Poll: Obama, McCain lead in Va.  —  Both enjoy sizable leads over rivals as primary approaches Tuesday  —  Barack Obama and John McCain may be cruising toward blowout wins in Virginia's presidential primary Tuesday.  —  Among the Democrats, the poll conducted for the Richmond Times-Dispatch …

Driving A Wedge  —  The Drudge Report is a right-wing site that is used to drive right-wing propaganda into the large, corporate media outlets.  When a story is featured at the Drudge Report, you always have to ask why, and ask what is the right's intent behind getting this story into circulation.

A LITTLE WEIRD  —  As you know, John McCain lost two of the three contests yesterday.  He was losing narrowly in Washington state and then pulled ahead by a narrow margin (less than two points) toward the end.  But then with 87% of the returns counted, the Washington state GOP, which runs the caucuses stopped releasing results.

Next Up for the Democrats: Civil War  —  WHAT if a presidential candidate held what she billed as “the largest, most interactive town hall in political history” on national television, and no one noticed?  —  The untold story in the run-up to Super Tuesday was Hillary Clinton's elaborate live prime …

The Disaffected Voters Who'll Decide 2008  —  It has been a totally confusing election — and the 2008 race is only getting started.  —  The resurrection of John McCain, the Barack Obama insurgency, the fall (and rise) of Hillary Rodham Clinton, the rise (and fall and rise) of Mike Huckabee …

Ashcroft: Bush is ‘the most respectful’ ever of civil liberties.  —  In a speech to Missouri Republicans yesterday, former attorney general John Ashcroft defended President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program and his record on civil liberties, declaring that Bush is “among the most respectful …

Neo-Cons and Bolton Flock to McCain Standard  —  As I noted in my last post, the withdrawal of both Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson would spur neo-conservatives and their closest aggressive nationalist friends, like John Bolton, to rally behind John McCain as their preferred candidate.

Superdelegates, Back Off  —  ON the first Wednesday in June, the morning after the last day of voting in the 1984 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, the long, drawn-out battle that began with Gary Hart's stunning victory in New Hampshire ended — but only after one last plot twist.

The Rules of the Game  —  Chris Bowers is outraged by the prospect of superdelegates determining the winner of the Democratic primary.  Kevin Drum is blasé.  I'll take a middle ground view — I think Chris is right to think it'd be a pretty bitter pill to swallow if that's how things shake out …