Obama is Smokin'  —  Last August, I ran into Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, outside the Senate chamber in the Capitol.  —  This was before the Obama surge, before he had omnipresent Secret Service agents, back when you might see him strolling solo.  —  We chatted for a second …

FIRST THOUGHTS: TWO DIFFERENT MAPS  —  From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro  —  *** Two different maps: On TODAY and Morning Joe, NBC's Tim Russert took at a stab at November's electoral map.  And this morning, we do the same, to show how different Clinton's and Obama's paths to 270 are.

BARACK'S A LOST CAUSE: HILL  —  VAIN BID TO WIN RICHARDSON'S SUPPORT  —  WASHINGTON - While lobbying for his endorsement, Hillary Rodham Clinton flatly told New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson that Barack Obama could not win the presidency if he got the Democratic nomination.  —  “He cannot win, Bill.

Carter hints at Obama backing  —  The Nigerian paper This Day reports that the former president all but came out for Obama, speaking to reporters in that country: … He was in Abuja, the paper reports, for the Carter Center awards for guinea worm eradication.

GOP under fire from everywhere after 9/11 comments  —  WASHINGTON - The California congressman who called the Sept. 11 attacks “simply” a plane crash ran for cover Wednesday under a barrage of ridicule from fellow Republicans, first responders and victims' families.

Al Qaeda #2: We'll Attack Iran  —  Recently, Senator John McCain has repeatedly indicated that Iran and al-Qaeda are in cahoots.  The terror group's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, would beg to differ.  In a long-promised online Q&A session, Zawahiri says it would be “in the interest” …

Air America Host Randi Rhodes Suspended For Calling Hillary A “Big F*cking Whore”  —  Air America host Randi Rhodes called both Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton “whores” in a recent appearance, seen below.  Rhodes, who hosts a weekday radio show on Air America, said to the cheering crowd, “What a whore Geraldine Ferraro is!

Gregory: Bush 'didn't jump to invade Iraq' after 9/11.  —  Yesterday, on MSNBC's Hardball, David Gregory exonerated President Bush for his misguided invasion of Iraq, saying there's “not a lot of argument” that Bush “had the right response to 9/11.”  Gregory commended Bush for not immediately …

Student Sues ‘Anti-Christian’ Teacher Over Remarks in Class  —  A student and his family have filed a federal lawsuit demanding that a popular European history teacher at California's Capistrano Valley High School be fired for what they say were anti-Christian remarks he made in the classroom.

When Did The Pledged Delegate Count Become The Holy Grail?  How The Obama Camp and NBC Made It So  —  It is one of the most interesting phenomenas of this campaign and the Obama camp deserves great credit for this spin achievement - the turning of the pledged delegate count into the Holy Grail of this campaign.

Ted Turner: Global warming could lead to cannibalism  —  Billionaire environmentalist says world has too many people  —  Failure to address global warming will have us all dead or eating each other by mid-century.  —  So says Ted Turner, the restaurateur, environmentalist …

Muslims Leaving Islam in Droves  —  Pope Benedict's choice to publicly baptize the most prominent Muslim in Italy, Egyptian-born Magdi Allam, highlights a quiet worldwide exodus from Islam.  In recent years, millions have moved on.  With this high-profile action, Pope Benedict demonstratively blesses …

For McCain, son's duty in Iraq is not a talking point  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) regularly talks about his military experience on the presidential campaign trail, but he draws the line when asked about his sons' service in the armed forces.  —  Jimmy McCain, 19, who returned from Iraq in mid-February …

McCain rejects Secret Service protection  —  Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) may be the presumptive GOP nominee for president, but, by his own wishes, he is not being protected by the Secret Service.  —  “He has not requested protection,” Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan told a congressional subcommittee this morning.

Tax returns coming  —  Clinton aide Howard Wolfson suggested that Hillary's tax returns will be out today or tomorrow:  —  “She said late last week that they would be out within a week and so you can count on that,” he said.  —  Wolfson also said Clinton's fundraising totals would be out when the filings are due, around April 20.

DNC convention stance surprises campaigns  —  The Democratic National Committee said Tuesday that Florida and Michigan members will be seated on the three standing committees — including the critical Credentials Committee—at the party's 2008 national convention, a position that could affect the selection of the Democratic nominee.