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 …

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'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.

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.

Petraeus: Iraqi Leaders Not Making ‘Sufficient Progress’  —  Iraqi leaders have failed to take advantage of a reduction in violence to make adequate progress toward resolving their political differences, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said Thursday.

JPMorgan and Fed Move to Bail Out Bear Stearns  —  Bear Stearns, facing a grave liquidity crisis, reached out to JPMorgan on Friday for a short-term financial lifeline and now faces the prospect of the end of its 85-year run as an independent investment bank.

The Romance of Empire  —  George W. Bush laments that his advanced age doesn't let him participate in his own screw-ups: … Need we note that when Bush had an actual opportunity to put his life on the line in a war, he chose to avoid doing so?  The guy who sent me the link observed …

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.

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.”

OMG!  I JUST DID THE GOVERNOR!  —  SPITZ HOOKER'S DC DISCOVERY  —  The high-priced hooker at the center of Gov. Spitzer's sex scandal trysted with him several times before he was caught on a wiretap - but it was only during their last encounter that she realized the real identity of her john, sources said yesterday.

Transcript: Greg Craig On Hillary Clinton's Foreign Policy Experience  —  National Journal's Linda Douglass sat down with Greg Craig for the March 14 edition of “National Journal On Air.”  This is a transcript of their conversation.  —  Q: I want to welcome Greg Craig.