Book says White House ordered forgery  —  A new book by the author Ron Suskind claims that the White House ordered the CIA to forge a back-dated, handwritten letter from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam Hussein.  —  Suskind writes in “The Way of the World,” to be published Tuesday …

Where's the Landslide?  —  Why isn't Barack Obama doing better?  Why, after all that has happened, does he have only a slim two- or three-point lead over John McCain, according to an average of the recent polls?  Why is he basically tied with his opponent when his party is so far ahead?

The Molten Core of Barack: Why Obama Can't Win  —  In which science-fiction movie do aliens visit the people of earth and insist, “Take me to your leader”?  If they landed today, America's news media would direct them to Barack Obama, the first American to run a global campaign for President.

G.O.P. Drops in Voting Rolls in Many States  —  Well before Senators Barack Obama and John McCain rose to the top of their parties, a partisan shift was under way at the local and state level.  For more than three years starting in 2005, there has been a reduction in the number of voters …

Election Central Morning Roundup  —  New Obama Ad: McCain Has Voted Against Fixing Energy For 26 Years  —  Barack Obama has a new ad on energy issues, following through on one of the key attack lines from his speech yesterday — that John McCain can't be trusted on energy …

McCain Gets Bikers' Motors Running in S.D.  —  STURGIS, S.D. — If there was any question whether this is John McCain country, that doubt ended Monday as thousands of motorcycle riders repeatedly revved their Harleys upon his arrival here, creating a massive roar of approval and a cloud of exhaust fumes.

Secret deal kept British Army out of battle for Basra  —  A secret deal between Britain and the notorious al-Mahdi militia prevented British Forces from coming to the aid of their US and Iraqi allies for nearly a week during the battle for Basra this year, The Times has learnt.

Accused Al Qaeda sleeper agent in custody  —  Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani mother of three who studied at MIT, is said to have moved in the terrorist group's inner circles.  She faces charges of firing at U.S. personnel in Afghanistan.  —  WASHINGTON — One of the more elusive …

Pelosi: At-risk Dems back drilling  —  California Democrat Nancy Pelosi may be trying to save the planet — but the rank and file in her party increasingly are just trying to save their political hides when it comes to gas prices as Republicans apply more and more rhetorical muscle.

Why Cover the Edwards Scandal?  —  PROTECTING ELIZABETH VS. TELLING THE TRUTH.  —  Why write about the Edwards scandal?  Here's a short clip-and-save response to those (including many friends) who argue the Edwards scandal shouldn't be pursued—or at least pursued too vigorously— even if it is true:**

Awkward/Sad/Funny Typo from Novak AP story on NYTimes.com  —  digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/politics/Funny_Sad_ Typo_on_Robert_Novak_Retirement_Story_ on_NYTimes’; They've already fixed it, but the error above in the Associated Press story about Robert Novak's immediate retirement was live …

At Freddie Mac, Chief Discarded Warning Signs  —  The chief executive of the mortgage giant Freddie Mac rejected internal warnings that could have protected the company from some of the financial crises now engulfing it, according to more than two dozen current and former high-ranking executives and others.

The Unavoidable Issue  —  Last week's dust-up over race between John McCain and Barack Obama was entirely disappointing.  Obama spoke first about how his opponents would try to “make you scared of me,” noting that he “doesn't look like all those other presidents” on our currency.

Hillary's back!  —  Glenn Thrush, in his Politico debut (!), emails over this scoop:  —  Hillary Clinton will campaign for Barack Obama this Friday in Nevada and hit the Miami area on Aug. 21 for a fundraiser and rally as part of a pre-convention unity swing, according to people close to Clinton.

Obama: ‘National Priority’  —  Here's a second contrast ad on the subject of energy from the Obama campaign, which seeks to paint McCain as the candidate of the past, of Washington, and of Bush, while Obama is the candidate of “new energy.”  —  The script: … I don't have details on where the ad is airing.

Peter W. Rodman, 1943-2008  —  A patriot and a gentleman.  —  PETER'S FORMER COLLEAGUES at National Review have done him justice with their tributes at NRO.  John O'Sullivan in particular knew Peter well, and his is a lovely memoir.  —  So I'll just add a word about this patriot and gentleman.

FYI  —  This is a very interesting article in today's LA Times by polling expert Nate Silver about the state of the election.  He talks about the reasons that Obama seems to be under performing the “generic Democrat” and explains how this happens in a broad based party of discrete interest groups.