Breaking: Novak cited after hitting pedestrian  —  Syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak was cited by police after he hit a pedestrian with his black Corvette in downtown Washington, D.C., Wednesday morning.  —  A Politico reporter saw Novak in the front of a police car with a citation in his hand …

McCain to counterprogram Obama in Germany with visit to Gulf Coast oil rig  —  While Barack Obama is speaking about international affairs in Germany before thousands of fans tomorrow, John McCain will be talking about a pressing domestic issue with an equally striking if very different backdrop.

All Hail ‘McBama’  —  John McCain needs to wake up and smell the Arabic coffee.  —  I know this is not an easy time for him.  When you have been beaten up for four years because of your support for the Iraq war, and then you get something big right — your support for the surge — you want to be able to savor that for a while.

Newt on Veep: No more boring white guys  —  My colleague Ken Vogel has Newt's advice on who McCain should not pick as veep:

Tales From The JV Squad: No Press Avail  —  WILKES-BARRE, PA — The one scheduled McCain press conference of the week has just been canceled, we are told.  No word as to why.  Grumble, grumble.  —  Why?  Scheduling.  Which is like answering “food” to “what did you eat for breakfast.”

Obama Ignorance Watch (A Very Special Edition!)  —  As you know, Barack Obama is still trotting across the globe, sinking three pointers, ignoring military counsel and healing the occasional leper.  Amidst all the hullabaloo, these Obama comments regarding Israel and terrorism have been sadly overlooked:

Obama Overseas!  In Presidential Mode!  Back Home, It's McCain in a Golf Cart.  —  It wasn't a television blackout of John McCain; it was worse: split-screen contrasts that at times made it seem as if Barack Obama was on a state visit while back home his opponent chafed at the perks and privileges of an incumbent commander in chief.

TEASING THE NEW NBC/WSJ POLL  —  Here's one result from the new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that will be released tonight at 6:30 pm ET on Nightly News and MSNBC.com... With the news that Iraq's prime minister wants the US to set a timetable for withdrawal, 60% of registered voters believe it's …

Fliers Complain About X-Rated Security Screenings  —  TSA Agents Forced Woman To Remove Nipple Rings, Pulled Pants Off Disabled Man  —  When travelers go to the airport, they know what kind of security to expect: luggage searches, metal detectors and shoe inspections.

THE FINE LINE BETWEEN PANDERING AND LYING  —  Barack Obama held a press conference in Sderot, Israel today.  I wouldn't have blamed him if he had stuck to a reasonable degree of pandering, but check out this question and answer from the press conference: … Let's pause here.

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 link.  —  CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO

Election 2008: Florida Presidential Election  —  Florida: Obama Ahead by One  —  Barack Obama has caught up to John McCain in Florida.  The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds Obama with a statistically insignificant one-point advantage over his rival, 46% to 45%.

Hey, Barack Obama Exists After All  —  The latest news from the Obama Conspiracyverse is the first third-party proof of Obama's birth in Hawaii.  It's a birth announcement from a 1961 issue of the Honolulu Advertiser that was dug up, ironically enough, by Lori Starfelt, who's working on an anti-Obama documentary for pro-Clinton PUMAs.