Book says White House ordered forgery  —  A new book by the author Ron Suskind claims that the White House ordered the CIA to forge a back-dated, handwritten letter from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam Hussein.  —  Suskind writes in “The Way of the World,” to be published Tuesday …

Left Keeps Hammering McCain Oil Ties  —  Left-leaning interest groups, the Democratic National Committee and the campaign of Democrat Barack Obama have been hammering away at Republican John McCain over the the Arizona senator's fundraising success with oil companies.

Obama's Overstatement  —  An Obama ad says McCain's campaign got $2 million from “Big Oil.”  The total is actually $1.3 million.  —  Obama released a TV spot saying McCain's campaign got $2 million from “Big Oil” while McCain proposed “another $4 billion in tax breaks” for the industry.

THE LATEST MEME  —  Truly a Kuhnian moment.  John McCain is so honorable and straight-shooting that the only explanation for his campaign's headlong dive into sleaze, xenophobia and gonzo bamboozlement is that McCain is so out of it and controlled by his advisors that he doesn't actually know what they're doing in his name.

Bob Herbert: Why is everyone missing the phallic symbols in McCain's Britney ad?  —  Between this and last week's Godwin-ing of the crowd scenes, I'm honestly curious to see where the left takes the critique next.  One would think they'd either run out of cards to play or would quietly pocket …

Barack Obama shifts on tapping national oil reserves  —  In a campaign speech in Michigan, the candidate suggested releasing oil from the emergency stockpile, a relief plan reminiscent of President Clinton's in 2000.  —  LANSING, MICH. — Democrat Barack Obama called today for tapping …

Bayh Partisans cancel softball game  —  Sen. Evan Bayh's staff softball team, The Bayh Partisans, has cancelled the game it had scheduled for tomorrow evening with the drug policy team The One Hitters.  Bayh staffer Jonathan Stahler sent One Hitter team captain Kris Krane an e-mail Monday morning citing …

The Meaning of Capitalism  —  I've received an enormous amount of email, mostly positive, about my capitalism column (the most common complaint from the friendly readers was that capitalism is a Marxist term we shouldn't concede.  A fair complaint).  But I thought this email is worth responding to:

ATV/Zogby Poll Toss-Up!  McCain 42%, Obama 41% as Undecided Voters Increase...  Obama loses support among his strongest demographic groups  —  UTICA, New York - A national Associated TV/Zogby International telephone poll of 1,011 likely voters conducted July 31-Aug. 1 finds Republican …

Pressure Grows for F.B.I.'s Anthrax Evidence  —  WASHINGTON — After four years of painstaking scientific research, the F.B.I. by 2005 had traced the anthrax in the poisoned letters of 2001 to a single flask of the bacteria at the Army biodefense laboratory at Fort Detrick, Md., according to government scientists and bureau officials.

Why the tire-pressure gauge stings; Update: The spin continues  —  An inability to comprehend context appears to have broken out among the Leftosphere.  Apparently, none of our colleagues on the port side of the blogosphere can figure out why Barack Obama's suggestion that the energy crisis …

Awkward/Sad/Funny Typo from Novak AP story on NYTimes.com  —  digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/politics/Funny_Sad_ Typo_on_Robert_Novak_Retirement_Story_ on_NYTimes’; They've already fixed it, but the error above in the Associated Press story about Robert Novak's immediate retirement was live …

Secret deal kept British Army out of battle for Basra  —  A secret deal between Britain and the notorious al-Mahdi militia prevented British Forces from coming to the aid of their US and Iraqi allies for nearly a week during the battle for Basra this year, The Times has learnt.

The Joys of the RNC  —  From a T-shirt sold by a local entrepreneur  —  O bliss!  O rapture!  The RNC is coming to town.  The traffic headaches, the commandeered parking ramps.  The cops newly outfitted with tasers.  I think I'll pass, thanks.  —  But the Republican National Committee …

McCain Gets Bikers' Motors Running in S.D.  —  STURGIS, S.D. — If there was any question whether this is John McCain country, that doubt ended Monday as thousands of motorcycle riders repeatedly revved their Harleys upon his arrival here, creating a massive roar of approval and a cloud of exhaust fumes.

Now, 2 Obama backers, Bernie Mac and Morgan Freeman,hospitalized  —  A bad day for Barack Obama donors.  —  Morgan Freeman, the iconic voice of God in several films and reliable good-guy co-conspirator of Christian Bale's Batman in “The Dark Knight,” is in serious condition in a Memphis hospital …

Al Qaeda Suspect Extradited to New York for Alleged Attack  —  NEW YORK — An MIT-educated Pakistani woman once identified as a possible Al Qaeda associate has been brought to New York to face charges she tried to kill U.S. agents and military officers who were questioning her in Afghanistan …