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In Obama's Choice, a ‘Very Personal Decision’ — WASHINGTON — In the beginning, Senator Barack Obama was not entirely sold on Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. And Mr. Biden told friends that he was pessimistic of his chances of becoming Mr. Obama's Democratic running mate.
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The New Republic, The Caucus, American Power, Power Line, On Deadline, Truthdig, National Review and Reuters
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McCain: Biden A “Very Wise Selection” — Tells Katie Couric Obama's Running Mate “Very Formidable,” Is “A Good Friend And Good Man” — (CBS) In an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric Saturday at his home in Sedona, Ariz., presumptive GOP nominee John McCain had kind words …


McCain calls Biden ‘formidable’ — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told CBS News' Katie Couric on Saturday that Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) is a “formidable” but “wise” choice for the Democratic ticket. — Couric, anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News,” sat down with McCain at his cabin in Sedona …
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TPM Election Central, Talking Points Memo, Ben Smith's Blogs, AMERICAblog News and The Jed Report


Today's new McCain ad quotes Clinton on Obama, asks why she's not on the ticket — Well, it didn't take long for the campaign of Sen. John McCain to bring his good friend Hillary Clinton into the confrontational mix. — Both senators are on the Armed Services Committee and …
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The Mahablog, The Swamp, Washington Monthly, Wake up America, The Moderate Voice, Washington Wire and Weekly Standard Blog

Pawlenty: Obama should have picked Petraeus for VP.
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Worthington Daily Globe

5 things Biden pick says about Obama
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Associated Press, Bloomberg, Reuters, Commentary, Taegan Goddard's …, Agence France Presse, The Strata-Sphere and The Corner

Clinton Featured in McCain's Latest Ad
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Marc Ambinder, Hot Air, Liberal Values, The Moderate Voice, Connecting.the.Dots, The Impolitic and Washington Post

Halperin: McCain's Houses Gaffe ‘One Of The Worst Moments’ Of The Campaign For...Barack Obama — Last week Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) told Politico that he did not know how many homes he and his wife Cindy own. “I'll have my staff get to you,” McCain said. ThinkProgress noted …
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Comments from Left Field
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RIDE THAT TIRE SWING! — From TPM Reader KB ... It's like a comic parody of the mentality I described a few days ago. Don't get in McCain's face because it'll just be so much worse for you if you. By God, just keep your head down and try to muddle through! If you're nice maybe he won't hit you.

On the Tire Swing — Apparently on ABC this morning Mark Halperin …
Discussion:
TalkLeft

Too Much of a Bad Thing — My mom did not approve of men who cheated on their wives. She called them “long-tailed rats.” — During the 2000 race, she listened to news reports about John McCain confessing to dalliances that caused his first marriage to fall apart after he came back from his stint as a P.O.W. in Vietnam.
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Crooks and Liars, Newshoggers.com, Buck Naked Politics, Matthew Yglesias, TalkLeft and Open Left

Support for Each Candidate Holds Steady — Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are locked in a highly competitive race for the White House, with voters giving McCain a clear edge as a potential commander in chief but Obama a sizable advantage on economic issues …
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Colin Powell in McCain mix — Retired Gen. Colin Powell is among the potential running mates who have been considered by John McCain, campaign advisers told Politico. — Powell was among the possible vice presidential choices the Arizona Republican senator was thinking of when he said he would not rule …
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JustOneMinute, The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, Flopping Aces, Brilliant at Breakfast and Donklephant

Biden's Son, Brother Named in Two Suits — A son and a brother of Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) are accused in two lawsuits of defrauding a former business partner and an investor of millions of dollars in a hedge fund deal that went sour, court records show.

Anti-war protesters marching to Pepsi Center — The first major protest at the Democratic National Convention, which starts Monday, went off peacefully Sunday at noon. — Police officers, some on mountain bikes, escorted hundreds of war protesters from the steps of the Capitol down Colfax Avenue …

I'm literally intrigued by Joe Biden's speech — Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama's choice for running mate, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, used the word “literally” literally eight times in his speech Saturday afternoon, suggesting we're in for a metaphorical deluge of misuses of …
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The Swamp
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“We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him” — Lynn Sweet has a great picture of the stage at the [manger] Pepsi Center in Denver:


Finding the Mess Behind the Mess — A BURSTING real estate bubble set off the Japanese recession of the 1990s, which deepened as ailing banks languished. It took Japan's economy more than a decade to resume steady, noticeable growth. — Will this happen to the United States?