The most extraordinary story of the GOP convention  —  Popular in Politics  —  TAMPA — When CNN asked top Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom to assess Clint Eastwood's performance on stage at the Republican convention Thursday night, Fehrnstrom answered simply, “It's improv.”

BREAKING: Federal Court Strikes Down Ohio Law Restricting Early Voting  —  Last month, President Obama's reelection campaign filed a lawsuit claiming that a recently enacted Ohio law eliminating early voting in the three days before an election, except for members of the military …

Shoving Match Between Chris Matthews' Hecklers, MSNBC Producer Investigated at RNC (Video)  —  A fight broke out after two men shouted, “Hey Chris, how's that tingle up your leg.”  —  TAMPA, Fla. - A scuffle involving an MSNBC producer and two men who heckled host Chris Matthews …

Exclusive: Inside Karl Rove's Billionaire Fundraiser  —  On the final morning of the Republican National Convention, Karl Rove took the stage at the Tampa Club to provide an exclusive breakfast briefing to about 70 of the Republican party's highest-earning and most powerful donors.

Obama bounced into announcing visit to storm-ravaged Louisiana after Romney shows him up with surprise visit  —  President Barack Obama was today forced to announce he will fly to storm-hit Louisiana on Monday - hours after Mitt Romney beat him to the punch by deciding to head there this afternoon.

What War?  —  The United States has some 68,000 troops fighting in Afghanistan.  Over two thousand Americans have died in the more than ten years of that war, a war Mitt Romney has supported.  Yet in his speech accepting his party's nomination to be commander in chief, Mitt Romney said not a word about the war in Afghanistan.

Monetary Policy since the Onset of the Crisis  —  When we convened in Jackson Hole in August 2007, the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) target for the federal funds rate was 5-1/4 percent.  Sixteen months later, with the financial crisis in full swing, the FOMC had lowered the target …

Paul Ryan Says He's Run Sub-3:00 Marathon … In an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt last week, Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan said he's run a sub-3:00 marathon.  —  In the interview, after Ryan told Hewitt that he ran in high school, Hewitt asked if Ryan still runs.

The One Line To Rule Them All  —  I generally agree with Scott that Romney's speech could have been a lot stronger, and still had the same personal structure and done what he wanted to do with it.  Who are his chief speechwriters, I wonder?  Is it the same crew (McConnell and Scully) that did Paul Ryan's speech?

RNC Delegate Offended By Presence of ‘Mexican’ At Disney's Epcot Center  —  During a trip to Epcot at Disneyworld, Pennsylvania delegate Mark Harris and his wife were shocked and offended to find a Mexican employee working at the amusement park's American pavilion, which showcases the different cultures in the United States.

Behind the Latest Palin-Fox Fight  —  Last night's kerfuffle between Sarah Palin and Fox News was a classic display of Sarah Palin being, well, Sarah Palin.  But her Facebook outburst complaining about Fox canceling her appearance at the Republic National Convention reveals something deeper …

ISRAELI PAPER DETAILS ALLEGED TENSE CONFRONTATION BETWEEN NETANYAHU AND U.S. AMBASSADOR OVER OBAMA'S IRAN POLICY: ‘LIGHTNING AND SPARKS FLEW’  —  Two new signs point to the deepening rift between the Obama administration and the Israeli government over how to stop Iran's nuclear weapons efforts …

Dem convention will focus on Bush economics — but not on Bush the man  —  The Obama campaign just held a conference call with reporters to discuss the GOP convention and contrast it with plans for their own gathering next week.  The most notable tidbit: David Axelrod's suggestion …

‘The Fighter’ bails on Brown  —  Nothing is sheltered from the whirlwind whims of elections season, even the squared-circle of a boxing ring.  —  Mill City ring king Micky Ward found himself backed into a corner Thursday when word trickled out that he was supporting U.S. Senator Scott Brown's re-election campaign.