“Have you ever had sex with Rick Perry?”  —  An Austin Ron Paul supporter has taken out a full-page ad in the local alt weekly newspaper seeking any “stripper ... escort ... or ‘young hottie’” who has slept with Rick Perry, part of his single-minded jihad against the presidential candidate.

A ‘policy-induced slowdown’  —  The markets are tanking.  Again.  And it's in part because they expect us to screw up.  Again.  —  That, at least, is what JP Morgan is saying.  Part of what's driving the market down is that the company announced that it was cutting its global growth forecasts …

Coburn: Good thing I can't pack a gun  —  Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) ripped his colleagues during a tour of northeast Oklahoma, calling them “career elitists,” “cowards” and said, “It's just a good thing I can't pack a gun on the Senate floor.”  —  Coburn's gun-on-the- floor comment comes less …

U.S. Inquiry Is Said to Focus on S.&P. Ratings  —  The Justice Department is investigating whether the nation's largest credit ratings agency, Standard & Poor's, improperly rated dozens of mortgage securities in the years leading up to the financial crisis, according to two people interviewed …

Obama condemns ‘slaughter,’ calls on Syria's Assad to resign  —  President Obama on Thursday for the first time called for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to leave office amid prolonged violence in that country.  —  The decision follows weeks of criticism from Republicans …

Jon Huntsman: The Outsider  —  Kate Moss:  —  Kiss Me, Kate  —  Photographed by Annie Leibovtiz  —  If you're looking for the most conservative region in America, upcountry South Carolina would be a strong contender.  Greenville, the area's biggest city, is home base to Senator Jim DeMint …

Bachmann: I'll bring back $2 gas  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — President Michele Bachmann has a promise: $2 gas.  —  “Under President Bachmann you will see gasoline come down below $2 a gallon again,” Bachmann told a crowd Tuesday in South Carolina.  “That will happen.”

West: I'll lead you off ‘plantation’  —  Rep. Allen West says he is a “modern-day Harriet Tubman” who wants to lead black voters away from the “plantation” of the Democratic Party.  —  There is a “21st century plantation” of African-American voters unwaveringly supporting Democrats …

Exclusive: Goldman Sachs VP Changed His Name, Now Advances Goldman Lobbying Interests As Top Staffer To Darrell Issa  —  Peter Haller, also known as Peter Simonyi, a former Goldman Sachs VP now working for Chairman Issa to block regulations on Goldman Sachs  —  Has Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) …

Chart of the Day: Student Loans Have Grown 511% Since 1999  —  You think the housing bubble was enormous?  Meet the education bubble.  On Wednesday, an article here by Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus explained the debt crisis at American colleges.  But some startling statistics will help …

Wrong Answers in Britain  —  Nothing can justify or excuse the terrifying wave of violent lawlessness that swept through London and other British cities earlier this month.  Hardworking people in struggling neighborhoods were its principal victims.  Public support for racial and ethnic coexistence …

Michele Bachmann Is Not a Doctor  —  ...But she played one on TV.  The story behind the Minnesota congresswoman's bogus “Dr.” claim.  —  Post Comment  —  On the campaign trail in Iowa, Rep. Michele Bachmann's response to the argument that she lacks the experience to run for president has been to turn the argument on its head.

Chris muscles Mike on 9/11 invite for pol  —  Hot-headed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie yesterday threw his weight around to get his way for the upcoming 10th-anniver-  —  sary 9/11 ceremony after blasting Mayor Bloomberg for excluding ex-Jersey Gov. Donald DiFrancesco from the solemn event.

Phone hacking: News of the World Hollywood reporter is arrested  —  James Desborough is arrested by London police investigating UK hacking allegations  —  James Desborough, an award-winning reporter at the former News of the World newspaper, has been arrested by officers investigating the phone-hacking scandal.

Rain or shine, see the weather in Google Maps  —  Whether you're organizing a trip overseas or a picnic at a local park, knowing the weather forecast is a crucial part of the planning process.  Today, we're adding a weather layer on Google Maps that displays current temps and conditions around the globe …

Top 10 Least Wanted  —  “Oh, there's nothing halfway about the Iowa way to treat you,  —  When we treat you which we may not do at all.  —  There's an Iowa kind of special chip-on-the-shoulder attitude.  —  We've never been without that we recall.  -"Iowa Stubborn" from The Music Man

How Democrats Win: Defending the Social Safety Net  —  I was flattered to learn from Joe Klein's Aug. 15 column in TIME that Barack Obama is reading my book ­Nixonland.  The book is about the “separate and irreconcilable fears” over the past 50 years that came to define …