Smothering the Hatchet  —  Hillary's former communications director on how to close the Clinton-Obama rift.  —  The New Republic has asked me what advice I would give to Senator Obama to improve relations with the Clintons during this convention week.  —  To be clear, I believe …

A Joe of His Own?  —  The anguished cries of Hillary supporters pierced the midday calm here on Saturday, as Barack Obama confirmed that his vice presidential choice was not Clinton, who got about 18 million votes this year running against him, but rather Joe Biden, who gained the support …

No guidance from Clinton  —  Speaking to reporters after her address to the New York delegation, Clinton offered delegates no instruction on how to cast their votes, Amie Parnes reports.  —  “I will be telling my delegates that I will vote for Barack Obama,” she said.  “How they vote is a more personal decision.

Accentuate the Negative  —  So the Obama campaign has turned to the politics of personal destruction, attempting to make a campaign issue out of John McCain's inability to remember how many houses he has.  And the turn comes not a moment too soon.  —  Over the past month or so many Democrats …

Zombie: The Denver Games — Opening Ceremony  —  (Zombie's reports are cross-posted at Pajamas Media.)  —  Although the Democratic National Convention doesn't start until today, Monday, August 25, the protests against the convention started the day before on Sunday.

The International Space Station Was Booked Solid  —  Vice President Cheney will travel abroad beginning September 2, 2008 [i.e., immediately after he addresses the Republican National Convention].  President Bush has asked the Vice President to travel to Azerbaijan, Georgia …

A Liberal's Lament  —  To win, Obama must convince the country that he is a man of substance, not just style.  History suggests this won't be easy.  —  A Bold Agenda: Kennedy, at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1960, outlined the framework of his New Deal update, the New Frontier, to a standing ovation

McCain Campaign Tries the Chicken Prank  —  I almost feel like a dupe writing about the second pro-Hillary ad McCain released today at 6am: It's a stunt, a trick meant to keep him in the press during the Democratic convention and gin up more Hillary-Obama-tension media storylines.  Message: neener neener neener.

I'm a Brilliant, Original, and Idiosyncratic Thinker But Don't Ever Disagree With Me  —  Much like Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen, I write for a living.  Primarily about U.S. politics and public policy.  I write about these things because I think they're important.

Durbin: McCain's a baller, too  —  Barack Obama may be able to drain a three pointer when the cameras are rolling, but John McCain has at least some metaphorical game.  So said Obama's own Illinios colleague and campaign co-chair, Sen. Dick Durbin, at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast with reporters on Monday morning.

DeLay might be cleared of charges  —  Appeals court says money-laundering law didn't apply to checks.  —  Money-laundering charges against former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay and two indicted co-conspirators may be dismissed because the 2002 campaign finance case involved checks and not cash, a lawyer for DeLay said Sunday night.

DNC TO RETURN $100G DONATION TO RANGEL  —  The Democratic National Committee is returning a $100,000 donation from embattled Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel made at his birthday fundraiser, saying it goes against a Team Obama ban on PAC money, The Post has learned.