GOP's celeb-Obama message gains traction  —  Barack Obama's critics laid down the foundations of the strategy months ago: The Republican National Committee started the “Audacity Watch” back in April, and Karl Rove later fueled the attack by describing the first-term Illinois senator as “coolly arrogant.”

As Aides Map Aggressive Race, McCain Often Steers Off Course  —  Sen. John McCain last week delivered one of his sharpest critiques yet of Sen. Barack Obama's Iraq policies, carefully reading a prepared speech that accused his Democratic rival of failing the commander-in-chief test …

US judge: White House aides can be subpoenaed  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has sided with Congress in its fight with the Bush administration over whether top White House aides can be subpoenaed by Congress.  —  The House Judiciary Committee wants to question the president's chief of staff …

New Premises in Iraq  —  Prospects for Withdrawal Have to Be Viewed Through the Lens of Progress  —  The U.S. presidential campaign has been so long and so intense that it seems to operate in a cocoon, oblivious to changes that should alter its premises.  A striking example is the debate over withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.

Homeward Bound: Recent Immigration Enforcement and the Decline in the Illegal Alien Population  —  Monthly data collected by the Census Bureau through May 2008 shows a significant decline in the number of less-educated, young Hispanic immigrants in the country.

Obama-Clinton ticket advocacy group shuts down  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — An effort to urge Barack Obama to pick former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton as his running mate is shutting down under the assumption she is not a contender for the No. 2 spot.  —  The two former Clinton staffers who started …

On Having Your (Political) Heart Broken  —  The e-mail came when I was in Mexico, at a fitness resort that — in pursuit of wellness — confines BlackBerry use to guests' rooms.  —  “Need to chat briefly with you regarding John Edwards and the effects of this scandal on his future political career.”

GDP accelerates to 1.9% pace in second quarter  —  Domestic demand falls for second time in the past three quarters  —  WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Boosted by stimulus checks from Uncle Sam and a big drop in imports, real growth in the U.S. economy accelerated in the second quarter to a 1.9% annual rate …

Obama's Veep Vetting Enters New Stage  —  Barack Obama's vice presidential vetting process has moved into a new stage in which a larger than previously reported group of candidates is being exposed to a “deeper dig” into their backgrounds — in the words of a source familiar with the process.

What's the Word, John?  —  Miscegenation (Latin miscere “to mix” + genus “kind") is the mixing of different racial groups, that is, marrying, cohabiting, having sexual relations and having children with a partner from outside of one's racially or ethnically defined group.  —  Obama.  Britney.

Police Raid Berwyn Heights Mayor's Home, Kill His 2 Dogs  —  A police SWAT team raided the home of the mayor in the Prince George's County town of Berwyn Heights on Tuesday, shooting and killing his two dogs, after he brought in a 32-pound package of marijuana that had been delivered to his doorstep, police said.

Exxon posts record $11.68 billion profit  —  World's largest publicly traded oil firm makes $1,485.55 a second in the quarter, but misses forecasts.  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Exxon Mobil once again reported the largest quarterly profit in U.S. history Thursday, posting net income …

The McCain Behind the Curtain  —  The saddest sight on “Straight Talk Air,” the sleek flying successor to John McCain's one-time rolling caravan of candor, is the couch.  It's a soft, tan leather shelf, custom-fitted for high altitude truth-telling when McCain, a former Navy pilot, took his act from the road to the skies this summer.