McCain Tries to Define Obama as Out of Touch  —  WASHINGTON — After spending much of the summer searching for an effective line of attack against Senator Barack Obama, Senator John McCain is beginning a newly aggressive campaign to define Mr. Obama as arrogant, out of touch and unprepared for the presidency.

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.

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.

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.

HILLARY IN MYSTERY POWWOW  —  IT sure looked like Hillary Rodham Clinton was plotting her political future at a secret ladies-only dinner in Washington the other night.  —  The New York senator was guest of honor at Tuesday's hush-hush powwow that raised speculation about a possible White House run in 2012.

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.

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.”

A Hidden Toll on Employment: Cut to Part Time  —  The number of Americans who have seen their full-time jobs chopped to part time because of weak business has swelled to more than 3.7 million — the largest figure since the government began tracking such data more than half a century ago.

A Baby Daddy For Both Americas  —  The mainstream media really seem to imagine they can prevent Americans from knowing information by refusing to mention it in newspapers or on TV.  —  For those few Americans without an Internet connection and to whom I have not faxed the National Enquirer stories …

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 …

In Contempt Vote on Karl Rove, the Ayes Have It  —  The House Judiciary Committee has just voted to hold Karl Rove in contempt for failing to respond to a subpoena to face questioning from the Committee on the prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman.  —  The final vote was 20 ayes and 14 nays.

McCain Should Pick Romney, And Soon  —  As John McCain mulls his veep pick, I'd offer some thoughts on what he should do.  As the title indicates, I think Mitt Romney is quite possibly the best choice, and McCain should pick him soon.  —  Analysts have given multiple reasons for picking Romney …