Sam Dealey 04:44 PM ET

Lap Dancing and Constitutional Rights

A Pennsylvania woman filed suit against Adams Township for denying her a permit to run a lap-dance studio. Stephanie Babines and the ACLU say it violates her First Amendment rights; town officials say it's a matter of decency.

Robert Schlesinger 03:32 PM ET

Sarah Palin—McCain's Ham-Handed Tribal Gamble

Sarah Palin (or Susan Palin, as a Fox News reporter kept calling her this morning in a sign of how truly out of left field—deep, deep north-left field, beyond the Canadian border—this pick was) represents a gamble by John McCain that the Hillary factor is more important than the "experience" issue. It also shows (I hope) how little he understands the women's movement, and displays the arrogance that has marked his campaign so far.

Sam Dealey 02:38 PM ET

Time to Target the Taliban Drug Cartel

This week the United Nations released new statistics on Afghanistan's opium production, and the upshot is that the country will remain the world's top producer of opium by a country mile. This should hardly come as a surprise, and most might be tempted to throw away the report as useless. But read between the lines and it's clear why the stubborn Taliban insurgency is gaining ground and, more important, how those gains can be cut back.

Michael Barone 12:32 PM ET

Obama's Speech Themes Won't Hold Up

Like Joseph P. Kennedy, who did not stay in Los Angeles to see his son deliver his acceptance speech in the Los Angeles Coliseum—the last time a Democratic nominee did so in a stadium (for a good account of that, see this excellent story in USA Today)—I decided to watch the speech on television rather than in the stadium.

Michael Barone 12:02 PM ET

Palin Will Be Welcomed by Conservatives

John McCain has chosen Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential candidate. This obviously undercuts his theme of experience, just as Barack Obama's choice of Joe Biden undercut, at least marginally, his theme of change. Palin is just in her second year as governor; she was formerly mayor of Wasilla, a fast-growing town in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley.

John Aloysius Farrell 11:35 AM ET

Will Palin Stand Up to Scrutiny?

DENVER—James Carville told reporters last week that his advice for potential presidents is to pick a vice presidential candidate who will make the opposition strategists retch with worry. Well, he said it more pungently than that, but you get the idea.

Sarah Palin fulfills that criterion. The poor Obama folk—they had about 12 hours to enjoy and rest, after putting on a successful and historic convention, and they get up this morning to this stomach-churning bit of news.

Bonnie Erbe 11:32 AM ET

Palin Could Attract Hillary Supporters

If you're looking for answers as to why Senator McCain may have chosen a running mate who's involved in a messy state investigation, think "women's votes" and then think "former Clinton supporters." But she may well try to explain away the allegations of abusing her power by characterizing the investigation as payback for tangling with the state's GOP hierarchy.

John Aloysius Farrell 11:14 AM ET

Obama's Advisers Before the Big Speech

DENVER—Obama's campaign aides seemed tense and weary in the hours before his speech, but expressed confidence that they had done as best they could in Denver, given the list of tasks they faced: to introduce Obama and his family to the country, to get Bill and Hillary Clinton on board in a show of Democratic unity, to highlight the contrast between the two candidates and to convey a compelling message of change.

Bonnie Erbe 11:09 AM ET

Sarah Palin: The Big Come Hither

Sen. John McCain's pick of Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate is a big "come hither" signal to former Clinton supporters to defect to the Republicans. Yes, Sen. Clinton is strongly pro-choice (although she talks more these days about dampening the need for abortion) and Gov. Palin is avidly pro-life, but both are successful female politicians.

Robert Schlesinger August 28, 2008

Barack Obama is Not An Alien

DENVER—In case you weren't sure, Barack Obama is one of us.

Obama's speech this evening addressed three issues—Obama, McCain, and the nitty gritty, and did it well.