Obama’s ties to another Muslim activist are seen as troubling. Obama made a presentation at a farewell dinner in 2003 for Rashid Khalidi. Khalidi has close ties to the Palestinian Liberation Organization According to The Case Against Obama, a new book by David Freddoso (published by Regnery), Khalidi’s group -- the Arab American Action Network -- held a fundraiser for Obama in 2000, and the group is now working on an oral history project about the great “catastrophe” of Israel’s founding.

Now in fairness to Obama, this exchange followed some pretty aggressive initial questioning from a pushy talk show host. And Obama actually handled himself well during much of the interview. Even so, a political figure who can't explain a controversial vote on key legislation without first attacking the professionalism of the reporter is probably not ready to run for, much less serve as, president. Obama could use more time in the Senate to (a) learn about the legitimate role of the press in this country and/or (b) develop thicker skin.

Obama's problem may be one of temperament. But it's also true that he's spent his adult life in a bubble of likemindedness and adulation. Was he ever forced to argue with conservatives -- or people presenting the conservative viewpoint as devil's advocates -- at the elite academic institutions he's been associated with or on the Southside of Chicago where the terrorist William Ayers and the anti-American bigot Jeremiah Wright pass as mainstream figures? I haven't seen any evidence that he was. We do hear that, as head of the Harvard Law Review (a position he seems to have obtained without being on the road to writing a publishable student note), he listened to the conservative point of view. That's to his credit. But listening when one is in a position of authority is not the same thing as debating.

A mountain lion crept through an open door into a house outside Denver, snatched a Labrador retriever from a bedroom where two people were sleeping and left the dog's dead body outside, wildlife managers said Tuesday. ...Another dog sleeping in the room wasn't harmed. ...The couple said the dogs didn't bark to warn them of the mountain lion.

In 2008, ethanol’s ravages started to make headlines — this “green fuel” was contributing to record-high food prices and causing food riots in the developing world. It was exhausting water supplies, driving up gasoline prices, and exacerbating smog. Environmentalists, who almost universally oppose ethanol, even complained that its production process is driving up emissions from coal.