Palin Billed State for Nights Spent at Home  —  Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a “per diem” allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.

Palin repeats Bridge to Nowhere lie.  —  Today at a rally with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in Ohio, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) once again repeated the lie that she opposed the infamous Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska: … Watch it:  —  ThinkProgress has been keeping track of how many times the McCain campaign is repeating this lie.

Koch backs Obama, calls Palin ‘scary’  —  Former New York Mayor Ed Koch, who endorsed and worked for George W. Bush in 2004, is endorsing Obama today, NY1 first reported.  —  I asked Koch just now what prompted the move.  —  “The designation of Palin to be vice president,” he said.  “She's scary.”

We'll Protect Taxpayers From More Bailouts  —  The bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is another outrageous, but sadly necessary, step for these two institutions.  Given the long-term mismanagement and flawed structure of these two companies, this was the only short-term alternative …

O PASTOR IN SEX SCANDAL  —  REV. WRIGHT DONE ME WRONG: CHURCH LADY  —  By SAMUEL GOLDSMITH in Dallas and JEANE MacINTOSH in NY  —  He almost wrecked Barack Obama's presidential dreams, and now firebrand pastor Jeremiah Wright has helped destroy a Dallas church worker's marriage - and her job, The Post has learned.

McCain Now Winning Majority of Independents  —  Majority of independents now prefer him over Obama, 52% to 37%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — John McCain's 6 percentage-point bounce in voter support spanning the Republican National Convention is largely explained by political independents shifting …

Quietly, Obama Campaign Calls In The Cavalry  —  There's been a spurt of 527 activity on behalf of Sen. John McCain, but Barack Obama campaign has suddenly gone silent on the subject.  —  That's because, after of year of telling donors not to contribute to 527 groups, of encouraging strategists …

World wants Obama as president: poll  —  US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama may be struggling to nudge ahead of his Republican rival in polls at home, but people across the world want him in the White House, a BBC poll said.  —  All 22 countries covered in the poll would prefer …

Surprise Me Most  —  None of us have ever lived through an election at a time when 80 percent of voters think the country is headed in the wrong direction.  But now that we're in the thick of it, a few things are clear.  From voters, the demand is: Surprise Me Most.  For candidates, the lesson is: Weirdness Wins.

Andrew Sullivan  —  Lots of e-mails asking about Andrew's whereabouts.  I checked in with him; he's fine.  He's taking a few days off.  Worry not, fans.

In a Not-Remotely-Comic Strip, Bill Ayers Weighs In on What He Meant By 'We Didn't Do Enough' to End Vietnam War  —  In a four-panel not-even-remotely-comic strip, William Ayers, the former member of the Weather Underground and associate of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., weighs in on his blog on some of the controversy he's been causing.

Generals Behaving Badly  —  When Abraham Lincoln famously sent word to Gen. George McClellan that he'd like to “borrow” the army if the general wasn't planning on using it, the commander of Union forces likely did not take it kindly.  McClellan, after all, was a man whose letters home referred …

Too Cool to Fight?  —  Thank God for Sarah Palin.  Without her jibes, her sarcasm, her exaggerations, her smug provincialism, her hypocrisy about family and government, her exploitation of mommyhood, and her personal attacks on Barack Obama, the Democratic base might never be consolidated.

Pastor: GOP may be downplaying Palin's religious beliefs  —  WASILLA, Alaska (CNN) — For more than two decades, vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin was a practicing Pentecostal.  —  She belonged to the Wasilla Assembly of God church in her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska.

Obama vs. McCain: Why I'm Back on the Fence  —  This morning, I wrote at my own blog that I've pulled the Obama sticker off of my truck; that although I'm not suddenly a McCain supporter, I can no longer be counted in the Obama column.  —  In short, that I'm back on the fence.