Obama to Break Promise, Opt Out of Public Financing for General Election  —  In a web video to supporters — “the people who built this movement from the bottom up” — Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, announced this morning that he will not enter into the public financing system, despite a previous pledge to do so.

More Fun in Obamaconspiracyville: In Which Larry Sinclair Gets Arrested  —  I blogged a few weeks back about a convicted criminal, Larry Sinclair, who'd been begging the media to cover his wild allegations about Barack Obama.  Today Sinclair trotted into the National Press Club to air …

Deals With Iraq Are Set to Bring Oil Giants Back  —  BAGHDAD — Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power.

Rumsfeld repays McCain; declines to back candidate  —  Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld recently declined to answer whether he will support Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for president.  —  McCain, the GOP presidential standard-bearer, has been one of Rumsfeld's harshest critics.

House, Bush reach deal on war supplemental  —  The House will vote on an emergency supplemental spending bill Thursday after Republican and Democratic leaders struck a deal with the White House late Wednesday, aides said.  —  The deal did not include the Senate, but House leaders were to present …

Cindy McCain visits Vietnam  —  NHA TRANG, Vietnam - Cindy McCain ranged far afield from the U.S. presidential campaign trail Thursday to showcase her charity work helping Vietnamese kids born with facial deformities.  —  McCain has made several trips to Vietnam, where her husband …

Russert's Son Sounds a Theme of Unity at Funeral  —  WASHINGTON — In death, Tim Russert did on Wednesday what no living journalist has accomplished this campaign season: he got Barack Obama and John McCain to sit together and talk, quietly.  —  Specifically, it was Mr. Russert's son, Luke …

Good news: Another Democrat calls for nationalizing the oil industry  —  Submitted for your disapproval, in case you were wondering what the opposition had in mind as a counterpoint to McCain's proposal for 45 new nuclear reactors.  It's Maurice Hinchey, whom longtime HA readers will recall as someone brimming with sound theories.

Rep. Young's interns cite do's, don'ts  —  Several lobbyists, including hired guns who worked on transportation, Interior and Alaska issues, had unparalleled access to Rep. Don Young's (R-Alaska) congressional staff, according to an unofficial office document .

Obama, telecoms and the Beltway system  —  As noted yesterday, Blue Dog Rep. John Barrow of Georgia has been one of the most enthusiastic enablers of the radical and lawless policies of the Bush administration.  When running for re-election, he ran ads accusing his own party of wanting to …

Americans drive 1.4 billion fewer highway miles  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Americans drove 1.4 billion fewer highway miles in April than they did in April 2007, the Department of Transportation said Wednesday.  —  That marks the sixth consecutive monthly drop and coincides with record gas prices …

SUBPOENA BLITZ PUTS HEAT ON AL  —  IRS SEEKS INFO FROM TOP DONORS  —  The probe into the Rev. Al Sharpton's finances intensified this week, with the IRS sending out a flurry of subpoenas to his most generous corporate donors, The Post has learned.  —  Anheuser-Busch, the brewer of Budweiser …

Specter of 2000 could haunt Obama  —  Until 2000, it hadn't happened in more than 100 years, but plugged-in observers from both parties see a distinct possibility of Barack Obama winning the popular vote but losing the Electoral College — and with it the presidency — to John McCain.

Dodd and CT residents speak out  —  By WTNH Chief Political Correspondent Mark Davis, on Jun 18, 2008  —  (WTNH) _ Senator Chris Dodd's nearly 28 years as Connecticut's United States Senator is being seriously tested.  He says he thought the VIP treatment he got from Countrywide Financial …

Obama Remarks on Detainees and Afghanistan  —  Good afternoon.  We just finished the first meeting of my new Senior Working Group on National Security.  We had a productive discussion about the challenges facing our nation, and I'm grateful that these distinguished men and women will be advising me in the months to come.

The Obama/Pooh Photoshop collection  —  In response to Barack Obama's foreign policy adviser endorsing Winnie the Pooh as a “fundamental text on national security” this week (yes, it's true), readers and bloggers are having brutal fun with Photoshop.  No doubt Obama's minions will find …

Obama's Campaign Tightens Control of Image and Access  —  At a rally for Senator Barack Obama in Detroit on Monday, two Muslim women said they were prohibited from sitting behind the candidate because they were wearing head scarves and campaign volunteers did not want them to appear …

Sounds of Silence  —  Welcome to a world where criticism of militant Islam could land you in court or worse.  In Vancouver, Canada's venerable Maclean's magazine awaits a hate-speech verdict from a human-rights tribunal for publishing a chapter from syndicated columnist Mark Steyn's best-selling book “America Alone.”

Backstory on AP - Drudge Retort Issue  —  In reading a small slice of the coverage of the AP - Drudge Retort contretemps it struck me that a lot of the more breathless coverage in the blogosphere stems from the rather larger misperception that one day last week, out of the blue, Rogers Cadenhead got slapped with a lawsuit by AP.