Bob Casey to endorse Obama, join bus tour  —  Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey plans to endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president today in Pittsburgh, sending a message both to the state's primary voters and to undecided superdelegates who might decide the close race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

U.S. Planes Attack Militia Strongholds in Basra Fighting  —  BAGHDAD —American military forces for the first time conducted air strikes on targets in Basra late Thursday, joining Iraqi security forces in trying to oust Shiite militias in the southern port city.

McCain Ad: Cue the Ugly “American” Campaign  —  The American president Americans have been waiting for!  —  That's the tag line on John McCain's new ad, which features a film clip of McCain as a captured POW and a baritone-voice narrator asking, “What must a president believe about us, about America?”

Transcript: Mark McKinnon On Why He'll Leave The McCain Campaign If Obama Is The Democratic Nominee  —  National Journal's Linda Douglass sat down with Mark McKinnon for the March 28 edition of “National Journal On Air.”  This is a transcript of their conversation.  —  Q: I want to introduce Mark McKinnon.

Obama now says he might have left church  —  In appearance taped for airing this morning on “The View,” Senator Obama makes news by saying he might have left Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ if the Rev. Jeremiah Wright had not retired.  —  In a clip posted by ABC, Obama says …

Loans and Leadership  —  When George W. Bush first ran for the White House, political reporters assured us that he came across as a reasonable, moderate guy.  —  Yet those of us who looked at his policy proposals — big tax cuts for the rich and Social Security privatization — had a very different impression.

Rice hits U.S. ‘birth defect’  —  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that the United States still has trouble dealing with race because of a national “birth defect” that denied black Americans the opportunities given to whites at the country's very founding.

GIULIANI WEIGHING ‘SPECIAL’ RUN FOR GOV  —  In the latest twist in New York politics, Rudy Giuliani is eyeing a run for governor in a special election this fall should Gov. Paterson be forced to resign, sources say.  —  A top adviser to the former mayor, who pulled the plug on his presidential bid …

Gallup Daily: Obama Back Into Lead in Democratic Race  —  McCain enjoys advantage in general election trial heat  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Today's Gallup Poll Daily tracking update finds Barack Obama with an eight percentage point advantage over Hillary Clinton (50% to 42%) …

Dave Marash quits Al-Jazeera English  —  NEW YORK - Former “Nightline” reporter Dave Marash has quit Al-Jazeera English, saying Thursday his exit was due in part to an anti-American bias at a network that is little seen in this country.  —  Marash said he felt that attitude …

The anthrax case, the media, and the innocent  —  Catherine Herridge reports new developments in the still-unsolved 2001 anthrax attacks, while Steven Hatfill continues the fight to clear his name: … Hatfill, meanwhile, is in court pursuing a civil action against the government for violating …

Getting Mrs. Clinton  —  I think we've reached a signal point in the campaign.  This is the point where, with Hillary Clinton, either you get it or you don't.  There's no dodging now.  You either understand the problem with her candidacy, or you don't.  You either understand who she is, or not.

42 Democrats Vow a Drawdown in Iraq If They Win Seats  —  More than three dozen Democratic congressional candidates banded together yesterday to promise that, if elected, they will push for legislation calling for an immediate drawdown of troops in Iraq that would leave only a security force …