Ventura: I'm not running for Senate  —  (CNN) — Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura has decided not to run for U.S. Senate in that state, he told CNN's “Larry King Live” Monday night.  —  Ventura, a former professional wrestler, had said last week he was weighing whether to run.

McCain Tops Obama in Commander-in-Chief Test; Stays Competitive on Iraq  —  Poll Finds 72 Percent of Americans Say McCain Would be Good Commander-in-Chief  —  Americans divide evenly between Barack Obama and John McCain's approaches to the war in Iraq, and rate McCain much more highly …

JAMIE GORELICK'S TIES TO FANNIE MAE AND WHAT SHE'S DOING NOW— In reading this article about Crony Capitalism at Fannie Mae (tip to Instapundit), I noticed that Jamie Gorelick was one of the Fannie executives who benefited from inflated bonuses based on Enron-style accounting.

Want Obama in a Punch Line?  First, Find a Joke  —  What's so funny about Barack Obama?  Apparently not very much, at least not yet.  —  On Monday, The New Yorker magazine tried dipping its toe into broad satire involving Senator Obama with a cover image depicting the presumptive Democratic …

OBAMA'S DISHONEST OP-ED  —  In this morning's New York Times, Barack Obama published an op-ed on Iraq that presumably previews his “major speech” on the subject tomorrow.  Even by Obama's standards, the piece is breathtakingly dishonest.  —  Obama admits that he opposed the surge …

President Bush Discusses Outer Continental Shelf Exploration  —  Fact Sheet: Allowing Offshore Exploration to Help Address Rising Fuel Costs  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon.  Across the country, Americans are concerned about the high price of gasoline.  Every one of our citizens who drives to work …

Fournier to Rove: “Keep Up the Fight”  —  Buried in the 50-page report on Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch released today by the House Oversight Committee, is a priceless quote from none other than the new head of the AP's Washington Bureau, Ron Fournier.  —  Straight from page 21 of the report:

Israel, Iran and the Bomb  —  Iran's test salvo of ballistic missiles last week together with recent threatening rhetoric by commanders of the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guards emphasizes how close the Middle East is to a fundamental, in fact an irreversible, turning point.

Heedless Rush to Oil Shale  —  To hear Bush touting Western oil shale as the answer to $4 per gallon gasoline, as he did again yesterday in the Rose Garden, you would think it was 1908 . . . or 1920 . . . or 1945 . . . or 1974.  Every couple of decades over the past century …

Matthews Worries ‘Right’ Will Turn New Yorker Cover into T-Shirt  —  On Monday's “Hardball” Chris Matthews was so upset about the New Yorker's cover, depicting Barack Obama in a turban and Michelle Obama toting an AK-47, because he feared “the right will be using that as t-shirt material within the next couple of weeks.”

Police: Iraq suicide bombers kill 28 army recruits  —  BAQOUBA, Iraq - Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowd of army recruits Tuesday in an Iraqi province where devastating attacks persist despite security improvements elsewhere.  At least 28 people died, the Iraqi police and military said.

Six Questions for Jane Mayer, Author of The Dark Side  —  In a series of gripping articles, Jane Mayer has chronicled the Bush Administration's grim and furtive dealings with torture and has exposed both the individuals within the administration who “made it happen” (a group that starts …

Clinton Diehards Want Convention Vote  —  She may have given up, but a few of Hillary Rodham Clinton 's people haven't.  —  The senator from New York is said to be negotiating a respectful presence followed by a graceful exit from next month's Democratic convention, and last week …