A Clear and Present Danger To the American Left  —  Notes from the convention:  —  Drafts of John McCain's acceptance speech have been bopping around the inside of the campaign for at least a few days, and a question is whether or how much it will be changed to account for the hurricane in New Orleans and the Gulf coast.

Noonan, Murphy trash Palin on hot mic: 'It's over'  —  After a segment with NBC's Chuck Todd ended today, Republican consultant Mike Murphy and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan were caught on a live mike ridiculing the choice of Sarah Palin.  —  “It's over,” said Noonan …

Excerpts from Palin's Speech  —  This just in...

Awful: Peggy Noonan, Mike Murphy caught on open mike about Palin  —  I wonder how this little interstitial made its way from MSNBC to TPM.  Oh well.  Fox nailed Jesse Jackson talking about Obama this way, so turnabout's fair play.  —  Simply awful, not only for Palin as a vote of no confidence …

Peggy Noonan, Mike Murphy Caught On Tape Disparaging Palin Choice: “It's Over,” “Political Bulls**t,” “Gimmicky”  —  Wall Street Journal columnist and former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan and former John McCain adviser, Time columnist, and MSNBC contributor Mike Murphy were caught …

Analysis: GOP contradicts self on Palin family  —  Featured Topics: - John McCain - Barack Obama  —  ST. PAUL, Minn. - People: Make up your minds.  —  For two days, the chorus from Republicans on TV news and in the halls of the convention has been resounding: Back off and let the Palin family be.

“Another Incredible Allegation” — What The Enquirer Is Saying About Palin  —  Concerning the allegations in the new National Enquirer of an extramarital affair involving Sarah Palin, I called the tabloid this afternoon and asked for a copy of the new story.

What Palin Will Do Tonight  —  I've been talking to a member of the McCain/Palin team this morning about what to expect from Palin's speech to the convention tonight.  These speeches often feature a lot of biographical material, introducing an unknown candidate to the world.

The War Against the Press  —  I've talked to many political professionals over the years who were mad at the media, or me in particular.  —  But I've never quite had a conversation like the one Tuesday night with Steve Schmidt.  —  He was absolutely furious as he unloaded on the journalistic community …

CHOREOGRAPHY  —  Since there is widespread agreement that the children of candidates should not become topics of campaign debate, it behooves us to note that the McCain campaign has almost singlehandedly made Sarah Palin's daughter a central figure in the Republican convention.

What Sarah Palin Needs to Accomplish Tonight  —  Nothing Sarah Palin says tonight ought to have much bearing on the question of whether she's qualified to be vice president.  But as a political matter she does have the ability at least change the mocking media dynamic around her selection …

Cindy McCain, Sarah Palin: Abortion rift  —  ST. PAUL, Minn. - Cindy McCain says that she, like Sarah Palin, is “pro-life,” but parts ways with John McCain's running mate on the question of banning abortion for victims of rape and incest.  —  McCain also says they talked about picking Connecticut …