Who's smearing whom?  —  The only obstacle between Barack Obama and the presidency is the mountain of smears that will no doubt come his way.  That's the narrative that Obama supporters — and his swooning chroniclers in the mainstream media — would have us believe.

Why Obama's Faith-Based Initiatives Matter  —  As Barack Obama has emphasized his life as a “committed Christian” over the past year and a half, skeptics have asked for evidence of how his faith would actually influence his policies as president.  Some conservative Christian activists …

China Inspired Interrogations at Guantánamo  —  WASHINGTON — The military trainers who came to Guantánamo Bay in December 2002 based an entire interrogation class on a chart showing the effects of “coercive management techniques” for possible use on prisoners, including …

Muslims outraged at police advert featuring cute puppy sitting in policeman's hat  —  A postcard featuring a cute puppy sitting in a policeman's hat advertising a Scottish police force's new telephone number has sparked outrage from Muslims.  —  Tayside Police's new non-emergency phone number …

Obama's real patriotism problem  —  He sees an America in which the cup is half-empty.  Is his America the same one most Americans think of as they wave flags and celebrate the Fourth of July?  —  Barack Obama has a patriotism problem that even Monday's flag-waving trip to Independence, Mo., can't squelch.

“It's time for Republicans to develop a new brand of conservatism”  —  Here's an excerpt from McLaughlin & Associates memo to be released tomorrow on the results of their latest survey and the state of the race:

New CNN Poll: Obama, McCain in a statistical dead heat  —  (CNN) — With the dust having finally settled after the prolonged Democratic presidential primary, a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama locked in a statistical dead heat in the race for the White House.

On Call Exclusive: Obama Met Privately With Powell At His Office  —  Sen. Barack Obama and retired Gen. Colin Powell met privately two weeks ago in Powell's personal office in Alexandria.  —  Peggy Cifrino, Powell's spokeswoman, confirmed that the presumptive Democratic nominee …

Obama discusses his chat Bill Clinton  —  (CNN) — Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are moving on.  —  In Obama's first comments about his widely-covered phone conversation with the former president Monday morning, the Illinois senator said the two did not dwell on the prolonged and at times divisive primary race.

Andrew Bacevich: Ignoring Inconvenient Facts  —  Bush-loathing scholar Andrew Bacevich has taken to the Boston Globe to pen a screed documenting the horrible misdeeds perpetrated by the administration.  Bacevich even ordered his complaints in a tidy little list:

Should I call myself a feminist?  —  This is not exactly a burning question for America.  Nonetheless, it raises some interesting issues that are worth exploring, so heck, I'll explore them.  —  A few years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a group dinner with Kenji Yoshino …

Christian Site's Ban on ‘G’ Word Sends Homosexual to Olympics  —  The American Family Association obviously didn't foresee the problems that might arise with its strict policy to always replace the word “gay” with “homosexual” on the Web site of its Christian news outlet, OneNewsNow.

Plea for Aid to Avert Starvation  —  WASHINGTON — Warning that rising food and oil prices pose a crisis for the world's poor, Robert B. Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, is calling on President Bush and other leaders convening in Japan next week in an economic summit meeting …

McCain campaign pulls ads from some anti-Obama web sites  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - John McCain's campaign will stop advertising on several pro-Hillary Clinton Web sites that have attacked Barack Obama for being unpatriotic and, in one case, compared the Democratic nominee-in-waiting to Adolf Hitler.