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 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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

Swindle backs McCain cross story  —  Responding to DailyKos diarists and to Andrew Sullivan, the McCain campaign has a statement from fellow prisoner of war Orson Swindle, who says he first heard a story of a sympathetic guard's drawing a cross in the dirt from McCain himself in 1971.