Another Controversy for Sarah Palin  —  Former Police Chief Says He Was Fired for Challenging Palin's Campaign Contributors  —  Gov. Sarah Palin is already facing ethical questions over her firing of the Alaska public safety commissioner, and now she faces questions over the firing of a longtime local police chief.

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.

Palin faces a cultural crucible  —  As VP hopeful prepares to take center stage, Tribune cultural critic Julia Keller weighs the role of sexism in the national conversation  —  She's hunted moose at midnight without batting an eyelash, but Sarah Palin now finds herself up against the biggest beast of all …

McCain had criticized earmarks from Palin  —  Three times in recent years, the Arizona senator's lists of ‘objectionable’ pork spending have included earmarks requested by his new running mate.  —  WASILLA, ALASKA — For much of his long career in Washington, John McCain has been throwing darts …

The real politics of the Bridge to Nowhere....  With all the debate surrounding the Bridge to Nowhere earmark, I offer you a campaign photo from 2006 when the Bridge to Nowhere was considered the Bridge to Somewhere by one candidate seeking votes from the people of Ketchikan.

Bush: “McCain Wasn't ‘Tortured’”  —  I checked the transcript this morning and the biggest bombshell in this campaign so far, in my opinion, is the following section of Bush's speech: … Now have you ever heard someone recount what was done to John McCain in the Hanoi Hilton and not use the word “torture”?

Obama Met With Fox News Executives  —  At a secret meeting with Barack Obama three months ago, Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes says, he tried to clear the air with the Democratic senator by saying that his organization was determined to be fair but would not be “in the tank” for Obama's campaign.

Michael Moore responds to Lieberman.  —  Yesterday in his address to the Republican National Convention, Sen. Joe Lieberman (R-CT) tried to demonstrate the “maverick” appeal of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) by invoking filmmaker Michael Moore.  He said that “if John McCain is just another partisan Republican …

MCCAIN CREATES A DISASTER STORY FOR THE NEWS-STARVED PRESS.  —  The news abhors a vacuum.  Politicians, public-relations disinformers, media consultants, and other spin artists may think it's wise to suppress the elemental force that is the news.  But when the news breaches the container it's been stuffed into, mayhem results.

Palin's Handling of Other People's Pregnant Teens  —  Obviously, from the perspective of a progressive, there is much to dislike about Sarah Palin's politics.  But this tidbit in today's WaPo strikes me as particularly offensive: … I'm sorry, but a politician who opposes abortion …

More turnabout is fair play  —  John McCain made unkind remarks about Chelsea Clinton.  My opinion of the kind of man who makes jokes about a young girl unfortunate enough to go through puberty on the public stage is unprintable.  That, and his appalling treatment of his first wife …

How Obama lost the election  —  DENVER - Senator Barack Obama's acceptance speech last week seemed vastly different from the stands of this city's Invesco Stadium than it did to the 40 million who saw it on television.  Melancholy hung like thick smog over the reserved seats where I sat with Democratic Party staffers.

THE MCCAIN CAMP'S NEW PALIN TV AD  —  From NBC's Mark Murray  —  The McCain camp is going up with a new TV ad touting Palin's credentials and attacking Obama's.  —  The campaign says the ad will air in “key states” (read: there probably isn't much money behind the ad).  —  Script:

Sarah Palin and Motherhood  —  I am extremely disappointed in the choice of Sarah Palin as the Vice Presidential candidate of the Republican Party.  I will still vote for Senator McCain, because I am very concerned about having a fundamental leftist, especially one who is a marvelous orator, as President.