If McCain vs. Obama, 28% of Clinton Backers Go for McCain  —  If McCain vs. Clinton, 19% of Obama backers go for McCain  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A sizable proportion of Democrats would vote for John McCain next November if he is matched against the candidate they do not support for the Democratic nomination.

Hell Has Officially Frozen Over  —  It caught my eye as a flash on Brit Hume a few moments ago, but here is a photo from Hillary Clinton's visit today to the editorial board of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  In this picture, she is seen talking to none other than Richard Mellon Scaife …

Iraqi Crackdown on Shiite Forces Sets Off Fighting  —  BAGHDAD — Heavy fighting broke out Tuesday in two of Iraq's largest cities, as Iraqi ground forces and helicopters mounted a huge operation to break the grip of the Shiite militias controlling Basra, and Iraqi forces clashed with militias in Baghdad.

The Maverick and the Media  —  Amagansett, N.Y.  —  IT is certainly no secret that Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is a darling of the news media.  Reporters routinely attach “maverick,” “straight talker” and “patriot” to him like Homeric epithets.

McCain Asks When Hillary Clinton Will Apologize to Gen. Petraeus - Video  —  Here is Sen. John McCain on March 24, 2008 asking when Sen. Hillary Clinton will apologize to Gen. David Petraeus for her remarks last year ridiculing the idea that “The Surge” strategy in Iraq was working.

Southern Dem warns party to avert disaster  —  Democrats are increasingly nervous about their party's protracted nomination fight, and some prominent figures are publicly warning that the party needs to act fast to avoid disaster.  —  Chief among these voices is Phil Bredesen …

Exclusive: Clinton Vows to Push On  —  Hillary Clinton is under a lot of pressure these days, but in a Tuesday interview she seemed cheery, confident and unapologetic as she talked about her determination to fight on in the Presidential race.  Speaking by phone from Pennsylvania …

Jarheads  —  In light of Tuzla-gate (catchy, no?), reporters are going over past statements by Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, (and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois) to see if others don't stand more rigorous examination.  —  One that may get renewed scrutiny is a story she told “Women in Military Service” …

Hillary or Nobody?  —  While the cool cat's away, the Hillary mice will play.  —  As Barack Obama was floating in the pool with his daughters the last few days in St. Thomas, some Clinton disciples were floating the idea of St. Hillary as his vice president.

IT'S NOT ABOUT POINTS.  —  James Fallows is a bit agog that the Clinton team would disseminate articles from The American Spectator — the same Spectator that spent the 90s conducting a fact-free witch hunt against the Clintons — to harm Obama.  In contrast, I'm much more surprised to see Clinton make a frontal attack on Wright.

Why The Obama/Clinton Rules Led Us To This Rough Campaign  —  When the Media and the Left blogs deplore the negativity of the Democratic presidential campaign, especially from the Clinton campaign, they ignore that they are a major reason why it has happened.  Why?

John McCain Wants You  —  BEHIND any successful politician lies a usable contradiction, and John McCain's is this: We love him (and occasionally hate him) for his stubborn individualism, yet his politics are best understood as a decade-long attack on the individual.