Some Buy a New Home to Bail on the Old  —  Fannie Plans Rules To Avoid Practice Described as Fraud  —  Next month, Michelle Augustine plans to walk away from her four-bedroom house in a Sacramento, Calif., subdivision and let the property fall into foreclosure.

President Bush regrets his legacy as man who wanted war  —  Tom Baldwin and Gerard Baker in Ljubljana  —  President Bush has admitted to The Times that his gun-slinging rhetoric made the world believe that he was a “guy really anxious for war” in Iraq.  He said that his aim now was to leave …

Webb's rebel roots: An affinity for Confederacy  —  Barack Obama's vice presidential vetting team will undoubtedly run across some quirky and potentially troublesome issues as it goes about the business of scouring the backgrounds of possible running mates.  But it's unlikely they'll find …

Iraqis Condemn American Demands  —  High-level negotiations over the future role of the U.S. military in Iraq have turned into an increasingly acrimonious public debate, with Iraqi politicians denouncing what they say are U.S. demands to maintain nearly 60 bases in their country indefinitely.

Obama's best veep choice  —  Here's a hint: She's not Hillary!  Plus: Talk radio's paranoid delusions and a Brazilian diva Madonna could aspire to.  —  Shuddering, lurching and stumbling, the 2008 general election has finally, mercifully begun.  For a year and a half …

Obama Admits Smoking Cigarettes in Last Few Months  —  ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: Senator Barack Obama told reporters in St. Louis today that he has fallen off the wagon and smoked cigarettes in the last few months.  —  Watch the VIDEO HERE.  —  The presumptive Democratic nominee …

Fred Hiatt's Concubine Speaks.  You Listen.  —  Republicans have started wracking their brains for clever ways to say, without appearing racist, that Obama's skin color is a reason not to vote for him.  Not so long ago we had Tony Blankley saying that not voting for someone because of their skin color …

Those Loyal to the Clintons Take Note of Who Was Not  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was gracious in her full-throated endorsement of Senator Barack Obama.  But that does not mean all is forgiven by others in the Clinton universe.  —  For proof, look no further than Doug Band …

The Charisma Machine  —  What the media mistakes about itself and Obama.  —  FIRST IT WAS Chris Matthews getting a thrill up his leg when he thought of Barack Obama; then it was Newsweek giving Obama a free pass on everything; now it is Mark Halperin over at Time  —  l.

JOHN MCCAIN: I AM VIRAL VIDEO!  —  McCain: Bringing Troops Home from Iraq “Not Too Important” ...  Get a good look.  Within a day or so he won't have said it.

Obama probes national health care  —  As Barnes-Jewish Hospital nurse Kate Marzluf attended to her patients Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama tagged along to take the pulse of the nation's health care system.  —  The presumptive Democratic nominee praised Marzluf's skill and the hospital's services …

Kucinich Forces Vote On Bush's Impeachment  —  Having failed in efforts to impeach Vice President Cheney, Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio) escalated his battle against the administration this week by introducing 35 articles of impeachment against President Bush, using a parliamentary maneuver that will probably force a vote today.

The McCain Miracle  —  In the genuine historical miracle of Barack Obama — it was only 43 years ago, half a historical eye-blink, when African American voting rights remained unsecured — the political and personal miracle of John McCain has been largely overshadowed.

STOP ALL “DISPARAGING REMARKS ABOUT GAYS AND HOMOSEXUALS,” as well as against the university professor and self-described “activis[t] for social justice issues” who filed a complaint against you: That's what the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission ordered Stephen Boisson …

A Vote for McBama  —  WASHINGTON — For the party faithful, this is a sweet moment.  They have their candidates and, whatever the obstacles, can still imagine victory in November.  But the rest of us ought to remember that the politics of winning and governing often collide.

Ohio Guv Won't Run with Obama  —  ABC News' Teddy Davis and John Santucci Report: Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) was Shermanesque on Tuesday in saying that he would “absolutely not” be Sen. Barack Obama's, D-Ill., running mate even if asked to join the Democratic ticket.