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.

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.

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 …

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 …

As a Matter of Faith, Biden Says Life Begins at Conception  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic nominee for vice president, departed Sunday from party doctrine on abortion rights, declaring that as a Catholic, he believes life begins at conception.

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 …

Drawing a Bead on the Press  —  Before Gov. Sarah Palin came flying in from the wilds of Alaska for the Republican convention in St. Paul, there was a lot of sniggering in media rooms and satellite trucks about her beauty queen looks and rustic hobbies, and the suggestion that she was better suited …

A Heartbeat Away  —  “We're not running against Governor Palin.”  —  David Axelrod, the Obama campaign's chief strategist, on “Fox News Sunday,” Sept. 7, 2008.  —  Actually, the Obama campaign is running (in part) against Sarah Palin.  Her name will appear with John McCain's on the ballot.

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.

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 …

Barack Obama ‘wanted to join US military’  —  Barack Obama has said he considered joining the United States military when he left school but decided not to because the Vietnam war was over and “we weren't engaged in an active military conflict at that point”.

State paid for trip when Palin told students to pray for pipeline  —  Gov. Sarah Palin used state funds in June when she traveled from Juneau to Wasilla to speak to graduating evangelical students and urge them to fan out through Alaska “to make sure God's will be done here.”