Obama threw a bone to the friendly crowd at the Milwaukee Laborfest on Monday. He yelped that his critics talk about him like a dog. Is he the Big Dog or Big Labor’s lap dog?  Speaking of  man’s best friend,  Tony Blair, in his new book, says Bush has more integrity than nearly every other leader he has met.

The Big Dawg visits Cleveland today.  Should be a howl.

Illegal immigration has dropped  67% over the past 10 years .  Meanwhile, unemployment notched up to a rate of 9.6% for August.  In an unrelated move, chief economic adviser, Christina Romer, gave her farewell address at the National Press Club.  According to Dana Milbank, she explained that economists don’t know why the economy stinks.

Pelosi wants an investigation of first amendment stomping Ground Zero Mosque protesters.  Nat Hentoff is investigating the man behind the mosque, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf.  Hentoff, a powerful defender of the first amendment, doesn’t care for the location of Cordoba House either.  Here’s his column.

The New Republic’s Todd Gitlin thinks the mosque is swell. Both writers take a look at the Imam’s book, What’s Right with Islam is What’s Right with America, and his claim that Islamic law fits the U.S. Constitution.   Here’s Gitlin’s column.