McCain Meltdown  —  John McCain said this today in Rochester, New Hampshire: … This is the ninth presidential campaign I've covered.  I can't remember a more scurrilous statement by a major party candidate.  It smacks of desperation.  It renews questions about whether McCain has the right temperament for the presidency.

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS CAUGHT WITH MISTRESS AND LOVE CHILD!  —  Vice Presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards was caught visiting his mistress and secret love child at 2:40 this morning in a Los Angeles hotel by the NATIONAL ENQUIRER.  —  The married ex-senator from North Carolina …

What did Bush say at Olson Fundraiser?  —  The President's folks didn't let the press in, but we got some exclusive video of POTUS talking up a storm at Pete Olson's fundraiser on July 18th.  Click and take a look. transcript below the video.  —  What President Bush said:

Obama Meets Israeli and Palestinian Leaders  —  JERUSALEM — Senator Barack Obama opened a day of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Wednesday, sharing breakfast with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak before traveling to the West Bank to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Obama Campaign Prints German-language Flyers for Berlin Rally  —  This is pretty extraordinary.  A candidate for the American Presidency is using flyers printed in German to turn people out for his campaign rally in Berlin on Thursday.  This flyer can be found on a bilingual page on BarackObama.com advertising the event:

HALPERIN'S TAKE: What John McCain Needs to Win  —  What McCain needs to win:  —  Stuff he can't control:  —For Obama to make a substantive mistake on his overseas trip that changes the vector direction of the coverage — especially while he is in Israel.

Hip-hop star Nas protests FOX News ‘Obama smears’  —  New York rapper Nas has joined a protest against FOX News.  —  Citing what he calls “race baiting” and “Obama smears” by FOX, Nas will join ColorOfChange.org and MoveOn.org to deliver more than 620,000 petition signatures demanding …

The Fannie Mae Gang  —  Angelo Mozilo was in one of his Napoleonic moods.  It was October 2003, and the CEO of Countrywide Financial was berating me for The Wall Street Journal's editorials raising doubts about the accounting of Fannie Mae.  I had just been introduced to him by Franklin Raines …

GOP candidate to meet with Jindal  —  WASHINGTON — Mystery continues to surround Republican presidential hopeful John McCain's plans to interrupt a tour of battleground states today for a visit to New Orleans and a meeting with Gov. Bobby Jindal.  —  Campaign officials confirm that McCain …

Gallup Daily: Presidential Contest Remains Close  —  No continuation of Obama bounce seen in Monday night interviewing  —  PRINCETON, NJ — U.S. registered voters are closely divided in their presidential preferences, with 45% favoring Barack Obama in Gallup Poll Daily tracking from July 19-21, and 42% backing John McCain.