‘Bush Lied’?  If Only It Were That Simple.  —  Search the Internet for “Bush Lied” products, and you will find sites that offer more than a thousand designs.  The basic “Bush Lied, People Died” bumper sticker is only the beginning.  —  Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) …

GOP Insiders Worry About McCain's Chances  —  For four months John McCain had a clear field while Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were at each other's throats.  Given the opportunity, the Arizona Senator failed to define the debate in favorable terms, spending much of the valuable primary …

A Campaign We Can Believe In?  —  Hillary Clinton's concession speech Saturday was the story of the weekend.  But the dueling speeches by John McCain and Barack Obama on Tuesday night, after the last primaries, are what voters — and campaign operatives — should be revisiting.

Brutal  —  This anti-McCain video, put together in February by a Ron Paul supporter, is just brutal.  Some of it is a little off the beaten track, but up to the 7 minute mark, it is devastating, especially starting at the 2:30 mark.  —  Thanks to reader SQ for sending it in.

Rural U.S. Takes Worst Hit as Gas Tops $4 Average  —  TCHULA, Miss. — Gasoline prices reached a national average of $4 a gallon for the first time over the weekend, adding more strain to motorists across the country.  —  But the pain is not being felt uniformly.

Parents of ill vegan girl may face police  —  A 12-YEAR-OLD girl in Scotland brought up by her parents on a strict vegan diet has been admitted to hospital with a degenerative bone condition said to have left her with the spine of an 80-year-old woman.  —  Doctors are under pressure to report …

McCain and Obama Decline Invitation to New York Forum  —  WASHINGTON — The presidential campaigns of Senators Barack Obama and John McCain on Sunday rejected an invitation for a town-hall-style meeting in Manhattan that had been proposed by ABC News and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York.

Judge's ban on the use of the word ‘rape’ at trial reflects trend  —  It's the only way Tory Bowen knows to honestly describe what happened to her.  —  She was raped.  —  But a judge prohibited her from uttering the word “rape” in front of a jury.  The term “sexual assault” also was taboo …

More than three-quarters rate economic conditions poor  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - More than three-quarters of Americans think economic conditions are poor, a new poll suggests.  —  Seventy-eight percent of those questioned in a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey out Monday morning rate the economic conditions as poor.

Election 2008: South Carolina Presidential Election  —  South Carolina: McCain 48% Obama 39%  —  Victories by both Barack Obama and John McCain in South Carolina's Presidential Primaries set the stage and put them both on the path to their party's Presidential Nominations.

'We're not on a plantation, Clint.' Spike Lee hits back in war of words over black soldiers  —  The acrimonious feud between two of Hollywood's best-known film directors reached a new level of name-calling and accusation at the weekend as Spike Lee invoked America's bitter legacy of slavery …

Asian Gains Seen in Terror Fight  —  SINGAPORE — The deadliest terrorist networks in Southeast Asia have suffered significant setbacks in the past three years, weakened by aggressive policing, improved intelligence, enhanced military operations and an erosion of public support, government officials and counterterrorism specialists say.

Amateur Campaign Blogger Scoops the Pros  —  Mayhill Fowler says she never planned to ask Bill Clinton the question that unleashed a decidedly unpresidential tirade.  —  But in the crush of the crowd in South Dakota last Monday, when she raised the topic of “that hatchet job” on him in Vanity Fair …