Pro-Clinton 527 Prepares For Ohio, PA and Texas  —  Allies of Hillary Clinton plan an expensive, stealth campaign to buttress her standing in the must-win states of Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania.  —  They're canvassing Clinton donors for pledges of up to $100,000 in the hope of raising at least $10M by the end of next week.

Chris Matthews Humiliates State Senator Kirk Watson On MSNBC  —  Texas State Senator Kirk Watson (D-TX) learned a lesson in preparedness Tuesday night when he was humiliated on MSNBC.  Watson was on to talk about his support of Senator Obama alongside Representative Stephanie Tubbs (D-OH), who backs Senator Clinton.

A CLINTON SURROGATE, A DEM DIVIDE?  —  From NBC's Abby Livingston  —  Oh snap!  Who needs a Rottweiler when you've got surrogates?  —  Tom Buffenbarger president of the machinists' union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) was the the latest in a string of Clinton junkyard dogs unleashed upon Obama.

Obama Defends Wife on Matter of Pride  —  BROOKFIELD, Wis. (AP) - Democratic Sen. Barack Obama sought Tuesday to clarify his wife's statement that she is proud of the U.S. “for the first time in my adult life.”  He said her newfound pride is about the political system and was not meant to disparage her country.

The Obama Delusion  —  It's hard not to be dazzled by Barack Obama.  At the 2004 Democratic convention, he visited with Newsweek reporters and editors, including me.  I came away deeply impressed by his intelligence, his forceful language and his apparent willingness to take positions that seemed to rise above narrow partisanship.

White Men Jumped  —  HOW OBAMA WON OVER KEY CLINTON SUPPORTERS IN WISCONSIN, AND WHY IT MATTERS.  —  Also in Slate, Jack Shafer says that Obama is not a plagiarist, and Emily Bazelon analyzes the exit poll data regarding Hillary Clinton and white voters.  —  Hillary Clinton has been calling Barack Obama a plagiarist.

Two Must Reads On The Wisconsin Primary  —  A lot of good analysis is pouring in now on Senator Barack Obama's landslide win in the Wisconsin primary — but let's point you to two excellent ones from different viewpoints.  —  First, read Larry Kudlow on National Review Online.  He begins his piece this way:

Opposing view: Both sides must agree  —  I will seek a good faith pact that results in real spending limits.  —  In 2007, shortly after I became a candidate for president, I asked the Federal Election Commission to clear any regulatory obstacles to a publicly funded general election in 2008 with real spending limits.

O'Reilly: “I don't want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there's evidence, hard facts, that say this is how the woman really feels"  —  During the February 19 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Bill O'Reilly took a call from a listener who said of Michelle Obama …

McCain: Soft on Al Qaeda?  —  A curious passage from John McCain's victory speech last night: … In time, I'm sure, Barack Obama will explain that any meetings with Iranian leaders will be fully prepped by staff in advance, including advance meetings at the ministerial level...but what about the first part of the quote?

Two N.J. super delegates go to Obama; Norcross backs Obama; key Clinton supporters endorse Obama  —  GEORGE NORCROSS SUPPORTS OBAMA  —  Barack Obama today picked up the support of two super delegates from New Jersey as several major Democratic leaders in South Jersey announced that they would switch …

Teamsters Plan To Endorse Obama  —  The 1.4 million-member Teamsters union will endorse Sen. Barack Obama's presidential candidacy today, Democrats briefed on the decision said.  —  A Teamsters official confirmed the endorsement.  —  Nothing says tough, or evokes “gruff,” more than the Teamsters.

Their Deepest, Darkest Discovery  —  Scientists Create a Black That Erases Virtually All Light  —  Black is getting blacker.  —  Researchers in New York reported this month that they have created a paper-thin material that absorbs 99.955 percent of the light that hits it …

Penn: ‘Hard to imagine...’  —  The Obama campaign called a conference call this morning to reiterate, accurately, the extremely slim odds that Clinton can catch up in the pledged delegate count.  —  Clinton's aides, on their own conference call, reiterated their position that that's not a meaningful metric.