Top Items:
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
McCain's Integrity — For me, this surreal moment - like the entire surrealism of the past ten days - is not really about Sarah Palin or Barack Obama or pigs or fish or lipstick. It's about John McCain. The one thing I always thought I knew about him is that he is a decent and honest person.
RELATED:
Joe Klein / Swampland:
Apology Not Accepted — Back in 2000, after John McCain lost his mostly honorable campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, he went about apologizing to journalists—including me—for his most obvious mis-step: his support for keeping the confederate flag on the state house.
Ben Smith / The Politico:
CBS takes down McCain webad, suggests it's ‘misleading’ — YouTube has removed a webad that casts Sarah Palin as the victim of sexism on the request of CBS, whose anchor Katie Couric was featured in the ad. — “One of the great lessons of that campaign is the continued and accepted role …
Discussion:
Townhall.com, Taylor Marsh, Wolf Howling, Political Machine, Yahoo! News, PrezVid and AMERICAblog News
Andy Barr / The Hill:
Meghan McCain: My Dad Says ‘Lipstick on a Pig’ — John McCain's daughter Meghan is not taking offense to Barack Obama's “lipstick on a pig” line like the rest of her father's campaign, pointing out Wednesday morning that GOP presidential nominee has been known to use the phrase.
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
UNFIT FOR HIGH OFFICE — One of the interesting aspects of this campaign is watching the scales fall from the eyes of many of John McCain's closest admirers among the veteran DC press corps. I'm not talking about the freaks on Fox News or any of the sycophants at the AP.
Mike Huckabee / Huck PAC:
LIPSTICK ON A PIG — Last night, while on Hannity & Colmes I cut Barack Obama some slack on his reference to “lipstick on a pig.” Now I personally don't think he was referring to Gov. Palin, but if he was he should apologize immediately. — Almost twenty four hours into this new controversy …
Discussion:
Jonathan Martin's Blogs
Margaret Talev / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Out of bounds! McCain misstates Obama sex-ed record
Out of bounds! McCain misstates Obama sex-ed record
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Obsidian Wings, Newsweek Blogs, Buck Naked Politics and Talking Points Memo
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
UNFIT.... John McCain was presented with a choice: lose the election or lose his honor.
UNFIT.... John McCain was presented with a choice: lose the election or lose his honor.
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
As Campaign Heats Up, Untruths Can Become Facts Before They're Undone
As Campaign Heats Up, Untruths Can Become Facts Before They're Undone
Mike Allen / The Politico:
55 days - Lipstick wars - Chuck Todd: McCain and Palin could …
55 days - Lipstick wars - Chuck Todd: McCain and Palin could …
Discussion:
AMERICAblog News
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Wide-Ranging Ethics Scandal Emerges at Interior Dept. — WASHINGTON — As Congress prepares to debate expansion of drilling in taxpayer-owned coastal waters, the Interior Department agency that collects oil and gas royalties has been caught up in a wide-ranging ethics scandal …
RELATED:
Dina Cappiello / Associated Press:
Gov't Officials Probed About Illicit Sex, Gifts — WASHINGTON — Government officials handling billions of dollars in oil royalties improperly engaged in sex with employees of energy companies they were dealing with and received numerous gifts from them, federal investigators said Wednesday.
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
S.C. Dem chair: Palin primary qualification is she hasn't had an abortion — South Carolina Democratic chairwoman Carol Fowler sharply attacked Sarah Palin today, saying John McCain had chosen a running mate “ whose primary qualification seems to be that she hasn't had an abortion.”
Discussion:
The Corner, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, Townhall.com, Hot Air, NO QUARTER, Fox News, Don Surber, Gateway Pundit, Wizbang and Political Punch
National Enquirer:
PALIN FAMILY SHOCKERS: WHAT SARAH'S REALLY HIDING! — The NATIONAL ENQUIRER'S exclusive ongoing investigation of GOP VP Nom Sarah ‘Barracuda’ Palin's goes far beyond a mere teen pregnancy crisis this week! — The Enquirer's team of reporters has combed the Alaskan wilderness to discover …
Discussion:
The Jawa Report
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Obama knocks press on ‘made-up controversy’ — Speaking at a high school in Norfolk, Obama took a few moments to address what he calls “the made-up controversy” of the day, Amie Parnes reports. — Obama said the McCain campaign moved to “seize an innocent remark and take it out of context …
Discussion:
Townhall.com, Wizbang, Taylor Marsh, Stop The ACLU, JammieWearingFool, Hog On Ice, Gateway Pundit, Don Surber, Confederate Yankee and Right Wing News
RELATED:
Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:
Obama Responds to ‘Phony Outrage’
Obama Responds to ‘Phony Outrage’
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, TRAIL BLAZERS, New York Times, CNN, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Michigan Messenger and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES
Gallup:
Gallup Daily: McCain 48%, Obama 43% — Nine percent undecided in latest average — PRINCETON, NJ — The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update finds John McCain continuing to lead Barack Obama, 48% to 43% among registered voters. — The Sept. 7-9 average — spanning interviewing conducted Sunday …
CNN:
CNN battleground polls: Race a dead heat in key states — WASHINGTON (CNN) - New state polls indicate that the race for the White House remains a dead heat in four crucial battleground states that could determine the outcome of the election. — CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corporation polls …
Ben Smith / The Politico:
Palin's source — Thomas Frank noticed in the Journal today that Sarah Palin used an odd source for a quote in her announcement speech attributed only to a “writer.” — “We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty and sincerity and dignity,” she said, drawing from a once-powerful …
RELATED:
John Bentley / CBS News:
McCain Supporter Fred Thompson Brings Rev. Wright Back Into Campaign — From CBS News' John Bentley: — (FAIRFAX, VA.) - Attacking your opponent is traditionally a role for the vice presidential hopeful on the ticket, not the person introducing the vice president.
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
My Fair Veep — The rain in Spain stays mainly in the Arctic plain ... I hope John McCain doesn't throw his slippers at Sarah Palin's head or get as acerbic as Henry Higgins did with Eliza Doolittle when she did not learn quickly enough. McCain's Pygmalion has to be careful …
James Fallows:
A controlled experiment: Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin — Twice in the last six months we've had the spectacle of a candidate clinging to a provably false personal narrative. Each tale was meant to show something admirable and significant about the candidate's character.
Discussion:
American Street
Mosheh Oinounou / FOX Embeds:
McCain embraces the staged rally — PHILADELPHIA, PA — For a candidate who once railed against “stale soundbites, staged rallies and over-managed messages,” John McCain seems to have turned over a new leaf. — Today marks the four-week anniversary since McCain held his last press conference …
Discussion:
Swampland