Editor’s note: The views expressed in These Are Politics are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the outlook or beliefs of anyone else in the IST network.

McCain mocks Obama tire-pressure comment

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain distributed tire-pressure gauges labelled “Obama’s Energy Plan” to members of his travelling press corps on Monday. The tire-pressure gauges were in response to a comment that Obama made last Wednesday alleging that the amount of oil available through increased offshore drilling could be saved each year if Americans kept their car tires properly filled with air.

The same day, 80's gag-comic Gallagher was forced to cancel a show in East Dubuque, Illinois when it was discovered that his trunk of props had been stolen. DEVELOPING...

david.nikonvscanon/flickr

Edwards admits to affair

Former Senator and Democratic presidential contender John Edwards admitted on Friday to having an extramarital affair in 2006 with Rielle Hunter, a film producer that he hired to create webisodes for his 2008 presidential campaign. Edwards has denied paying Hunter to keep the affair private, acknowledging that his wife has known about the affair for two years.

Edwards told ABC’s Bob Woodruff that he was announcing the affair not because of any pressure from Hunter or the Democratic party, but because he feels that the voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina who provided him with 61 delegates in the 2008 Democratic primaries don’t feel dumb enough already.

Relative of Olympic coach stabbed to death

Todd Backmann, the father-in-law of the US men’s volleyball team which competed on Saturday, was stabbed to death on Saturday morning while visiting a tourist attraction in Beijing. Darryl Seibel, the US Olympic Committee’s spokesman, indicated that “the victims were not wearing apparel or other attire that would identify them as being Americans or here in support of the U.S. team” and that the attack was not likely motivated by anything having to do with the Olympics.

Upon hearing word of the attack, the Chinese government immediately remembered the one thing it forgot to ban in the run-up to the Olympics: homicidal, knife-wielding psychopaths.