That those people would be heading to McCain's Arizona ranch was first reported by the New York Times' Adam Nagourney, who presented it as a clear sign that McCain is beginning the search for someone to share his ticket in earnest. But Bloomberg's Edwin Chen was able to add the detail about the barbecue, and some pushback against the story from the McCain camp. Chen quotes Mark Salter, a senior McCain aide, as saying, "It's just social. There's no connection to the vice presidential process." And McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds told Chen, "Certainly Senator McCain has hosted barbecues at his house before. All the attendees are social friends of John McCain's."

Chen also reports that other guests will include Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, who also ran for the Republican nomination this year, and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close ally of McCain's.

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Their common ground, as it turns out, is one that more and more lawmakers -- to mixed reviews -- appear to be exploring: an interest in reducing the number of abortions. The bill is the Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act, designed to reduce the number of abortions prompted by diagnoses of genetic disorders. As the Wichita Eagle reports, the $50 million bill has made its way out of committee and toward the full Senate. (A similar measure has been introduced in the House.) The proposal would create a national registry of families willing to adopt children with prenatally (or postnatally) diagnosed conditions such as Down syndrome. Families would also be referred to support services. (An earlier version of the bill reportedly carried a whopping fine for doctors who did not make this type of referral.)

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The endorsement from Robertson may help Giuliani with religious conservatives but should send up a red flag for everybody else: In recent years, Robertson has advocated the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, told residents of a Pennsylvania town that rejected efforts to teach intelligent design in public schools that they shouldn't be surprised if God abandons them, and joined Jerry Falwell in suggesting that 9/11 was God's retaliation for America's secular ways.

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We don't agree with Brownback about much, but we don't doubt the sincerity of his beliefs, either. That's why we won't be watching too breathlessly today as Rudy Giuliani meets with Brownback in the hopes of winning his endorsement for the GOP presidential nomination.

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Ironically, the hard-right Republican's decision to bail comes just as other competitors for the GOP nomination are racing for the mantle of "true conservative." With Fred Thompson failing to make much of an impression and Brownback headed for the door, it's probably a very good day to be Mike Huckabee, who already seems to be surging in Iowa.

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And we have read many of them, though we didn't get to Alan Keyes' oeuvre because of his late entry into the race. In the 16 reviews that follow, the books are rated on a rising scale of one to five, with icons appropriate to the candidates -- the first President Roosevelt for the Republicans, the second for the Democrats, and cosmonauts for the more, um, idealistic entrants in the race for the White House.

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"Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership and the Olympic Games" by Mitt Romney

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1 minute. This is also the first debate for former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who is wearing a gold-checkered tie and deep creases in his face. He is asked if the American economy is headed toward a recession. "I see no reason to believe we are heading for ..." Thompson's mind goes blank for a beat, then another. "For an economic downturn," he recovers, seconds too late. He says he understands that "pockets in the economy" like Michigan are having difficulty. "I think you always find that in a vibrant, dynamic economy." In other words, Thompson doesn't mind the smell much.

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Brownback says the fact that Craig's crime is only a misdemeanor means it's unlikely that he'll be expelled from the Senate. But, he says, "if you look at what took place, you look and you go, 'This is not good; this is bad. This shouldn’t have taken place.'"

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But this time could be different for the increasingly disgruntled Dobson and his theocratic cohort. This time they may feel they have no choice but to follow through on their threat to support a "minor party" candidate. Consider their dilemma.

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Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, who did appear, said it was a "disgrace" that the others didn't. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, also in attendance, said of the no-shows: "Frankly, I'm embarrassed. I'm embarrassed for our party and I'm embarrassed for those who did not come, because there's long been a divide in this country, and it doesn't get better when we don't show up."

For the record, all of the major Democratic presidential candidates appeared when Tavis Smiley and PBS hosted a similar debate for Democrats in June.

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It doesn't really matter. Whatever the cause, you are in a quandary. Your only viable choice in the coming presidential election is to vote for a Republican, and that means voting for a party that has spent much of the last decade casting you and your way of life as an assault on the wholesome goodness of the American family. "Homosexuality is incompatible with military service," declared the 2004 GOP platform. "Attempts to redefine marriage in a single state or city could have serious consequences throughout the country."

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The reason: With an influx of casualties from Iraq, the existing cemetery at Fort Riley is now full. Well, not entirely full: A spokesman for the facility tells Reuters that bodies can be buried on top of other bodies if family members want to share plots.

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At around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee gathered his volunteers under a great white tent built on parking lot pavement to thank them for supporting him in the Iowa Republican straw poll. "You have taken a minimal amount of resources and had a maximum impact," he told them.

At about that point, Huckabee's field director, who is also his 25-year-old daughter, Sarah, lost it. Her face turned red, her eyes overflowed, and she began wiping at her cheeks, over and over again. She was exhausted, for sure, having spent a long day in 90-degree heat after weeks traversing Iowa. But there were also nerves at play. A poor showing in Ames would likely mean the end of her father's campaign, which had struggled for six months, polling in the single digits and raising a piddling $1.3 million. "Regardless of the straw poll results we got something going," the candidate said, keeping hope alive.

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What happens next?

Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson says he'll bail out of the presidential race if he doesn't finish first -- not gonna happen -- or second.

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"I'm not just spending my time trying to bash other candidates," the former Arkansas governor told a few dozen supporters who had gathered in front of the Boone County courthouse Wednesday afternoon. "You know, I believe the best way to win a campaign is to be able to hit the three-point shots from out on the perimeter, not by going up under the goal and elbowing somebody or kneecapping them."

But Huckabee does not control the game in Iowa these days, which has more in common with a Bronx street ball tournament than a refereed NBA matchup. Many in the Republican field are fighting for their very survival, which may depend on what happens Saturday, when up to 30,000 Iowa Republicans gather in Ames for the Hawkeye straw poll. The stakes are highest for the second-tier candidates like Huckabee, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, and Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, who have been traversing the state with fast-break speed in recent days. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is widely expected to win the poll, which tests both popularity and campaign organization, since his major rivals, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson have decided not to compete.

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"This may be one of the most important prayer alerts I have sent out for Sam," writes Berger, whose e-mail is posted on USA Today's On Politics blog. And in case supporters aren't certain exactly what to ask God to do, Berger has a list:

Pray that God would supernaturally activate the Christians in Iowa to pray and go to the straw poll to vote for Sam. (When Christians vote, our values move forward in the culture war when Christians stay home, the enemy wins.)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2007/07/27/brownback_prayer/feed/ 22 http://www.salon.com/2007/07/26/none_of_the_above/ http://www.salon.com/2007/07/26/none_of_the_above/#comments Thu, 26 Jul 2007 11:50:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/news/opinion//feature/2007/07/26/none_of_the_above In the past week, Mitt Romney -- the former Massachusetts governor who seems to be edging into the front-runner's position for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination -- has taken to ignoring his fellow Republican challengers, instead aiming his barbs at the leading Democratic contenders. In a speech last week, Romney denounced Barack Obama's healthcare plan as socialized medicine and dismissed Hillary Clinton's economic views as Marxist. "She said we have been an 'on-your-own society.' She said, 'It's time to get rid of that and replace it with shared responsibility.' That's out with Adam Smith and in with Karl Marx," said Romney, in a rhetorical flourish that managed to distort both Clintonism and Marxism.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2007/07/26/none_of_the_above/feed/ 92 http://www.salon.com/2007/07/25/use_not_rape/ http://www.salon.com/2007/07/25/use_not_rape/#comments Wed, 25 Jul 2007 15:45:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet//2007/07/25/use_not_rape The blog of a group calling itself Baptists for Brownback 2008 has launched a campaign called "Cry USE not RAPE." Their manifesto: "We have concluded that the acronym U.S.E. (Unplanned Sexual Event), when used regularly to replace the word 'rape,' will remove the stigma associated with this sometimes unpleasant situation. It is our mission to protect the innocent lives of the babies that are part of His plan and eliminate the excuses given by many women when a precious baby just isn't convienient [sic]."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2007/07/25/use_not_rape/feed/ 21 http://www.salon.com/2007/06/22/brownback_4/ http://www.salon.com/2007/06/22/brownback_4/#comments Fri, 22 Jun 2007 15:43:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/news/politics//war_room/2007/06/22/brownback Republican presidential contender Sam Brownback, campaigning Thursday in Iowa, said that, if he's elected, he'll nominate Supreme Court justices who will overturn Roe v. Wade. "We can get it done," Brownback said. "We're one justice away, and if we lose this we're going to be two or three judges away from overturning this thing that is wrong."

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