Gill: Congress Needs to Step Up For Military Voters

Allen: Stop Dumbing Down America

Ramsey: Smart Money Management

John McCain's efforts to define Barack Obama have been well cataloged in recent days, from the substantive (calling Obama a tax raiser slow to offer an energy plan) to the silly (comparing the Illinois senator to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.)

What's less apparent are McCain's efforts to define himself.

The GOP presidential hopeful has adopted a new campaign slogan, "Country First," a paean to his years in the military and decades in Congress. He's begun speaking more openly about his years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. And despite his wealth and elite legacy as the scion of admirals, McCain has tried to cast himself the embodiment of middle-class, middle-American values. Read More...

The deadliest three months for American forces in Afghanistan have pushed the U.S. death toll to at least 500, forcing a war long overshadowed by Iraq back into the headlines.

Larger, more sophisticated militant attacks have also caused a sharp rise in Afghan civilian deaths _ at least 472 in the first seven months of the year, most in suicide bombings, according to an Associated Press count. Read More...

Oil prices dropped to near $119 a barrel Friday in Asia as a strengthening dollar and worries about economic growth offset supply concerns over Turkish pipeline sabotage that was claimed by Kurdish rebels.     Read More...