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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:
Top of the Ticket, Maggie's Farm, Alas, a blog, Sadly, No!, pandagon.net and Pam's House Blend
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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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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.
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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CNN:
Source: Obama calling also-rans on VP shortlist — (CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama called some people on his shortlist for the vice presidential slot Thursday night to tell them he had not selected them as a running mate, a highly placed Democratic Party source said. — The source did not say which people got the call.
Discussion:
Wonkette
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:
Marc Ambinder, Commentary, FiveThirtyEight.com, Political Perceptions, Brendan Nyhan and marbury
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 …
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The Politico:
Exclusive: Obama's lost law review article — As president of the Harvard Law Review and a law professor in Chicago, Senator Barack Obama refined his legal thinking, but left a scant paper trail. His name doesn't appear on any legal scholarship. — But an unsigned — and previously unattributed …
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:
TexasDarlin, Hot Air, JustOneMinute, Atlas Shrugs, The Strata-Sphere, Lonewacko, Liberal Values, Confederate Yankee and www.redstate.com
Marc Ambinder:
Hints Of Major McCain Rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan On Or About 8/31 — So there's apparently going to be a major political event in Grand Rapids, Michigan on or about 8/31. — A McCain campaign event, say two sources. (Cautioning as always...plans could change, but...)
Discussion:
TownHall Blog
Richard A. Oppel Jr / New York Times:
Iraq Takes Aim at Leaders of U.S.-Tied Sunni Groups — BAGHDAD — The Shiite-dominated government in Iraq is driving out many leaders of Sunni citizen patrols, the groups of former insurgents who joined the American payroll and have been a major pillar in the decline in violence around the nation.
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, Swampland, abu muqawama, Informed Comment, SWJ Blog, democracyarsenal.org and Campaign Stops
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Veep Picks — Veep Day is tomorrow, by all accounts. My against-the-grain prediction: Sebelius. What do you think?
Discussion:
Cogitamus
Damien Cave / New York Times:
At Rally, Finding Clinton's Aid to Obama Too Tepid — BOCA RATON, Fla. — Minutes after pushing through the rope line to thank Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for “all that you do,” Robin Shaffer said she was worried. She feared that the senator she respected and admired for being tough …
Discussion:
HolyCoast.com
John Nolte / Pajamas Media:
David Zucker Commits Hollywood Treason — The film industry's blacklist is dead — unless you happen to be openly conservative. — In just this past year, counting both narratives and documentaries, we've seen nearly a dozen, high profile anti-Iraq War films and not a single one has made a profit or argued the other side.
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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