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.

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 …

You've Got To Have Faith  —  Barack Obama makes a pitch in Zanesville, OH, today to expand President Bush's faith based programs, while affirming his belief in the separation between church and state.  He'll propose a Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships to help these groups apply …

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.”

Reid: ‘Coal makes us sick!’  —  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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

In Weighing Death Penalty, a Flaw in Fact  —  WASHINGTON — When the Supreme Court ruled last week that the death penalty for raping a child was unconstitutional, the majority noted that a child rapist could face the ultimate penalty in only six states — not in any of the 30 other states …

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 …

A not-so-glorious Fourth  —  U.S. atrocities are unworthy of our heritage.  —  Put the fireworks in storage.  —  Cancel the parade.  —  Tuck the soaring speeches in a drawer for another time.  —  This year, America doesn't deserve to celebrate its birthday.  This Fourth of July should be a day of quiet and atonement.

“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!”.

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.

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.

Smart Dissent  —  Yesterday, in Independence, Missouri, Senator Obama delivered this speech on patriotism, titled “The America We Love”:  —  If you've been sprouting Chicken Little feathers in recent days, gnashing teeth over the nominee's reported “move to the center” (or “to the right") …