Getting to Know You  —  The conventional wisdom in this radically unconventional presidential race is that the voters have to get to know Barack Obama better.  That's what this week's overseas trip was about: to showcase the senator as a potential commander in chief and leader of U.S. foreign policy.

Democratic Congressional Candidate Alan Grayson on Iraq Reckoning: “We'll Put People in Prison”  —  One of the most exciting candidates I've met this cycle is Alan Grayson, a high profile trial lawyer who has been suing defense contractors for fraud, and is now running for Florida's eighth district in central Florida.

MCCAIN HITS HARD  —  Before a military audience in Denver today, John McCain launched his strongest attack yet against Barack Obama.  The attack was devastating because it is true.  Here are some excerpts; McCain began by recalling the beginning of the surge: … That recitation of Obama's conduct is entirely factual.

4,000 U.S. Combat Deaths, and Just a Handful of Images  —  BAGHDAD — The case of a freelance photographer in Iraq who was barred from covering the Marines after he posted photos on the Internet of several of them dead has underscored what some journalists say is a growing effort …

Barack and the Hispanics  —  Back during the primaries, everyone kept formally admitting that it was wrong to engage in the form of inference “candidate X lost group A in a primary, and therefore he's likely to lose group A in a general election against candidate Y of the other party” …

Obama veep team floats Republican name  —  Barack Obama's vice presidential search team has floated the name of a member of President Bush's first-term Cabinet, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, as Obama's running mate.  —  The search committee, now led by Caroline Kennedy and Eric Holder …

Microphone Picks Up Private Conversation Between Obama and British Leader on Need for Vacations and ‘Thinking’ Time  —  At British Parliament today, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, met with Tory Leader David Cameron.  —  Seemingly unaware of an enormous fuzzy boom mike held by ABC News' Eric Kerchner …

“Media Matters”; by Jamison Foser  —  Even while carrying McCain's water, media worry they aren't doing enough for him  —  John McCain complaining about media coverage is a little like an oil company complaining about profit margins: hard to believe, and even harder to feel much sympathy.

Oil prices and economic fundamentals  —  Oil was selling for $123 a barrel on May 7, and that's where it closed this week.  Sounds like a calm and rational market, except for the fact that just last week it was going for $145.  —  Spot price of West Texas Intermediate in dollars per barrel.

A Step Back From Enviro Lunacy  —  Sometimes public opinion doesn't flow smoothly; it shifts sharply when a tipping point is reached.  Case in point: gas prices. $3 a gallon gas didn't change anybody's mind about energy issues. $4 a gallon gas did.  Evidently, the experience of paying …

The $2.8 Trillion Deficit Gap: Holtz-Eakin Responds  —  John McCain's tax policy has come under fire in the past, particularly for its dependence on huge revenue windfalls to balance the budget.  But now a new study from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center (a joint venture between Brookings …