Time to Grill McCain! A 10-Point Plan

Rape 'joke' turns spotlight on candidate's sense of humor

(NEWSER) - This week's flap over a rape joke John McCain reportedly made 22 years ago inspired Politico to recall the candidate's checkered history of telling jokes. Some examples:

• A quip about why then-18-year-old Chelsea Clinton was "so ugly.”
• Calling a young man who asked about his age “you little jerk" and adding, "You’re drafted!”

Some Iranians pro-McCain, some pro-Obama, for strange and different reasons

(NEWSER) - Though isolated and remote, Iran is understandably interested in the outcome of the US presidential election. Iranian papers are covering every aspect, publishing extensive biographies and transcripts of the debates. Opinions run the gamut, but one consensus seems to be that it doesn't matter who wins because the US has a preordained anti-Iran policy, with Israel to blame. MSNBC hit the streets to take the temperature. More»

Candidates have complicated ideas on American power

(NEWSER) - For the presidential candidates, divergent experiences in Asia—John McCain's time in a Vietnam prison, Barack Obama's childhood years in Indonesia—gave rise to opposing views of American power. Yet the nominees' foreign policy stances have often blurred during the campaign, with Obama appearing more hawkish and McCain more diplomatic, according to the New York Times. More»

VP pick has denied warming is man-made, focused on adapting, not reversing

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin disagrees with both John McCain and scientific consensus on the causes of global warming, acknowledging that while Alaska has warmed by 4 degrees during the past 50 years, she’s not among those who “attribute it to being man-made.” McCain, meanwhile, has made a signature issue of capping carbon emissions in an effort to reverse climate change, the Washington Post reports. More»

What some conservatives call tacit admission was subtle allusion

(NEWSER) - Reports that Barack Obama mistakenly revealed his “Muslim faith” in a television interview are ridiculous, Frank James writes in the Chicago Tribune. Talking with George Stephanopoulos about suggestions he is a Muslim, Obama agreed “that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith.” Stephanopoulos corrected him, saying “Christian faith,” and Obama corrected the apparent gaffe, setting conservative blogs abuzz. More»