Obama Got Discount on Home Loan  —  Shortly after joining the U.S. Senate and while enjoying a surge in income, Barack Obama bought a $1.65 million restored Georgian mansion in an upscale Chicago neighborhood.  To finance the purchase, he secured a $1.32 million loan from Northern Trust in Illinois.

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 …

McCain game plan worries insiders  —  Four months have passed since John McCain effectively captured the party nomination, and the insiders are getting restless.  Top GOP officials, frustrated by what they view as inconsistent messaging, sluggish fundraising and an organization that is too slow …

“Dig it!”:  A short video about Barack Obama's friends  —  Paul Budline, a Princeton-based writer and producer of documentaries, got to thinking this afternoon about Barack Obama's friendship with Chicago radicals Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn.  Out came this crisp little video, “Dig it!”.

Rush Limbaugh In Sunday NYT Cover Story, Big New Radio Deal  —  MEGASPLASH, MEGADEAL  —  Rush In NYT Cover Story, Stunning Contract Renewal  —  *** WITH EXCLUSIVE DETAILS ***  —  *** CONTRACT INCLUDES UNPRECEDENTED NINE-FIGURE SIGNING BONUS ***  —  *** ONCE AGAIN, YOU SAW IT FIRST AT THE RADIO EQUALIZER ***

Deepening Cycle of Job Loss Seen Lasting Into '09  —  As automakers dropped their latest batch of awful sales numbers on the market on Tuesday, reinforcing the gloom spreading across the economy, the troubles confronting American workers seemed to intensify.

Obama over fist bumping?  —  (CNN) — Is Obama ditching his signature fist bump?  —  According to Tuesday's press pool report, the Illinois senator refused to bump fists with a boy as he was touring the Eastside Community Ministry in Zanesville, Ohio.  —  As the boy outstretched his first …

Iran ‘seriously considering’ new international nuclear offer  —  UNITED NATIONS — Iran's senior diplomat said Tuesday that Tehran was seriously considering a new offer from six world powers to resolve the dispute over its nuclear program, and he praised the package as “constructive.”

Believe Me, It's Torture  —  What more can be added to the debate over U.S. interrogation methods, and whether waterboarding is torture?  Try firsthand experience.  The author undergoes the controversial drowning technique, at the hands of men who once trained American soldiers to resist—not inflict—it.

The far-right's patriotism problem...  Jonah Goldberg continues to demonstrate how the right-wing is manipulating public discourse in order to confuse and conflate patriotism with rabid nationalism.  Make no mistake, this is a coordinated effort to deliberately replace substance with its symbol …

Why more Jews won't be voting Democrat this year  —  Defenders of Barack Obama, and sometimes Obama himself, seem frustrated that some American Jews refuse to assume their traditional role of support for the Democratic presidential nominee.  The Obama defenders are irked that not all Jews accept …

Reid: ‘Coal makes us sick!’  —  The Crypt reports that the video of an appearance by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) on the Fox Business Network has gone viral on YouTube, attracting over 270,000 views and earning a spot on the site's “most viewed” list.  In the interview, Reid emphatically states, “Coal makes us sick.”

Stunning GOP Setbacks Make Dems More Likely to Take Staten Island, Too  —  With the defending Republicans facing twists and turns confirming that truth can be stranger than fiction, the Democrats now appear to hold a solid edge in the battle for the seat New York Republican Rep. Vito J. Fossella left open …

The 10 Most Awesomely Bad Moments of the Bush Presidency  —  A shorter version of our long national nightmare.  —  Share and save this post:  —  Also in Election 2008  —  Ari Berman  —  10 Things You Should Know About McCain Advisor Charlie Black  —  Jon Ponder

WHY MCCAIN'S CAPTIVITY MATTERS  —  You would think it would be simple, but I forget that the concepts of Duty, Honor & Country are dirty words to the left/press.  None who have served, well none with more than 4 months in the motor pool, wonder what John McCain proved to us.

Obama plans invitation-only events in area  —  The presidential candidate will be on campus today  —  Presidential candidate Barack Obama, who's been reaching out in recent days to evangelical voters, will hold a series of gatherings today in Colorado Springs, often considered the capital of conservative Christian ministries.

We Interupt This Orgy Of Self-Congratulation...  Henry Farrel of Crooked Timber posts a late draft of a research paper on blog readership.  From his summary this passage has caught attention: … Jon Chait of TNR interpreted this as an opportunity to have a bit of fun:

McCain not fundraising down-ballot  —  John McCain has begun to raise eyebrows in Republican circles for his lack of fundraising help on behalf of his party's House and Senate campaign committees.  —  The Arizona senator has yet to send a fundraising appeal for those committees nearly four months …