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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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:

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 …

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 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.

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 …

2 New-Style Candidates Hit Old Notes on Economy  —  For all the efforts of Senators John McCain and Barack Obama to portray themselves as willing to break with party orthodoxy to get things done, the economic debate that opened their general election campaign this week previews a classic clash.

Mincing Up Michelle  —  Hillary and Bill are busy updating their enemies lists.  And Obama is racking his brain trying to figure out where to stash his erstwhile rival.  —  If a President Obama put her on the Supreme Court, of course, we would have the infinite fun of hearing Bill rant about how Scalia …