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.

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.

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.

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 …

John Kerry for Party President  —  Looking to get re-elected, former Massachusetts Senator John Kerry was snap-happy Saturday night on Nantucket.  Electoral college girls gone wild!  —  The married 64-year-old had his photo taken with Bud Light drinking constituents who, we are told, are college sophomores and juniors.

The Flag in the Lapel  —  Now we know why Obama took the American flag off his lapel.  On July 24, in Berlin, he told us.  The American flag is too small to contain him.  He is not comfortable being an American citizen, only fully comfortable as a citizen of the world.