The Friday Political Thread: Includes 5 Clues on the Location of the Whitey Tape

The Week in Brief
– Ron Paul left the presidential race.
– Tim Russert died at age 58. Here's Brent Bozell praising him. Seriously.
– John McCain and Fox News partnered for the wimpiest town hall meeting since, well, George W. Bush's wimpy 2004 town hall meetings. You know—the ones that left him soft and unprepared for the Kerry debates.

– Barack Obama fired his chief vice presidential candidate vetter, then launched a site dedicated to fighting "smears" against him. An anti-Obama hoaxter and wanted criminal booked a press conference, anyway.

Below the Fold
– I'm still having fun with the Obama conspiracy industry. Here's one blogger alleging that Michelle Obama said whitey because her church's philosophy has some roots in the work of Stokely Carmichael—who said "whitey"! True, Michelle Obama is three years old in the example they cite, but young minds are the most impressionable!
– Robert Stacy McCain goes to Bob Barr's anti-war event.
– Patrick Ruffini looks deep into Obama's patriotic imagery.
– Gerard Baker predicts that Europeans will miss George Bush.

Here's an out-of-the-box yet strangely in-the-box Politics 'n' Prog pick: a collaboration between Marrilion's Fish and Genesis's Tony Banks. I'm not sure if I like it.