Morning Newsbits

Morning newsbits.

* The most recent McCain "ad"—I doubt it's actually airing anywhere but on cable news—is truly stunningly dishonest. It could not, in fact, be more dishonest: it concerns a bill Obama neither wrote nor sponsored, that never passed, that didn't do what the ad claims. It's just amazing. John Neffinger is right: Obama should hit back on this, hard, fast, and viscerally. Don't explain, attack.

* Is McCain finally hitting the wall on working the refs? Signs of life from the press.

* This Kos diary runs through the different swing-state permutations to figure out what Obama and McCain each need to win.

* Everyone is talking about this "emotional child abuse" line from the judge in Palin's sister's divorce, but the fact is Troopergate is a massively losing issue for the left. Taser a kid, you don't get to be a cop anymore. You can't put lipstick on that pig.

There are better things for us to talk about—ideally things that don't involve Sarah Palin whatsoever.

* And Ron Paul will make a speech today in Washington, D.C., urging his followers to support third-party candidates. I wholeheartedly endorse that message: Ron Paul supporters should absolutely vote for third-party candidates, starting with Paul himself in Montana.