Clinton Campaign Starts 5-Point Attack on Obama  —  After struggling for months to dent Senator Barack Obama's candidacy, the campaign of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is now unleashing what one Clinton aide called a “kitchen sink” fusillade against Mr. Obama, pursuing five lines …

The Real McCain  —  You wouldn't know it to look at them, but political consultants are as faddish as anyone else.  And the current vogueish advice among the backroom set is: Go after your opponent's strengths.  So in the first volley of what feels like the general election campaign …

CBS Poll: Obama Surges Ahead Nationally  —  CBS News/NY Times Survey Finds Obama Opens Up 16-Point Lead; Also Leads In Head-To-Head Match Up With McCain  —  (CBS) A new CBS News/New York Times poll finds Barack Obama with a 16-point lead over rival Hillary Clinton among Democratic primary voters nationwide.

Mansion ‘mistake’ piles the pressure on Barack Obama  —  James Bone in New York and Dominic Kennedy in London  —  A British-Iraqi billionaire lent millions of dollars to Barack Obama's fundraiser just weeks before an imprudent land deal that has returned to haunt the presidential contender, an investigation by The Times discloses.

Dems' Ohio debate comes at key moment  —  CLEVELAND (AP) — Maybe not since Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan met on a stage in this blue-collar city have two candidates debated with so much at stake.  —  And if recent campaigning is any indication, Tuesday night's debate between Democratic …

Bill Slips While Stumping for Hillary?  ‘If You Elect Me...’  —  Was he speaking “as” his wife or was it a slip? (see related link) “If you elect me, I'll repeal those subsidies and put them into a strategic energy fund that will create American jobs for America's future with clean energy.”

Guns in the Desert  —  ANBAR PROVINCE, IRAQ - The Humvee slammed to a halt on the desert road between Fallujah and the town of Al Farris.  I peered around the driver's head from the back seat and tried to figure out what was happening.  —  “Why are we stopping?”  I said.  —  “IED,” Sergeant Guerrero said.

IRANIAN SHOPPERS RIOT AGAINST MODESTY POLICE  —  It happens every day on the streets of Tehran: a police squad grabbed a young woman for dressing immodestly.  But this time, the young woman fought back: and a crowd defended her and attacked the police.  Thanks to cell phone video, the Internet …

Ding Dong!  The Witch Is Dead!  —  From the DoD, via TPMMuckraker: … Pardon me while I dance about my study, cackling with glee.  That's some of the best news I've had since, well, since the announcement of the ceasefire in Northern Uganda.  (Hard to top that.)

Obama stiffs, stifles national press  —  EDINBURG, Texas - For all the positive press Barack Obama receives, as he moves closer to clinching the Democratic nomination he is establishing himself as the candidate who keeps the most distance from the national media.

Obama and the Power of Words  —  These are words that move and uplift, that give hope to the hopeless.  These words inspired millions of voters nationwide to join the grand experiment called democracy, casting votes for their candidate, their country, their destiny: