday.  In a post last week, I noted that Barack Obama's modest gains on the last Quinnipiac poll …

Breaking: Pelosi to kill Fast Track on FTA with union murder capital  —  As we reported yesterday, Bush is proving he is better at being Nixon that even Nixon was, showing what Nixon's Fast Track process is really capable of.  (In other news, Nixon's trade representative, who helped cook up Fast Track, just died.)

Blitzer: Iraqis playing U.S. taxpayers for ‘suckers’?  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Just before and immediately after the U.S. launched its invasion of Iraq, Bush administration officials optimistically predicted that Iraqi oil exports would soon finance the reconstruction of the country.  That didn't happen.

Study Gives High Marks to U.S. Internet  —  South Koreans played video games in Seoul last month.  South Korea rose 10 places to ninth in the ranking of network services for the World Economic Forum.  The United States was fourth.  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Contradicting earlier studies …

Two Cheers for Newsroom Buyouts  —  THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE BAD NEWS COMING OUT OF NEWSROOMS.  —  Advertising revenue at newspapers has fallen off a cliff and may tumble all the way to the bottom of the Marianas Trench if the promised recession arrives.  Average circulation is down, too …

Veep Thoughts: Stick to Basics  —  Kate Sheppard adduces some pretty good reasons to think that putting Condoleezza Rice on the ticket could be a smart move for John McCain.  I think there's a lot of truth to what she says, but at the end of the day one needs to return to the fundamentals.