NEW PA. POLL HAS CLINTON HOLDING LEAD  —  From NBC's Chuck Todd  —  A new MSNBC/McClatchy/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette poll of Pennsylvania indicates things are staying fairly competitive in the Pennsylvania Dem primary.  —  The poll of 625 likely Dem primary voters was conducted Thursday …

The Wage That Meant Middle Class  —  Whatever Senator Barack Obama meant by his less than artful remarks about small-town Pennsylvanians “bitter” over lost jobs, he certainly turned a lot of attention last week to the decline of the American worker, bitter or not.

McCain: A Question of Temperament  —  John McCain cupped a fist and began pumping it, up and down, along the side of his body.  It was a gesture familiar to a participant in the closed-door meeting of the Senate committee who hoped that it merely signaled, as it sometimes had in the past …

Fear and Loathing at the Los Angeles Times  —  With the Iraqi Army defeating Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army in Basra, the L.A. Times has moved on to tell its readers how terrible things might get in Najaf.  Buried in the middle of the piece, however, is a bit about the battle for Basra:

RIDING THE RAILS WITH SEN. OBAMA IN PENNSYLVANIA.  —  DOWNINGTON, Pa.— At the next train stop, I'm going to stand behind Senator Obama when he speaks.  When he's decrying the trivial distractions in politics, I think he may be crossing his fingers behind his back.

Notice Anything?  John McCain doesn't wear an American flag pin on THIS WEEK  —  Let's call Nash McCabe.  I don't see a single lapel pin between them, do you?  —  Spotlight  —  No Trackbacks To “Notice Anything?  John McCain doesn't wear an American flag pin on THIS WEEK”

Brush It Off  —  It had to be the first time in history that a presidential candidate had a hip-hop moment.  —  Barack Obama, who says he listens to Jay-Z along with his “old school guy” favorites like Earth, Wind & Fire and the Temptations, alluded to the rapper's 2003 hit “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” …

The Wealth Trajectory: Rewards for the Few  —  IF there is one thing about the United States economy in recent years that is beyond dispute, it is this: It's a great time to be rich.  —  Yes, I know, being rich has never exactly been a downer.  But today it is all the more sweet.

EXPERT WITNESS  —  A BLOGGER ON THE FRONTLINES BRINGS REAL STORY OF IRAQ  —  How a New ‘Greatest Generation’ of American Soldiers is Turning Defeat and Disaster into Victory and Hope  —  Those already familiar with Michael Yon's work might have one question regarding his book …

Major revelation: U.S. media deceitfully disseminates government propaganda  —  (updated below)  —  This morning's “blockbuster” New York Times article by David Barstow, documenting the Pentagon and U.S. media's joint use of pre-programmed “military analysts” who posed as objective experts …

Electability  —  One place I decided to try to avoid going was to the land of the “electability” argument.  I find these discussions, though admittedly I occasionally get sucked in, to be quite tiresome.  First I reject the idea that one should pick a candidate based on some imagined preferences of other voters.

Pope blesses ground zero in NYC, prays for peace  —  NEW YORK - Pope Benedict XVI began the final day of his American journey by blessing the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and pleading with God to bring “peace to our violent world.”

Bob Casey: Obama Would Probably Find DC Handgun Bill Constitutional  —  Update: The AP has a new article on Obama's many efforts at gun control.  —  At Wednesday's debate, Barack Obama wouldn't say what his position is on the DC law banning handguns.  He dodged, saying he wasn't familiar with the facts of the case.