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 …

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 …

Gallup Daily: Obama Holds Slight 47% to 45% Advantage  —  First time in days that Obama's Democratic bid has gained supporters  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The peeling away of national Democratic support for Barack Obama seen this past week may have run its course.

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”

Obama, Clinton And Capitalism: It's Okay For Them, But Nobody Else  —  Remember Chico Escuela?  —  He was a character created by Actor Garrett Morris on the “Saturday Night Live” TV show, back in the 1970's.  Morris became famous for uttering these simple words in broken-English …

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:

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 …

Rove Watch Clock: It's Been 75 Days Since Fox Has Failed To Identify Rove As A McCain Adviser  —  Today on Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace brought on Karl Rove to analyze the 2008 election.  Peddling Rove as an source of independent analysis, Wallace introduced him as …

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” …

Republicans outlawed the Ku Klux Klan  —  For decades after the Civil War, the Ku Klux Klan was the terrorist wing of the Democratic Party.  Klansmen murdered hundreds of Republican activists and office-holders, including U.S. Representative James Hinds (R-Arkansas).

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.

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.

Pope concludes US trip with Mass at Yankee Stadium in Bronx  —  NEW YORK - Pope Benedict XVI arrived in storied Yankee Stadium on Sunday for his final Mass in America, cheered by a joyous crowd after making a solemn stop at the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.