Hagel to Join Obama on Iraq Trip  —  Susan Davis reports on the presidential race.  —  The buzz this week that Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska is planning to join Sen. Barack Obama on an up-coming visit to Iraq is correct, two sources with knowledge of the trip confirmed Friday.

Attack of the Photoshopped Missiles (Updated)  —  Iran's propagandists aren't only ones who can photoshop a missile launch.  We know how to do that on the intertubes, too.  Here's an updated sample...  Are We Lumberjacks?:

Presidential candidate Obama to sponsor Cup car at Pocono race … SI.com has learned that for the first time in history, a major presidential candidate may sponsor a race car in NASCAR's premier series.  According to sources, Barack Obama's campaign is in talks to become the primary sponsor …

U.S. Shuts Big Bank As Crisis Intensifies  —  IndyMac Bank, a prolific mortgage specialist that helped fuel the housing boom, was seized Friday by federal regulators in one of the largest bank failures in U.S. history.  —  The Pasadena, Calif., thrift was one of the largest savings and loans …

Every Time I Try to Crawl Out, They Pull Me Back in!  —  You know something? … No, that is not right: … No, that is still not right: … Maybe this will do it: … Called on forty minutes' notice, I trot over to the J-School studio to be a talking head on BBC/Newsnight about Fannie and Freddie.

Como Se Dice?  Obama Clarifies Comments Over Foreign Languages  —  ABC News' Sunlen Miller reports: Sen. Barack Obama reiterated his belief Friday that America's children to learn a foreign language, firing back against criticism he received from some conservative groups who suggested …

Phil Gramm  —  From a reader: … Me: Fair enough.  My own excuse is that this is one of these stories that I somehow missed until late in the day, not sure why that is.  Anyway, this is just another example of why I've always wanted Phil Gramm to be president of the United States and why that can never, ever, happen.

Obama's Iraq Withdrawal Plan May Prove Difficult  —  U.S. Commanders in Iraq Warn of Security Dangers, See Logistical Nightmare  —  Whatever nuance Barack Obama is now adding to his Iraq withdrawal strategy, the core plan on his Web site is as plain as day: Obama would “immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq.

U.S. air strike kills 47 civilians: official  —  JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A U.S. coalition force air strike on Sunday killed 47 civilians, including 39 women and children, in the eastern province of Nangarhar, an Afghan official said on Friday.  —  The issue of civilian casualties …

Who Will Be President?  —  An obscure government agency will soon decide whether citizens can get hold of information essential to modern democratic decision making.  On Monday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission began to analyze whether to create a safe harbor for prediction markets in the U.S. …

McCain staff asked for protester's ouster  —  “He was simply trying to uphold the policy.”  —  It was Sen. John McCain's staff who asked security at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts to remove people holding protest signs at the venue — not U.S. Secret Service agents …

Democratic Strategy: Strength Through Weakness  —  According to Glenn, and anyone who follows American politics, this is the Democrats' grand strategy: Give Bush everyone he wants so that the Republicans can't attack them as weak and spineless.  How's that working out so far?  —  Salon: