The Impact of Pastor Wright and THE SPEECH on Election 2008  —  Two days after Barack Obama gave the most important speech of his life, it remains unclear what impact the controversy over Pastor Jeremiah Wright will have on the race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination.

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 …

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 …

The media's special relationship with John McCain  —  (updated below)  —  The Washington Post's Ruth Marcus yesterday discussed the reasons why there has been so little media attention paid to John McCain's repeated (though somehow perfectly innocent) “slips of the tongue” …

ANOTHER Pastor Problem for Obama?  PLUS: A Reporter in the Tank  —  When it rains, it pours: … Here's what I believe is a copy of the original CBS News story, which contains Meeks' language.  —  What is striking about this story, apart from the Wright-like, racially-divisive language …

Obama wows WIP sports jocks  —  Sen. Barack Obama called into sports radio 610 WIP this morning, charming the usually rambuctious morning talk show hosts and winning their endorsements.  —  “People are really swept up [by this candidate],” said host Al Morganti.  “It's almost like teenaged girls at a concert.

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 …

Double Standards  —  Obama gave a very good interview to Nightline about his speech on race and the Wright controversy.  Here's one excerpt: … In a similar fashion: if a white candidate is affiliated in some fashion with a white religious figure who preaches incendiary sermons …

Ruling: “Speak English” sign at cheesesteak shop not discriminatory  —  A city agency yesterday dismissed a discrimination complaint against Geno's Steaks for its speak-English sign, halting a case that thrust shop owner Joey Vento into the national spotlight of the contentious immigration debate.

Lessons not learned  —  (updated below)  —  Slate is publishing a series of articles from so-called “liberal hawks” who supported the invasion of Iraq, asking them to reflect on “why they got it wrong.”  Most of the pseudo-regretful war advocates oh-so-nobly blame others …

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.

Obama's Anger … Back in the late 1980s I was on a plane flying out of New Orleans and sitting next to me was a rather interesting and, according to Barack Obama, unusual black man.  Friendly, gregarious, and wise beyond his years, we immediately hit it off.

FBI posts fake hyperlinks to snare child porn suspects  —  Screen snapshot: This now-defunct site is reportedly where an FBI undercover agent posted hyperlinks purporting to be illegal videos.  Clicking the links brought a raid from the Feds.  —  The FBI has recently adopted …