Top Items:
Randyj / TIME.com:
2 GOP Sources: It's Romney — Two Republicans close to the situation say McCain has apparently settled on Mitt Romney as his running mate. — Two additional GOP sources say McCain had not offered the slot to anyone as of Thursday night, and that he could still change his mind. — Developing...
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Marc Ambinder:
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.
Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:
McCain family owns 8 properties — John McCain's family owns at least eight properties — not the seven Democrats are alleging or the four McCain's staff identified — according to a Politico analysis of property and tax records, as well as interviews. — The presumptive Republican nominee …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, CBS News, Matthew Yglesias, Washington Post, Hot Air, www.redstate.com, The Huffington Post, Don Surber and Undiplomatic
Hindrocket / Power Line:
NO MORE MISTER NICE GUY — The latest campaign kerfuffle is Obama's effort to make hay out of John McCain's inability to tell a reporter how many houses he owns. McCain mumbled something about condos and said the reporter should talk to his wife. Predictably, Obama is trying to spin …
Discussion:
Maggie's Farm, Top of the Ticket, Sadly, No!, pandagon.net, Alas, a blog, The Jed Report and Althouse
Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
McCain Advisers Say Stance on Abortion Is Crucial for No. 2 — SEDONA, Ariz. — Senator John McCain has narrowed his list of potential running mates to a handful of candidates and appears unlikely to select anyone who supports abortion rights, several advisers close to his campaign said on Thursday.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
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 …
Eric Kleefeld / TPM Election Central:
McCain Camp Responds On Houses Gaffe: He Was A POW! — The McCain campaign is road-testing a new argument in responding to Obama's criticism of his number-of-houses gaffe, an approach the McCain camp has never tried before: The houses gaffe doesn't matter because ... he was a POW!
Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
McCains Bought Second Beach Condo At Around Time McCain Said …
McCains Bought Second Beach Condo At Around Time McCain Said …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Hotline On Call, Balloon Juice, PoliticalBase.com Blog, Oliver Willis, Sadly, No! and Pam's House Blend
Glenn Reynolds / Pajamas Media:
I TOLD YOU THAT IT WAS A BAD IDEA for Obama to bring up houses again.
I TOLD YOU THAT IT WAS A BAD IDEA for Obama to bring up houses again.
Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Analysis: Why the Home Debate Matters
Analysis: Why the Home Debate Matters
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, American Power, News Hounds, The New Republic, Wizbang, Associated Press, Oliver Willis and The Moderate Voice
John Amato / Crooks and Liars:
Is The Narrative Shifting for Hillary as VP? He's ready! — USA Today reports: … With a slew of new polls coming out that have not been good for Obama, I wonder if his camp is rethinking their strategy for selecting a VP? — Check out this CBS/NY Times poll:
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On Politics:
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:
FactCheck.org:
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.
Discussion:
Hot Air, TexasDarlin, JustOneMinute, Atlas Shrugs, Lonewacko, Liberal Values and www.redstate.com
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Veep Picks — Veep Day is tomorrow, by all accounts. My against-the-grain prediction: Sebelius. What do you think?
Martin Samuel / Times of London:
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 …
Discussion:
Sports Illustrated, michellemalkin.com, Deceiver.com, Gateway Pundit, HolyCoast.com, The Opinionator and JustOneMinute
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David Brooks / New York Times:
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 …
Discussion:
Brendan Nyhan
Mary Pat Flaherty / Washington Post:
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.
Discussion:
About.com US Politics
Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:
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 …
Discussion:
Ed Driscoll.com
Joe Klein / Time:
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.
Mark Brown / Rocky Mountain News:
Public Enemy may play DNC concert after all — After a day of contentious back-and-forth accusations between rappers Public Enemy and protest group Re-create 68, the two will try to hammer out a deal to put on a free concert - though it won't be Tuesday as originally planned.
Discussion:
TalkLeft
CNN:
Survey: More say churches shouldn't be in politics — WASHINGTON (CNN) — A slim majority of Americans think churches should stay out of politics, according to a new survey. — The survey suggests that for the first time in more than a decade, there has been a shift away from the view …
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CNN:
McCain campaign offices get threatening letters — DENVER, Colorado (CNN) — Sen. John McCain received two suspicious letters at two campaign offices, with at least one containing an unidentified white powder, U.S. Secret Service and McCain's spokespeople said.
Discussion:
Washington Post
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