Obama Prepares Argument to Discard Public-Financing Principle  —  Despite his previous pledge to enter into the public financing system should he be the Democratic presidential nominee,* Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has recently been reluctant to re-commit to entering the system.

FBI probe: Lieberman campaign to blame for crashing own Web site  —  A federal investigation has concluded that U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman's 2006 re-election campaign was to blame for the crash of its Web site the day before Connecticut's heated Aug. 8 Democratic primary.

Petraeus Overplays His Hand  —  That statement by U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker pretty much sums up what he and Gen. David Petraeus presented to Congress yesterday.  Iraq is hard, but we are making headway; victory is possible, if we only persevere.  —  Except that in making this pitch, Petraeus and Crocker overplayed their hand.

Michelle Obama visits Harrisburg  —  HARRISBURG —This was Michelle Obama's “mom time” in her husband's campaign for president.  —  She'd come Tuesday to meet with 50 working women who filled a room at a Harrisburg preschool, anxious to talk to Barack Obama's wife.  —  But they'd have to wait.

Clinton leadership a study in missteps  —  Hillary Rodham Clinton wants voters to decide the nomination based on who can coolly and competently run the country.  She had better hope they don't study her recent campaign too closely for the answer.  —  Clinton has overseen two major staff shake-ups in two months.

Wall of silence broken at state's Muslim public school  —  Recently, I wrote about Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights.  Charter schools are public schools and by law must not endorse or promote religion.  —  Evidence suggests, however …

Richard Warman suing conservative bloggers — including me  —  Richard “The Boy Named Sue” Warman has finally filed his statement of claim.  —  Canada's busiest litigant, serial “human rights” complainant and — the guy Mark Steyn has called “Canada's most sensitive man” …

Hillary's slick willies  —  Does Hillary surround herself with girly men?  Obama and the experience question.  Plus: Lincoln, Madonna's new face and a Bush with real authority.  —  I would like to get your feedback on the subject of those who end up in Hillary's orbit.

Obama's Minister Problem  —  I have tried to get over my unease surrounding Barack Obama's response to the sermons and writings of his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.  But the unanswered questions remain.  —  I am a strong supporter …

Chris Matthews, Seriously.  (O.K., Not That Seriously.)  —  Whenever Chris Matthews says something he likes, which happens a lot, he repeats it often and at volumes suggesting a speaker who feels insufficiently listened to at times.  “Tim Russert finally reeled the big marlin into the boat tonight …

PENNSYLVANIA RESULTS BY RACE AND EDUCATION  —  I got a bit sidetracked yesterday, so apologies for the delay in posting this additional data from the Quinnipiac University Poll of Pennsylvania released yesterday.  In a post last week, I noted that Barack Obama's modest gains on the last Quinnipiac poll …

The 100 Years Hedge  —  Josh Marshall comments on the GOP trying to distance McCain from his 100 years comment: … Dave Wiegel earlier this week: … My own view is that McCain's comment, in its most benign formulation, misses the key element here: Islam.

Blitzer: Iraqis playing U.S. taxpayers for ‘suckers’?  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Just before and immediately after the U.S. launched its invasion of Iraq, Bush administration officials optimistically predicted that Iraqi oil exports would soon finance the reconstruction of the country.  That didn't happen.

Top Al Qaeda Leader Abu Ubaida al-Masri Confirmed Dead in Pakistan  —  Abu Ubaida al-Masri, one of Al Qaeda's top operatives and the mastermind behind a plot to use liquid explosives to blow British passenger jets out of the sky, is dead, a U.S. official confirmed to FOX News Wednesday.