McCain erases Obama lead  —  WASHINGTON - Republican Sen. John McCain has erased Sen. Barack Obama's 10-point advantage in a head-to-head matchup, leaving him essentially tied with both Democratic candidates in an Associated Press-Ipsos national poll released Thursday.

IRAN'S BUSTED IRAQ BID  —  BASRA ‘RISING’ WAS TEHRAN'S OP  —  A GAMBLE that proved too costly.  —  That's how analysts in Tehran describe events last month in Basra.  Iran's state-run media have de facto confirmed that this was no spontaneous “uprising.”

Petraeus Meets His Match  —  Senator Joseph Lieberman has become something of an agent provocateur in the semiannual Petraeus-Crocker hearings staged by the U.S. Senate.  This semester he chose to open his remarks by chastising unnamed colleagues for having a “hear no progress …

29% Favor National Health Insurance Overseen by Federal Government  —  Twenty-nine percent (29%) of American adults favor a national health insurance program overseen by the Federal Government.  A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 39% oppose such a government-led initiative while 31% are not sure.

SHOCKING— New Obama Audio Posted Online!  —  This is just amazing.  —  If Obama really wanted to have a talk about race he could start by explaining his hateful words on this audio.  —  (9 minutes 53 seconds)  —  Bob McCarty also finds it shocking.  —  The Elector of Saxony said it best in an earlier post:

Randi Rhodes Quits Air America Rather Than Apologize For Hillary Clinton “F*cking Whore” Remark; “There's Relief And Joy” At The Station  —  Update: The Huffington Post has learned that Randi Rhodes quit Air America after being asked by the network to apologize for her inflammatory remarks against Hillary Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro.

Obama: I'm not ‘getting fresh or anything’  —  (CNN) - Barack Obama appeared to have a bit of an awkward moment on the campaign trail in South Bend, Indiana.  —  From the pool report:  —  “[Obama] posed for report pictures with the staff when he apparently felt his phone start to vibrate …

EXCLUSIVE: Powell Praises Obama, Fears Afghanistan Growing ‘More Difficult’ Than Iraq  —  General Says Next President Will Face Long Struggle, Troop Strain in Two-Front Battle  —  Retired Gen. Colin Powell insists he hasn't yet decided who he'll back in the 2008 presidential election.

Obama: Elie Weisel is a piker  —  Someone at the Barack Obama campaign had better start watching the hyperbole meter when Obama gets off script.  When a questioner at a Levittown event asked Obama about his church's fascination with Louis Farrakhan, Obama offered a very strange defense.

McCain Gets the Boot From Project Vote Smart  —  Project Vote Smart, the nonpartisan voter-education nonprofit, confirms today that it has kicked John McCain off its board.  Mother Jones reported on Monday that PVS was prepared to make the move due to McCain's nine-month refusal to fill out its Political Courage Test.

Carter and Hamas  —  It's an opportunity for Obama to draw a line, and he takes it:

As Election Race Shifts, so do Women's Opinions of the Candidates, With Perception of Hillary Clinton Changing the Most  —  New Lifetime Networks' Every Woman Counts poll takes women's political pulse.  —  Sign In or Register to Assign a Topic  —  New York — As part of its Every Woman Counts campaign …

PETRAEUS: I WILL ‘NEVER’ RUN FOR OFFICE  —  From NBC's Domenico Montanaro  —  In an interview with NBC's Brian Williams to air tonight on NBC Nightly News, Gen. David Petraeus says he will “never” run for or hold public office.  —  “And I've tried to say that on a number of occasions,” Petraeus said.

Bill Clinton Retells Hillary's 1996 Bosnia Story  —  ABC News' Sarah Amos and Eloise Harper Report: After a trip to Puerto Rico and two days entirely off the campaign trail, former President Bill Clinton eagerly discussed myriad topics with the crowd that awaited him in Boonville, Ind. …

Video: Muslim blogger makes his own version of “Fitna” — about Christianity  —  I'm not sure what his point is, ultimately — that the Bible is just as pernicious an influence as the Koran (per the opening text) or that it's silly to link atrocities to passages from scripture (per the closing).

Obama Talks All Things LGBT with The Advocate  —  In an exclusive Chicago sit-down with The Advocate's Kerry Eleveld, Democratic front-runner Barack Obama discusses “don't ask, don't tell,” Rev. Wright, and what he would do for LGBT Americans if he becomes president.