Playing Innocent Abroad  —  Radical optimism is America's contribution to the world.  The early settlers thought America's founding would bring God's kingdom to earth.  John Adams thought America would emancipate “the slavish part of mankind all over the earth.”

McCain May Act Soon on VP Pick  —  Aides Predict Announcement Before Olympics  —  Anxious to counter the blanket media coverage that has followed Sen. Barack Obama on his overseas journey, Sen. John McCain is weighing whether to announce his running mate in the coming weeks before the spotlight shifts …

He ventured forth to bring light to the world  —  The anointed one's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a miracle in action - and a blessing to all his faithful followers  —  And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land …

Sarkozy: Obama's my ‘pal’  —  French President Nicolas Sarkozy is offering Obama a warm welcome on the day of their meeting, in an interview with the conservative daily Le Figaro.  —  “Obama?  He's my pal,” the president told Le Figaro.  “Unlike my diplomatic advisors, I never believed in Hillary Clinton's chances.

What Bush and Batman Have in Common  —  A cry for help goes out from a city beleaguered by violence and fear: A beam of light flashed into the night sky, the dark symbol of a bat projected onto the surface of the racing clouds . . .  Oh, wait a minute.  That's not a bat, actually.

Rove Threatened GOP IT Guru If He Does Not ‘Take the Fall’ for Election Fraud in Ohio, Says Attorney  —  Karl Rove has threatened a GOP high-tech guru and his wife, if he does not “'take the fall' for election fraud in Ohio,” according to a letter sent this morning to Attorney General Michael Mukasey …

Send Rove to jail petition passes 100,000  —  (Brave New Films used the video above to promote the petition)  —  A petition to send former White House deputy chief of state Karl Rove to jail over refusing a subpoena to testify before a House committee has gained over 100,000 signatures, according to the group promoting the petition.

AP: Food industry bitten by its lobbying success  —  WASHINGTON - One of the worst outbreaks of foodborne illness in the U.S. is teaching the food industry the truth of the adage, “Be careful what you wish for because you might get it.”  —  The industry pressured the Bush administration years ago …

Hey, Obama: There's Bratwurst in Ohio, Too (but No Cheering Masses)  —  COLUMBUS, Ohio — Senator John McCain's presidential campaign recovered from a near-death experience almost exactly a year ago, and political candidates stumble in and out of troughs all the time.

U.S. Expands Visa Program for Iraqi Allies  —  BAGHDAD — The American Embassy in Baghdad announced Thursday that it had expanded tenfold its program to help Iraqi employees of the American government here, who faced threats for their work, to obtain visas and ultimately citizenship in the United States.

No Drilling, No Vote  —  WHY NOT have a vote on offshore drilling?  There's a serious debate to be had over whether Congress should lift the ban on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf that has been in place since 1981.  Unfortunately, you won't be hearing it in the House of Representatives …

End of the Affair  —  Barack Obama and the press break up.  —  Around midnight on July 16, New York Times chief political correspondent Adam Nagourney received a terse e-mail from Barack Obama's press office.  The campaign was irked by the Times' latest poll and Nagourney …