FOURNIER IS AT IT AGAIN.... The latest piece from Ron Fournier, the AP's Washington bureau chief and the man responsible for directing the wire service's coverage of the presidential campaign, on Joe Biden joining the Democratic ticket, is drawing a fair amount of attention this morning.

Brooding on Biden  —  Share This: Digg!  —  Okay, I just arrived to Jerri's house, driving from Owl Farm through a massive rain storm through the Rocky Mountains.  —  Yes, I've been brooding about our new VP candidate.  The only people I've seen doing back flips over the Biden affair are Joe Biden and John McCain.

The 3:00 AM Thing, Cont'd  —  I still think it's unlikely it was deliberate.  Why I'm giving Obama the benefit of the doubt here is something I'll have to ponder.  Anyway a tech-savvy friend writes: … You know what?  Even if it was a mistake, some grownup over there should have said “3:00 AM?

RACISM IS THE ONLY REASON MCCAIN MIGHT BEAT HIM.  —  What with the Bush legacy of reckless war and economic mismanagement, 2008 is a year that favors the generic Democratic candidate over the generic Republican one.  Yet Barack Obama, with every natural and structural advantage in the presidential race …

The Veep's Pipeline Push  —  From the magazine issue dated Sep 1, 2008  —  A two-year-old letter by Vice President Dick Cheney that pushed a controversial Alaska natural-gas pipeline bill is getting renewed scrutiny because of recently disclosed evidence in the Justice Department's corruption case against Sen. Ted Stevens.

What Does This Really Tell Us?  —  Leaving aside all the necessary gaming of how this affects the election, what does the selection of Biden tell us about Obama's potential decision-making as president?  This is the second big decision of the national campaign (the first was opting out of public financing).

McCain Counters With...  Romney, of course.  The same factors in Romney's favor — pull in Michigan, Nevada, Colorado and New Hampshire, the energy brought by his organization— are still there, but the pick of Biden calls for a very experienced debater as the only thing Slow Joe …

Looks Like The Obama Campaign Laid An Egg  —  By way of the Ace we see this image hosted at the Obama website (I am not the most computer-savvy guy going, but I am satisfied this is no spoof.)  —  Coupled as it is with the Biden announcement, I can only infer that the Obamaites think they laid an egg (no dissent here).

Obama-Biden 2008  —  I have now watched and read Senator Biden's speech in Springfield earlier today.  From the perspective of the craft of speechwriting, it was quite a thing to behold.  —  In a speech of just over 16 minutes, Biden used, by my count, the phrase “ladies and gentlemen” 18 times.

Election 2008: Mississippi Presidential Election  —  Mississippi Still Favors McCain by Double Digits  —  John McCain continues to hold a double-digit lead over Barack Obama in Mississippi, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state.

Voters Want More From Obama  —  After being pummeled for weeks by John McCain, and losing some of his slender lead in the polls, the Obama campaign may finally be showing signs of life.  —  Barack Obama was always a long shot to win the White House.  It's no secret that some portion …