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.

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 …

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 …

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:

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 …

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.

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 …

While Diplomats Dither, Iran Builds Nukes  —  This weekend, yet another “deadline” passed for Iran to indicate it was seriously ready to discuss ending its pursuit of nuclear weapons.  Like so many other deadlines during these five years of European-led negotiations, this one died quietly …

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 …

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 …

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 Molten Core of Barack: Why Obama Can't Win  —  In which science-fiction movie do aliens visit the people of earth and insist, “Take me to your leader”?  If they landed today, America's news media would direct them to Barack Obama, the first American to run a global campaign for President.

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.

Hillary's back!  —  Glenn Thrush, in his Politico debut (!), emails over this scoop:  —  Hillary Clinton will campaign for Barack Obama this Friday in Nevada and hit the Miami area on Aug. 21 for a fundraiser and rally as part of a pre-convention unity swing, according to people close to Clinton.