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.

Big Phat Liar  —  How a federal inmate duped the Los Angeles Times, fabricated FBI reports, and linked Sean “Diddy” Combs to 1994 ambush of Tupac Shakur  —  Last week's bombshell Los Angeles Times report claiming that the 1994 shooting of Tupac Shakur in the lobby of a Manhattan recording studio …

The rescue of Bear Stearns marks liberalisation's limit  —  Remember Friday March 14 2008: it was the day the dream of global free- market capitalism died.  For three decades we have moved towards market-driven financial systems.  By its decision to rescue Bear Stearns, the Federal Reserve …

Text of McCain's speech to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council.  —  REMARKS BY JOHN MCCAIN TO THE LOS ANGELES WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL  —  ARLINGTON, VA — U.S. Senator John McCain's will deliver the following remarks as prepared for delivery today at the World Affairs Council in Los Angeles, California:

Obama's Pastor Slurs Italians in Latest Magazine  —  (CNSNews.com) - Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago where Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has been a member for two decades, slurred Italians in a piece published in the most recent issue of Trumpet Newsmagazine.

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.

BILL: ‘SADDLE UP’  —  From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli  —  PARKERSBURG, W.V. — Bill Clinton kicked off a day of campaigning here by making a personal appeal to voters, saying Hillary's success depends on “real” people like those who came to see him.  And as the rhetoric heats up between the Democratic campaigns …

Pastor Of Clinton's Former Church: Don't Use Wright To Polarize  —  On Tuesday, Sen. Hillary Clinton re-stoked the flames of the controversy surrounding Sen. Barack Obama's former pastor, saying she would have long ago distanced herself from Rev. Jeremiah Wright if she had attended his church.

Michelle Obama: America the Ignorant  —  Jim Hoft links to this speech from January of this year by Michelle Obama to students at the University of South Carolina, presumably just before their primary.  It shows how Mrs. Obama can utter some truth but put it in such a tone-deaf manner …

This is disgusting (Clintons, McPeak, American Spectator)  —  Watching from 12 time zones away, I've tried to stay out of campaign blow-by-blow.  —  But if, as I assume is true based on Marc Ambinder's report, the Hillary Clinton campaign is circulating a hit job from the American Spectator, this is simply disgusting.

Hillary's Minister Problem  —  Barack Obama isn't the only candidate with ties to a controversial religious group.  —  Since Hillary Clinton has launched a frontal attack on her opponent's church and pastor, it's worth noting that she has some odd religious ties of her own.

Samantha Power Unapologetic About Iraq Remarks, Hints At Return  —  Former Obama aide Samantha Power may be repentant for calling Sen. Hillary Clinton a political monster, but on the other issue that marked her resignation, she is not conceding an inch.  —  Speaking at the Columbia University School …

Some CAIR Officials Convicted of Crimes, More Tied to Extremist Groups  —  The questionable associations and actions by many of its leaders cast serious doubt on CAIR's claims of moderation and restraint.  Some have committed criminal acts themselves; others have ties to organizations with connections to Islamic extremism.

Kmiec's Obama Endorsement: What He's Thinking  —  God-o-Meter called legal scholar Douglas Kmiec, former counsel to Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, conservative Catholic, and, until recently, an advisor to Mitt Romney, to discuss his endorsement of Barack Obama.  Here's the exchange:

Moqtada al-Sadr orders Iraq PM out of Basra  —  The Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has demanded that the country's prime minister leave Basra where he is overseeing a military operation to purge the southern city of its radical Shi'ite militiamen.  —  Relations between Sadr and Nouri al-Maliki …