Worlds Apart  —  When I was little, I had a recurrent dream that there was a terrible earthquake.  My father, his body a horse with wings, swooped down from the sky, kneeled so I could jump on his back and flew away just as the earth cracked open beneath me.  It was my most comforting dream.

Showdown at Saddleback  —  While normal people were out having fun Saturday night, I was home in front of the TV.  But I wasn't enjoying the Olympics.  Your diligent columnist was dutifully watching Barack Obama and John McCain answer the Rev. Rick Warren's questions at Saddleback Church.

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.

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.