Here is Mitt Romney's new ad, which not so subtly touts his "energy" and experience:

Several Republican lawmakers called on Sen. Larry Craig to resign yesterday, including John McCain. "My opinion is that when you plead guilty to a crime, you shouldn't serve," McCain said. As the New York Times' David Stout reports reports, the calls for his resignation came amid the Senate GOP leadership stripping Craig of his committee posts. Even the White House weighed in, saying it was "disappointed" by the controversy.

"The lack of party support for Mr. Craig seemed to signal a collective desire that he go away rather than offer Democrats another example of behavior lapses by Republicans," Stout writes.

Meanwhile, McCain released a new ad that's bound to draw some controversy of its own. "The opening shot of a new video about Sen. John McCain shows a young Navy pilot encased in a giant, clumsy-looking plaster cast," reports the Concord Monitor's Margot Sanger-Katz. "With his one free hand, he smokes a cigarette as he gives a foreigner interviewer his name, rank and serial number."

The ad depicts McCain as POW as well as other events from his years of military service. "In 12 minutes, it sketches the history of McCain's harrowing experiences during the bombing of an aircraft carrier and as a prisoner of war, drawing comparisons between his courage as a captive pilot and his abilities as a leader," Sanger-Katz writes. Because it's too long to air on TV, the ad is being distributed at campaign events on DVD and is posted on McCain's Web site.

Speaking at a firehouse in Pelham, South Carolina, Rudy Giuliani introduced his "first responder" committee made up of "firefighters, police, paramedics and other first responders intended to breathe life into the former New York City mayor's campaign," The State reports.

A former aide to John McCain, Todd Harris, will be Fred Thompson's new communications director, following the departure of Linda Rozette, the AP's Ron Fournier writes.

In an interview with Radio Iowa's O. Kay Henderson, Mike Huckabee positioned himself as the non-establishment Republican in the race. "My message is not 'Establishment Republican'. That's one of the reasons it's resonating with so many people because people don't want another 'Establishment' candidate," Huckabee said. "They know that that's a losing formula for us next year."

Speaking about Craig, Huckabee said, "Don't know exactly what the facts are, but if it turns out that he's not been honest and, you know, really has dishonored his position, then Republicans ought to be just as adamant about consequences for him as they would have been for Bill Clinton."

Wyoming Republicans announced yesterday that they would hold their primary on Jan. 5, 2008, making Wyoming the earliest primary of the season. Mead Gruver of the AP reports, "While the move puts Wyoming first in the accelerated primary process, it is not expected to stay there as states continue to jockey for position." The RNC says it will penalize any state that ignores party rules and moves to an earlier date.

More fundraising trouble hit Hillary Clinton yesterday after the Los Angeles Times reported that one of her top donors, Norman Hsu, is a fugitive. "Hsu said Wednesday that he would 'refrain from all fundraising activities' until he resolved an outstanding warrant for his arrest stemming from a 1991 criminal case in San Mateo County," the Times' Chuck Neubauer and Dan Morain report. Attention was brought on Hsu after the Wall Street Journal raised questions regarding his suspicious fundraising activity. Clinton, however, was not the only Democrat to benefit from Hsu's largesse and several said they would divest their campaigns of his contributions.

With Jimmy Carter by his side, John Edwards lashed out at President Bush's request for more money for the surge at a campaign stop in Georgia, reports NBC's Lauren Appelbaum. "What the Congress should do when they come back next week is make it absolutely clear, no timetable, no funding. And there should be no further excuses. The Congress needs to stand their ground," Edwards said.

Meanwhile, the Washington Times' Donald Lambro reports that it is unlikely Democratic candidates will heed their party's warning and avoid campaigning in states that move to an earlier primary date.

"The candidates have been quiet about the fight between Florida Democrats and the Democratic National Committee over the DNC's ban on holding any additional primaries before Feb. 5," writes Lambro. "But Democrats say the contenders have signaled through 'back channel' communications that they will probably participate in both contests anyway."

Get these and other stories at RCP's Politics and Elections page.

Time Magazine is out with new Hawkeye numbers, and former Senator John Edwards has retaken his lead in the RCP Average after almost a month trailing Senator Hillary Clinton. The poll surveyed 519 likely Democratic caucus-goers between August 22-25. This is the first poll Time has done in Iowa.

Democrats
Edwards 29
Clinton 24
Obama 22
Richardson 11
Biden 5

Edwards' lead, Time points out, comes after his seven day, 31-city bus tour around the state. Still, 25% of Iowans see him as the person most likely to take on special interests in Washington, fewer than the 35% who say that change agent is Senator Barack Obama. Edwards leads in the likeability column, while Clinton is seen as the strongest leader and the candidate who would best handle Iraq (27%, to Obama's 19%, Edwards' 18% and Richardson's 16%).

Edwards leads the RCP Iowa Average by 0.6%, with 25.4%.

In an interview with Scott Hennen this morning on WDAY, Senator Norm Coleman called Senator Craig's behavior "disgusting" and called for his resignation. Here's the audio clip:

Bathroom break: Senators Norm Coleman and John McCain joined Congressman Pete Hoekstra in calling on Larry Craig to resign. Also, CNN has learned Craig will "temporarily step down from his committee assignments." Finally, ABC News interviews experts who say Craig will have a tough time undoing his guilty plea. Add it all up and I'd say the remainder of Craig's career as a Senator can now be counted in days, if not hours.

Remembering Katrina: the 2 year anniversary is met with anger and sadness, the AP reports. President Bush told New Orleans residents "better days" are ahead. Here's the full text of his remarks.

On ice: Sadr freezes activity of his Shiite militia for six months.

Bipartisan: Musharraf close to power sharing deal with Bhutto.

Rebound: up day on Wall Street. But...oil jumped to over $73 per barrel, its highest close in nearly a month, thanks to new supply data.

Bush is seeking another $50 billion for Iraq.

Richard Jewell, the man who will forever be remembered as the suspect - wrongly accused, as it turned out - in the 1996 bombings at the Olympics in Atlanta, has died.

Because we don't receive the dead tree edition of the Wall Street Journal, we somehow missed them fronting this article today on the investment potential that is beer pong:

These guys aren't exactly Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. But Messrs. Wright and Johnson, both 22 years old, are part of a new wave of young people trying to make money tapping into their peers' devotion to beer pong, a cross between ping-pong and beer chugging. As beer-pong season hits a peak with the start of the school year, these beer-pong entrepreneurs are running tournaments and peddling customized beer-pong tables, balls and apparel.

And, for those of you new to the sport and hoping to get in on the ground floor with a key investment, the Journal includes a handy graphic:

Rep. Pete Hoekstra is on Studio B with Shepard Smith right now calling for Sen. Larry Craig to resign.

Here's an AP write-up:

BOISE (AP) -- A conservative House member from Michigan became the first lawmaker to call for Sen. Larry Craig's resignation on Wednesday, and the White House expressed disappointment in the case of the Idaho senator caught in a men's room undercover police operation.

GOP Rep. Pete Hoekstra said Craig "represents the Republican party," and called for his resignation "as his conduct throughout this matter has been inappropriate for a U.S. senator."

Too early to say (for now) whether others will take up Hoekstra's call, although, with the Senate GOP urging an investigation, we're seeing Republicans rushing to get out in front of the story.

UPDATE: Now CNN is reporting that John McCain said Craig should resign.

"I believe that he plead guilty, and he had the opportunity to plead innocent," McCain said. "So, I think he should resign. My opinion is that when you plead guilty to a crime you shouldn't serve."

The AP is reporting:

Wyoming Republicans have jumped to the head of the pack in the nominating process, moving their delegate-selection conventions to Jan. 5 before even Iowa or New Hampshire vote.

While the move puts Wyoming first in the accelerated primary process, it is not expected to stay there as states continue to jockey for position. At stake for Wyoming Republicans on Jan. 5 will be 12 delegates to the national convention.

"We're first in the nation," said Tom Sansonetti, the state party's 2008 county convention coordinator. "At least for the next couple, three weeks until New Hampshire and Iowa move, which I expect they will."

Watch these YouTubes of John McCain on Jay Leno last night and then check out Jim Geraghty's exclusive on McCain's fundraising letter in which he quotes John Paul Jones' "I have not yet begun to fight."

Making another announcement?

On Rumsfeld:

On the impact of YouTube:

Just to emphasize McCain's point there, many more YouTubes to be found in the RCP Vlog.

The Federal Election Commission has fined the Soros-backed leftwing PAC America Coming Together (ACT) $775,000 for violating rules in the 2004 election. The fine, which was approved unanimously, is the largest ever dished out by the FEC in its 33-year history.

UPDATE: Here is the press release from the FEC, along with a pdf of the 13-page conciliation agreement that spells out the details of the violations.

One final note with an '08 twist: guess who joined ACT in May 2004 as its Chief of Staff and then took over as President of the Organization in February 2005? Harold Ickes. Yes, the same Harold Ickes who was deputy Chief of Staff in the Clinton White House and rejoined Hillary Clinton's campaign as "Adviser to the Campaign Manager" in April.