Consumer advocate Nader starts presidential bid  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer advocate Ralph Nader said on Sunday that he is launching another long shot independent campaign for president of the United States.  —  Nader, who will turn 74 this week, announced his presidential bid on NBC's …

Dispatch from Maryland  —  Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton, spoke at St. Mary's college in Maryland last week and offered a very frank assessment of the state of the Clinton campaign.  A Political Wire reader emails a summary:

Saturday Night Live Pulls One Out for Hillary  —  (Updated to include video).  Comments now closed.)  —  Do not miss the You Tube of Tina Fey's commentary on Saturday Night Live last night when it comes out.  It was incredible.  My DD has a rough transcript of the last part. … More...

Obama Assassination ‘Would Leave Road Paved for McCain’ ...  One of the most disturbing questions that Barack Obama's candidacy raises is this: What if he were murdered?  If Barack Obama won the Democratic nomination and was gunned down before November, what effect would this have on the presidential race?

REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN EMBRACES OBAMA HOAX EMAIL  —  Overtime, and pretty quickly now, it'll make sense to keep a list of stuff like this.  On Friday night's Bill Maher show, Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) claimed that Barack Obama refuses to say the pledge of allegiance to the American flag.

Why the right reluctantly defended McCain  —  Conservative leaders often portray their political mission in moralistic terms: right vs. wrong.  But their reaction to a news report that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) might have had an inappropriate relationship with a female lobbyist shows …

Obama, not Clinton, favored over McCain  —  Whether Iowa turns red or blue in the fall presidential election may have a lot to do with which Democrat is on the ballot against Republican John McCain, according to a new Iowa Poll by The Des Moines Register.  —  Barack Obama would carry Iowa …

Obama's Red-State Prospects Unclear  —  For Democrats desperate to reclaim the White House, the numbers have been tantalizing.  —  In winning Tuesday's primary in the key swing state of Wisconsin, Sen. Barack Obama drew support from tens of thousands of Republicans and independents.

Are You Experienced?  —  Scott Lemieux further elaborates on the trouble with the Hillary Clinton experience argument: … I think the point in the parenthesis is key.  If you win a primary on an “experience” argument, then you'd damn well better be more experienced than your general election opponent.

Artist hanged herself after aborting her twins  —  An artist killed herself after aborting her twins when she was eight weeks pregnant, leaving a note saying: “I should never have had an abortion.  I see now I would have been a good mum.”  —  Emma Beck was found hanging at her home in Helston, Cornwall, on Feb 1 2007.

The Audacity of Hopelessness  —  WHEN people one day look back at the remarkable implosion of the Hillary Clinton campaign, they may notice that it both began and ended in the long dark shadow of Iraq.  —  It's not just that her candidacy's central premise — the priceless value of …