Hey, John McCain: Have you bothered watching the ad you condemned yet?  ; NYTimes piles on  —  Did you know that John McCain lambasted the North Carolina GOP's anti-Obama/Jeremiah Wright ad without having seen it?  —  Yes, this noxious little tidbit was tucked into an AP story three days ago …

Bill Moyers Journal  —  BILL MOYERS: Welcome to the JOURNAL.  —  Barack Obama's pastor was in the news again this week.  North Carolina Republicans are preparing to run an ad tying Obama to some controversial sound bites lifted from Reverend Jeremiah Wright's sermons.

Settling Scores  —  If Hillary Clinton finds a way to win, she'll have a long list of grudges and grievances.  —  I'm beginning to think Hillary Clinton might pull this off and wrestle the nomination away from Barack Obama.  If she does, a lot of folks—including a huge chunk of the media …

Will McCain denounce Floyd Brown?  —  There is nothing remarkable in the sudden reappearance of right-wing con man Floyd Brown, whose latest venture is an inflammatory television ad now airing in North Carolina that attempts to blame Barack Obama for gang murders in Chicago (and international terrorism, too).

Fort Bragg Barracks: Shades of Walter Reed?  —  A Fort Bragg soldier's father uploaded a YouTube video of photos he took of his son's barracks earlier this month.  The video shows the deplorable living conditions to which his son and the other soldiers of his unit in the 82nd Airborne Division returned …

Anti-war Cindy Sheehan files to take on Pelosi  —  Peace activist Cindy Sheehan wants to snatch House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's congressional seat from her in November, but first she's going to need the help - and signatures - of 10,198 friends and supporters.  —  Sheehan was at San Francisco City Hall …

McCain backer's new view on God's wrath  —  Pastor John Hagee has revised his view of God's wrath, and chances are John McCain couldn't be happier.  —  Without fanfare, in an e-mail sent the latter part of Friday, Hagee backed off his assertion that Hurricane Katrina was the Almighty's punishment …

Who'll Cover the Checks?  —  THE DEMOCRATIC presidential candidates have some big plans — with big price tags attached.  By our calculations, using figures supplied by the campaigns, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) has proposed new spending and tax breaks that would amount to almost $265 billion …

Iran War Drums Beating?  —  As previously noted, Admiral Mike Mullen told a gathering at the Atlantic Council that he fears the United States and its allies “will have to deal with Iran in the very near future.”  That statement left a lot of room for strategic ambiguity.

Pentagon Suspends Briefings for Analysts  —  The Pentagon announced on Friday that it was suspending its briefings for retired military officers who often appear as military analysts on television and radio programs.  —  A spokesman for the Pentagon said the briefings and all other interactions …

Clinton Sidesteps Questions About Staying in the Race  —  GARY, Ind. — Hillary Clinton, who vowed earlier this month to stay in the race until Democratic officials figured out a way to seat the delegations of Michigan and Florida at the party's national convention in August …