Obama's Gloves Are Off — And May Need to Stay Off  —  Unable once again to score a knockout, Sen. Barack Obama is likely to make his new negative tone even more negative — with a sharp eye on trying to end the Democratic presidential nomination fight after the May 6 primaries in Indiana and North Carolina.

The Top Ten List of Undisputed Facts Showing Barack Obama's Weakness in the General Election Against John McCain  —  Let's forget about the spin on all sides and not use any adjectives to modify the following 10 Facts that should not be in dispute:  —  1. Hillary Clinton won by 10% …

More People Have Voted For Hillary Than Any Other Candidate  —  After last night's decisive victory in Pennsylvania, more people have voted for Hillary than any other candidate, including Sen. Obama.  —  Estimates vary slightly, but according to Real Clear Politics, Hillary has received 15,095,663 votes …

RNC CALLS WRIGHT AD ‘NOT APPROPRIATE’  —  From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann  —  Update to NC Gop anti-Obama ad that references the Rev. Jeremiah Wright...  Per the RNC, the national leadership of the Republican Party has been in contact this morning with the North Carolina GOP, urging them to refrain from running the “Extreme” ad.

Petraeus Gets Promotion; Odierno Gets Iraq (Updated)  —  Breaking: “Army Gen. David Petraeus, the four-star general whose led troops in Iraq for the past year, will be nominated by President Bush to be the next commander of U.S. Central Command, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday.

Times columnist pied in face by activist  —  Male accomplice threw political pamphlets  —  A female audience member ran on stage last night and threw a green pie at New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, who had just begun a lecture on environmentalism in Salomon 101.

McCain opposes equal pay bill in Senate  —  NEW ORLEANS - Republican Sen. John McCain, campaigning through poverty-stricken cities and towns, said Wednesday he opposes a Senate bill that seeks equal pay for women because it would lead to more lawsuits.  —  The Senate had scheduled …

Hagee Says Hurricane Katrina Struck New Orleans Because It Was ‘Planning A Sinful’ ‘Homosexual Rally’  —  On September 18, 2006, Pastor John Hagee — whose endorsement Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said this past Sunday he was “glad to have” — told NPR's Terry Gross that “Hurricane Katrina was …

Supreme Court broadens police searches  —  CNN Supreme Court Producer  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Supreme Court offered unanimous support for police Wednesday by allowing drug evidence gathered after an arrest that violated state law to be used at trial, an important search-and-seizure case turning …

Terrorist Fundraisers for Obama  —  Two years ago, Hatem El-Hady was the chairman of the Toledo, Ohio-based Islamic charity, Kindhearts, which was closed by the US government in February 2006 for terrorist fundraising and all its assets frozen.  Today, El-Hady has redirected his fundraising efforts …

Check The Math  —  The hyper-literate Matt Yglesias swings into action: … Whoa, wake me up - did I sleep through a tax repeal or something?  No wonder libs are so irked with Bush's tax cuts for the rich.  —  Check your next paystub, Matt, and see if there is a difference between “gross” and “net”.

‘Basic Instinct’ Director Paul Verhoeven: Jesus Was Son of Mary and a Roman Rapist  —  In his upcoming biography of Jesus, “Basic Instinct” director Paul Verhoeven will make the shocking claim that Christ probably was the son of Mary and a Roman soldier who raped her during the Jewish uprising in Galilee …

THE FRIENDS OF BARACK OBAMA, PART 2  —  Last night, in The Friends of Barack Obama, Part 1 I reviewed Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, who helped to kick off Obama's first political campaign and with whom Obama's campaign says he has a “friendly” relationship.

McCain Vows War on Poverty, Says Nation in Recession  —  Republican John McCain, saying the nation is in a recession and “families are hurting,” retraced Lyndon Johnson's steps in eastern Kentucky and pledged to mount a war on poverty different from that waged by the former Democratic president.