Gallup Daily: Obama Hits 50% for First Time  —  Leads McCain by eight percentage points, 50% to 42%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Aug. 30 through Sept. 1, finds Barack Obama leading the race for president with his highest share of support to date.

Kristol on Sarah Palin, Hockey Mom  —  McCain aides whose judgment I trust are impressed by Sarah Palin.  One was particularly amused by this exchange: A nervous young McCain staffer took it upon himself to explain to Palin the facts of life in a national campaign, the intense scrutiny she'd …

Todd Palin Was Registered Member of Alaska Independence Party Until 2002  —  The McCain camp today disputed rumors that presumptive vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin was ever registered with the secessionist Alaska Independence Party by releasing years of voter registration history …

She Is a Small-Town Mayor.  She Is Not — Repeat, Not — the Governor of Alaska.  —  In an interview of Barack Obama last night, CNN's Anderson Cooper mentioned Sarah Palin's experience as a small-town mayor and as governor of Alaska.  Obama, hewing to his campaign's talking points, ignored the governor part:

Palin's Church May Have Shaped Controversial Worldview  —  Three months before she was thrust into the national political spotlight, Gov. Sarah Palin was asked to handle a much smaller task: addressing the graduating class of commission students at her one-time church, Wasilla Assembly of God.

Republicans Rush In  —  One of the great sights of American political life — a YouTube moment if ever there was one — was to see the doughboy face of Newt Gingrich as he extolled the virtues of Sarah Palin, a sitcom of a vice presidential choice and a disaster movie if she moves up to the presidency …

McCain Spokesman Stumped Trying To Explain Why Palin Is Ready To Be Commander-In-Chief (VIDEO)  —  So, I know that one of the reasons John McCain hastily chose Sarah Palin as his running-and-soul mate was because he thought that Palin would exude some general appeal to female voters …

Fred Thompson rips NYT on Palin coverage  —  ST. PAUL - Former Sen. Fred Thompson lambasted The New York Times for its coverage of Sarah Palin on Tuesday, claiming the newspaper is “trying their best to drag her down.”  —  Thompson told Fox News that the Times has focused on Palin's children, saying, “I don't think they get it.”

President Bush Participates in Briefing on Hurricane Gustav, Discusses Energy  —  THE PRESIDENT: Members of my Cabinet have assembled here, and I thank you all for coming.  We recognize that the pre-storm efforts were important and so are the follow-up efforts — in other words …

Tuesdays with Rupert  —  Since buying The Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch has talked freely with the author about his business, his family, and the future.  (There was serious gossip, too.)  It's an unparalleled look at the 77-year-old mogul, transformed by his marriage to Wendi Deng, yet utterly, unapologetically himself.

Vetting?  —  ANCHORAGE — I just got off the phone with the very helpful city clerk at the Wasilla City Clerk's office, Kristie Smithers, who is pulling some documents for me from when Gov. Sarah Palin was mayor.  —  I told her I appreciated her help, since I'm sure she's been bombarded with requests these last few weeks.

52% Still Have Favorable View of Palin, But Partisan Gap Widens  —  After a long weekend of Democratic criticism of John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate, over half of voters (52%) still have at least a somewhat favorable opinion of the Alaska governor.  Thirty-one percent (31%) view her very favorably.