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.

Schlafly Chides McCain Camp for Palin Cancellation  —  ABC News' Teddy Davis reports: Conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly is taking the McCain campaign to task for notifying her at the last minute that Sarah Palin will be a no-show on Tuesday when the Republican National Coalition for Life holds an event honoring the Alaska governor.

Palin lied about visiting Ireland as part of her foreign policy experience  —  She didn't visit Ireland, which is what the McCain-Palin campaign claimed to Politico's Ben Smith on Saturday.  She had a short refueling stopover, which means at best her extensive Irish diplomacy amounted to buying …

Gramm Says Supporters of McCain Aren't ‘Whiners,’ Defends Palin  —  Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) — Former Texas Senator Phil Gramm, who stepped aside as John McCain's campaign co-chairman in July after an uproar over comments that those worried about the U.S. economy are “whiners,” today revisited that sentiment.

Another AIP Official Says Palin Was at 1994 Convention*  —  An intense “she said"/"she said" has emerged over whether Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was ever a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, the third-largest political party in the 49th state.  The AIP wants Alaskans to get an opportunity …

Team McCain Hits Back on Palin, Vetting  —  Had a long talk this morning with a senior strategist in the McCain campaign.  I think it's fair to say Team McCain is seriously unhappy with a New York Times story, “Palin Disclosures Raise Questions On Vetting,” which came out this morning and is driving much of the coverage of the issue.

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 …

Palin's husband was member of third party  —  Featured Topics: - John McCain - Barack Obama  —  ST. PAUL, Minn. - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's husband, Todd, twice registered as a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, a fierce states' rights group that wants to turn all federal lands in Alaska back to the state.

The Case Against the Case Against Palin  —  A very good friend, who is a lifelong Alaskan and one of the smartest people I know, offers this word of caution to those (yes, like me) inclined to take Sarah Palin lightly: … —Christopher Orr  —  Related Articles:

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.