Vanity Fair Covers The New Yorker  —  We here at Vanity Fair maintain a kind of affectionate rivalry with our downstairs neighbors at The New Yorker.  We play softball every year, compete for some of the same stories, and share an elevator bank.  (You can tell the ones who are headed …

McCain gaffes pile up; critics pile on  —  Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) said “Iraq” when he apparently meant “Afghanistan” on Monday, adding to a string of mixed-up word choices that is giving ammunition to the opposition.  —  Just in the past three weeks, McCain has also mistaken “Somalia” …

Why Jesse Jackson Hates Obama  —  A few weeks ago, the Rev. Jesse Jackson made something of a fool of himself.  There he was — a historical figure in his own right — threatening the castration of Barack Obama.  It was sad to see.  —  If I have often criticized Mr. Jackson, I have also, reservedly, admired him.

Never Underestimate McCain, But ...  John McCain might seem like a long shot.  He's the Republican nominee at a time when the two-term Republican President is wildly unpopular and Republicans are losing elections in perennially Republican districts and the party base isn't exactly drooling over him.

OBAMA ON THE SURGE....Over at the Corner, Andy McCarthy berates Barack Obama's explanation for the reduction in violence in Iraq ("What you had is a combination of political factors inside of Iraq that then came right at the same time as terrific work by our troops"): … Hmmm.  Let's roll the tape:

Young Republicans, Blue About the Prospects Ahead  —  Gen-Nexters Are Feeling Left Out of the Party  —  David All glanced around Top of the Hill bar and saw the future of the Republican Party.  It looked dim.  A who's who of young conservatives had gathered, but they were few, and they were frustrated.

Maliki Bets That Obama Will Prevail  —  Reception of Democrat Shaped by Chalabi Advice  —  WASHINGTON — In throwing his support behind Senator Obama's plan for a 16-month timetable for an American withdrawal from Iraq, Prime Minister al-Maliki is calculating that Mr. Obama …

McCain Surrogate Suggests Troops Could Come In Fewer Than 16 Months  —  That's the word from Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM).  —  She was speaking on the now daily Scheunemann-McCain campaign policy call.  —  (Listen here.)  —  “He'd like troops to come home earlier than 16 months if the conditions allow it,” she said.

Obama on the Surge: “Had Those Political Factors Not Occurred, I Think That My Assessment Would Have Been Correct”  —  “I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence” in Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, said in January 2007.

Coverage of ‘Netroots’ Confab Draws Protest— Snarky Article Spiked — Editor's Note Apologizes  —  NEW YORK (Commentary) It started innocently enough, over coffee in a hotel lobby, with me (as usual at that hour) huddled over a newspaper—in print, not on a laptop, unlike everyone else in the vicinity.

Analysis: Obama's Gravitas  —  Barack Obama's press conference this morning in Amman, Jordan, was a major moment — perhaps the major moment — of the Illinois senator's much-ballyhooed trip abroad this week.  —  All eyes were on Obama to see how he would perform on a world stage …

Obama Far More Popular Among Jews Than Lieberman  —  If Barack Obama has a problem among Jewish voters, then Sen. Joseph Lieberman is in monumental trouble.  —  Among the most high-profile Jews in Congress, Lieberman is viewed far more unfavorably than the presumptive Democratic nominee, according to a new poll.

GOP senators scramble for life boats  —  Republican Senate leaders — terrified by the prospect of losing five or more seats in November — have freed their members to vote however they need to vote to get reelected, even if that means bucking the president or the party's leadership.

Election 2008: Ohio Presidential Election  —  McCain Opens Modest Lead in Ohio  —  John McCain has opened a modest lead over Barack Obama in the key swing state of Ohio.  The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Buckeye State shows McCain attracting 46% of the vote while Obama earns 40%.

Is the Media Trying to Elect Obama?  —  Tomorrow, CBS's Katie Couric will interview Barack Obama from Jordan.  On Wednesday, ABC's Charlie Gibson will chat with him from Israel.  And on Thursday, NBC's Brian Williams will do the honors from Germany.  Call it the presidential campaign equivalent of Shooting the Moon.

McCain's Waterloo  —  I think the “news analysis” features in the newspapers are a little bit per se absurd (it's not an opinion! we swear! it's analysis!) but Richard Oppel and Jeff Zeleny on Obama's trip and the events in Iraq seems about spot-on to me.  Still, I'm not sure …

Ink-Stained Wretchedness  —  Tattoos are the emblems of our age.  They bristle from the biceps of men in summer shirts, from the lower backs of women as they ascend stairs, from the shoulders of basketball players as they drive toward the basket, and from every inch of certain celebrities.

The “I Can't Put My Finger On It” Problem For Obama  —  The woman's name is Maria VanderMolen.  She is 86 years old, and she lives in Spring Lake, Michigan.  She is “a lifelong Democrat.”  But she's undecided in the presidential race.  Why? … The political cognoscenti might call this the Hart Problem …

The Perfect Part  —  While Her Husband Takes the National Spotlight, The Reserved Cindy McCain Plays Her Supporting Role  —  Cindy McCain might yearn to be invisible sometimes, or at the very least, not surrounded by the Secret Service and photographers and gawking people.  The scrutiny seems too much to bear.