I have yet to see the media correct this, but McCain is lying when he says Obama is linked to Fannie Mae's troubles, according to the AP.

"He put Fannie Mae's CEO (chief executive), who helped create this problem, in charge of finding his vice president. That's not change, that's what's broken in Washington," McCain said.

As someone who covers the mortgage industry, I can tell you that this is an obvious attempt at deception.  Jim Johnson ran Fannie Mae from 1991 to 1998, a period during which the company was among the most reputable companies in the nation. 
His successor, Franklin Raines, was responsible for a massive accounting scandal and was thrown out on his ear. 

Daniel Mudd came in to clean up the considerable mess.  He did a decent job in getting the house back in order, but ultimately allowed himself to be pressured by Congress into taking on more and more bad loans to stabilize the liquidity crisis.

As for Johnson, he stepped down after it came out that he was given preferential terms on a loan by Countrywide after he was out of Fannie Mae and long before it became clear that Countrywide was selling the country down the river.  Nevertheless, it looked bad and he tried to limit the damage (although he probably did more by stepping down).

In any case, Obama did not put Daniel Mudd (who presided over massive losses at Fannie) in charge of the VP vetting process, which is what McCain is suggesting. 

The McCain camp knows they are not telling the truth.  It is not that they are saying something that's partly true or some such thing.  McCain is coughing up a flat-out lie.

Calling an investigation "tainted" by partisanship goes back at least to the Greeks, but I can't help but be reminded of similar GOP efforts to shoot the investigators.  Two seconds of googling brought up this gem from Tom Delay's spokesman:

This purely political investigation has been marked by illegal grand jury leaks, a fundraising speech by Ronnie Earle for Texas Democrats that inappropriately focused on the investigation, misuse of his office for partisan purposes, and extortion of money for Earle's pet projects from corporations in exchange for dismissing indictments he brought against them.

Ronnie Earle's previous misuse of his office has resulted in failed prosecutions and we trust his partisan grandstanding will strike out again, as it should.

How did things work out for the GOP Majority Leader?  In any case, I'm sure there are plenty of other examples of GOP knuckleheads blaming partisan attack dogs, even when the investigation efforts are bipartisan, as with the former Miss Congeniality of Alaksa.  I leave it to the AP:

The lawsuit called the investigation "unlawful, biased, partial and partisan." None of the lawmakers who filed the suit in Anchorage Superior Court serves on the bipartisan Legislative Council that unanimously approved the investigation.

I just wrote about the possibility of a Colin Powell endorsement for Obama, and that possibility has become even more likely today.  Powell joined five other former Secretaries of State in calling for the next President to engage in talks with Iran - a move championed by Obama and belittled by McCain.

Even Henry Kissinger, Dr. Strangelove himself, is calling for sustained negotiations.  The group said that a concern for Israel should not hamper discussions.

Beyond policy, the meeting was interesting for James Baker's hesitant endorsement of McCain, but even more curious was Powell's dance around the issue of endorsements:

 

Powell, the first African American secretary of state, said he had not decided yet. "I am an American first," Powell said.

He said he had told Obama, "I am not going to vote for you just because you are black."

The critical issue, he said, "is who is going to keep us safe."

Considering that the others openly declared their endorsements, Powell once more refused to back the candidate of his own party.  But even more striking is his "just because" quote, which implies that he will endorse Obama because he "is going to keep us safe."

Powell is arguably the most sought after endorsement left in the final stretch of the campaign.  A well-timed statement, or perhaps even a Sunday morning appearance, could dominate a news cycle or two.

More importantly, it would give Obama's approach to foreign policy a distinct legitimacy, especially if the cable news programs keep showing shots of Powell holding up anthrax at the UN.  Ironically, the return of this personal nadir for Powell will provide tons of grist for the cable shows, and should serve to reinstate a reputation sullied by his inisistence on playing the "good soldier" over the good of the American public.

Later in the article, Powell contradicts the hard-line moral clarity of Sarah Palin by suggesting that the Russians were not "unprovoked," as she had suggested to "Charlie."

Powell, who served President Bush from 2001-2005, sought to allay suspicions that Russia was turning into a second Soviet Union, even though it acted "brutally" in its conflict last month with Georgia.

It was "foolhardy," he said, for Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to "light a match" with a military operation in South Ossetia to forcibly reassert is authority over the breakaway region.

Score another one for Obama, who allowed that foreign policy is a complex game of chess, even when people like Bush and Palin want to play checkers.

Colin Powell remains the last significant endorsement in the political arena, especially because of his ambivalence.  The Republican refused to attend either convention, including that of his own political party.

I wonder what effect the VP decision of each campaign could have on his endorsement choice.  After all, he knows Sen. Biden extremely well and has a strong confidence in his credentials.  During the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, Biden espoused several key tenets of the so-called Powell Doctrine, such as exhausting diplomacy, maximizing our allies and legitimacy in the run-up, and using overwhelming force - all of which are fundamentally at odds with the Bush Doctrine.

On the other hand, McCain is at the top of the ticket for the GOP.  His resume is thick, but sometimes at odds with Powell's views.  McCain's recent performance with Russia is a perfect example of that.  Meanwhile, McCain's judgment comes sharply in question with the choice of Sarah Palin, who openly denigrated experience, hires buddies over more qualified candidates, and insists that we should be so committed to the mission that we must never blink.  Also, her views on Russia range from naive to nutball.

I can't say how much of a newscycle the Powell endorsement may garner, especially given the extreme pace the campaign will likely take in the next two months, but a Sunday morning slot for the announcement could have wide reverberations.

For someone who may be best remembered by generation for holding a test tube of anthrax at the UN, Powell may not be all that excited about 4 more years of Bush policies - particularly with a dangerously incurious ideologue VP choice for a cancer-surviving 72-year-old.  He may, however, be excited about another African-American pioneer that shows a willingness to engage publicly in the nuanced chess game of foreign policy.