Obama plans major race speech tomorrow  —  Barack Obama will give a major speech on “the larger issue of race in this campaign,” he told reporters in Monaca, PA just now.  —  He was pressed there, as he has been at recent appearances, on statements by his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright.

ON DEADLINE: Obama walks arrogance line  —  WASHINGTON - Arrogance is a common vice in presidential politics.  A person must be more than a little self-important to wake up one day and say, “I belong in the Oval Office.”  —  But there's a line smart politicians don't cross — somewhere between …

A Generalized Run on the Shadow Financial System  —  Since the onset of the liquidity and credit crunch last summer this column has been arguing that monetary policy would be impotent to address such a crunch because, in part, of the existence of a non-bank “shadow financial system”.

News from the Louisiana delegation in the nation's capital  —  Sen. David Vitter, R-La., has been mostly mum on the prostitution scandal that forced Democratic New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer to announce his resignation last week.  But Vitter let down his guard a bit in a conference call with constituents.

The Clinton civil war  —  Al Giordano, on the laughable Clinton-supporters “strike” of this blog: … I would add one more item to the list above — this site has also been hostile to the corrosive consultant class that gave us our timid and weak party until Howard Dean shook it up in 2004.

IRAQ: Hillary's Remarks at The George Washingon University  —  Good morning.  I want to thank Secretary West for his years of service, not only as Secretary of the Army, but also to the Veteran's Administration, to our men and women in uniform, to our country.

WRIGHT: ISRAEL A “DIRTY WORD;” JOKES THAT BLACKS GET ALL QUIET AT MENTION OF ISRAEL  —  Scared to speak, he says.  —  Why?  Would that be anti-semitism that many left-indoctrinated blacks are reluctant to to express out loud?  —  Well, Obama's 20 year political ally and spiritual mentor encourages …

Nacchio conviction reversed  —  The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed the guilty verdict in the criminal insider trading case of former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio and ordered a new trial before a different judge.  —  The decision was 2-1 to overturn the verdict.

A Last Minute Hurdle Erected In Michigan?  —  The proposed primaru re-vote legislation in Michigan prevents those who've voted in the Republican primary from voting in the re-vote.  —  Fair enough, right?  —  But about 32% of the those who vote in the GOP primary, according to the exit polls, were Democrats or independents.