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 …

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.

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.

STATEMENT OF AIR AMERICA RADIO, FROM CHAIR CHARLIE KIREKER  —  New York - Air America has suspended on-air host Randi Rhodes for making inappropriate statements about prominent figures, including Senator Hillary Clinton, at a recent public appearance on behalf of Air America in San Francisco …

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.

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” …

Barr bid could hurt McCain  —  Can a conservative former congressman who helped impeach President Clinton, is a board member of the National Rifle Association and has done contract work with the ACLU dent Sen. John McCain's presidential bid?  —  That's exactly what Mr. McCain would face if Bob Barr …

In Terms of Geography, Obama Appeals to Academics and Clinton Appeals to Jacksonians  —  In reviewing the maps of the Democratic primary results, in Dave Leip's electoral atlas, I was struck by the narrow geographic base of Barack Obama's candidacy.  In state after state …

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 …

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.

Murtha: Clinton Cannot Win Nomination Without Popular Vote  —  Hillary Clinton simply cannot be the Democratic nominee if she doesn't win the popular vote, Pennsylvania congressman and Clinton-backer John Murtha said Wednesday.  —  “Clinton has to win Pennsylvania,” he argued in an interview.

Aides' private info exposed  —  Furious senior House aides are demanding committee action against a website that has posted their bank account numbers, signatures, home addresses and children's names that are included in financial disclosure documents.  —  Some are demanding legal action …

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.