NBC/WSJ Poll: Bush a liability for McCain  —  A new poll says Bush — not Wright or Bill Clinton — is voters' main concern  —  WASHINGTON - Sen. Barack Obama's ties to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright could hurt his presidential hopes.  So could his comment about “bitter” small-town America clinging to guns and religion.

When Democrats Go Post-al  —  The vicious Clinton-versus-Obama rupture at Daily Kos, the most activist site in the liberal blogosphere, reflects a party-wide split.  What really rankles, as Democrats tear at one another, is the free pass they've given McCain—and the White House.

Clinton Gas-Tax Proposal Criticized  —  A growing chorus — including a top congressional Democrat — labeled Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's proposal for suspending the federal gasoline tax ineffective and shortsighted yesterday, even as she continued to paint Sen. Barack Obama as insensitive to drivers' woes for not endorsing the plan.

A Strained Wright-Obama Bond Finally Snaps  —  Late Monday night, in the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, N.C., Barack Obama's long, slow fuse burned to an end.  Earlier that day he had thumbed through his BlackBerry, reading accounts of the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.'s latest explosive comments on race and America.

Kerry Rips MSNBC On Wright: ‘You People Need To Let Go Of This’  —  Today, John Kerry officially became the 87,436th person to receive one of the three or four versions of the same Reverend Wright question MSNBC has been asking everyone it comes in contact with, including their plants and pets.

For immediate release  —  The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower its target for the federal funds rate 25 basis points to 2 percent.  —  Recent information indicates that economic activity remains weak.  Household and business spending has been subdued and labor markets have softened further.

Where Were Obama's Friends?  —  It's tough being Everyman.  —  Way back when, before the angry and antic prophet Jeremiah rose to smite him, Barack Obama appeared before us as an open presidential vessel, into which many poured their political dreams.  —  Foremost were black Americans.

Hillary's Dream Date: A Republican?  —  ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: Conspiracy theorists delight: Asked who she'd go out with on a date — with any celebrity, living or dead — and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton chose . . . a Republican.  —  Her fantasy date would be with President Abraham Lincoln …

Hell No, No Premonition Coulda Seen This!  —  Seven months of declined U.S. casualties in Iraq are over — as even Bob Gates is acknowledging — with 48 fallen soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors taken from us in April.  McClatchy reports that two soldiers were killed in Anbar last month …

Loss and Furor Take Toll on Obama, Poll Finds  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Barack Obama's aura of inevitability in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination has diminished after his loss in the Pennsylvania primary and amid the furor over his former pastor, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.

Iraq Team to Discuss Militias With Iran  —  BAGHDAD — The Iraqi prime minister is sending several senior Shiite leaders to Tehran to discuss their concerns that Iran is arming and financing militias in Iraq, senior Iraqi and American officials said Wednesday.

Raw Story reporter lifts White House veil...  I thought it was shameful that 10 days after David Barstow's NY Times article about how the establishment media colluded with the Pentagon to sell the war in Iraq and the “war on terror” to the American people by hiring the Pentagon's …

She Hasn't Pumped Her Own Gas In Years  —  SOUTH BEND, IN — Barack Obama wouldn't debate Hillary Clinton in a flat bed truck.  But there she was today, sitting shotgun in one, driving home the argument that her rival doesn't share her concern about the average Joe Six-pack when it comes to fuel prices.