Obama to General Wesley Clark: Your Services Not Needed  —  (General Wesley Clark speaking at Yearly Kos Convention in Chicago, 2007)  —  General Wesley Clark is not attending the Democratic National Convention.  —  He was informed by Barack Obama's people that there was “no reason to come.”

Obama nearly doubles McCain haul  —  Barack Obama raised $51 million in July, nearly twice as much as John McCain.  —  McCain revealed Friday that he raised $27 million last month, his best month of the campaign.  —  The summer surge pushed Obama over the $400 million mark for what he's raised …

Memo From a Poison Penn  —  Say you find yourself seated on the train behind two white supremacists who are beside themselves over the possibility that Barack Obama could become America's first black president.  —  They are so fired up, they fail to notice you.

Obama's Massive Headfake: Hillary for VP?  —  The reasons to think Hillary Clinton will not the Democratic VP nominee are myriad.  Among them:  — Clinton's camp says she is not being vetted  — VoteBoth, a Clinton-for-VP project by two former Clinton operatives, has shut down, proclaiming Clinton's VP chances nonexistent

Colorado turns purple in polls  —  Electorate's great divide is by age and geography  —  A political battle for the ages may become a battle of the ages.  —  Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are neck-and-neck in Colorado, solidifying the state as a key …

Faith and values on center stage with McCain and Obama  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — The political spotlight will shine on Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama on Saturday night when the two candidates are expected to face tough questions on personal values, presidential leadership and international affairs.

Allies Ask Obama to Make ‘Hope’ More Specific  —  As Senator Barack Obama prepares to accept the Democratic presidential nomination next week, party leaders in battleground states say the fight ahead against Senator John McCain looks tougher than they imagined, with Mr. Obama vulnerable …

Manhunt backlash  —  The executives of a gay sex site are apparently more concerned about the perception that they're associated with John McCain than McCain is about the association with them.  —  The chairman of the board of Manhunt, the Cambrige-based hook-up site, was forced to resign after reports that he gave $2,300 to McCain.

Cold Friends, Wrapped in Mink and Medals  —  Writing in The Financial Times last week, Chrystia Freeland recalled Francis Fukuyama's 1989 essay “The End of History?,” which trumpeted the definitive triumph of liberal democracy.  The great nightmare tyrannies of last century — the Evil Empire …

Rep.: Half of House Dems may vote Hillary at DNC  —  Rep. Loretta Sanchez says she's happy for the chance to vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Democratic National Convention—and she predicts that as many as half of the Democrats in the House could join her.

Broad Response to 9/11 Offers Outline of a McCain Doctrine  —  WASHINGTON — Senator John McCain arrived late at his Senate office on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, just after the first plane hit the World Trade Center.  “This is war,” he murmured to his aides.

Ticket give-away creates suspicion  —  As the Barack Obama campaign begins doling out tickets today to his historic Invesco Field speech, some of those who missed out are questioning whether the system really was first-come, first-served.  —  Several of them said they were upset …