Obama May Not Have Fully Contained Damage From Ex-Pastor  —  Sen. Barack Obama's Philadelphia speech on race relations last month seemed to put the controversial remarks of his former pastor behind him.  But three weeks later, there is evidence of lingering damage.

Radio host Ed Schultz: 'I'm sorry ... John McCain is a warmonger'  —  “I'm sorry, John, the label sticks.  John McCain is a warmonger,” liberal radio host Ed Schultz said a few minutes ago on CNN's American Morning.  —  Schultz called McCain a “warmonger” on Friday as he was warming …

Clinton's Chief Strategist Steps Down  —  Mark J. Penn quit Sunday as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief strategist, the second shake-up in her campaign's top ranks since the onetime front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination began trailing Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

Ex-Clinton Insider Launches Unity Ticket Drive  —  Hillary/Obama '08 becomes official today.  In a way.  —  A Clinton insider who served as ex campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle's executive assistant for several years has set up a new website, http://www.voteboth.com/ and plans to register with the Federal Election Commission today.

If the system made sense, Clinton would be far ahead  —  Under a winner-take-all primary system, Hillary Clinton would have a wide lead over Barack Obama — and enough delegates to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination by June.  —  Hillary Clinton celebrates with supporters …

No Really, You Should Go  —  Wretched rationalizations for Hillary Clinton's kamikaze campaign.  —  Last week, Senator Pat Leahy suggested that Hillary Clinton ought to quit the presidential race.  How insensitive!  How boorish!  Pundits gasped, Clinton took umbrage …

U.S. and Iraqis Battle Militias to End Attacks  —  BAGHDAD — Sharp fighting broke out in the Sadr City district of Baghdad on Sunday as American and Iraqi troops sought to control neighborhoods used by Shiite militias to fire rockets and mortars into the nearby Green Zone.

Rice Eyeing Ticket?  That's News to McCain  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Is Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice campaigning to be John McCain's running mate?  If so, Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said on Sunday that he had not noticed.

Olympic torch extinguished during Paris leg  —  (CNN) — The Olympic torch relay was disrupted Monday by protesters in Paris demonstrating against the Chinese government, causing authorities to extinguish the flame three times and put the torch on a bus, according to The Associated Press.

The Real Colombian-Trade Story  —  It's understandable that Mark Penn's departure from the Clinton campaign has made so much news over the weekend, but the political story isn't the most important.  That's the fate for the Colombian free-trade deal that Penn's firm was helping to promote.

The Blithering Idiocy of the DC Establishment  —  The Village, via Cokie Roberts, gives their very serious assessment of Iraq on ABC's This Week: … Well, Katrina Vanden Heuvel handled that a bit better than I, because I don't think I would have been able to hold down the bile …

Pork Barrel Remains Hidden in U.S. Budget  —  WASHINGTON — Sometimes on Capitol Hill, lawmakers find that it pays to ask nicely instead of just ordering the bureaucrats around.  —  With great fanfare, Congress adopted strict ethics rules last year requiring members to disclose when they steered federal money to pet projects.

Your federal government at work ... for Palestinians … 04/12/2006 … And lest you think “certain [otherwise prohibited] transactions” are merely being “authorized,” think again.  They're being encouraged, promoted and assisted... all over our federal  —  dot-GOV. Here's just one thread …

Four Days in Denver  —  The Democratic Party is closer than it's ever been to a political nightmare—a deadlocked convention.  Though the odds of its actually happening are still remote, the idea is so rich with dramatic possibility that we asked Lawrence O'Donnell Jr., former West Wing writer-producer …