Gallup Daily: Obama and Clinton Tied at 48% to 47%  —  Clinton's increased support has mainly come from undecided voters  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The Democratic nomination race is now tied, with Barack Obama favored by 48% of national Democratic voters and Hillary Clinton by 47%.

Fair Is Fair  —  What's wrong with this picture?  Our campaign runs a TV ad Monday saying that the presidency is the toughest job in the world and giving examples of challenges presidents have faced and challenges the next president will face — including terrorism, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan …

Obama-DNC Fundraising Deal  —  After a series of discussions, the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee have decided to file papers with the Federal Election Commission establishing a “joint fundraising agreement.”  Under the law, such a committee can accept up to $28,500 from individuals …

McCain: “Clear Who Hamas Wants to be the Next President”  —  McCain spoke with bloggers this morning on a number of issues ranging from William Ayers to Rev. Wright to Tony Rezko.  Jennifer Rubin noted that Hamas had endorsed Senator Obama and asked McCain whether Obama might have given “an unhelpful signal” to the terrorist group.

BIG HRC FUNDRAISER DEFECTS TO OBAMA  —  From NBC's Chuck Todd  —  One of the things that both Dem campaigns are always nervous about is defectors.  In particular, Clinton is more vulnerable to this problem since she's the candidate that is trailing.  Well, NBC News has learned …

‘Hardball with Chris Matthews’ for Thursday, April 24  —  Guests: Chuck Todd, Howard Fineman, David Shuster, Tucker Carlson, Bob Herbert, Clarence Page, Tom Ridge, Michelle Bernard, Margaret Carlson  —  CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Do the Republicans fear Obama?  Let's play HARDBALL.  —  Good evening.

Olbermann Comments on Hillary Causing Stir  —  Keith Olbermann's latest: A discussion with Howard Fineman about the need for a superdelegate to “take [Clinton] into a room and only he comes out."/p>  —  Bloggers say he called for Hillary's murder.  Here's a different take by RiverDaughter at Confluence:

Government Curries Favor With Military News Analysts  —  The Pentagon may influence the analysis of some retired military personnel who appear on television news programs, the New York Times recently reported.  Media insiders discuss the details of this murky world of defense companies, the current administration and the war in Iraq.

DNC To Assess Challenges On 5/31  —  The DNC will convene its rules and bylaws committee on the last day of May to consider two challenges, that, if successful, could change the delegate math just as the primary season is about to close.  But the date of the meeting may be too late for Hillary Clinton …

ElBaradei slams Israel for attacking Syrian nuclear reactor  —  The head of the UN nuclear monitoring agency on Friday criticized the US for not giving his organization intelligence information sooner on what Washington says was a nuclear reactor in Syria being built secretly by North Korea.

Peggy Noonan Wonders If Obama Loves America, Has Ever Cried Thinking About Henry Ford  —  (Pictured: Peggy Noonan's hero receiving a Nazi medal in Nazi Germany from the Nazis.)  —  This is amazing, even for Nooner: … Let's leave aside the “snooty lefty” and “Men's Vogue” stuff.

McCain: NC GOP “out of touch with reality”  —  As he said today on TODAY: “They're not listening to me because they're out of touch with reality and the Republican Party.  We are the party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan and this kind of campaigning is unacceptable.”

DON'T NEED A WEATHERMAN TO KNOW ...  As you know the Weather Underground, the somewhat hapless but definitely violent 60s and 70s radical group, has bubbled up into the 2008 presidential campaign.  It's come up against Obama for his association with Bill Ayers and then Obama brought …

The Sad End of Jimmy Carter  —  The problem is not that he is, or is not, talking to the Syrians - everyone does it to some degree.  —  It isn't that he went to Damascus to meet with the exiled head of Hamas - everyone, including the Israelis, will one day have to do that too …