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.

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 …

Behind Military Analysts, the Pentagon's Hidden Hand  —  In the summer of 2005, the Bush administration confronted a fresh wave of criticism over Guantánamo Bay.  The detention center had just been branded “the gulag of our times” by Amnesty International, there were new allegations …

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.

HBO, after the revolution  —  CURRENT HISTORY: Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney in HBO's “ John Adams.”  The classy miniseries, which has done well, in the ratings, ends its run Sunday.  —  It used to always be the premium of the premiums.  Now the cable pack's catching up.

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.

British guns pound Basra  —  IRAQI forces backed by British troops and artillery seized the main stronghold of the radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in the southern port city of Basra yesterday.  —  The operation, which also involved RAF and American aircraft, forced the cleric's Mahdi army militants …

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 …

Obama pushes across Pa.  —  He ended the day urging thousands in Phila. to send a message Tuesday.  —  Sen. Barack Obama launched his closing Pennsylvania blitz yesterday by traveling from one corner of the state to the other, starting in Erie and closing with a massive outdoor rally on the streets of Philadelphia.