Obama Appears Ready to Announce His Running Mate  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Barack Obama has all but finalized his choice for a running mate and set an elaborate roll-out plan for his decision, beginning with an early morning alert to supporters, perhaps as soon as Wednesday …

Exclusive: McCain to name VP on Aug. 29  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) plans to celebrate his 72nd birthday on Aug. 29 by naming his running mate at a huge rally in the battleground state of Ohio, Republican sources said.  —  That's a week from this Friday, and the day after Sen. Barack Obama …

Obama VP buzz squarely on Biden  —  (CNN) - When Joe Biden returns to Capitol Hill Monday from his two-day trip to embattled Georgia, vice presidential speculation will rest squarely on him.  —  The longtime Delaware senator and former presidential candidate has long been considered …

I Honestly Can't Believe I'm Reading This  —  Regardless of what any one American's politics or personal election preference might be, is it lost on people what they are reading if they click into Andrew Sullivan's blog from Memeorandum? … What is quite well known beyond ANY shadow …

Increasingly Bizarre- Michael Goldfarb's +7 Rapier of Jackassery  —  I really don't care to spend the next few weeks arguing whether or not McCain is lying about his Christ/Cross/guard moment and will let others chase after things that can not be proven one way or another …

Mark Salter: McCain Told Me the “Cross in the Dirt” Story  —  I just got off the phone with Mark Salter, John McCain's closest aide whom some in the blogosphere are suggesting made up, or embellished, or did something to create the “cross in the dirt” story.  Salter told me that he absolutely did not do that.

McCain Responds  —  Michael Goldfarb calls any questions about the cross-in-the-dirt story desperate smears: … Here is how Swindle describes it to Byron York: … Convinced?  The answer as to why McCain never mentioned this in his first account or for a quarter century since …

Fellow POW: I Remember McCain Telling the “Cross in the Dirt” Story  —  You've probably seen that there are some out there in the blogosphere questioning the authenticity of John McCain's “cross in the dirt” story, which McCain told Saturday night at the Saddleback Summit.

The Cross In The Dirt, Ctd  —  Many readers have noted that versions of this story - attributed to Solzhenitsyn by Chuck Colson - have been a staple of evangelical sermons for a very long time.  They aren't always attributed to Solzhenitsyn, but this sermon, preached by Father Luke Veronis, is a classic of the genre.