Obama's Lead in Delegates Shifts Focus of Campaign  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Barack Obama emerged from Tuesday's primaries leading Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton by more than 100 delegates, a small but significant advantage that Democrats said would be difficult for Mrs. Clinton …

Wisconsin Democratic Presidential Primary  —  Wisconsin: Obama 47% Clinton 43%  —  The Democratic Presidential Primary in Wisconsin may be the most competitive contest between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton since Super Tuesday.  —  The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey shows Obama …

Hardbrawl  —  Last fall, as network executives, members of Congress and other hotshots gathered beneath a massive tent at Washington's Decatur House to celebrate the 10th anniversary of “Hardball,” Chris Matthews began to address the crowd.

The Cult of Obama  —  Every political news outlet, from the networks to the blogs, is abuzz today with the question: Is the Obama phenomenon a cult?  —  People — particularly Hillary partisans — are eagerly putting this idea out there.  I want to make it very clear before I get started …

Making (Some) Progress in Iraq  —  Good news is rare in Iraq.  But after months of bitter feuding, Iraq's Parliament has finally approved a budget, outlined the scope of provincial powers, set an Oct. 1 date for provincial elections and voted a general amnesty for detainees.

Republicans disrupt Lantos memorial service  —  Even the dead are political pawns to the Republicans (then again, we already knew that post-September 11).  House Republicans, at the bidding of the Bush White House, are upset that House Democrats are voting on contempt citations for Harriet Miers and Josh Bolton today.

Don't supersede voters  —  The Democrats' nominee should be chosen by party faithful, not a small number of elite delegates.  —  College student Jason Rae has become a Wisconsin celebrity.  News reports have him fielding a call from ex-President Clinton and breakfasting with Chelsea.

Obama at the Top  —  Hillary Clinton probably didn't watch the stem-winder speech that Barack Obama delivered Tuesday night after cleaning her clock in the Potomac primaries.  If not, she should.  —  It was tiresome.  —  The speech was classic Obama.  Beautifully written and beautifully delivered …

FISA: High Noon at Midnight Friday  —  In today's article, I catalogue some of the problems with the Senate bill which would overhaul FISA — while explaining that the bill absolutely must be passed by the House or our foreign intelligence collection is going to collapse.

UW study: Rules add $200,000 to Seattle house price  —  Backed by studies showing that middle-class Seattle residents can no longer afford the city's middle-class homes, consensus is growing that prices are too darned high.  But why are they so high?  —  An intriguing new analysis …

10 MYTHS ABOUT CANDIAN HEALTH CARE.  —  Sara Robinson does us all a nice service with an article detonating various myths about Canadian health care.  It's a good piece, and fair, too.  She doesn't deny that there are some long waits (and she adds an interesting twist to the situation …

Candidates' Earmarks Worth Millions  —  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton helped secure more than $340 million worth of home-state projects in last year's spending bills, placing her among the top 10 Senate recipients of what are commonly known as earmarks, according to a new study by a nonpartisan budget watchdog group.

McCain: Against Torture, But  —  I'm heartbroken.  Torture is illegal and immoral whether it is conducted by the military or the CIA.  That was McCain's original position.  It appears it is no longer.  Marty Lederman homes in on the key point: … This is why the focus on waterboarding has been necessary but distracting.

NBC News Shake-Up: Two Bureaus to Close  —  Exclusive: Insiders tell TVNewser the current NBC News global news gathering system is in for an overhaul.  Sources tell us a 9amET conference call among News division execs and the bureau managers will announce that the current system will be replaced …