Biden the clear frontrunner for Veep  —  Foreign Relations Committee chairman has globe-trotting credentials  —  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - I've recently spoken with two of the finalists for the role of Barack Obama's running-mate, and to two other sources who are close to the process.

Rachel Maddow to Replace Dan Abrams on MSNBC  —  Rachel Maddow, shown filling in for Keith Olbermann on “Countdown” last month.  Ms. Maddow will host the 9 p.m. hour beginning Sept. 8.  (Ress Greenberg/ New York Times)  —  Just in time for the closing rush of the presidential election …

McCain weighs a Lieberman surprise  —  John McCain is seriously considering choosing a pro-abortion-rights running mate despite vocal resistance from conservatives, with former Democratic vice presidential nominee Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) very much in the mix, close McCain advisers say.

Solzhenitsyn Biographer: Cross-In-Dirt Gulag Story Never Happened  —  There's been a ton of buzz on the web for the last day or so — beginning with this Daily Kos diary — suggesting that John McCain patterned his story about a Vietamese captor drawing a cross in the dirt before him on a similar episode …

Barack Obama's image suffers amid John McCain attacks, poll finds  —  People watch as Sen. Obama arrives at the Sheraton hotel today in Raleigh North Carolina.  McCain and his allies have portrayed Obama in recent weeks as a naive celebrity who is unprepared to lead the nation in dangerous times.

Exclusive: Obama team reserving Old State Capitol in Springfield for Saturday to showcase running mate  —  The Chicago Sun-Times has learned that the Obama team, in the run-up to the Democratic convention, will showcase the new Obama ticket Saturday in Springfield at the Old State Capitol …

Barack Obama chooses Kathleen Sebelius for Vice President  —  We have a credible lead that Barack Obama will be announcing Kathleen Sebelius for Vice President / VP.  —  Our sources work within an ad agency that is hired by the Obama campaign, and have noted that the vast majority …

The Education of McCain  —  On Tuesdays, Senate Republicans hold a weekly policy lunch.  The party leaders often hand out a Message of the Week that the senators are supposed to repeat at every opportunity.  Sometimes there will be a pollster offering data that supposedly demonstrates …

Inverted optics: DNCC wraps Obama in upside-down flag; A familiar look?  —  Maybe the DNCC has kept track of the polling this summer and figures the Democratic nominee is officially in distress.  That's the only explanation for a silly gaffe by the convention committee for the graphics …

Is the tide turning?  —  CNN Senior Political Analyst  —  Heading into the candidates' appearances on Saturday night at Saddleback Church, the conventional wisdom in politics was Barack Obama should have a clear upper hand in any joint appearance with John McCain — one the young, eloquent …

Gore to speak at convention Thursday  —  (CNN) - Former Vice President Al Gore has accepted a speaking role on the final night of the Democratic convention, appearing on the same stage that Barack Obama will officially receive the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, three sources tell CNN.

Rice warns Moscow about its bomber runs off Alaska  —  BRUSSELS, Belgium — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Monday ruled out accelerating Georgia's admission to NATO in response to the Russian invasion.  But she warned Moscow that it is playing “a very dangerous game” …

Taliban Forces Kill 10 French Soldiers and Raid U.S. Base  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban insurgents mounted their most serious attacks in six years of fighting, one a complex attack with multiple suicide bombers on an American military base on Monday night, and another by some 100 insurgents …

The Hysteria-Based Foreign Policy  —  Matt Welch has an excellent little reason article putting John McCain's heated Georgia rhetoric in the context of McCain's larger record of overreacting to every international event.  He wasn't just worried by North Korea's nuclear program in 1994 …

Commentary: Is McCain another George W. Bush?  —  Editor's Note: Jack Cafferty is the author of the best-seller “It's Getting Ugly Out There: The Frauds, Bunglers, Liars, and Losers Who Are Hurting America.”  He provides commentary on CNN's “The Situation Room” daily from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. You can also visit Jack's Cafferty File blog.

It's Rudy  —  So many e-mailers this morning are predicting that the McCain trial balloon is really about Giuliani.  I'm not there, but here's one: … The McCain campaign has already hired a Giuliani staffer as the unnamed veep's communications director...