McCain aide circulates Obama/Wright video, is suspended  —  An aide to John McCain was suspended from the campaign today for blasting out an inflammatory video that raises questions about Barack Obama's patriotism.  —  Soren Dayton, who works in McCain's political department …

A “TYPICAL WHITE PERSON”?!  —  I've expressed admiration for Barack Obama's political skills, but maybe, in a time of stress, his inexperience is beginning to show.  In an interview earlier today, he referred to his grandmother—the one he slandered in his speech on Tuesday—as a “typical white person.”

Obama's NCAA Bracket  —  CHARLESTON, W.V. - Even on the campaign trail, it's basketball time.  Yesterday, Senator Barack Obama played a morning round of hoops with soldiers from Fort Bragg in North Carolina.  Today, as he arrived here for a campaign event, he completed his NCAA Final Four bracket.

Cheney's former chief of staff disbarred  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby was disbarred from practicing law in the nation's capital on Thursday.  —  The former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney was convicted last year of lying to a grand jury and federal agents probing …

MCCAIN: PURIM = HALLOWEEN?  —  When McCain made a foreign policy gaffe in Jordan on Tuesday, it was Sen. Joe Lieberman who quietly pointed out the mistake, giving McCain an opportunity to correct himself in front of the international press corps.  In Israel yesterday, NBC's Lauren Appelbaum reports …

Obama blew it  —  What the candidate should have said about race.  —  Tim Rutten's column, “Obama's Lincoln moment” and The Times editorial, “Obama on race” both miss the mark.  —  In my considered judgment as a race and civil rights specialist, I would say that Barack Obama's “momentous” …

Hagee, in ‘NYT’ This Sunday, Says McCain Sought His Endorsement  —  NEW YORK In an interview that will appear in this Sunday's New York Times Magazine, controversial televangelist Rev. John Hagee declares, “It's true that [John] McCain's campaign sought my endorsement.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY.  —  Kevin Drum: … How Kevin was able to get an early glance at my next tattoo is anyone' guess (I had the whole thing translated into kanji, too!), but that's a pretty perfect description of how I understand the role of the progressive health reformer.