Clinton strategist says Obama 'can't win the general election'  —  Though the campaign later argued that he hadn't said it, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief campaign strategist told reporters this morning that Sen. Barack Obama “can't win the general election.”

Obama's Pastor: God Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11  —  Obama's Pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Has a History of What Even Obama's Campaign Aides Say Is ‘Inflammatory Rhetoric’  —  Sen. Barack Obama's pastor says blacks should not sing “God Bless America” but “God damn America.”

Sweet scoop: Obama, after initial refusal, releases all earmark requests.  Read them here.  UPDATES  —  WASHINGTON—After refusing since June to make public earmark requests from 2005 and 2006, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is releasing Thursday all the earmark requests he has made since he entered the Senate in 2005.

Report Shows No Link Between Saddam and al Qaeda  —  ABC News has requested and obtained a copy of the Pentagon study which shows Saddam Hussein had no links to Al Qaeda.  —  (READ THE FULL REPORT HERE.)  —  It's government report the White House didn't want you to read …

Details of a possible delegate plan under discussion:  —Michigan's 156 delegates would be split 50-50 between Clinton and Obama.  —Florida's existing delegates would be seated at the Denver convention—but with half a vote each.  That would give Clinton a net gain of about 19 elected delegates.

Hoyer agrees to closed FISA session  —  House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has agreed to a GOP request for a secret House session Thursday to discuss the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act (FISA).  —  House Republicans had been seeking the closed session to delay a vote …

David Paterson: ‘The Only Whores I Know Are Lobbyists’  —  David Paterson just gave his first public address since Eliot Spitzer's resignation yesterday.  He made noises about “getting back to work” and the budget, talked about being black and blind, indicated he wasn't planning any major changes …

NRCC Says Ex-Treasurer Diverted Up to $1 Million  —  The former treasurer for the National Republican Congressional Committee diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars — and possibly as much as $1 million — of the organization's funds into his personal accounts, GOP officials said yesterday …

Study: Networks Always Label GOPers With Sex Scandals  —  My colleague Brent Baker has painstakingly documented how the big three broadcast networks have gone out of their way to avoid labeling scandal-scarred New York Governor Eliot Spitzer as a “Democrat.”

I'VE SEEN MY SHARE OF SPITZERS: THE VIEW FROM AN ESCORT SERVICE  —  The disgraced former NY governor is not alone, writes “Ruth Henderson,” a former booking agent for high-priced Manhattan call girls.  —  Support Pajamas Media; Visit Our Advertisers  —  So New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned …

White House Offers Plan to Ward Off Credit Crises  —  WASHINGTON — After months of watching a growing credit crisis made worse by steadily eroding home prices, the Bush administration responded on Thursday with the outlines of a plan that officials emphasized is meant more to prevent future crises than to address the current one.