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Obama Pushes Back on GOP Tire Pressure Attack: “It's Like These Guys Take Pride in Being Ignorant” — At a town hall meeting in Berea , Ohio, today, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, pushed back against the GOP attack on his advice to a voter last week that having a tuned up car and fully inflated tires would help save energy.
Discussion:
The New Republic, Liberal Values, Pajamas Media, TPM Election Central, www.redstate.com and TIME.com
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Exclusive: Auto Makers Deflate McCain's Ignorant Hot Air On Value Of Proper Tire Inflation — In a series of public events today, John McCain has ramped up his disingenuous attack on the impact proper tire inflation can have in saving energy. At a rally in South Dakota …

Obama responds: 'It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant" — Also in Berea, Obama (defended his remark about inflating tires, a first response to the favorite Republican attack of the moment, which he'd ignored for a few days as the GOP mailed gas gauges to reporters.
Discussion:
The Swamp


Discussion:
The New Republic, TalkLeft, Open Left, Fox News, TMZ.com, TIME.com, The World Newser, FOX Embeds, Political Radar and Grasping Reality …


McCain makes the rounds at biker rally — STURGIS, South Dakota (CNN) - Standing on the main stage at a world famous motorcycle rally in rural South Dakota on Monday, John McCain looked out on a sea of denim-wearing bikers and told them he enjoyed their company much more than that of the 200,000 Germans …
Discussion:
Wonkette, Taylor Marsh, DownWithTyranny!, Political Machine, The Huffington Post, The Carpetbagger Report, TalkLeft, Shakesville and Commentary
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TAKE MY WIFE, PLEASE! — We're trying to find out a bit more about the Bikini Beauty Pageant at the Buffalo Chip, where John McCain showed up and offered up wife Cindy as a contestant. ESPN says the event is topless and “occasionally bottomless”. Actually their description is worth quoting in full ...

Topless in Sturgis — Meanwhile, at a biker rally in Sturgis, S.D., John McCain appears to have volunteered his wife for a topless beauty pageant: … As a reader e-mails, “Miss Buffalo Chip has ‘been known to feature topless women’ in the same way that Guns and Ammo magazine has been known to feature firearms.”

Bayh: Obama hasn't asked me to join ticket — Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., told The Indianapolis Star today that Sen. Barack Obama has not asked him to be his running mate and that he's not expecting Obama to announce his vice presidential pick when Obama is in Indiana Wednesday.
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Author claims White House knew Iraq had no WMD — Journalist Ron Suskind says Bush ordered forgery linking Saddam, al-Qaeda — President Bush committed an impeachable offense by ordering the CIA to to manufacture a false pretense for the Iraq war in the form of a backdated …
Discussion:
TalkLeft
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Bruce Ivins Wasn't the Anthrax Culprit — Over the past week the media was gripped by the news that the FBI was about to charge Bruce Ivins, a leading anthrax expert, as the man responsible for the anthrax letter attacks in September/October 2001. — But despite the seemingly powerful narrative …
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dontgo: A Turning Point for the Right — #dontgo is officially a movement. MoveOn is mobilizing against the House Republicans and the rightosphere this afternoon. I don't think they've ever done this in response to a grassroots conservative protest. Something has changed.
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New poll shows Obama losing support among young, women — Barack Obama has lost ground among some of his strongest bases of support, including young people, women, Democrats and independents, according to a new ATV/Zogby poll. — The Illinois Democrat has also lost some support among African-Americans …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Power Line, Shakesville, TownHall Blog, The Gun Toting Liberal?, Political Machine, American Power and Commentary
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Where's the Landslide? — Why isn't Barack Obama doing better?
Discussion:
marbury, Weekly Standard Blog, USA Today, The Huffington Post, NO QUARTER, Salon, Power Line, Hot Air, TPMCafe, TownHall Blog, Washington Wire, The Swamp, protein wisdom and The Corner


U.S. ARMY HOPES TO KEEP NATIVE ARABIC SPEAKERS — Incentives likely to include large payments to soldiers now working as translators. … The Army may begin paying a retention bonus of as much as $150,000 to Arabic speaking soldiers in reflection of how critical it has become for the US military …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Huffington Post, The Carpetbagger Report, Outside The Beltway, Commentary and Donklephant


Ex-Presidential Candidate Advocates Stalking Prosecutor — Mike Gravel, a former two-term senator from Alaska and fringe Democratic and Libertarian presidential candidate, urged people to stalk a federal prosecutor and his family in order to get criminal contempt charges dropped against Sami Al-Arian …


Man heckles Obama about Pledge of Allegiance … BEREA, Ohio (AP) - A man who wore press credentials and took photographs from a platform interrupted Barack Obama's town-hall meeting Tuesday by shouting complaints that the Democratic presidential candidate had not called for the audience to say the Pledge of Allegiance.


Gallup Daily: Obama Holds 4-Point Advantage — Registered voters prefer Obama to McCain by 47% to 43% — PRINCETON, NJ — The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update on registered voters' presidential preferences shows Barack Obama with a modest four percentage point advantage over John McCain, 47% to 43%.

My Bet With Francis Fukuyama — No matter what happens in November, the war in Iraq will not be brought to an end by either Barack Obama or John McCain. The war in Iraq is over. We've won. — Exhibit A for my claim: Francis Fukuyama has agreed to write me a check for $100.

Does Tom Cruise Know About This? — The newest McCain ad describes McCain as “the original maverick”: — Actually, I think this is a pretty good ad. It suggests that, at least when he's not cutting nasty spots comparing Obama to Britney and Paris, Steve Schmidt is going to steer McCain …