Let's Get Something Straight  —  I liked Tim Russert, even though I thought his BS gotcha nonsense was thorough idiocy and not helping the debate at all.  He was a likable guy- friendly, always smiling.  I understand it is a loss for the beltway folks, and he had a lot of really good friends …

McCain Cancels Fundraiser with Oilman Who Joked About Rape  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) Friday suddenly cancelled an upcoming fundraiser at the home of a Texas Republican after media outlets began asking the campaign about comments the host made while running for governor in 1990.

NYT: McCains owed $225,000 in credit card debt  —  Senate disclosure statements give look at candidates' personal finances  —  Senators John McCain and Barack Obama released their Senate financial disclosure statements on Friday, revealing that Mr. McCain and his wife had at least $225,000 …

Giuliani Plans to Aid Hopefuls, for His Share  —  WASHINGTON — With the Republican Party in need of money for the November elections, former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has offered to appear at fund-raisers around the country for G.O.P. candidates.  But there is a catch: He wants some cash out of the deal.

Prager H1: Big Victory for Terrorists and Liberals  —  Prager H1: The Supreme Court has granted the right of habeas corpus to captured terrorists.  This is a new right created out of whole cloth by the liberal members of the court... Dennis reflects on the tragedy of the death …

Justices Come Under Election-Year Spotlight  —  WASHINGTON — Thanks in no small part to Justice Antonin Scalia's dire warning that granting Guantánamo detainees access to habeas corpus “will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed,” the Supreme Court finds itself on the verge …

Fox forced to apologise to Obama for third time in two weeks  —  Rupert Murdoch's Fox News television station has been forced to apologise to Barack Obama for the third time in a fortnight after screening a racially tinged caption referring to his wife Michelle as his “baby mama”.

It's Not Race, It's Arugula  —  Obama's real electoral challenge.  —  On the way to his rendezvous with destiny, Barack Obama consistently lost white voters, especially of the middle and working classes, to Hillary Clinton—voters variously known as Appalachians or Reagan Democrats …

John Coleman's Comments Before the San Diego Chamber of Commerce  —  Global Warming and the Price of a Gallon of Gas  —  You may want to give credit where credit is due to Al Gore and his global warming campaign the next time you fill your car with gasoline, because there is a direct …

A Moment of Clarity in Baghdad  —  The disconnect between Washington's stay-the-course Republicans — President Bush and Senator John McCain, in particular — and the Iraqi government has grown too wide to ignore.  As the administration pushes for a legal agreement to extend …

Candidates disagree on joint town hall meetings  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain squabbled over a format for their first one-on-one debate in the U.S. presidential race, as both pushed their economic plans amid fresh reports of surging inflation and sagging wages.

HOW THE IRISH SAVED CIVILIZATION, AGAIN The Irish Times reports that the Lisbon Treaty has been defeated in a referendum held in the Republic of Ireland.  The Lisbon Treaty is a new version of the proposed EU Constitution, which had previously been rejected by the voters of the France and the Netherlands.