Weaver, McCain's Former Strategist, Calls “Celeb” Ad “Childish”  —  John Weaver, for years one of John McCain's closest friends and confidants, has been in exile since his resignation from McCain's presidential campaign last year.  With the exception of an occasional interview, he has …

Obama trip abroad doesn't move poll numbers  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — It was a weeklong trip that drew blanket media coverage and sharp criticism from Republicans, but Sen. Barack Obama's recent tour abroad did little to alter his standing in the presidential race, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll.

Olmert to step down in September, vows to push for peace first  —  Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday that he has decided not to contend in the Kadima primary election and would resign as soon as the new party leader was chosen, due to the criminal investigations in which he has been embroiled in recent months.

Al Gore Places Infant Son In Rocket To Escape Dying Planet  —  EARTH—Former vice president Al Gore—who for the past three decades has unsuccessfully attempted to warn humanity of the coming destruction of our planet, only to be mocked and derided by the very people he has tried to save …

For White House, Hiring Is Political  —  WASHINGTON — On May 17, 2005, the White House's political affairs office sent an e-mail message to agencies throughout the executive branch directing them to find jobs for 108 people on a list of “priority candidates” who had “loyally served the president.”

O'S TOUR DE FARCE  —  PHOTO OPS & FECKLESSNESS  —  TERMED a “learning” trip, Sen. Barack Obama's eight- day tour of eight nations in the Middle East and Europe turned out to be little more than a series of photo ops to enhance his international credentials.

Obama camp condemns song: Ludacris ‘should be ashamed’  —  Barack Obama's campaign is condemning a song by the rapper Ludacris that praises Obama and bitterly attacks Senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain.  —  “As Barack Obama has said many, many times in the past, rap lyrics today …

Did Obama Accuse McCain of Running a Racist, Xenophobic Campaign?  —  “John McCain right now, he's spending an awful lot of time talking about me,” Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said today in Rolla, Mo. “You notice that?  I haven't seen an ad yet where he talks about what he's gonna do.

Cohen lacks DCCC support  —  Democratic insiders say House Democratic leaders have refused a request from Tennessee Rep. Stephen I. Cohen — a white man in a majority-black district — for money to fend off a primary challenge from a black woman.  —  But they gave Cohen a consolation prize this week …

McCain's True Voice  —  In the dog days of summer, John McCain's political personality has become so fuzzy that even some Republicans are worrying about his viability.  But if you want a reminder of why McCain should be a formidable candidate, take another look at his remarkable 1999 autobiography, “Faith of My Fathers.”

ASIAN POP  —  Could Obama be the first Asian American president? … With these words in the New Yorker in 1998, Toni Morrison granted our 42nd president, William Jefferson Clinton, a kind of cadet membership in the grand cultural narrative of black America.

Obama Camp Sees Potential in G.O.P. Discontent  —  Chuck Lasker, a political blogger and Internet consultant in Indiana, hosted a gathering last week of 20 people he calls “whispering Republicans” — party members like him who support Senator Barack Obama, a Democrat, for president.