Supreme Court restores habeas corpus, strikes down key part of Military Commissions Act  —  (updated below)  —  In a major rebuke to the Bush administration's theories of presidential power — and in an equally stinging rebuke to the bipartisan political class which has supported …

Kos Tries To Pass Off Obama's Birth Certification As Birth Certificate  —  ... without any attribution or mention of how it came into his possession, it should be noted.  He divulges only that it is a scanned image, the edges of which he trimmed.  —  Unfortunately, he's more careful with document grooming than with authentication.

Ron Paul to End Campaign, Launches New Effort  —  Supporters Plot Shadow Convention, More Revolution  —  Rep. Ron Paul's presidential campaign, a pugnacious, ideological crusade against big government and interventionist leanings in the Republican party, will officially end Thursday …

The Smear Page Smears the Smearmaster  —  Obama's campaign has launched a website meant to push back against the viral campaign against him called “Fight the Smears.”  The fact hub, replete with a Truth Bird, includes this: … But Stone, while absolutely spreading rumor of the tape, didn't say he had evidence.

Why won't Congress consider impeaching Pres. Bush?  —  FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:  —  The House of Representatives has voted to send an impeachment resolution against President Bush to committee - where it's likely to die.  —  Congressman Dennis Kucinich introduced the 35 articles of impeachment this week.

Fox addresses baby mama drama: Producer used ‘poor judgment’  —  Since Salon's Alex Koppelman caught Fox News characterizing Michelle Obama as “Obama's Baby Mama,” there's been an uproar over use of such an offensive term.  —  “A producer on the program exercised poor judgment in using …

Kanjorski caught in another ‘gotcha’ moment  —  U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski is getting a first-hand lesson in the hazards of the digital age.  —  For the second time in a month, a clip on the wildly popular video-posting Web site, YouTube, is earning him election-year attention he'd probably rather avoid.

Obama moves DNC operations to Chicago  —  In a major shakeup at the Democratic National Committee — and a departure from tradition — large parts of the committee's operations are relocating to Chicago to be fully integrated with the Obama campaign.  —  The DNC's political department …

Do Not Feed the Troll: Tell The National Press Club Not To Host Larry Sinclair  —  Larry Sinclair is one of the most outrageous anti-Obama smear merchants.  So why is the National Press Club hosting him this coming Wednesday?  Apparently Jeff Gannon wasn't available.

PUTTING OBAMA'S LEAD INTO PERSPECTIVE  —  From NBC's Mark Murray  —  In the latest NBC/WSJ poll, Obama leads McCain by six points (47%-41%) among registered voters.  While polls can't accurately gauge an election five months out — after all, so much can still happen …

In California, a House Divided Stands Strong  —  LOS ANGELES — It is one thing to disagree about politics with your spouse at a backyard barbecue.  It is quite another to do it in front of the 38 million people of California, with apparent and abundant passion.

Global Economic Gloom - China and India Notable Exceptions  —  Some Positive Signs for U.S. Image  —  Overview  —  Five years after the start of the war in Iraq, the image of the United States abroad remains far less positive than it was before the war and at the beginning of the century.

A Preliminary Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates' Tax Plans  —  The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration.  The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

A Quick Remedial Course In Racist Iconography  —  Okay, once again for those in the cheap seats.  —  Monkey:  —  Cute, entertaining, educational, not racist.  —  Depicting black people as monkeys:  —  Ridiculously racist.  —  Simian depiction and derision of black people is nothing new.

Countdown Special Comment: The Unimportance of Being John McCain  —  John McCain has said many a stupid thing during this general election campaign.  But when he told Matt Lauer on The Today Show that bringing our troops home was just not that important, he crossed a line from stupidity to being unforgivable: