Gallup Daily: Obama Numbers Holding Strong  —  Maintains a 10-point lead over Clinton for Democratic nomination  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Barack Obama, who has come under attack by his presidential rivals for describing small-town voters as “bitter,” seems to be weathering the storm to this point as far as voters are concerned.

Republicans talk about Iraq, Obama at N. Ky. dinner  —  Republican U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning laid out their case for Republicans keeping control of the White House in the 2008 election during Northern Kentucky's 4th Congressional District Lincoln Day Dinner Saturday night.

MCCAIN: ‘HILLARY CAN STILL PULL IT OFF’; SENATOR PREFERS CLINTON CONTEST  —  Republican presidential hopeful John McCain has confided to his inner circle that Hillary Clinton may yet be the Democratic nominee, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned, a development the senator from Arizona would personally welcome!

AP Asks Democratic Frontrunner about “Obama bin Laden”  —  At the close of Q and A at an Associated Press luncheon in Washington, DC, AP chairman Dean SIngleton skipped over a question on what's becoming known as “bitter-gate” in favor of asking Illinois Senator Barack Obama what he surely thought …

McCain Takes Bold Stance On Torture: ‘We Cannot Ever Torture Any American’  —  Today, during the question-and-answer period of Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) address to the Associated Press, a journalist asked McCain about torturing terrorism detainees, saying “Don't we stand for something better?”

Obama bomb dropped  —  When Tony Rezko held a reception at his home for Iraqi-born billionaire Nadhmi Auchi on April 3, 2004, White House hopeful Barack Obama and his wife were also there, Stuart Levine testified just now at Rezko's trial.  —  Auchi is the man who provided Rezko a $3.5 million loan …

Yes We Can: Wonkette Goes Solo  —  So, anything happening in the media news today?  Wait, WHAT?  Yes it's true: Wonkette is bravely leaving the Gawker Media nest, along with Gawker's music and travel sites.  Why on Earth is a beloved publication such as Wonkette taking this plunge …

DNC Files Lawsuit About Campaign Finance Weasel John McCain  —  As we all know by now, John McCain applied for — and was accepted into — the public financing system for the primary.  With that acceptance came certain requirements, one of those being that he can't spend more than $56,757,500 million during the primary.

YOU BITTER?  —  I've gotten asked by a lot of readers what I make of this whole “bitter” controversy.  So a few thoughts.  —  In cases such as this I think it is always crucial to distinguish in our own minds between what we find offensive and what we've been conditioned to believe that others will find offensive.

McCain says he believes U.S. is in a recession  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Monday that he believes the country is in a recession, adding that “these are very, very tough times in America.”  —  “Americans are hurting today,” McCain said at an Associated Press forum in Washington …

Megyn Kelly, Fox News's Fast-Rising Anchor  —  NEW YORK — It's just after 10:30 Monday morning on “America's Newsroom,” and Megyn Kelly has bounced from riots in Paris to storms in the Midwest, from a truck-and-train collision to a strange interview about the 1969 Manson family murders with the sister of slain actress Sharon Tate.

Complaint filed at the Canadian Human Rights Commission against a Montreal imam  —  Today, I filed a complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) for “hate propaganda” against Montreal salafi imam Hammaad Abu Sulaiman Al-Dameus Hayiti who officiates at the Association Musulmane de Montréal Est mosque.

CNN LIVE EVENT/SPECIAL  —  Democratic Candidates Compassion Forum  —  THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.  THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.  —  BROWN: Good evening, everybody, to our viewers in the United States and around the world.  Welcome to Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania.

Clinton Met With Cries of ‘No!’ in Latest Bitter Speech … By Perry Bacon, Jr.  —  PITTSBURGH — Criticizing Barack Obama for the fourth straight day over comments he made about Americans who live in small towns, Hillary Clinton finally encountered some resistance in person.

Berlusconi Wins Italian Election, Set for Third Term as Premier  —  Billionaire media mogul Silvio Berlusconi won a majority in both houses of the Italian parliament and will return to power for a third term as premier.  —  Berlusconi's People of Liberty party and its allies took 166 seats in the Senate …

Democratic FEC nominee withdraws  —  A senior Democrat has resigned from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and withdrawn his nomination to extend his term in frustration over a prolonged stalemate that has paralyzed the agency in a critical presidential election year.