It had to happen.

Less than two weeks before we vote for a new president, a white woman says a black man attacked her, then scarred her face, and says there was a political motive for it.

Ashley Todd, a 20-year-old white volunteer for John McCain’s presidential campaign, says she was mugged at an ATM machine in Pittsburgh (my hometown) by a big black man. She further says he threw her down, then disfigured her by carving the letter “B” into her face with a sharp implement when he saw that she supported McCain, not Barack Obama.

Part of the appeal of, and the unspoken tension behind, Senator Obama’s campaign is his transformational status as the first African-American to win a major party’s presidential nomination.

That does not mean that he has erased the mutual distrust between black and white Americans, and this incident could become a watershed event in the 11 days before the election.

If Ms. Todd’s allegations are proven accurate, some voters may revisit their support for Senator  Obama, not because they are racists (with due respect to Rep. John Murtha), but because they suddenly feel they do not know enough about the Democratic nominee.

If the incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator McCain’s quest for the presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting.

For Pittsburgh, a city that has done so much to shape American history over the centuries, another moment of truth is at hand.

My colleague Catherine Herridge reported today something that shouldn’t have surprised me, but in fact did. And my surprise quickly turned to concern: Catherine reported on some online chatter from Islamic Web sites that has been intercepted and translated. Their conclusion: Al Qaeda is avidly following the US presidential race with an eye to its next attack.

The intelligence officials with whom Catherine talked told her that no matter which candidate becomes our 44th president, he will be dealing with an unrelenting desire by Al Qaeda to strike the US, as it did in 2001. One of its communiqués says the following about the coming month: “At that time the collapse will happen quickly and … then after the blow by Al Qaeda, God Willing, the United States will begin to disintegrate.”

The terrorists watching us from afar don’t get to vote, and they’ll keep trying to hit us no matter who’s in the White House. That doesn’t surprise me. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have their preferences. And knowing that is what concerns me.

I proudly hail from western Pennsylvania, a beautiful part of the United States. John Murtha, the Democratic congressman from Johnstown, Pa., just said something unforgivable about my home. He said, “There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area.”

The congressman was sliming his neighbors, and me, because he thinks Barack Obama would be even further ahead in Pennsylvania were it not for racial bias on the part of the state’s residents. Obama leads by 13 percent according to RealClearPolitics.com

I’m sure there are racists in Pennsylvania. They probably exist in all 50 states. Further, there are probably some who discriminate against others whose skin color is not like theirs in Harlem, south central LA, and downtown Philadelphia.

Congressman Murtha served his country honorably in the military; I did not. So I was hesitant to criticize him earlier when he maligned our troops in Iraq. But I’m just as much a Pennsylvanian as he is. And for making such ugly comments about a wonderful part of the country, he can go to hell. I don’t mean to be ungracious, but he started it.

We have a name for people like Jack Murtha: jagoff.

AMMAN, Jordan

I’ve had some tough things to say about Islam in the past. Today, as Ramadan comes to a close, I’d like to say that we can all learn a lesson from Islam’s holy month of repentance.

Over the past week, I’ve taken part in several Iftars, the dinners that Muslims have after complete fasting — no food, liquid, water or smoking — since sunup of that day. I found Iftars to be occasions of supreme humanity. It is a universal pleasure to eat when you are very hungry.

Ramadan gives faithful Muslims — and visitors — a chance to practice self restraint, a quality lacking in the Western world.

Keep Reading …

BAGHDAD — Iraq is back.

Neighborhoods that, two years ago when I was last here were almost total rubble, are being rebuilt at a surprising pace. The country’s oil production, which accounts for nearly 90 percent of Iraq’s gross national income, is raking in money with high priced petroleum. The country’s infrastructure that was so badly damaged in the war has been repaired and this time is being guarded by the newly emergent Iraqi Armed Forces.

Around Baghdad, there is a sense among those on the street that the worst of the terror they have endured for five years is behind them and that the future will be better. It’s an attitude that other countries wish they could claim among their citizens.

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AMMAN, Jordan — It’s been a while coming, but Jordan is finally going to benefit from its support of the five-year war to turn Iraq around. Officials here announced today that Iraqi oil will begin to be delivered overland to Jordan, which, unlike its oil-rich neighbor, must import petroleum.

The details of the deal are still being worked out. But it’s an important step forward for both countries. Iraq’s petroleum industry is back at pre-war production levels and with oil topping $150 dollars a barrel on the world market, the timing couldn’t be better for the fledgling democracy.

Keep Reading …

This is such a profanely sacred day that I don’t want to inject politics into it.

I do, however, have a modest idea of how 9/11 might be commemorated in our country, whether in the canyons of lower Manhattan, the fields of Shanksville or the hills of San Francisco.

Think of a fellow citizen whom you really dislike. Now, call that person on the phone, or walk up to him or her, and say, “Aren’t you proud to be an American?”

Remember how our nation, for a few days, seemed to coalesce around the tragedy that befell us? Near Ground Zero, where I was, black and white hands clasped in unity, gays helped straights get to their feet, conservatives shared water bottles with liberals.

It was due as much to shock as it was goodwill. And it was too good to last for long. It may, however, be possible to recreate the spirit of togetherness and strength in numbers, by reaching out to those we do not like. I’m not sure I’m strong enough to do it. But I bet you are.

The privilege of citizenship is something that we can share with one another, without cost, without abandoning our principles. Remembering how lucky you are to be an American may help you open your heart to those who you might otherwise exclude.

Try, please, and tell me how it goes.

“The world’s verdict will be harsh if the US rejects the man it yearns for.”

I had to read this headline in The Guardian, a British left-wing newspaper, twice, to make sure I wasn’t misinterpreting it. But sure enough, there was columnist Jonathan Freedland telling Americans how to vote. He said that, since Gov. Sarah Palin’s nomination at the GOP candidate for vice president, he felt at first “pessimistic.” That, he informs us, was quickly replaced by indignation as he saw that… people liked her!

Another fine America-hating British institution, the BBC, paid for a poll of 22,000 non-Americans to ask them who they wanted to be president. Guess what? Nearly one in two prefers Barack Obama. Only one in five wanted John McCain. That leaves 30% who had the right answer: they don’t know who should be president of our –- not their –- country.

Four years ago, a British writer made more news than he intended when he said that U.S. elections should be open to citizens of the whole world, since Americans had shown they weren’t smart enough to pick the right candidate.

Here’s a news flash: we don’t mind hearing what you think. But we still decide who will run our country. Not happy about that? Bit of hard luck.

John McCain’s decision to cancel all but necessary ceremonies at the Republican convention this week drew respectful notice from his own and the Democratic Party. It was, simply put, the right thing to do. McCain knows that there are more important things going on in the country than his own glorification.

So how come the protesters gathered in the Twin Cities didn’t get the message? Gustav or not, misery in New Orleans or not, they’re determined to march, make noise, make the police muster in force, get themselves arrested, and generally call attention to their various complaints.

Wouldn’t their efforts be put to better use if, for example, they called off their protests, rented themselves a charter bus to the Gulf Coast, and tried to do some good for the victims of the hurricane?

It’s the difference between mature leadership and rabble-rousing, the gap between respectful disagreement and show-boating. The standard bearer of the GOP knows that his week would be tarnished by ignoring the ravages of Gustav and pretending nothing was happening. The demonstrators in St. Paul should learn from his example.

Thank goodness for online video streaming. It’s about the only way I could watch Keith Olbermann.

Earlier this week, Keith, an MSNBC propagandist who has come to believe people care what he hopes/thinks/says/because-there’s-no-filter-in-between, smeared my colleague Howard Wolfson, who was Hillary Clinton’s communication director and is now a FOX News political analyst. Keith compared Howard to Tokyo Rose.

First of all, Tokyo Rose didn’t exist. It was a name bestowed on a half dozen or so women who broadcast propaganda in English to American soldiers during World War II. The various Tokyo Roses’ job was demoralize the enemy by telling them they could not win.

Second, Howard Wolfson is a proud liberal who, in his appearances on FOX, has outlined the Democrats’ battle plan for winning the White House. He is not preaching defeat to his party. After Sen. Clinton’s defeat, he threw his support to Barack Obama. There is room for that kind of opinion in the Big Tent known as FOX News.

But not in Keith’s head. Keith is too important to be constrained (restrained might be a different matter) by facts. He is the heir to Huntley, to Brinkley, to Chancellor, to Brokaw. (Sorry, NBC).

Keith thinks Democrats shouldn’t deign to appear on FOX. That’s the same philosophy that served John Edwards so well when he was an active candidate (among other things). Like Sen. Edwards, Keith is a non-factor now that the real decisions have been made. And like Tokyo Rose, he is a fictional conflation.