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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

High Comedy at the McCain Golf Store  —  Via the comments section in another post, when you buy your McCain '08 Golf gear, you are asked to post a helpful review:  —  Some helpful customers decided to take him up on the offer, and hilarity breaks out all over:

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 …

Obama Meets with Conservative and Progressive Religious Leaders  —  More now on Barack Obama's meeting with religious leaders in Chicago this afternoon.  As we first reported on The Brody File, Obama is meeting with influential mega-pastor TD Jakes and pro-life Catholic constitutional law professor Doug Kmiec.

Not Our Best and Brightest?  —  The missteps in Iraq are well documented by now.  —  Library shelves could be lined with books that criticize the poorly constructed endgame, the insufficient troop levels and the disbanding of the Iraqi military.  There have, however, been glimmers of promise that have gotten a share of ink as well.

What should McCain do about Cheney?  —  He's a highly effective fundraiser in an election cycle where Republicans are starved for cash, a hero to the wing of the party that views John McCain with the most suspicion.  He has four decades of campaign experience, ranging from a short stint …

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.