The Dark Side – that’s where Dick Cheney said we would have to go to `achieve our objectives` in the White House’s war on terror.  JANE MAYER has been investigating what `the dark side` really means.   Her conclusion: `the dark side` violated the constitution and American freedoms, and also made it harder to pursue Al Qaeda.  Jane Mayer`s new book is THE DARK SIDE: The Inside Story of how the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals.  She’s a staff writer for The New Yorker.

Plus: Your Minnesota Moment:  The Republicans are convening in St. Paul, trying to deal with the media sharks circling around John McCain`s vice-presidential pick Sarah Palin — and her pregnant unmarried 17-year-old daughter, her Troopergate scandal, the fact that she was for the bridge to nowhere before she was against it, and her status as the least qualified major party vice presidential candidate in modern history.  JOHN NICHOLS will comment from inside the convention hall in St. Paul — he is Washington correspondent for The Nation, and writes The Beat blog at TheNation.com.  He says the convention `is Palin’s party, not McCain’s.`

--Wed at 4 with Jon Wiener.