OY ... LIVE MICS ARE SUCH DANGEROUS THINGS  —  Just watch (the voices are Mike Murphy and Peggy Noonan) ...  And if you're interested, the transcript ...

Angry Amateurs  —  The story of the day out here in Minneapolis is the McCain campaign's war against the press.  This has been building for some time.  Those of us who have criticized the candidate—and especially those of us who enjoyed good relations with McCain in the past …

UMMM  —  Is Sarah Palin really comparing herself to Harry Truman since he only served as vice president for a few months?  —  11:06 PM ... This really does put the party in party rally.  —  11:07 PM ... A few other thoughts.  You'll notice that Rudy Giuliani apparently ran too long …

McCain Camp Knocks Down Enquirer's Palin Rumor  —  From CBS News' John Bentley:  —  (ST. PAUL, MINN.) - John McCain's campaign threatened legal action against the National Enquirer today for running a story about McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, allegedly having an affair with her husband's business partner.

Focus Group: Palin Was (Alarmingly) Strong  —  Several moderate-Democrat friends of mine have been emailing—few if any would ever vote for McCain—but all agree that Palin was very strong.  The more liberal among them are a little panicked.  —  I completely misjudged how negative she would be.

Palin E-Mails Show Intense Interest in Trooper's Discipline  —  Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the running mate for GOP presidential candidate John McCain, wrote e-mails that harshly criticized Alaska state troopers for failing to fire her former brother-in-law and ridiculed an internal affairs investigation into his conduct.

Attacks, praise stretch truth at GOP convention  —  Featured Topics: - John McCain - Barack Obama  —  ST. PAUL, Minn. - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her Republican supporters held back little Wednesday as they issued dismissive attacks on Barack Obama and flattering praise on her credentials to be vice president.

Palin's Speech at the Republican National Convention  —  The following is a transcript of Gov. Sarah Palin's speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, as provided by CQ Transcriptions.  —  PALIN: Mr. Chairman, delegates, and fellow citizens, I will be honored to accept …

Live-blogging night 3 — Sarah Palin alert! — of the Republican Convention.  —  5:43 Central Time: I'm just setting this up so you can get started talking and to let you know that I'll be here — on what is obviously a very exciting night.  —  7:48: I'm just settling in for some serious blogging …

Obama might pursue criminal charges against Bush  —  Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden said yesterday that he and running mate Barack Obama could pursue criminal charges against the Bush administration if they are elected in November.  —  Biden's comments, first reported by ABC news …

Clinton aides: Palin treatment sexist  —  ST. PAUL, Minn. — Sarah Palin found some unlikely allies Wednesday as leading academics and even former top aides to Hillary Rodham Clinton endorsed the Republican charge that John McCain's running mate has been subject to a sexist double standard by the news media and Democrats.

One Very Off Moment  —  The one moment that stays with me tonight, oddly enough, was not Palin's speech.  It was a line from Giuliani, a New York mayor with a young third wife and gay friends, mocking a “cosmopolitan” who was brought up by a single mother.  It was that Barack Obama's rise could “only happen in America.”

Video: Megyn Kelly destroys Us Weekly bottom-feeder over Palin story  —  “Babies, Lies, and Scandal” runs the front-cover headline over a photo of the Barracuda.  What exactly are the “lies,” asks Kelly?  Simply the lies that are being told about Palin, comes the reply from this galactic tool …

GERALDINE FERRARO WAS NEVER LIKE THIS.  —  After a middling start of her speech, Sarah Palin hit her stride.  Palin's speech so far is MILES better than Biden's — and will probably be better than McCain's.

Before Speech, Running Mate Gets Some Coaching  —  Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee, emerged from the seclusion of preparing her acceptance speech to join her family with John McCain's to greet the Arizona senator when his plane arrived here Wednesday.

Palin on Earmarks: ‘We Did Well!!!’  —  Digging through Wasilla's municipal records is a lesson in the very essence of tedium.  You've got pages of proposals to rename streets, assess sewers, build skateboard parks, buy lawnmowers, rent “pop” machines, carve snowmobile trails …