memeorandum: Support for Republicans Falls, But Race for President Is Tight (Jackie Calmes/Wall Street Journal)

11:05 AM ET, May 1, 2008

Top Items:

Poll: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama in tight race for N.C. votes — RALEIGH, N.C. — It is an exciting time for North Carolina voters. For the first time in decades, they have a say in the Democratic primary for president. — A WRAL news poll released Wednesday shows Barack Obama's double-digit lead …

Discussion: Spin Cycle, TalkLeft, TPM Election Central and PoliticalBase.com Blog

Southern Political Report:

InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Survey: North Carolina Democratic Primary: Hillary Clinton Takes Lead Over Obama — A survey of 571 registered likely voters in North Carolina's May 6 Democratic primary shows Sen. Hillary Clinton having moved from a double digit deficit in an InsiderAdvantage poll taken …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Corner, Marc Ambinder, Sister Toldjah, Taegan Goddard's …, American Spectator, The Huffington Post, The Page, MyDD, The Campaign Spot, Wizbang, American Street, Commentary, The Strata-Sphere, Donklephant, Public Policy Polling and TPM Election Central

New York Times:

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.

Discussion: TownHall Blog, CNN, Althouse, The Swamp, protein wisdom, The Moderate Voice and The Page

Patrick Healy / New York Times:

While Clinton Focuses, Obama Is Distracted — LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Pumped up and focused, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is putting in 16-hour days in Indiana this week as if she — and not her embattled rival, Senator Barack Obama — needs a campaign-changing moment in Tuesday's primary here.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, MSNBC and Connecting.the.Dots

Jason Linkins / The Huffington Post:
Kerry Rips MSNBC On Wright: ‘You People Need To Let Go Of This’

Discussion: Comments from Left Field, NO QUARTER and Oliver Willis

New York Times:
Loss and Furor Take Toll on Obama, Poll Finds

Discussion: MSNBC, The Caucus, Washington Post and Marc Ambinder

Jennifer Rubin / Commentary:
Obama's Bad Numbers

Discussion: The Campaign Spot, MyDD and The Corner

Mark Murray / MSNBC:
NBC/WSJ Poll: Bush a liability for McCain

Discussion: The Opinionator, The Carpetbagger Report, No More Mister Nice Blog, DownWithTyranny!, News Hounds, Outside The Beltway, Comments from Left Field, Media Matters for America, Daily Kos, Salon, MyDD, Buck Naked Politics, RADAMISTO, Greatscat! and TalkLeft

Jackie Calmes / Wall Street Journal:
Support for Republicans Falls, But Race for President Is Tight

Discussion: Political Machine

CBS News:
CBS Poll: Obama Leads, But...

Discussion: TPM Election Central

Dalia Sussman / The Caucus:
Poll: Obama-Clinton Divide

Discussion: protein wisdom, Buck Naked Politics, Hot Air, Stop The ACLU and Weekly Standard Blog

Nedra Pickler / Associated Press:

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.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Political Punch, The Reaction, MyDD, Donklephant, Open Left, Hotline On Call and The Jed Report

Mark Pazniokas / Capitol Watch:

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.

Discussion: TalkLeft, Donklephant, Spin Cycle and MSNBC

Lynn Sweet:

Obama picks up 3 more Illinois superdelegates: Daley, Currie and Stroger. — WASHINGTON—When the Democratic Party of Illinois meet next week to finish filling out the delegate slate, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) will pick up three more superdelegates, according to Steve Brown …

Discussion: Marc Ambinder, Donklephant, The Page and AMERICAblog

Mark Murray / MSNBC:
FIRST THOUGHTS: MCCAIN'S BUSH PROBLEM

Discussion: The Swamp

Roger Simon / The Politico:
Clinton playing by her own set of rules

Discussion: Cliff Schecter … and Prairie Weather

Chris Good / The Hill:

Veterans to Unfurl Replica ‘Mission Accomplished’ Banner at White House — Along with Iraq war veterans and concerned citizens, Iraq Campaign 2008 says it will unfurl a 50-foot replica “Mission Accomplished” banner at the White House tomorrow, marking the five-year anniversary of President Bush's now-infamous speech.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Democratic National Committee and Political Machine

Greg Mitchell / Editor and Publisher:
‘Mission Accomplished’: How the Media Covered the Bush Pronouncement …

Discussion: Think Progress and Booman Tribune

Qassim Abdul-Zahra / Associated Press:

Official: Iraqi delegation goes to Iran to discuss militias — BAGHDAD - An Iraqi delegation traveled to Iran with evidence that proves the Islamic republic is arming and training of Shiite militias in Iraq, an official said Thursday. — Five Shiite politicians left Wednesday carrying documents …

Discussion: Jihad Watch and Hot Air

New York Times:
Iraq Team to Discuss Militias With Iran

Discussion: Washington Post, Booman Tribune, The Belmont Club, Jules Crittenden, abu muqawama and Los Angeles Times

Wall Street Journal:

Surge in U.S. Hispanic Population Driven by Births, Not Immigration — Dynamic Differs — From '90s Growth, — Census Data Show — Hispanics now account for more than 15% of the U.S. population, and their surge is largely the result of births among people already in the country, according to new Census Bureau data.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Commentary and Democratic Strategist

Washington Post:

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.

Discussion: New York Times, MSNBC, The Page, PSoTD and Comments from Left Field

Daniel Henninger / Wall Street Journal:

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.

Discussion: Althouse and Blue Crab Boulevard

Mimi Hall / USA Today:

U.S. has Mandela on terrorist list — WASHINGTON — Nobel Peace Prize winner and international symbol of freedom Nelson Mandela is flagged on U.S. terrorist watch lists and needs special permission to visit the USA. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calls the situation “embarrassing,” and some members of Congress vow to fix it.

Discussion: The Swamp

Spencer / Attackerman:

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 …

Discussion: VetVoice, The Glittering Eye and McClatchy Washington Bureau

The Big Trunk / Power Line:

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.

Discussion: TownHall Blog