DNC chairman under Bill Clinton: Unite behind Obama  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A leader of the Democratic Party under Bill Clinton has switched his allegiance to Barack Obama and is encouraging fellow Democrats to “heal the rift in our party” and unite behind the Illinois senator.

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.

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.

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 …

Qaeda Chief in Somalia Killed by U.S. Airstike  —  NAIROBI, Kenya — Aden Hashi Ayro, one of Al Qaeda's top operatives in East Africa and the leader of the Islamist comeback in Somalia, was killed Thursday morning by an American airstrike, according to American and Somali officials.

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.

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.

WRIGHT'S WRONG  —  Barack Obama gave his “More Perfect Union” speech in Philadelphia on March 18 to tamp down the furor caused by the release of videos excerpts of his pastor's sermons.  Obama himself had proclaimed the importance of his pastor to his life over the past twenty years in books and interviews.

Hillary To Pick Up A Super-delegate  —  John Olsen, president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO and a super-delegate, is expected to announce Thursday his support for Hillary Rodham Clinton.  —  His announcement follows a commitment to Clinton by Bill George, the president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, who also is a super-delegate.

Quit Acting Like Babies  —  I try to restrict my hectoring, but I've been sitting on some bad feelings for awhile and I think it's time I put words to what I've noticed about the explicitly liberal internet space.  —  This recommended diary on Jim Webb is typical at this point of the liberal internet space.