Grassroots Conservative Majority

Asked about his infamous temper today, John McCain delivered a rousing response, exclaiming that he is just as angry as the rest of America with the corruption and wasteful spending in Washington. “I will confess to you my friend that I get angry…I get angry when I see corruption to the point where we have former members of Congress residing in federal prison,” McCain said at a townhall meeting Wednesday, sounding at times like the Howard Beale character from the film “Network.” “And you know something? The American people are angry too and they’re not going to take it anymore. And that’s why they want change. And they’re mad and they’ve lost their temper. You know? These townhall meetings, ask them if they’re not mad! Ask ‘em. Ask ‘em the way their tax dollars and spending has gone completely out of control.” Though journalists frequently ask McCain about his temperament, the question rarely come sup at townhall meetings. The questioner, a self-described Republican man said McCain’s temper was a “concern” before going on to quote Sen. Thad Cochran’s statement that McCain is too “erratic” and “hotheaded” to be President. McCain initially joked with him, responding “how dare you ask that question? Take that microphone away from him,” drawing laughter from the crowd. McCain went on to add, “I get angry when I saw a guy named Abramoff that ripped off Native Americans for millions and millions and millions of dollars and people ended up, including him, in federal prison. I get angry when I see 233 million of your tax dollars going to…a bridge to an island with 50 people on it. And that’s your dollars.” McCain: “The American people are angry”

Hillary Clinton personally loaned her campaign a total of $6.425 million in the last month to keep her campaign afloat while being massively outspent by Barack Obama. Clinton gave herself $5 million on April 11th, nearly 2 weeks before her 9 point win in Pennsylvania. Though her campaign reported raising $10 million on the night of the Pennsylvania primary, Clinton also lent her campaign $1 million on May 1 and another $425,000 on May 5 — just a day before a big loss in North Carolina and close win in Indiana. Clinton also loaned herself $5 million when funds were low before Super Tuesday, crediting that donation with saving her floundering campaign and prompting a flood of new donations from supporters who hadn’t known she was in need of cash. Spokesman Mo Elleithee says the loan “demonstrates her commitment to the campaign, and makes sure we have the resources we need going forward to Puerto Rico.” Clinton Loaned Campaign $6.4 Million

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, a leader of the social conservative community, is a fan of today’s remarks: From a release…. “Senator McCain’s speech will be well- received by millions of Americans alarmed by activist judges who undermine the rule of law by legislating from the bench. “We applaud Senator McCain for his support of federal judges who will apply the U.S. Constitution. He is correct in criticizing both federal judges who presume to ‘make law instead of apply it’ and the obstructionist Senate Democratic leaders who continue to deny hearings to well-qualified judicial nominees. “The Senate Democratic leadership views the judiciary as a tool to dictate social policy. If they can’t pass a hate-crimes law, they will support judges who will install one from the bench. If they can’t overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, they will find a judge to declare it unconstitutional. “Essentially, the Democrats in the Senate have committed themselves to obstruct and pervert the judicial process until the time, they hope, when a liberal president can nominate judicial activists to reshape the social policy landscape of America. “I thank Senator McCain for the commitment he made today to ‘restore the standards and spirit that give the judicial branch its place of honor in our government…. Every federal court should be a refuge from abuses of power, and not the source’ of them.” Perkins praises McCain remarks

Of the Democratic presidential candidates, would Republican John McCain rather take on Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton? “You know, Ron Paul is still in the race,” McCain joked Wednesday during a taping of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” McCain deadpanned about the marathon race between the Democrats: “I hate to watch it. It’s terrible. My heart goes out to them.” During the taping, McCain pretended to walk off the set when Stewart pressed him on whether President Bush is more of a liability for him than the Rev. Jeremiah Wright is for Obama. Then McCain fiddled with his microphone and mouthed “technical difficulties” into the camera. The all-but-certain Republican nominee did reveal a few tidbits. His Secret Service code name, he thinks, “is ‘jerk,’” and his choice for a vice presidential running mate is Dwight Schrute, a character on the NBC sitcom, “The Office,” played by Rainn Wilson. Comedy aside, McCain used the opportunity to challenge Obama, who moved a step closer to claiming the Democratic nomination after Tuesday’s primaries in Indiana and North Carolina. Stewart asked whether McCain really believed the Islamic terrorist group Hamas had endorsed Obama. McCain’s campaign issued a fundraising letter after a Hamas adviser, Ahmed Yousef, said the group likes Obama. “It’s indicative of how some of our enemies view America,” McCain said. “And I guarantee you, they’re not going to endorse me.” Off camera, Obama’s campaign said McCain should apologize for “repeating tired and divisive attacks about Barack Obama that he knows are flat-out untrue.” McCain jokes about rivals with comedian Jon Stewart

From his five years in a North Vietnamese prison camp to his tenure as the Navy’s liaison to the Senate, John McCain’s Navy record boils down to a series of unadorned paragraphs that bestow upon him some of the nation’s top military honors. The Navy recently released McCain’s military record — most of it citations for medals during his Navy career — after a Freedom of Information Act request by The Associated Press. McCain was awarded a Silver Star Medal for resisting “extreme mental and physical cruelties” inflicted upon him by his captors from late October to early December 1967, the early months of his captivity, according to the citation. The North Vietnamese, according to the Navy, ignored international agreements and tortured McCain “in an attempt to obtain military information and false confessions for propaganda purposes.” McCain, now the Republican Party’s likely presidential nominee, was taken prisoner in October 1967 after he was shot down while on a mission over Hanoi. He wasn’t freed until March 1973, after the United States signed peace agreements with the North Vietnamese. His captors tortured him and held him in solitary confinement. Still, he declined an offer of early release until those who had been at the prison longer than him were let go. That decision earned McCain a Navy Commendation Medal. Although McCain was “crippled from serious and ill-treated injuries,” he steadfastly refused offers of freedom from those holding him prisoner. “His selfless action served as an example to others and his forthright refusal, by giving emphasis to the insidious nature of such releases, may have prevented a possibly chaotic deterioration in prisoner discipline,” the citation says. McCain attended the U.S. Naval Academy from 1954 to 1958, and was commissioned as an ensign in June of that year. He retired in April 1981 with the rank of captain. In that time he received 17 awards and decorations. Besides the Silver Star Medal, McCain also received the Legion of Merit with a combat “V” and one gold star, a Distinguished Flying Cross and a Bronze Art Medal with a combat “V” and two gold stars. Several citations mention his achievements either as a prisoner or as a lieutenant commander flying bombing runs off the deck of the USS Oriskany. Some are signed by then-Secretary of the Navy John Warner, who would become a colleague of McCain’s in the Senate. The citations refer to his “accurate ordnance delivery” and his “aggressive and skillful airmanship.” He earned his Bronze Star the day before he was shot down, for participating in a mission over an airfield in Phuc Yen, 11 miles north of Hanoi. The citation for his Distinguished Flying Cross sums up McCain’s misfortune the following day: “Although his aircraft was severely damaged, he continued his bomb delivery pass and released his bombs on the target. When the aircraft would not recover from the dive, Commander McCain was forced to eject over the target.” Years later, as his Navy career approached its end, McCain received the Legion of Merit Medal. By then, his missions were in the halls of Congress as a liaison to the Senate from the Navy’s Office of Legislative Affairs. He was praised for providing Navy leaders “with sage advice and sound judgment for enacting critical legislation during a period of severe fiscal constraint.” The following year, he ran for Congress from Arizona, and won. McCain’s Navy Records Detail Commendations

For Mitt Romney, the suspension of his campaign at the Conservative Political Action Committee conference two days after Super Tuesday marked the beginning of a new and promising campaign. As he ended his quest for the Republican presidential nomination, he staked for himself a position as leader for the conservative future. It’s a good position to be in for a potential 2012 run for the presidency. And it’s a position that makes him an attractive option for John McCain’s No. 2 in 2008. In his withdrawal speech, Romney announced that “conservative principles are needed now more than ever” — hitting the economy, the culture, and the war. One Romney adviser referred to the speech and the pullout as “a down-payment on a conservative future.” Romney’s biggest value to McCain, though, comes from his experience in business. John McCain has no such experience and famously said during the New Hampshire primary that “the issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.” (He added that he owns former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan’s book.) That quote will come back to haunt McCain once general-election time finally arrives. Mitt Romney’s greatest asset for McCain — who has been in Congress for almost a quarter of a century — is, therefore, his executive experience, most of it in the business world, most notably as vice president of Bain & Company, Inc. from 1978 to 1984, and as founder of Bain Capital, venture-capital savior of the likes of Staples, Domino’s Pizza, and Sports Authority. Romney famously turned around the corrupt and broke ($379 million in debt) Salt Lake City Olympics and cleaned up a Massachusetts budget running $3 billion in the red without raising taxes. At a time when the country may be in a wartime recession, Romney emanates a confident competence (and he would do it, as veep nominee, alongside a GOP presidential nominee with a mixed tax-cutting record). Choosing Romney, then, could be as practical as politics gets. When in the voting booth, partisan preferences may pale in comparison to the attraction of a guarantee of competence in the executive. McCain, if he chooses Romney, may be wise to give Vice President Romney more than economics in his assignment portfolio. As two-time Cabinet secretary William J. Bennett recently put it on his radio show, “McCain would do the war. Romney would do domestic.” Social conservatives might hold up McCain’s speech this week on the judiciary and say, great blueprint, Senator. But we don’t trust you, Senator. (In fact, former Department of Justice official Mark R. Levin, another talk-show host, said just that in the wake of the judges speech: “I don’t trust this guy.”) Take that basically sound blueprint and give us someone we trust. Romney, who fought judicial activism on marriage in Massachusetts — and made the issue a key part of his campaign for president — has some credentials there. The governor makes electoral-map sense, too. First of all, now we can agree the Mormon factor is a plus. Utah’s a lock, he won the caucus there with 90 percent of the vote. But Utah’s not the battleground: Michigan is. And Romney’s favorite-son status there makes it a likely delivery for McCain with Romney on the ticket. (Romney’s economics talk went over well there, too, you might recall.) Romney’s already been to Michigan on McCain’s behalf and no doubt will return. Would the Michigan effect spread to Ohio? McCain seems already to have an appreciation for Romney’s electoral assets: Romney recently spoke to the Nevada state Republican convention; Romney won the Nevada caucus with 51 percent of the vote to McCain’s 13 percent. Since endorsing McCain, Romney has hit the media trail for McCain, too — including talking to radio and TV giant Sean Hannity — at the McCain communications shop’s request. McCain’s Vice President? Mitt Romney As Running Mate

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(This is the sixth Veepstakes article. Already profiled have been Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Ohio Rep. Rob Portman and Rep. Paul Ryan.) A former lieutenant governor tapped to run for Vice President two years after losing a U.S. Senate race? the idea seems outlandish. But, sure enough, Michael Steele — Maryland’s lieutenant governor, the state’s second-highest elected official from 2002-06 — is quite often mentioned on lists of potential running mates for John McCain. And to those who point to Steele’s 55%-to-45% loss to Democrat Ben Cardin in Maryland’s nationally watched Senate race in ‘06 as a bar to his being on a national ticket, Steele enthusiasts counter that, among others, Abraham Lincoln and Richard Nixon lost races for statewide office before winning the Republican nomination for President. At 52, Steele remains one of the most prominent African-American Republican spokesmen. This is significant, since the GOP has no blacks in either the House or Senate and only one member of the Republican National Committee is African-American. An attorney and businessman who once studied for the priesthood, Steele was GOP chairman of Maryland’s Prince George’s County, and then went on to serve as state party chairman before becoming the Free State’s first Republican lieutenant governor since the office was created. Initially often referred to in the press as “Mike Tyson’s brother-in-law” (his physician-sister was once married to the former heavyweight boxing champion), Steele soon developed a strong following in the Republican grass-roots in Maryland. Now chairman of GOPAC, the Republican training and recruitment group, and a frequent Fox-TV commentator, Steele is often a guest speaker at GOP functions in his home state and nationally. “That’s amazing,” was Steele’s response when I mentioned to him the vice presidential speculation about him I often run into. “I mean, he said, you’ve got to ask yourself the question, what would you do if the nominee of your party came to you, hopefully with a degree of confidence in what you could bring to the ticket, and asked you. You’d be hard-pressed to say no. But you definitely would have to take into consideration all the other things that are out there, like family, and stuff like that. But it’s one of those things. I’ll be very honest with you, John, it’s just so beyond my wildest imagination that I just, you know, I don’t think, I try not to think about it, at least.” But Steele would like to see an African-American on a national Republican ticket, “either now or down the road,” arguing that “we have an enormously important history when it comes to the social, civil, and political empowerment of African-Americans,” and Republicans “don’t have to jump up and down and wave our arms and say, ‘Gee, see what we’ve done,’” The Maryland man nonetheless concedes that, “unfortunately, today, politics has denigrated to that extent.” Notice the rhetoric coming out of the Democratic primaries. You know, ‘If Barack Obama’s not the nominee,’, fill in the blank. There’s not this sense of how the process unfolds. It’s all “it would have been stolen from them, it would have been cheating.” And that’s just not — I don’t think that’s smart politics” “The other thing ostensibly what happens with Republicans is invariably when an African-American rises through the ranks through hard work and the natural course of political experience, you hear that kind of crazy, loony stuff coming from the left, like ‘oh, well, they just promoted him because he’s black.’ Oh, well, you know, he’s just …” As, I think it was Cosmopolitan magazine, referred to me and [’06 Ohio and Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidates] Ken Blackwell and Lynn Swann — “well, they’re the lawn jockeys of the Republican Party.” McCain’s Veepstakes: Michael Steele

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It would be more amusing had I not been personally involved. Three years ago I was a lone voice outrageously predicting $100 oil, debated on many occasions on national TV by those predicting $50 or even less. The tapes are still available. Now, $100 seems conservative, others have jumped on that number by the carload and the OPEC president said last week that oil may climb to $200. This, by the way, is the same organization that four years ago was insisting that the “official” price was between $24 and $28, while we were paying $50. Clearly they hoodwinked us. Oil is at $120 with no price reduction in sight because of two simple but unsavory facts: We in the United States and Europe have earned the right and the luxury to be ridiculous and oil producing countries, knowing this, have become militants, in what arguably can be called energy imperialism. First a disclaimer, in itself silly that I have to make. This article is not paid by Big Oil. Second, I have a simple belief: energy and its abundance is perhaps the most important commodity in modern life, bar none, and any energy shortages will plunge the world in an economic tailspin we have never experienced before. If one does not believe this, no need to read further. Of the world energy demand 87 percent comes from fossil fuels, oil, gas and coal. This fraction has not changed much since the 1970’s and the first “energy crisis” while energy demand has more than doubled. By almost everybody’s estimates by the year 2030, the total world demand will increase by 50 percent and oil, gas and coal will still provide 87 percent of the world’s energy. The reason we use them is not because of some evil conspiracy headed by a dark knight by the name of Dick Cheney. We use them because they are the easiest, most flexible, most reliable and most efficient forms of energy. Biofuels as done today, cause a negative energy balance not even considering their impact on food prices. I have no aversion to wind or solar. I love the sun, I am Greek. But they are eminently unreliable and, even in their best case, without government subsidies, they make $200 to $2000 oil still attractive. It is that simple. But here is how we are ridiculous and it would have been funny had we not run the danger of committing societal hara-kiri. We have let dazed environmentalism of the most outrageous variety to put on a tie and become mainstream, dominate the covers of national newsmagazines and, predictably as of late, earn Oscars, Emmys and Nobels. There are no alternatives to fossil fuels for decades to come and the transition will be long and painful. We will continue to be a fossil-fuel dependent economy for the foreseeable future. To boot, the US imports now almost 70 percent of 21 million barrels per day of oil demand. Hugo Chavez, Vladimir Putin and Mahmoud Ahmedinejad have noticed. So what do we do now? We are not allowed to drill in proven offshore or arctic resources and where we can drill “it takes more than an act of Congress”. At any given time, our oil and gas reserves are perhaps 40 percent less than they could have been in practically any other country because of environmental compliance. Ask almost any American which country provides more oil to the United States and the answer would be Saudi Arabia, Canada or Mexico. The correct answer is of course the United States, by far. In a margin business where one half of one percent of over or under supply can cause havoc on the oil price, drilling in the ANWR would make a heck of difference both really and symbolically. It takes 800 permits to build a new refinery. Is it surprising that none has been built in over 30 years? Big Oil is of course blamed by many, headed by national politicians. The truth is that US oil companies have very little impact on current oil prices and their influence is waning by energy militant countries that own the reserves. Instead of being protected they are maligned by politicians and a gullible public. Simple question: suppose that the energy industry is all nationalized and the ExxonMobil’s of the world are taken over by the government. Does anybody believe that gasoline prices would be lower? It may surprise almost all to realize that, having to buy oil from militant nations with little control over them, US Big Oil and the consumers are in much closer predicament than taxing and regulating government or elitist, touchy feely politicians and environmentalists. And of course the biggest boogieman is climate change hysteria. Both Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama have bought the man-made origin and have adopted the slogan of 80 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions (the main greenhouse gas produced from burning fossil fuels) by 2050. John McCain is not far behind. If they succeed they will bring a growing United States to the level of the lowest 5 percentile of the world’s poorest countries. Maybe that is the egalitarianism they seek: to make all of the world that poor. Oil at $120: Here’s Why

Barack Obama has finally distanced himself from Rev. Jeremiah Wright after a 20-year relationship, but the pastor who is replacing Wright at Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ is likely to be just as controversial. New Trinity pastor Otis Moss has called Biblical patriarch Abraham a pimp and made other statements many would consider offensive. After Obama called Wright’s comments divisive and destructive, a questioner noted that Rev. Moss has defended Wright and asked if Obama would continue attending the church. Well, the new pastor, the young pastor, Reverend Otis Moss, is a wonderful young pastor, Obama responded. And as I said, I still very much value the Trinity community. Moss, the 37-year-old hip-hop pastor, as he’s called by congregants, will become head of Trinity in June, after serving as an assistant pastor there for two years. But a videotape of a sermon he delivered at Wright’s church shows this wonderful young pastor referring to ghetto prophets and thug theology, calling the late rapper Tupac Shakur a prophet, and reciting at length lyrics to Shakur’s song Thugz Mansion. New Obama Pastor Just As Controversial As Wright

Wisconsin: McCain Leads Both Democrats 47% to 43%

Kentucky: Clinton 56% Obama 31%

West Virginia: Clinton 56% Obama 27%

Oregon: Obama 51% Clinton 39%

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is offering his expertise to a candidate for mayor of Kiev, Ukraine. The ex-mayor’s firm, Giuliani Partners, announced Wednesday that it is advising the campaign of Vitali Klitschko in the May 25 election. Klitschko is a former heavyweight boxing champion who is running against the incumbent mayor of Kiev, Oleksandr Omelchenk. Giuliani said his firm will advise the candidate on how to turn Kiev around by reforming city government. Kiev is the capital of Ukraine and has 2.7 million people. Giuliani failed in his own campaign for the Republican nomination for president. He has endorsed Sen. John McCain. Giuliani to Advise Campaign of Ukrainian Mayoral Candidate

Former campaign underdog Mike Huckabee said Thursday that Democrat Hillary Clinton should ignore critics pressuring her to end her presidential run, telling CNN’s John Roberts that “she entered this thing to play to the finish line.” “It’s easy to play horse race with this and say, ‘Gosh, she ought to drop out,’” he said on CNN’s American Morning. “She’s playing by the rules that the party set, just as I played by the rules that the Republican Party set. “You know it’s frustrating to those of us who spend all of this time, effort and money — we get our supporters out there, we play by the rules that were handed and then somebody says, ‘It looks like the way this is gonna end is different than we want, so why don’t you go ahead and quit?’” Huckabee: ‘I got to give Hillary some credit’

Republicans Focus on Obama as Fall Opponent

Rush: I Won Indiana for Hillary

Rush Limbaugh Blamed for Obama Loss in Indiana

Less than half of white voters in Tuesday�s Indiana primary who consider race an important factor would vote for Barack Obama in the general election, exit polls reveal. In Indiana, 13 percent of white voters called race an important factor in their vote, according to the polls reported by ABC News. In North Carolina, 14 percent of voters in Tuesday�s election cited race as an important factor. Among those voters in Indiana, only 49 percent said they would support Obama against Republican John McCain in November. The rest said they would vote for McCain or sit out the election. In North Carolina, 46 percent said they�d opt for the Republican or not vote at all, ABC News reported.  Among the large majority of whites who said race was not an important factor, 67 percent in Indiana and 64 percent in North Carolina said they would support Obama against McCain in November. Race-Conscious Democrats Would Vote McCain

The Clinton campaign continued on without a break after last night’s potentially devastating results, as Hillary Clinton made a last-minute stop in this college town to tell voters in the upcoming primary state just how big her two-point win in Indiana really was. “We were very excited about our come from behind victory in Indiana, where people are concerned about the economy,” she told a crowd of supporters mixed with a healthy number of students with Obama t-shirts. “There’s a lot of reasons why I think we came from about 8 or so points behind to win. And it’s because people really know they need a president again who’s going to focus complete attention on making sure you have the jobs that will give you the living wages that will give you a chance to have a better life.” So with that narrow win under her belt, Clinton said she’s ready to move ahead. “Next Tuesday will be one of the most important elections in this entire process,” she said. “West Virginia is one of those so called swing states. Democrats need to win it in the fall. I want to start by winning it in the spring to lay the groundwork for a victory in November.” Clinton campaign aides pointed out that no Democrat in recent history has won the White House without carrying West Virginia. Hillary: Indiana Comeback Means It’s On To West Virginia

The Rev. Al Sharpton was arrested at the Brooklyn Bridge on Wednesday as he and hundreds of demonstrators blocked traffic to protest the acquittal of three detectives in the 50-bullet shooting of an unarmed black man on his wedding day. Sharpton, two survivors of the shooting and the slain man’s fiancee were among about a dozen people arrested on disorderly conduct charges near the base of the bridge. Police led away demonstrators at several other bridges and tunnels in the city. The protests were part of a coordinated campaign to urge federal authorities to investigate the November 2006 shooting of Sean Bell. Three officers were acquitted of state charges last month. Sharpton, shooting survivors Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman, and Bell’s fiancee, Nicole Paultre Bell, lined up and peacefully put their hands behind their backs as police put plastic handcuffs on them. Sharpton and Bell were placed in a police vehicle. The civil rights leader is seeking a federal civil rights probe into Bell’s shooting outside a Queens nightclub. The case raised questions about police use of deadly force in minority neighborhoods. Sharpton had promised recently to “close this city down” with civil disobedience. Bell was black, as are his friends Benefield and Guzman; the three officers acquitted in the case are Hispanic, black and white. U.S. attorney spokesman Robert Nardoza said the case was under review, but he declined to comment further. Sharpton Arrested As Hundreds Protest NYC Police

In what appear to be the New York senator’s most blunt comments to date regarding a racial division in the Democratic presidential race, Hillary Clinton suggested Wednesday that “White Americans” are increasingly turning away from Barack Obama’s candidacy. “I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on,” Clinton said in an interview with USA TODAY. Clinton cited an Associated Press poll “that found how Senator Obama’s support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me.” “There’s a pattern emerging here,” she said. Exit polls from Tuesday’s primaries in Indiana and North Carolina show Clinton won about 60 percent of the white vote in both states. That percentage is down from the Ohio primary on March 4, in which Clinton won upwards of 65 percent of the white vote. Meanwhile, Clinton garnered 63 percent of the white vote in Pennsylvania on April 22. Speaking with the paper, Clinton rejected the notion her comments were racially divisive in any way. “These are the people you have to win if you’re a Democrat in sufficient numbers to actually win the election,” she said. “Everybody knows that.” Obama spokesman Bill Burton called Clinton’s statements “not true and frankly disappointing.” Clinton touts support from ‘white Americans’

Hillary Clinton supporter Harvey Weinstein threatened to cut off contributions to congressional Democrats unless House Speaker Nancy Pelosi embraced his plan to finance revotes in Florida and Michigan, three officials familiar with their conversation said. Weinstein and Pelosi talked on the phone late last month, the sources said. The three officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly about the conversation. They said Weinstein, a top supporter of Clinton’s presidential campaign, appeared determined to buy Clinton more time in her battle against Sen. Barack Obama by pushing for the revote. He was also pressing Pelosi to back off her previous comments that superdelegates should support the candidate who’s leading in pledged delegates in early June, the sources said. Sources: Clinton supporter pressures Pelosi

Key Superdelegates Keeping Preferences Strictly Under Wraps A lot of superdelegates have been working on their secret-keeping skills. Scores of officially uncommitted superdelegates have voted in the Democratic presidential race, including such subjects of ongoing speculation as Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi. While some say that additional factors will affect how they vote at the party’s convention, others are just staying silent about their preference. For them, what happens in the voting booth will stay in the voting booth - for now, at least.

Hillary Clinton met with Democratic Party officials and undecided members of Congress Tuesday afternoon to make her case for the party’s nomination and press for a resolution to seating the delegations of Florida and Michigan. The meeting, which lasted approximately two hours, took place at the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Clinton spoke briefly to cameras while departing the building, saying she had met with “members of Congress and others who have a role to play in this process.” She refused to say if she won any commitments from any undecided superdelegates.It was not immediately clear with which members of Congress Clinton met. Clinton makes case at DNC

Time to Unite: Former presidential candidate and Democratic superdelegate George McGovern explains why he’s urging Clinton to drop out of race

Michigan Dems Settle on 69-59 Delegate-Seating Plan

Carter: Michigan and Florida Should Not Be Counted

Clinton Tunes Out Skeptics, Campaigns Coast-to-Coast Against the Odds

Wright Impact Mattered, but Didn’t Change Votes in Indiana, North Carolina

Clinton Aide Predicts Race Will Be Over by June

Hillary Travels With a Lot of Baggage

Hillary Has No Shot at the Nomination

Racial Divide Guarantees Obama Nomination

Hillary Tries to Rally Supers

Republican John McCain on Monday dismissed Democratic rival Barack Obama as having zero national security experience. Arriving in North Carolina on the eve of the presidential primary, McCain said there are stark differences between him and the two Democratic candidates, Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. But he concentrated on Obama in particular. “Senator Obama wants to sit down with an Iranian leader who is dedicated to wiping Israel off the map — his words,” McCain told reporters on his campaign bus. “I don’t think we should give him that kind of prestige. “Senator Obama has obviously has no national security experience, and therefore that’s reflected in his judgment on a number of those issues.” The Republican nominee-in-waiting spoke to the Chamber of Commerce and held three fundraisers. On Tuesday, he was speaking at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem. McCain was referring to Obama’s comments last year that he would be willing to meet with leaders of rogue nations, such as Iran, North Korea and Cuba without conditions, an idea labeled naive and irresponsible by both McCain and Clinton. Obama, in an effort to reassure Jewish voters about his candidacy, last month criticized former President Carter for meeting with leaders of the Islamic terrorist group Hamas, saying, “We must not negotiate with a terrorist group intent on Israel’s destruction.” Yet Obama also said he’s willing to make diplomatic overtures to Iran even though it has funded Hamas and other militant groups. McCain, who also questioned Obama’s credentials on the economy, was asked if he thought Obama had experience in any areas. Probably, McCain said, “I think on many issues, (but) certainly not on the level of mine.” McCain Criticizes Obama on Iran Approach

John McCain, who consistently avoids commenting on the Democratic horserace, was forced to discuss the ongoing fight between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on Monday when a voter asked him: “What scenario is best for you?” McCain admitted he watches cable news coverage of the Demoratic race “like everybody else.” “I observe with interest,” McCain answered. “I have heard one argument that says this that the competition between Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama allows me a chance to establish roots, unite the party, et cetera.” “And then I have heard the other argument on the other side, and I channel surf like every body else, that this is a chance for the Democrats to sign up new voters and invigorate their party,” he said. “I really have no opinion because I really have no influence on it.” McCain: “I channel surf like every body else”

John McCain the presidential candidate suddenly sounded like the John McCain of 2005 on Monday, touting two pet issues that have generated considerable heartache among grassroots conservatives: the “Gang of 14” compromise and comprehensive immigration reform. McCain brought up the “Gang of 14” saga unprompted at a town hall here, in advance of a major speech on judicial appointments he is set to deliver tomorrow in Winston-Salem. “I know what bipartisanship is,” McCain said. “I am going to talk tomorrow again about our Gang of 14: seven Republicans, seven Democrats that got together rather than blow up the Senate, and we confirmed so many federal judges.” In the spring of 2005, McCain and 13 other senators from both parties agreed on a compromise to avoid the so-called “nuclear option,” which would have curtailed the right of the minority to filibuster. Democrats had been filibustering to prevent the confirmation of three conservative judicial nominees named by President Bush. McCain said he took pride in his votes to confirm Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito, a line that drew applause from assembled members of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. McCain touts ‘Gang of 14,’ immigration reform

John McCain on Monday issued a new ad in Spanish, coinciding with Cinco de Mayo and the Republican presidential candidate’s effort to attract Hispanic voters. McCain, who announced that he will attend the annual convention of the National Council of La Raza in San Diego on July 14, said Cinco de Mayo is a chance for Mexico to celebrate its path to freedom. McCain Reaches Out to Hispanics on Cinco de Mayo

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will launch a new push Tuesday to ingratiate himself with social conservatives who mistrust him but whose support is vital to his hopes of winning the White House. McCain courts right wing

McCain Courts Hispanic Voters: Sen. John McCain said yesterday that Republicans have shed support among Hispanic voters because of the party’s get-tough approach to illegal immigration, but he predicted that his enforcement-then- legalization approach will rebuild those bridges.

John McCain gives a speech at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. ON THE TRAIL: Tuesday, May 6, 2008

John McCain is basically missing from today’s news coverage – he’s going down to North Carolina for a couple days in the hope that some of the Democratic coverage will come his way, but the most prolific news blog there hasn’t even mentioned him yet.

He will make his 13th Daily Show appearance on Wednesday — taking a break from courting the conservative base.

The Arab-American community is upset with McCain for dumping a Finance Committee member.

McCain sees an opening with Jewish and Cuban voters in Florida over Obama’s plans for active diplomacy with enemies.

McCain’s Spanish Web Site Launches

McCain to Shed Light on Judicial Philosophy

McCain Would Toss Russia from G-8

John McCain may be the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, but a struggle to determine who will carry the conservative mantle into the future rages just below the surface of his success. The contestants’ faces will look familiar: former Govs. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, also-rans from the 2008 GOP primary scrum.

During the nominating race, obloquy was understandable. The other Republican candidates personally liked working-class son Huckabee, and they seemed to resent the wealthy and handsome Romney. And because they were both attempting to establish themselves as the conservative alternative to McCain, it’s not surprising that they sometimes clashed over turf.

What’s more, by staying in the race when McCain began to surge, Huckabee arguably split the conservative vote in states like South Carolina, presumably siphoning off votes from Romney and handing the nomination to the Arizona senator. (Huckabee would argue it was Romney who siphoned off his votes.) While this environment was ripe for a Romney/Huckabee feud during the campaign, the stakes are just as high now, as both see the 71-year-old McCain — who still faces a tough general election — as merely keeping the seat warm for them. Based on their performance in the primary campaign, each believes he has earned the right to be the conservative heir apparent. Romney chose the symbolically significant Conservative Political Action Conference as his venue to graciously withdraw from the race. Meanwhile, Huckabee, a former Baptist preacher, is similarly charismatic, and he can point to the fact that he outlasted the other Republican candidates, save Texas Rep. Ron Paul. One front in this political war is being waged over the vice presidency. It’s hard to deny the second slot can be a road to the White House. While neither Romney nor Huckabee may get the nod, the veep “race” provides a unique opportunity for both candidates to continue “campaigning.” This, of course, means they can stay in the limelight — and also continue building lists of supporters and possible donors. While both Romney and Huckabee have legitimate claims as the conservative heir apparent, they also both have problems to expiate, and both appear to be attempting to nullify their weaknesses. In the face of “flip-flop” allegations, Romney continues to buttress his conservative — and especially anti-abortion — credentials. Last year, he received an award from the Massachusetts Citizens for Life. On May 8, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty will honor him with its Canterbury Medal. While Huckabee’s social conservative bona fides are strong, he was attacked by fiscal conservatives for raising taxes as governor. During the nominating race, he attempted to minimize this by championing the Fair Tax. But this has also likely influenced the direction of his “post-campaign” campaign. For example, while many conservatives hoped Huckabee would found a group to fill the void that has been left by the once powerful, but now moribund, Christian Coalition, he instead launched “Huck PAC.” Huck PAC’s website lists its mission as supporting “Republican candidates who are passionate advocates for tax reform, a strong national defense, real border security, life, the family, less government and individual liberty.” While this is all consistent with conservative thought, one might expect Huckabee to put social issues at the forefront. Instead, he appears to be highlighting his fiscal positions. If one doubts the validity of the Romney/Huckabee battle, consider what has occurred in just the last month among proxies for the former presidential hopefuls. (Note: It is unclear whether these actions bore the candidate’s imprimatur.) The opening salvo was fired by the Government Is Not God PAC, an organization composed largely of Huckabee supporters. On April 4, the group announced publicly it would run newspaper advertisements aimed at discouraging McCain from picking Romney as his VP. “Gov. Romney got no traction during the primaries simply because his recent ‘conversion’ to conservative and pro-life principles is not credible,” the ad said.On April 23, Romney supporters officially launched a website, MittforVeep.com. That same night, Huckabee garnered 11 percent of the vote in the Pennsylvania GOP primary election, though balloting was a mere technicality. And the very next day, Huckabee supporters launched their own website, Huck4America.com. Taking a presumed swipe at Romney, Huck4America.com included a message to McCain: “There are rumors that you are considering a choice that would be more moderate on these core issues. Candidates that are, for example, not necessarily pro-life. … It is important to have a vice president whose record has been consistently pro-life, not coming to the party simply to run for national office.” Later that day, one of the Arkansas Times’ blogs reported McCain staffers were angry over a “Promote Mike Huckabee rally at the Capital Hotel less than a week before McCain’s visit to Arkansas.” And if anyone doubts Huckabee’s penchant for self-promotion, the former governor also recently announced he was writing a book about his failed presidential campaign. But the VP race is only one facet of the ongoing Romney/Huckabee grudge match. Each aims to establish himself as the leader of the conservative movement to set himself up for future presidential bids, as Ronald Reagan did after narrowly losing the 1976 Republican nomination to President Gerald Ford. Republicans have a penchant for nominating candidates who have run before — twice before, in some cases (Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole and Richard Nixon). Romney, 61, and Huckabee, 52, are both in the prime of their political lives. Both came essentially out of nowhere to run highly respectable campaigns. Barring some seismic shift, it is conceivable these two will once again face off, be it in 2012 or in 2016. Next up: Romney v. Huckabee

The outcome of next week’s 1st District congressional runoff is important to Republican chances in the November general election, former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said Saturday. Speaking at Joe Joe’s Espresso Cafe, the former Arkansas governor said the Democrats “know this district is being looked at as a beachhead” to set a trend, which is why Republicans must turn out to vote May 13 and stop recent Democratic advances in Congress. “Greg Davis will be the best congressman you can elect for this district,” he told a crowd of about 80 after a private breakfast for about a dozen at the BancorpSouth Conference Center. “I believe it matters if we stand up to the Nancy Pelosis of the world. I don’t think that’s how folks around here think,” Huckabee said, referring to the current speaker of the U.S. House from California, a Democrat. Huckabee said the outcome of the election “is going to matter a great deal.” He also urged supporters of unsuccesful Republican candidates to get behind Davis’ candidacy for GOP success in the upcoming non-party special election. Davis came in second to Democrat Travis Childers of Booneville in a six-way race April 22. The remark was an apparent reference to bad feelings that linger from Davis’ defeat of former Tupelo Mayor Glenn McCullough Jr., who declined to endorse him after weeks of negative advertising in the GOP primary. The runoff winner will hold the seat until a two-year successor can be elected in November. The seat came open when Gov. Haley Barbour appointed Roger Wicker to the U.S. Senate after the surprise retirement of Trent Lott in late 2007. Huckabee also said he enthusiastically supports presumptive GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, once a rival, and joked when a telephone rang in the room, “That’s probably John McCain calling to ask me to be on the ticket.” Davis told the crowd he hoped Huckabee’s visit will encourage them to get out and vote. Huckabee: GOP turnout crucial in May 13 Davis-Childers runoff

He touted his experience as Southaven’s mayor and said the May 13 vote results will have an impact for many years to come.Fresh off a run for the Republican presidential nomination, Mike Huckabee, the governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007, will be the keynote speaker at the fourth annual University of Mobile scholarship banquet Sept. 25. Huckabee to speak at annual banquet

Former Arkansas Gov. and GOP presidential contender Mike Huckabee has released the Oklahoma delegates he won during the state’s presidential primary this year. Huckabee encouraged the six delegates he won to vote for Republican presumptive presidential nominee John McCain, said Gary Jones, the chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party. Jones said Monday he has contacted Huckabee’s delegates and “all but one” of them said they would vote for McCain. The other delegate is going to vote for U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who is continuing his presidential bid despite dropping out of recent primaries. If that holds true, 40 of Oklahoma’s 41 GOP votes to be cast during the Republican National Convention in September will be for McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, Jones said. Paul, who did not win a delegate during Oklahoma’s Feb. 5 presidential primary, would get one vote. Huckabee frees delegates, supports McCain

A former Arkansas governor is teaming up with a famous rock band drummer in a benefit concert in Redmond this month. It’s not Bill Clinton. Mike Huckabee, the former governor and Republican presidential candidate, is scheduled to take part in a May 22 fundraiser for a group trying to raise money for music programs through the sale of a special license plate. Huckabee once played in a band called Capitol Offense. This time he is slated to jam with drummer Alan White , best known for his work with Yes, plus Bob and Shelley Tomberg of Shelley and the Curves. Music Aid Northwest is behind the program of selling license plates to boost music education and organizers of the concert. This is not a political group. They’re all about the music. Huckabee to rock in Redmond

Sununu, Shea-Porter trailing in UNH poll

Texas Senate: Cornyn 47% Noriega 43%

New Hampshire Senate: Shaheen 51% Sununu 43%

GCM Forum

Over the last five years, more than 4,000 brave young Americans have given their lives in the service of this country. Thousands more have been wounded, some maimed for life. More and more of their countrymen seem persuaded that they shouldn’t have been ordered into Iraq, but surely no one can deny that our troops have marched into the jaws of death believing they’re truly defending all of us, our mutual home, and its well-being. It’s tragic, of course, and we lament the deaths, the suffering, the disproportionate sacrifices our military families have made. And along with the physical costs, a tremendous lot has been made of the financial cost to American taxpayers, which involves all of us. This, too, seems especially regrettable. But only sporadic and fragmented attention has been paid to the other war where a surge in our troop strength would be appropriate — the all-out assault against our morality, freedom of religion and speech, long cherished tradition, and the American family. As the liberal media focuses constantly on devastation in Fallujah, Baghdad, Mozul, and the hapless Iraqi families caught in the crossfire between sectarian and military adversaries, scant coverage is given to battles raging and families being mutilated in Omaha, Philadelphia, Nashville, and all over our country. Consider: Every year, within our borders, an estimated 14,000 to 15,000 Americans are murdered, an alarming percentage by illegal aliens. That’s more than 15 times the death rate in Iraq! Consider: An estimated 144,000 Americans have died while waiting for the FDA to approve medications and treatments credited with saving lives in other countries. Even over 10 years, that’s more than triple the Iraq rate. Consider: Drug financed youth gangs are roaming the streets of virtually every American city, recruiting hundreds of thousands of teens through intimidation and the lures of drugs and money. They’re typically ethnically and racially based, exacerbating prejudice and hate, and they’re often masterminded by criminals from within prison. Consider: A current 165-page report by a nonprofit study group has identified Las Vegas as a hub for child sex trafficking, revealing that over 400 children have been found “working the streets” in a given month, and — though police records show some 1,496 minors have faced prostitution charges since 1994, and just last year over 150 were arrested — these are truly just the tip of the iceberg. In this March 25th AP story, it’s also noted that similar studies have been completed in places like Salt Lake City, New Orleans, Fort Worth and Dallas, and Independence, Missouri. And another recent report reveals that sex traffickers in this country, having profited immensely by arranging rendezvous between affluent American men and Far East children, are now enlarging operations to bring foreign men to sample American children! Of course, rampant pornography rages throughout the Internet, enabling pedophiles better to “shop for” the children they want to defile, while the ACLU opposes any attempt to limit their “freedom.” Consider: As Washington-based Citizens United and other conservative organizations keep alerting any who will listen . . . ultraliberal forces like the ACLU, People for the “American Way” and various atheist groups constantly invade the courts in their determination to remove any and all mention of God or scripture from society. And they’ve recruited the NEA and other teacher unions in the all-out campaign to keep prayer and any Judeo Christian mention or observance out of schools — while teens and even some preteens are contracting sexual diseases from rampant sexual activity and drug use, a lot of it in the very environs of the schools themselves! Consider: While liberal jurists and well financed groups hammer away at the very definition of marriage, as between a man and a woman, more and more of our schools are instituting and mandating courses for grade schoolers that portray same-sex couples as just another definition of family. In Lexington, Massachusetts, a dad named David Parker paid a visit to his children’s school, complaining about a book that had been assigned celebrating the “virtues” of gay parenting; when he demanded that the school officials comply with state law and at least inform him before his child was given any more instruction about homosexuality, he was arrested, jailed, and slapped with a restraining order. For the “crime” of exercising his parental rights, Mr. Parker was forbidden to drop off or pick up his children from school, barred from their sports events and other school activities, and excluded from parent-teacher conferences. Tony Perkins and the Parents Research Council have reported on this travesty, and are undertaking to correct it. But are you beginning to assess the spiritual carnage of this war? Of course, while at least 150 million of us take our kids to Sunday School and church or synagogue, teaching them the Bible is true and that God created the world and everything in it, teachers unions and even courts decree that those same kids must be taught the still unproved theory of evolution; if they don’t absorb and reflect that teaching in tests, they’ll flunk their tests — end of story. A USA Today article April 29th reports that an estimated 905,000 children were victims of child abuse or neglect in 2006, and about 1500 died because of maltreatment, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. More than 75 percent were younger than 4. And infant boys were the most common victims. Which is worse? The death of trained soldiers in combat? Or the lingering, tortured death of little infants? Costs: The April 21 edition of The Washington Times reports the findings of a non-partisan think tank, estimating the cost to taxpayers of divorce in the United States at $112 billion dollars — $560 billion over the last 5 years — costlier than the war in Iraq! The study calculates “increased taxpayer expenditures” for welfare, criminal justice, education programs, and lost tax revenues associated with low incomes, childhood poverty, and family fragmentation. Eminent historians Will and Ariel Durant said “The family is the nucleus of civilization.” As bad as the Iraq war and its costs are, the battles here on our own soil are worse. And costlier. We’d better call for an all-out “surge” in this domestic war, while we still have the resources, courage, and liberty, to do it. We Need a Surge in Our Domestic Moral War

Republican John McCain castigated Democrat Barack Obama for voting against John Roberts as Supreme Court chief justice in a speech about the kind of judges McCain would nominate. McCain offered an olive branch to the Christian right in a speech planned for Tuesday at Wake Forest University. The far right has been deeply suspicious of McCain, the expected GOP presidential nominee, because he has clashed with its leaders and worked against them on issues like campaign finance reform. McCain promised to appoint judges who, in the mold of Roberts and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, are likely to limit the reach of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. “They would serve as the model for my own nominees if that responsibility falls to me,” McCain said in his prepared speech. Obama likes to talk up his image as someone who works with Republicans to get things done, McCain said. Yet Obama “went right along with the partisan crowd, and was among the 22 senators to vote against this highly qualified nominee,” McCain said. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama’s rival, also voted against Roberts, although McCain focused his criticism on Obama. Tuesday’s primaries North Carolina and Indiana, the biggest prizes left in the nomination battle between Clinton and Obama, were likely to overshadow McCain’s address. His advisers said the timing was not deliberate and that they accepted the invitation for him to speak several weeks ago. McCain often is viewed as an independent because he antagonizes fellow Republicans and likes to work with Democrats. Some conservatives dislike his decision to join the “Gang of 14,” a group of senators - seven Republicans and seven Democrats - who averted a Senate showdown over whether filibusters could be used against Bush judicial nominees. On Monday, McCain told reporters he didn’t know whether conservatives would forgive him for that decision. “You’ll have to ask them, but I think I was right to do it; we got all but two of the president’s nominees through the Senate,” McCain said. Despite the controversy, his actual record is very conservative, particularly on social issues like abortion, gay rights and gun control. However, he said once, in 1999, that the landmark Roe v. Wade decision allowing abortion should not be overturned. But that was a blip in an otherwise unbroken record of opposing abortion rights for women. McCain has repeatedly voted against federal funding for abortion; he has opposed federal Medicaid funds for abortion even in cases of rape or incest. He voted to require parental consent for abortion and voted to criminalize anyone but a parent crossing state lines with a minor to help get an abortion. McCain also supported a ban preventing women in the military from getting abortions with their own money at overseas military hospitals. He also has cast conservative votes on judges. In fact, McCain has never voted against a Republican nominee for the Supreme Court or federal courts, the Democratic National Committee pointed out. McCain castigates Obama for voting against chief justice

Bill O’Reilly asked Hillary Clinton the key question about the war in Iraq: What happens if we pull out and the Iranians move in? She talked around the issue, but never gave a convincing answer to O’Reilly’s question. She said she would replace force with diplomacy. But, as Frederick the Great said, “Diplomacy without force is like music without instruments.” If our troops are long gone from Iraq, the Iranians will snub our diplomacy and laugh at our entireties. They will add Iraq to their other trophies in the region: Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza. Hillary’s inability to answer O’Reilly’s question reveals a larger flaw in the Democratic arguments as the election approaches. Obama will be the Democratic nominee (take that to the bank). How will the Iraq war play in the race? On the surface, it would appear to be a disaster for the Republicans. With American deaths now over the 4,000 mark and the seriously wounded at around 15,000, we are sick and tired of this war. It has destroyed George W. Bush and could well do the same to John McCain. But maybe not. McCain’s position is simple: win in Iraq. The experience and the success of the past year indicate that it may be quite possible to do so. But, whatever you may think of it, his is a simple solution. What do the Democrats propose? Obama and Hillary both want to pull out as soon as technically feasible. OK. But what happens if Iran moves into the vacuum and takes over Iraq? And what if al-Qaida takes advantage of the American absence and sets up a permanent base and sanctuary in Iraq, beyond our reach — a situation akin to the Taliban in Afghanistan where they could develop the capacity to hit us on 9/11 in their privileged, protected home territory? And what if hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who used to work with us start to be killed as happened when we pulled out of Vietnam? And what if the Iraqi oil falls into Iranian hands, sending the price even higher? And what if … The list goes on. Obama really has no answer for these questions. Once he pulls out of Iraq, it will be politically impossible to go back in. Iran and al-Qaida both realize this just as North Vietnam knew it when they negotiated an end to American troop presence in the South. In the context of an election debate, Obama is going to look weak and confused and without a clue as he tries to address these “what ifs.” Americans will sense the uncertain hand on the helm and will begin to second guess their decisions and move toward McCain. If, by some chance, Hillary is the nominee, then the same problem will land in her lap and she showed in trying to parry O’Reilly’s thrust, that she won’t be any better at answering the doubts than Obama would be. The truth is that the Democrats are cashing in on a mindless impatience with Iraq and an unwillingness to think through the consequences of pulling out. They are capitalizing on an emotional “no” in reaction to the war. But when the alternatives are carefully explained and examined, as they will be in a presidential debate, they are not going to embrace the answers Obama or Hillary will have to the “what ifs.” They will see the Democratic position as extremist and unworkable and will come to see the Democratic candidate who is pushing them as unprepared and unrealistic. If the candidate is Obama, their concerns will resonate with their perception that he is inexperienced and doesn’t know his way around foreign policy. This will raise more and more doubts about his ability to lead us in a time of crisis. This unholy mess in Iraq, which has almost destroyed the Republican Party and has destroyed the Bush presidency, may yet rebound and work against the Democrats in the election this year. Iraq Issue Could Destroy Democrats

McCain staffer called my attention to this finding in the latest Fox News poll: McCain led Obama in the straight match-up, 46 to 43. Voters were then asked to choose between two tickets, McCain-Romney vs. Obama-Clinton. Obama-Clinton won 47 to 41. That reversal of a three-point McCain lead to a six-point deficit for the McCain ticket suggests what might happen (a) when the Democrats unite, and (b) if McCain were to choose a conventional running mate, who, as it were, reinforced the Republican brand for the ticket. As the McCain aide put it, this is what will happen if we run a traditional campaign; our numbers will gradually regress toward the (losing) generic Republican number. Maybe that’s why, in separate conversations last week, no fewer than four McCain staffers and advisers mentioned as a possible vice-presidential pick the 36-year-old Louisiana governor, Bobby Jindal. They’re tempted by the idea of picking someone so young, with real accomplishments and a strong reformist streak. It might also be a way to confront the issue of McCain’s age (71), which private polls and focus groups suggest could be a real problem. A Jindal pick would implicitly acknowledge the questions and raise the ante. The message would be: “You want generational change? You can get it with McCain-Jindal — without risking a liberal and inexperienced Obama as commander in chief.” I would add that it was after McCain spent considerable time with Jindal in New Orleans recently, and reportedly found him, as he has before, personally engaging and intellectually impressive, that the campaign’s informal name-dropping of Jindal began. Gov. Jindal Enters GOP Veepstakes

First Lady Laura Bush has spoken out before on Myanmar - mostly through written statements - but Monday’s on-camera mini-news conference in the White House briefing room was a first. In the wake of Saturday’s deadly cyclone in Myanmar — also known as Burma — Mrs. Bush did not mince words decrying the ruling military junta for its failure to adequately warn residents of the impending danger. “The response to the cyclone is just the most recent example of the junta’s failure to meet its people’s basic needs,” Mrs. Bush said. Aides to the First Lady say today’s briefing room appearance was originally planned for Tuesday. That’s when President Bush is expected to sign legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel-Prize winning democracy activist currently under house arrest in Myanmar. Officials say Mrs. Bush decided to push up her appearance, in light of the deadly cyclone over the weekend. First Lady holds first mini-news conference

Kicking off his judicial surrogacy duties, Fred Thompson took to Instapundit’s “Glenn and Helen Show” today for an interview. Aside from his DA role on “Law & Order,” recall that Thompson was John Roberts’ Senate sherpa back in 2005 and first got his spurs working as a young lawyer for Howard Baker during the Watergate hearings. Asked by Helen Reynolds if he wanted to be AG in a McCain administration, however, Thompson was direct: “No Ma’am.”

Bob Barr continues his new quest to functionally be John McCain’s worst nightmare (unless and until Ron Paul decides on a third-party run).

White House Wedding? Not for Jenna Bush: 26-year-old first daughter will wed Henry Hager Saturday at her parents’ ranch in Texas

Laura Bush: Cyclone Victims in Dire Need: The first lady, a harsh critic of Myanmar’s regime, said more help could be on its way

Possible VP Pick? Bobby Jindal reacts

Hoping the proposal to suspend the gas tax will resonate with working class voters in Indiana and North Carolina, the Clinton campaign launched a last-minute ad in those states Monday that sharply attacks rival Barack Obama for not supporting the measure. “What has happened to Barack Obama?” an announcer states in the new 30 second spot, among the campaign’s most bruising to date. “He is attacking Hillary’s plan to give you a break on gas prices because he doesn’t have one,” the ad’s announcer also says. The ad comes on the heels of a weekend marked by heated back-and-forth between both campaigns over the issue. Obama’s campaign launched an ad Sunday that called Clinton’s proposal to suspend the gas tax a “classic Washington gimmick” and argues that oil companies will keep the extra proceeds from the suspension of the gas tax and will not pass the savings onto drivers.The Clinton campaign countered that Obama is siding with the oil companies over hard working voters increasingly pinched by the price of gas. Last minute Clinton ad: ‘What has happened to Barack Obama?’

Clinton Fate Hangs In The Balance: If Hillary Clinton wins in either Indiana or North Carolina Tuesday, the primary election terrain suddenly begins to look more favorable to her than at any other point since Super Tuesday Feb. 5.

Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton hit each other hard Monday, a day before contests in North Carolina and Indiana that could break the deadlock over who will be the Democratic nominee for president. The Democratic rivals traded shots over Clinton’s proposal that the government do away with the federal gas tax for the summer and make up the budget shortfall by taxing what she calls oil companies’ “windfall profits.” Obama has dismissed the proposal, saying it’s unlikely to help consumers or to become law, prompting Clinton to accuse him of being out of touch with “the hard-working American consumer and the middle class.” Dems ramp up attacks ahead of pivotal primaries

Newsweek reports that Oprah left Trinity partially because of Wright.

Post-Primary What Ifs: Trace Gallagher on 3 different scenarios for Democratic candidates after Indiana and No. Carolina primaries

Limbaugh on Hillary Clinton

Clinton vying for Fla., Mich. delegates

Courtroom Wire: Notes From Tony Rezko’s Corruption Trial

Indiana, N.C. Voters to Settle Largest Remaining Contests

Hillary Vows to Go After OPEC

Harry Reid Backing Clinton?

Texas: McCain Holds Modest Lead Over Both Democrats

Generic Congressional Ballot: Democrats 46% Republicans 41%

Electoral College: Democrats 200 Republicans 189 Leaners 111 Toss-Up 38

Overall, Clinton leads by 5.0% in the RCP Average for Indiana.

In the RCP Average for North Carolina, Obama’s lead is now 8.0%.

Arizona Sen. John McCain completed a weekend break from campaigning by attending Sunday’s baseball game between the New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee watched from the owners’ seats near the Diamondbacks’ dugout, sitting between team owners Jeff Moorad and Ken Kendrick. McCain’s wife, Cindy, also attended. McCain waved when he was shown on the giant Chase Field video screen. He was greeted with subdued cheers, and a smattering of boos, from the crowd. McCain sat for a while in the announcers’ booth and spoke on the radio about baseball and campaigning. “We’ve been traveling, giving speeches, raising money, doing the campaign - it’s a great time,” he told KTAR. “We’ve got a tough campaign, but you’ve got to love it and like it, otherwise it’s too hard.” McCa