What the Palin Pick Says  —  John McCain is not a normal conservative.  He has instincts, but few abstract convictions about the proper size of government.  He's a traditionalist, but is not energized by the social conservative agenda.  As Rush Limbaugh understands, but the Democrats apparently do not …

McCain Turns Sour on His Onetime Media ‘Base’ as Election Nears  —  Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) — The longtime love affair between John McCain and what he once called his “base” — the national news media — is on the rocks.  —  McCain's campaign manager, Steve Schmidt, yesterday lashed out at what he deemed …

Palin's Small Alaska Town Secured Big Federal Funds  —  Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin employed a lobbying firm to secure almost $27 million in federal earmarks for a town of 6,700 residents while she was its mayor, according to an analysis by an independent government watchdog group.

Bristol Palin's pregnancy was an open secret back home  —  He's a superhunky bad-boy ice hockey player from cold country; she's a chestnut-haired beauty and popular high school senior.  —  Soon the all-American teen twosome will make GOP vice presidential pick and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin …

Why the Palin Baby Story Matters  —  St. Paul — At 6:30 Monday morning, at a hotel here in St. Paul, a team of senior McCain staffers got word from even more senior staffers that there was news about vice-presidential pick Sarah Palin.  Everybody had heard the rumors, spread on The Atlantic …

McCain camp's detailed review of Palin  —  ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Sarah Palin's path to the Republican ticket started with her name on a list — and a team of some 25 people poring through public records searching for trouble spots without her knowledge.  Then came the 70-question survey and a nearly three-hour interview.

Pool: What Day Will Sarah Palin Drop Out?  —  The day John McCain appointed Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential nominee, I wrote: … It had nothing to do with Eagleton's particular problems, but how McGovern came to choose him, failed to adequately vet him, and then waffled when the problems arose …

Obama defends natural disaster experience  —  (CNN) — Barack Obama defended his experience in dealing with natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, and took a swipe at newly minted GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.  —  In an interview on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 Monday night …

New Palin details may help, not hurt  —  ST. PAUL, Minn. — Fishing permit violations.  A blue-collar husband who racked up a DUI citation as a 22-year-old.  An unmarried teenage daughter who is pregnant and a nasty child custody battle involving a family member.