McCain Prepares Rezko Ad; Wright “Now Fair Game”; GOP 527 Attacks  —  Sen. John McCain's campaign is finishing a hard-hitting television ad highlighting Barack Obama 's ties to shady Chicago land dealer Tony Rezko, the one-time Obama patron who was convicted earlier this summer of fraud.

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:

Born in the U.S.A.  —  The truth about Obama's birth certificate.  —  In June, the Obama campaign released a digitally scanned image of his birth certificate to quell speculative charges that he might not be a natural-born citizen.  But the image prompted more blog-based skepticism about the document's authenticity.

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 …

Limbaugh: Obama's Nomination “Really goes back to the fact that nobody had the guts to stand up and say no to a black guy.”  —  Audio and more from Media Matters: … Yes, someone should have told this young, uppity negro to STFU and know his place in American society.  You knew he was a baby killer, right?

Veep Picks  —  Veep Day is tomorrow, by all accounts.  My against-the-grain prediction: Sebelius.  What do you think?

Ohio Voting Machines Contained Programming Error That Dropped Votes  —  A voting system used in 34 states contains a critical programming error that can cause votes to be dropped while being electronically transferred from memory cards to a central tallying point, the manufacturer acknowledges.

Where's Obama's Passion?  —  A few days before Barack Obama was to announce his choice for Vice President, he was asked at a North Carolina town meeting what qualities he wanted in a running mate.  He wandered through a derisive, if desultory, critique of Dick Cheney, then switched gears.

Hoping It's Biden  —  Barack Obama has decided upon a vice-presidential running mate.  And while I don't know who it is as I write, for the good of the country, I hope he picked Joe Biden.  —  Biden's weaknesses are on the surface.  He has said a number of idiotic things over the years and …

They're Paying Attention Now  —  Why is it a real race now, with John McCain rising in the polls and Barack Obama falling?  There are many answers, but here I think is an essential one: The American people have begun paying attention.  —  It's hard for our political class to remember …

More Americans Question Religion's Role in Politics  —  Some Social Conservative Disillusionment  —  Some Americans are having a change of heart about mixing religion and politics.  A new survey finds a narrow majority of the public saying that churches and other houses of worship should keep …

Two McCain Offices Receive Envelopes With White Powder, Threat  —  Two John McCain campaign offices received envelopes supposedly containing unidentified white powder and threatening notes Thursday afternoon, but authorities later determined that there were no hazardous materials invovled and a Colorado inmate appeared responsible.