Obama's Symbolic Importance  —  In his closed door meeting with House Democrats Tuesday night, presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama delivered a real zinger, according to a witness, suggesting that he was beginning to believe his own hype.  —  Obama was waxing lyrical about last week's trip …

Low-Road Express  —  Well, that certainly didn't take long.  On July 3, news reports said Senator John McCain, worried that he might lose the election before it truly started, opened his doors to disciples of Karl Rove from the 2004 campaign and the Bush White House.  Less than a month later, the results are on full display.

Stevens woes = 60 votes for Dems?  —  The federal indictment of Sen. Ted Stevens certainly is buoying Democratic hopes that they could pick up enough Senate seats to get to the magical 60 votes, enough for a veto-proof majority.  —  It would be the first time in 30 years that a party would hold such a majority in the Senate.

EDWARDS' HU$H MONEY TO MISTRESS  —  A NATIONAL ENQUIRER investigation has uncovered John Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter - the mother of his “love child” - has been secretly receiv­ing $15,000 a month as part of an elaborate cover-up orchestrated by the former presidential contender.

House Issues An Apology For Slavery  —  The House yesterday apologized to black Americans, more than 140 years after slavery was abolished, for the “fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow” segregation.  —  The resolution, which passed on a voice vote late …

Women voters aren't warming to ‘cool’ Obama  —  The Obama campaign has a woman problem.  How big?  How small?  It's not clear, but in a close election, small can be big.  —  And Michelle Obama spoke to it Monday in Chicago.  —  Departing from her prepared remarks …

There's Something About Mary: Unmasking a Gun Lobby Mole  —  NEWS: Mary McFate was a prominent gun control activist.  Mary Lou Sapone was a freelance spy with an NRA connection.  They are the same person.  A Mother Jones investigation.  —  This is the story of two Marys.

1. Statuesque beauty  —  Political party: Democrat.  —  Dating status: “Happily single”  —  She's striking - and accident-prone.  —  Three weeks ago, Tulani Elisa, a legislative assistant for Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), fell down while going up the Metro escalator that leads into Dupont Circle.

Kerry's office: Sen. wasn't partying with women  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email + Bio  —  An embarrassing gallery of photos showing Bay State Sen. John Kerry surrounded by young women partying on Nantucket was a dockside encounter and nothing more, the senator's office tells the Herald.

McCain's Tax Blunder  —  One of the miracles of this Presidential election campaign is that John McCain still has a chance to win, notwithstanding his best attempts to kick it away.  In his latest random policy improvisation, the Arizona Senator tried to give up the tax issue.

A Week In John McCain's Shoes — His $520 Ferragamo Loafers, That Is  —  This summer John McCain is traveling in style.  He has worn a pair of $520 black leather Ferragamo shoes on every recent campaign stop — from a news conference with the Dalai Lama to a supermarket visit in Bethlehem …

Aide to U.S. Senator Jim Webb found dead from apparent gunshot wound  —  Authorities in Botetourt County this morning discovered the body of a well-known Democratic operative and U.S. Senate aide along U.S. 220, dead from an apparent gunshot wound.  —  The body of Frederick W. Hutchins Jr. …

Obama ‘biggest celebrity in world’ but...  Sen. John McCain's campaign is offering voters a new way of looking at the Democratic nominee, calling Sen. Barack Obama “the biggest celebrity in the world” in a television ad being released later today on national cable networks and local television markets in key states.

SPEAKING WITH KAINE IN CHINCOTEAGUE  —  From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann  —  CHINCOTEAGUE, VA — Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine tells NBC/NJ that he doesn't “have any idea about where the process is” for the selection of the vice presidential nominee, and that he has not spoken to Obama “for a number of weeks, since before his trip.”