Financial Russian Roulette  —  Will the U.S. financial system collapse today, or maybe over the next few days?  I don't think so — but I'm nowhere near certain.  You see, Lehman Brothers, a major investment bank, is apparently about to go under.  And nobody knows what will happen next.

OBAMA TRIED TO STALL GIS' IRAQ WITHDRAWAL  —  WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.

MCCAIN STILL SEES THE FUNDAMENTALS OF THE ECONOMY AS STRONG.... The Obama campaign routinely tweaks John McCain for having argued that the “fundamentals of our economy are strong.”  Last week, the Washington Post's Jonathan Weisman criticized Obama for using the line, insisting that the quote is “months old.”

Despite record month, Obama needs more cash  —  Barack Obama's $66 million haul in August donations may set records but it's only a down payment on the huge sums the Democratic presidential nominee must continue to collect in order to compete through the Nov. 4 election.

ACORN commits fraud in Michigan  —  The pattern of ACORN's voter-registration fraud continues in Michigan.  The Detroit Free Press reports that the Secretary of State has supplied evidence to the US Attorney's office for potential prosecution after getting complaints from registrars …

On the stump, Obama moves past hope  —  CHICAGO — The “hopemonger” is gone.  —  Barack Obama sounds more like a man trying to shake a rain cloud these days, dispensing a teeth-clenching, I-get-your-pain stump speech in town after town that offers only snippets of the unbridled optimism that long permeated his campaign pitch.

Chairman Rangel  —  Mounting embarrassment for taxpayers and Congress makes it imperative that Representative Charles Rangel step aside as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee while his ethical problems are investigated.  —  This recommendation does not come easily …

Luskin: Economy's Fine  —  Donald Luskin, seemingly upset that he hadn't been bashed recently in the progressive blogosphere, decided to write a baffling and extremely long column that ran over the weekend arguing that the economy's fine.  The Washington Post opinion section, for reasons I don't care to speculate on, decided to run it.

McCain Loses Fox News: Megyn Kelly Rips McCain Flack For Claiming Obama Would Raise Middle Class Taxes  —  On Fox News today, host Megyn Kelly called out McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds for the campaign's lies about Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) tax proposals.

Palin's Project List Totals $453 Million  —  McCain Campaign Says Record Shows Drop in Requests  —  Last week, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain said his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, hadn't sought earmarks or special-interest spending from Congress, presenting her as a fiscal conservative.

Candidates Strive to Break Through Media Fog  —  Senator Barack Obama had come to Granby High School in Norfolk, Va., last week to talk about education.  But first, he said, “I've got to spend just a brief moment talking about politics.”  —  For the next few minutes, he offered …

Why Feminists Hate Sarah Palin  —  Left-wing feminists have a hard time dealing with strong, successful conservative women in politics such as Margaret Thatcher.  Sarah Palin seems to have truly unhinged more than a few, eliciting a stream of vicious, often misogynist invective.