No. 44 Has Spoken  —  Anyone who saw Barack Obama at Berlin's Siegessäule on Thursday could recognize that this man will become the 44th president of the United States.  He is more than ambitious — he wants to lay claim to become the president of the world.

McCain talks up Pawlenty  —  BETHLEHEM, Pennsylvania (CNN) - Reluctant at first to wade into the vice presidential selection process, John McCain Wednesday was coaxed into offering more praise for one of the hotter names in the speculation game this week.  —  Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty drew …

End of the Affair  —  Barack Obama and the press break up.  —  Around midnight on July 16, New York Times chief political correspondent Adam Nagourney received a terse e-mail from Barack Obama's press office.  The campaign was irked by the Times' latest poll and Nagourney …

Secret torture memo released  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Bush administration told the CIA in 2002 that its interrogators working abroad would not violate U.S. prohibitions against torture unless they “have the specific intent to inflict severe pain or suffering,” according …

HE COULD BE A SERIAL LIAR  —  Maybe there is another explanation for Barack Obama's trouble with the truth, but I'm not sure what it would be.  He did it again today, loosing a palpable falsehood on NBC.  Not that it's a surprise; Obama coming out with a whopper has become pretty much a daily occurrence.

Playing Innocent Abroad  —  Radical optimism is America's contribution to the world.  The early settlers thought America's founding would bring God's kingdom to earth.  John Adams thought America would emancipate “the slavish part of mankind all over the earth.”

OBAMA'S MISSING ‘THESIS’  —  NBC Senior Investigative Producer Jim Popkin looks at “Obama and the case of the missing ‘thesis’” in an item on NBC blog Deep Background.  —  Conservative provocateurs have been hunting for it.  Investigative journalists have been on the prowl, too.

Barack Obama Attacked In First National Political Ad Ever To Air On MTV  —  Conservative group reaches out to younger voters with ‘Both Ways Barack’ ad.  —  There have been a lot of firsts in the 27-year history of MTV, but beginning Wednesday night (July 23), the channel will begin airing something …

Did today's Obama speech remind anyone else of ...  This groundbreaking moment?  Which reminds us of what Republican consultant Doug Heye said on FNC over the weekend: “We don't want President Hasselhoff.”

Good Speech In Berlin  —  I have not checked the reviews of Obama's speech, but having read it but I am backing Kevin Drum on his criticism of Byron York.  —  Obama also wants the Germans to man up in Afghanistan and the world to support the new Iraqi government after he cuts and runs - great, if he can pull it off.

What Bush and Batman Have in Common  —  A cry for help goes out from a city beleaguered by violence and fear: A beam of light flashed into the night sky, the dark symbol of a bat projected onto the surface of the racing clouds . . .  Oh, wait a minute.  That's not a bat, actually.

100 female U.S. service members have died in Iraq  —  (CNN) — The death of an Air Force technical sergeant in Iraq last week quietly brought a somber milestone: One hundred American female service members have died in Iraq, according to a CNN count of Pentagon figures.  —  The latest death was Tech.

He ventured forth to bring light to the world  —  The anointed one's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a miracle in action - and a blessing to all his faithful followers  —  And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land …

To Fight Poverty, Tear Down HUD  —  WITH the nation embroiled in a housing crisis, one would expect the Department of Housing and Urban Development to be playing a central role.  But HUD is a marginal player.  Although its Federal Housing Administration division has agreed to underwrite new mortgages …