John Edwards invited critics to beat him up over his extramarital affair and lies about it. The invitation is hereby accepted.

The former presidential candidate and vice presidential nominee of the Democratic Party has betrayed his supporters, his fundraisers, and, most of all, his wife and family. He deserves scorn.

Edwards had portrayed himself as a loving family man who was fighting through his wife's battle with breast cancer. So much for that picture.

In the dog days of August, neither presidential campaign has distinguished itself with positive or useful information for voters. But it is especially sad to see GOP Sen. John McCain forget what made him such a popular figure in the 2000 race.

McCain's television ads have been disingenuous and downright silly. The fellow who thought up the so-called celebrity ad by comparing Sen. Barack Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears should be summarily fired. The charge that Obama is responsible for high gas prices is ridiculous, and McCain surely knows it. That one is a downright lie.

For those folks who railed against my stand on gun control (and yes, I read even the insulting ones), there's another sad chapter to this story.

In the Maryland suburbs of Washington, an 18-year-old was found this week with an arsenal of weapons in his basement, along with papers on making bombs and a map of the route George W. Bush's motorcade takes to the presidential retreat at Camp David. His father apparently helped purchase the weapons.

Question: Were these weapons for self-defense? Any responsible person knows the answer.

PHILADELPHIA—Voters who are concerned about the control of guns should think carefully before voting for Sen. John McCain.

The presumptive GOP nominee for president has vowed to name Supreme Court justices in the mold of President Bush's two justices. They would be Chief Justice John G. Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito. That's enough for me.

An update to yesterday's post about GOP oil and gas scare tactics: On July 31, Exxon Mobil reported a quarterly profit of over $11.5 billion, a record figure in the nation's history for one quarter. But, sure, let's turn them loose for more drilling to build on that number in an otherwise struggling economy.

The Republican Party has decided that the way to win over disenchanted voters this campaign season is to stir up anger on gasoline prices. The GOP answer: Drill like hell on the outer continental shelf and in the wild reserve of Alaska.

Sen. John McCain and President Bush are pinning the blame for those running numbers we see on gas pumps on Democrats in Congress. It is a charade.

Almost in a postscript whisper, the Republicans admit it will be years before new drilling would bring any relief. (Even by conservative estimates, it could be nearly 10 years.)

Bob Novak is a friend of mine and has been for decades. I make no apology for it.

The liberal readers of this blog may be surprised or even angered to read that the Prince of Darkness and I are friends. That's the way it is.

Even younger journalists have expressed astonishment when they hear that the conservative columnist is a friend. They don't understand that reporters of our vintage were on the campaign trail with typewriters and deadlines that permitted some camaraderie and even fun.