Forced servitude in America?  —  The U.S. already has high rates of volunteerism, but that's apparently not good enough for our presidential candidates.  —  There's a weird irony at work when Sen. Barack Obama, the black presidential candidate who will allegedly scrub the stain of racism from the nation …

Murphy won't join McCain  —  Mike Murphy, a political consultant who helped Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) mastermind his 2000 campaign, will not be reboarding the Straight Talk Express.  —  “I do not expect to join the campaign,” Murphy said.  “They're my friends, and I wish them well.”

Lurching With Abandon  —  In one of the numbers from “Fiddler on the Roof,” Tevye sings, with a mixture of emotions: “We haven't got the man ... we had when we began.”  —  Back in January when Barack Obama pulled off his stunning win in the Iowa caucuses, and people were lining up in the cold …

Risky Business  —  The waiters were still clearing the breakfast dishes yesterday when John McCain's most prominent adviser raised the subject of erection enhancement.  —  Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard chief who is now the Republican National Committee's “Victory Chairman,” …

August 8, 1974 v. July 9, 2008  —  (updated below)  —  The votes in the Senate on various amendments to the FISA “compromise” bill and to the underlying bill itself were originally scheduled for today, but have been postponed until tomorrow (Wednesday, July 9) to enable Senators to attend the funeral of Jesse Helms.

Mr. Obama on Iraq  —  BARACK OBAMA has taken a small but important step toward adjusting his outdated position on Iraq to the military and strategic realities of the war he may inherit.  Sadly, he seems to be finding that the strident and rigid posture he struck during the primary campaign …

McCain Campaign Screening Questioners?  —  WASHINGTON DISPATCH: Political reporters are wondering if McCain aides are vetting the journalists who ask questions during campaign conference calls for the media.  The evidence suggests they are; the campaign won't say.

In 2004, McCain Admitted We'd Leave Iraq if the Iraqi's Wanted Us To  —  With news coming from Nouri al-Maliki that he is leaning towards a security pact with the U.S. that would include language describing the “departure of [American] forces or a memorandum of understanding to put a timetable …

Former CIA Agent in Iran Comes In from the Heat  —  Going public for the first time in an article and interview on Pajamas Media, an Iranian who infiltrated Iran's Revolutionary Guard for the CIA accuses the mullahs of orchestrating — among other things — the 1988 explosion of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Adding up the cost of Obama's agenda  —  Some budget analysts say the Democrat's proposals for funding tens of billions of dollars in programs may not be enough.  —  WASHINGTON — In more than a year of campaigning, Barack Obama has made a long list of promises for new federal programs costing tens …

$40 Million Health Care Campaign Will Target Some Dems  —  A consortium of progressive groups, think tanks, trade unions and activists are set to launch a $40 million health care campaign to prepare the ground for the next president to sign expanded care early in 2009.

America's special grace  —  To ascribe a special grace to America is outrageous, as outrageous as the idea of special grace itself.  Why shouldn't everyone be saved?  Why aren't all individuals, nations, peoples and cultures equally deserving?  History seems awfully unfair …

Put War Powers Back Where They Belong  —  THE most agonizing decision we make as a nation is whether to go to war.  Our Constitution ambiguously divides war powers between the president (who is the commander in chief) and Congress (which has the power of the purse and the power to declare war).

Voters Perceive Obama Moving to the Middle  —  Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has done a far more effective job than Republican John McCain in recent weeks moving himself to the middle in the minds of voters, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone surveys.