Obama and the Minister  —  In a sermon delivered at Howard University, Barack Obama's longtime minister, friend and adviser blamed America for starting the AIDS virus, training professional killers, importing drugs and creating a racist society that would never elect a black candidate president.

House Passes FISA Amendments Act  —  The House has just passed the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 3773, to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to establish a procedure for authorizing certain acquisitions of foreign intelligence, and for other purposes, by a vote of 213-197-1.

WHY CLINTON DOESN'T WANT A RE-VOTE.  —  <p>p.s.  Commenter <a href="http://www.nycweboy.com/ “>weboy </a>complained that I should have sought out more pro-Clinton blogs, and recommends a few, so I will link to Tom Watson's recent post, <a href="http://tomwatson.typepad.com/ tom_watson/2008/03 …

McCain says al Qaeda might try to tip U.S. election  —  SPRINGFIELD, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Friday he fears that al Qaeda or another extremist group might attempt spectacular attacks in Iraq to try to tilt the U.S. election against him.

A Free-Spirited Wanderer Who Set Obama's Path  —  In the capsule version of the Barack Obama story, his mother is simply the white woman from Kansas.  The phrase comes coupled alliteratively to its counterpart, the black father from Kenya.  On the campaign trail, he has called her his “single mom.”

Obama Cuts Into Clinton's Delegate Lead Among Elected Officials  —  Barack Obama has pulled almost even with Hillary Clinton in endorsements from top elected officials and has cut into her lead among the other superdelegates she's relying on to win the Democratic presidential nomination.

Bush “Envious” Of Soldiers Serving “Romantic” Mission In Afghanistan  —  President Bush let his inner adventurer out while discussing the state of the war in Afghanistan with military and civilian personnel.  While those in Afghanistan detailed the logistical and diplomatic problems via teleconference …

Obama's True Beliefs  —  Derb: I am coming to believe that Barack Obama is one of the greatest con artists we've seen.  His entire campaign has been about “coming together,” a post-racial consensus, etc.  Any mention of his middle name was immediately condemned as ignorant fear-mongering.

Gallup Daily: Obama Leads Clinton 50% to 44%  —  McCain presents stiff competition for Obama and Clinton  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Barack Obama leads Hillary Clinton in national Democratic nomination preferences by a statistically significant 6-percentage point margin, 50% to 44% …

US Faces Severe Recession, Feldstein Says  —  The United States has entered a recession that could be “substantially more severe” than recent ones, former National Bureau of Economic Research President Martin Feldstein said Friday.  —  “The situation is very bad, the situation is getting worse …

Getting the Politics of the Press Right: Walter Pincus Rips into Newsroom Neutrality  —  “The important thing is to show integrity— not to be a neuter, politically.  Having good facts that hold up is a bigger advantage than claiming to reflect all sides equally well.”