A new Newsweek poll shows Obama pulling away.  —  Despite her campaign's relentless attacks on Barack Obama's qualifications and electability, Hillary Clinton has lost a lot of ground with Democratic voters nationwide going into Tuesday's critical primary in Pennsylvania, a new NEWSWEEK poll shows.

Clinton Slams Democratic Activists At Private Fundraiser  —  At a small closed-door fundraiser after Super Tuesday, Sen. Hillary Clinton blamed what she called the “activist base” of the Democratic Party — and MoveOn.org in particular — for many of her electoral defeats, saying activists had …

Journalists Slam ABC Debate Tactics  —  In an open letter to ABC, journalists and media commentator condemn the network's poor handling of the April 16 Democratic presidential debate.  —  We the undersigned deplore the conduct of ABC's George Stephanopoulos and Charles Gibson at the Democratic Presidential debate on April 16.

Obama for President  —  The formal act of endorsing a candidate is generally (and properly)limited to editorial pages and elected officials whose constituents might be influenced by their choice.  The rest of us shouldn't assume anyone cares.  My avoidance of offering a formal endorsement until …

McCain camp calls Obama ‘recklessly dishonest’  —  (CNN) — John McCain's campaign is crying foul over what it characterizes as repeated distortions from Barack Obama, saying on Friday the Illinois senator is “recklessly dishonest.”  —  The most recent dustup comes after Obama criticized …

Pentagon institute calls Iraq war ‘a major debacle’ with outcome ‘in doubt’  —  WASHINGTON — The war in Iraq has become “a major debacle” and the outcome “is in doubt” despite improvements in security from the buildup in U.S. forces, according to a highly critical study published Thursday …

Why Democrats Rule the Web  —  You know the drill.  As election day approaches, glossy pamphlets clog your mailbox.  Annoying prerecorded calls jam your answering machine.  Nasty attack ads disturb your prime-time TV viewing.  You are bombarded at every turn, and you take it all in …

Joe Lieberman, Round III  —  For those non-Plank obsessives: I wrote an item in defense of Joe Lieberman yesterday.  Jon Chait wrote in an item in response.  He has some  —  fair points and others that I take issue with.  To respond to his specifics:  —  1. I apologize to Research2000 for calling them “obscure.”

David Brooks' fictitious defense of his industry's behavior  —  (updated below - Update II - Update III)  —  As I've noted more times than I can count, the premiere manipulative, deceitful tactic of the Beltway pundit is the pretense that they are the Spokespeople for the Regular Americans …

Campaign Hook-Ups  —  The seemingly endless presidential campaign has led to an unusually high number of staff romances.  —  The most heated presidential primary in recent history has drawn a record number of new voters, galvanized young Americans and forced the nation to confront deep-rooted race and gender issues.

While McCain Watches  —  On Tuesday Hillary Clinton made the best speech of her campaign.  She told the American Society of Newspaper Editors how she conceives “the power and promise of the presidency.”  She asserted that President Bush had been “unready” for the office, did not understand its …

GIBSONIAN DEMOCRATS.  —  Howard Gleckman points out that while Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton aren't as egregiously out-of-touch as Charlie Gibson, they're pandering to the Gibsonian line on taxes, refusing to consider increases for families making less than $200,000 a year, and hamstringing themselves on needed revenue.