Source: Novak's Victim Worse Than First Thought  —  The pedestrian who was struck by prominent Washington columnist and commentator Robert Novak is in worse shape than first thought, a hospital source tells ABC 7 News.  —  The victim, a 66-year-old man, appeared somewhat incoherent, said the source who had seen the victim.

Obama incorrectly claims membership of Senate committee  —  (CNN) - Responding to an Israeli reporter's question Wednesday on his commitment to protect the Jewish state, Barack Obama pointed to a bill “we passed” in the U.S. Senate Banking Committee that tightens sanctions and authorizes divestment from Iran.

McCain Defends Anbar-Before-Surge Scenario  —  “Yesterday,” a reporter asked McCain, “you suggested that the surge in Iraq predated the Anbar rebellion, and actually the Anbar rebellion came a couple of months previously.  Did you misspeak, or did you have something else in mind?”

NBC/WSJ Poll: Obama keeps lead over McCain  —  Voters see Democrat as riskier pick, but rival has negatives of his own  —  WASHINGTON - A majority of Americans think Barack Obama is a riskier choice for the presidency, but he maintains a six-point lead over Republican John McCain …

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.

Iraq Veteran Takes On McCain In New Ad  —  The independent group, VoteVets, will begin running a new television ad this week that features an Iraq war veteran who asserts that if elected, Senator John McCain “would occupy Iraq indefinitely,” against the wishes of the Iraqi people.

Why the Press Is Ignoring the Edwards “Love Child” Story  —  A DOUBLE STANDARD IS AT WORK.  —  Everybody had a good laugh last August when Roll Call broke the story about Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, getting arrested at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for playing footsies in a toilet stall.

Olympic Deal Sealed: Obama Makes $5 Million Buy  —  Candidate's Package Includes National Network, Cable  —  WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) — It's official.  Sen. Barack Obama's campaign will be among the TV sponsors of NBC Universal's Olympics coverage.  In the first significant network-TV buy …

Edwards: The Agony of the MSM  —  PLEASE DON'T MAKE US TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED.  —  “Get it first, but first get it second.”  The old Newsweek rule!  I hope that's the rule the MSM is following.  If so, here's an MSM mention!  And here.  Business Week is what, chopped liver?

Schwarzenegger plans to cut state worker pay to cope with late budget  —  Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger intends to cut pay for more than 200,000 state workers to save money during the budget standoff, according to a draft copy of the order obtained by The Bee.  —  Brian Baer / bbaer@sacbee.com

Abizaid: Iran Is Not a Suicide State; Deterrence Will Work.  The Iraqis Have Moved Beyond the US Political Debate  —  Monday evening at a meeting of the Pacific Council, retired General John Abizaid, the former commander of the US Central Command for Iraq and Afghanistan from 2003-2007 …

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

David Gregory: NBC's Lame-Duck?  —  On the morning of Sunday, July 20, NBC News paterfamilias Tom Brokaw was wrapping up Meet the Press, where he has been anchor since the sudden and untimely death of Tim Russert.  —  The weekly round table had ended, and it was time to say goodbye to his guests …

Neither fish nor fowl nor good red herring  —  Congress looks hard at the housing crisis and . . . punts: … The GSEs got into an enormous mess because their special status allowed them to take an unsafe chunk of the market, its executives were rewarded for risk-taking …

Obama politically and physically fit: Merkel  —  BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel is an admirer of U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama — even though she has not yet met him in person.  —  Asked at a news conference on Wednesday what she thought of Obama, Merkel responded …

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.