A Mystery Speaker for Thursday? ...  Could It Be... Her?  —  From the Tuesday edition of the Morning Jolt, now in the hands of the editors, and soon on its way to you...  The more you think about the idea, the more it makes sense - whatever controversy and intense reactions Sarah Palin …

The Real Romney  —  The purpose of the Republican convention is to introduce America to the real Mitt Romney.  Fortunately, I have spent hours researching this subject.  I can provide you with the definitive biography and a unique look into the Byronic soul of the Republican nominee:

Leader of Army Plot to Assassinate Obama Apparently Attended the 2008 Republican Convention as a Page  —  Isaac Aguigui, the Army private and alleged ringleader of a plot to assassinate Barack Obama and “take over” Ft. Stewart in Georgia, apparently served as a page at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Minnesota.

Fact checking for thee, but not for me  —  Get this: The Romney campaign's position is now that the Obama camp should pull its ads when fact checkers call them out as false — but that Romney and his advisers should feel no such constraint.  —  This is not an exaggeration.

Karl Rove on the Defection of White Democrats  —  “Bush's brain” offers some casual remarks that reveal just how much this campaign is implicitly about race.  —  TAMPA — The emerging demographics of this campaign are pretty clear: To win, Barack Obama is trying to assemble a coalition …

Coal miners lost pay when Mitt Romney visited their mine to promote coal jobs  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — When GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney visited an Ohio coal mine this month to promote jobs in the coal industry, workers who appeared with him at the rally lost pay because their mine was shut down.

McMahon By A Nose In Close Connecticut Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Obama Tops Romney By 7 Points  —  Connecticut likely voters put Republican former wrestling executive Linda McMahon on the right side of a 49 - 46 percent too-close-to-call U.S. Senate race against Democratic U.S …

US Consumer Confidence Tumbles to 9-Month Low  —  U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly weakened in August to its lowest in nine months as Americans turned more pessimistic about the short-term outlook, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday.

Who's on the inside track for a Romney Cabinet  —  Mitt Romney said his Cabinet and White House staff will be stacked with men and women from the business world, but his top advisers sketched out for POLITICO a team compromised of many familiar faces in Washington.

Boehner's biggest disappointment  —  Tampa, Florida (CNN) - House Speaker John Boehner revealed the “greatest disappointment” during his time as the country's top Republican, in an interview for an upcoming CNN documentary.  —  “If I look back over the year and a half or so that I've been speaker …

Alaska couple admits to plot to kill federal judge and others  —  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - An Alaska couple pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of conspiring to kill a federal judge in what prosecutors said was a revenge plot over income-tax rulings against them.

Source: Former Sen. Arlen Specter battling for his life  —  (CNN) — Former longtime U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter was battling for his life early Tuesday after he was recently diagnosed with a “serious form of cancer,” a source close to his office told CNN.  —  Specter, who has overcome numerous …

James O'Keefe not allowed to fly to Tampa  —  Conservative filmmaker and activist James O'Keefe won't be in Tampa, but the show he was supposed to headline will go on.  —  O'Keefe will still speak via Skype on “the role of the citizen journalist” and take audience questions …

EXCLUSIVE: Undercover At NOM's Anti-Gay Student Conference  —  Every summer for the past four years, the National Organization for Marriage's (NOM) Ruth Institute has invited college students from across the country to participate in its weekend-long “It Takes A Family To Raise A Village” (ITAF) conference in San Diego, CA.

Rep. Issa chides ‘second string’ media  —  ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — California Rep. Darrell Issa took a sharp swipe at the media covering the Republican National Convention, dubbing them the “second string.”  —  “I was downtown earlier today, where the second string of most of the networks are covering …

Security at the RNC: George Orwell Meets a ‘Call of Duty’ Cityscape  —  At a defining civic event, the establishment is insulated by an army of police officers from protesters camping unseen on a far away corner.  —  Reuters  —  Deep inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum …

Taking the Filibuster to Court: Here Are the Documents  —  As I mentioned a few months ago, Common Cause is taking legal action against the filibuster, arguing that its recent abuse rises to the level of unconstitutional power-grab.  When our site's “categories” feature, now temporarily broken …