MSNBC Takes Incendiary Hosts From Anchor Seat  —  MSNBC tried a bold experiment this year by putting two politically incendiary hosts, Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews, in the anchor chair to lead the cable news channel's coverage of the election.  —  That experiment appears to be over.

Poll: Convention lifts McCain over Obama  —  WASHINGTON — The Republican National Convention has given John McCain and his party a significant boost, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken over the weekend shows, as running mate Sarah Palin helps close an “enthusiasm gap” that has dogged the GOP all year.

SLOW SLIDE INTO OBLIVION  —  I spent most of the day today traveling and then giving a talk up at Union College a few hours north of New York City.  So I was offline most of the day.  And though I heard about Charlie Gibson bagging the first interview with Sarah Palin, I was eager to get home and read the details.

Ms. Palin's Pipeline  —  PEOPLE ARE still buzzing about Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's acceptance speech.  But while her style has been minutely analyzed, very little commentary has focused on one of the few substantive claims she made about her brief tenure as governor of Alaska …

Brief slip puts Barack Obama in tough spot  —  Bellantoni (View Blog)  —  ST. LOUIS, Mo. — In a testament to the lightning speed of the false viral email rumors about Sen. Barack Obama's faith, a brief misstatement on a Sunday talk show already has caught fire on the Internet.

Sarah Palin's Secret Emails  —  The Palin administration won't release hundreds of emails from her office, claiming they cover confidential policy matters.  Then why do the subject lines refer to a political foe, a journalist, and non-policy topics?  —  In June, Andrée McLeod …

Palin & Press: A Testy Start  —  ST. PAUL, Minn. — From the moment Sarah Palin stepped onto the national stage, she was mauled, minimized and manhandled by an openly skeptical media establishment.  —  That lasted six days.  By Thursday morning, after a speech in which she chided the journalistic elite …

U.S. Seizes Control Of Mortgage Giants  —  Takeover of Fannie And Freddie Aims To Revive Housing, Financial Markets  —  The government seized control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac yesterday in a dramatic bid to restore faith in the embattled mortgage giants and arrest a vicious cycle …

McCain's Convenient Untruth  —  When it comes to fighting wars, John McCain stands up and calls for sacrifice.  “We never hide from history; we make history,” he declared in his convention speech.  But when it comes to taxes, McCain is unwilling to demand even a teensy bit of sacrifice.

Fusing Politics and Motherhood in New Way  —  Sarah Palin's baby shower included a surprise guest: her own baby.  He had arrived in the world a month early, so on a sunny May day, Ms. Palin, the governor of Alaska, rocked her newborn as her closest friends, sisters, even her obstetrician presented …

MTV piles on the Palin family; host Russell Brand promotes Obama, bashes America, Bush, and Christians; viewer backlash; transcript added  —  Scroll down for updates...transcript added...  Obama's Viacom thugs strike.  —  Reader M.G. writes that the MTV Awards show was the latest venue for vicious Palin family-bashing:

Palin in Debate  —  I just finished watching a video on C-Span's website of the August, 2006 Republican debate in the Alaska governor's race.  It pitted Frank Murkowski, the then-governor of the state and veteran of 22 years in the U.S. Senate, against Republican politician John Binkley and Wasilla mayor Sarah Palin.

Ban on Political Endorsements by Pastors Targeted  —  CHICAGO — Declaring that clergy have a constitutional right to endorse political candidates from their pulpits, the socially conservative Alliance Defense Fund is recruiting several dozen pastors to do just that on Sept. 28, in defiance of Internal Revenue Service rules.

Obama-Biden camp turns reporters' gag into attack on Palin  —  WILMINGTON, Delaware (CNN) - So far, Sen. Joe Biden has declined to question opponent Sarah Palin's record, but a gag by the press corps traveling in Biden's plane gave the senator's staff an opportunity to take aim at Palin …