Poll: Health care views take sympathetic tilt  —  WASHINGTON — The raucous protests at congressional town-hall-style meetings have succeeded in fueling opposition to proposed health care bills among some Americans, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds — particularly among the independents who tend to be at the center of political debates.

White House Says Girl With Campaign Ties Chosen at ‘Random’ to Speak at Obama Town Hall  —  The White House acknowledged Wednesday that many audience members were friendly, but said the president chose questions at random and didn't know his questioners.  —  FOXNews.com

Grassley Endorses “Death Panel” Rumor: “You Have Every Right To Fear”  —  One of the three Republican senators working on a bipartisan health care bill perpetuated a particularly outrageous untruth about the legislation on Wednesday.  —  Appearing at a town hall in his home state of Iowa …

Says he flubbed stats  —  Before presenting tennis legend Billie Jean King with the Medal of Freedom Wednesday, President Obama ticked off some ...  ... of her accomplishments: 12 Grand Slam titles, 101 doubles titles, 67 singles titles.  —  “Pretty good, Billie Jean,” he quipped.

Dianne Feinstein's Office Gripes To White House About OFA-Inspired Constituent Visits  —  A rare bit of friction between Dems and Obama's political operation, Organizing for America:  —  Aides to Senator Dianne Feinstein have complained to the White House about a deluge of visits to her offices …

Town hall anger rages on  —  Out on the health care firing line, senators and members of Congress continued to get battered by constituents angry over President Barack Obama's reform plan Wednesday — with voters raising questions about everything from assisted suicide to coverage for illegal immigrants.

Sanford: It's ‘hard’ living alone in governor's mansion  —  (CNN) - South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford opened up about the state of his family on Wednesday — the first time he has done so since his wife, Jenny, moved out of the governor's mansion last week.  —  Asked during a radio interview …

Survey finds Obama birthplace still an issue in N. Carolina  —  Barely half of N.C. voters believe President Obama was born in the United States, according to a poll released Tuesday.  —  Public Policy Polling surveyed 749 North Carolina voters Aug. 4-10, and found that 54 percent believe that Obama was born in the United States.

Cheney Uncloaks His Frustration With Bush  —  ‘Statute of Limitations Has Expired’ on Many Secrets, Former Vice President Says  —  In his first few months after leaving office, former vice president Richard B. Cheney threw himself into public combat against the “far left” agenda of the new commander in chief.

Yale Press Bans Images of Muhammad in New Book  —  It's not all that surprising that Yale University Press would be wary of reprinting notoriously controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a forthcoming book.  After all, when the 12 caricatures were first published by a Danish newspaper …

Low-life teabagger protestor tears up poster of Rosa Parks at health care town hall  —  Wow.  Just.  Wow.  All I know is if this is the path these people are taking, the darkest days are ahead.  Exclusive video from an incident at Senator McCaskill's town hall in eastern Missouri:

Analysis: Press Largely Ignored Incendiary Rhetoric at Bush Protest  —  News outlets that are focusing on the incendiary rhetoric of conservatives outside President Obama's town hall meeting Tuesday ignored the incendiary rhetoric — and even violence — of liberals outside an appearance by former President George W. Bush in 2002.

White House comments on Medal of Freedom winners  —  By The Associated Press (AP) - 9 hours ago  —  Statements from the White House on the 16 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which President Barack Obama awarded on Wednesday:  —  _Drawing strength from tragedy …

CNN Poll: Favorable view of Palin dipping  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Americans appear to be souring on Sarah Palin, according to a new national poll.  —  Thirty-nine percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Wednesday have a favorable opinion …

Clinton's Flash of Pique in Congo  —  ABUJA, Nigeria — It was hot.  She was tired.  And it had been a long day in Africa.  —  Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was onstage in Kinshasa, Congo's shabby capital, in an auditorium packed with Congolese students.

At What Cost, Cutting Off A Leg?  —  An amusing press release from the governing body for American surgeons:

Video: Democrats Bring Obama-As-Hitler Signs to Town Halls  —  Last week, Think Progress produced four pictures of protesters linking Obama or his health-care plan to Nazism.  —  The left-wing blog's work was dutifully reproduced by The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan to refute my contention …

Michelle Malkin's attacking little kids again  —  Wasn't Malkin's infamous, and creepy, 2007 Baltimore drive-by* bad enough?  I guess not, because now Malkin's zeroing in on a young Massachusetts school girl.  Why?  Because she got to ask president Obama a question at a town hall forum.  Bad idea!

Officials see rise in militia groups across US  —  WASHINGTON — Militia groups with gripes against the government are regrouping across the country and could grow rapidly, according to an organization that tracks such trends.  —  The stress of a poor economy and a liberal administration led …

Falling says putting Christian creationism display in the Tulsa Zoo is top priority  —  Republican mayoral candidate Anna Falling said Tuesday that putting a Christian creationism display in the Tulsa Zoo is No. 1 in importance among city issues that include violent crime, budget woes and bumpy streets.

For Lawmakers, Health-Plan Anger Keeps Coming  —  WASHINGTON — Lawmakers ran into fresh anger and skepticism on Wednesday as they fielded questions from constituents worried about changes in the health care system, and about a lot of other things having to do with government.