McCain unsure how many houses he owns  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said in an interview Wednesday that he was uncertain how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own.  —  “I think - I'll have my staff get to you,” McCain told us in Las Cruces, N.M. “It's condominiums where - I'll have them get to you.”

Obama says he's chosen his VP — won't reveal who it is yet  —  Barack Obama told USA TODAY this afternoon that “yes,” he has made up his mind about whom his running mate will be — but he would not reveal the name or just when he will tell the nation about his choice.  —  USA TODAY's Kathy Kiely writes that:

New group plans Ayers attack on Obama  —  A new conservative group has produced a television ad attacking Barack Obama for his relationship with former Weather Underground bomber Bill Ayers.  —  “How much do your really know about Barack Obama?  What does he really believe?” asks the ad …

International Olympic Committee launches probe into He Kexin's age  —  Tim Reid in Washington, Jeremy Griffin and Jane Macartney in Beijing  —  The International Olympic Committee has ordered an investigation into mounting allegations that Chinese authorities covered up the true age …

The Anatomy of a Deception: How The McCains Changed Their Baby Adoption Story Just Before 2008 Campaign Began  —  As was pointed out yesterday by the Christian Science Monitor, the McCain campaign was called out for lying about the purported urging of Cindy McCain by Mother Teresa herself …

Obama gives nod to success of surge  —  Sen. Barack Obama, edging away from a long-held position, tacitly acknowledged the success of the Iraq troop-surge strategy during an appearance Tuesday before the country's largest organization of combat veterans.  —  “Let's be clear …

BARACK'S FAVORS FOR CORRUPT CRONY  —  Barack Obama has ad mitted it was “boneheaded” to get involved in a land deal with Tony Rezko, his friend and fund-raiser.  But the media's focus on that deal has distracted from the bigger question: Why would Obama become involved in any deal with a man like Rezko …

Clinton sugar daddy steps down  —  Footnote to the Democratic primary: Among the worries of the party faithful about New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was the business baggage of Bill Clinton, including his lucrative relationship with Vinod Gupta, founder and CEO of the infoUSA database and marketing firm.

The decay of serious journalism and Rachel Maddow's new show  —  (updated below)  —  As our political culture, economic security, standing in the world and our media institutions have all degraded beyond recognition after eight years of right-wing rule (much of it cheered on by The New Republic) …

Who Has The Cooler Podium?  — SUSPENDED  —  This vote suspended until I get an official picture of the DNC podium...  The GOP...  Or the DNC?  —  (image courtesy of Reuters)

ANTI-GOVERNMENT, ANTI-INFORMATION.  —  It's probably worth engaging with Jacob Sullum's argument against labeling requirements at slightly greater length.  His article on the subject basically makes two points: The first is that consumers don't want this, because if they did, then the market would already have provided it.