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

1:20 PM ET, May 1, 2008

Top Items:

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, Liberal Values, Taylor Marsh, The Reaction, Daily Kos, Trailhead, The Caucus, Salon, Comments from Left Field, MyDD, Don Surber, Donklephant, Open Left, Hotline On Call and The Jed Report

WRAL-TV:

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: The Moderate Voice, The Daily Dish, Open Left, Public Policy Polling, Spin Cycle, Donklephant, TalkLeft, TPM Election Central and PoliticalBase.com Blog

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

A pre-emptive strike from Andrew — In his letter to fellow superdelegates, Joe Andrew — whose switch today is a very useful moment for Obama — pre-emptively guesses how the Clinton campaign will cast him, and accuses them of hypocrisy. … No doubt, perhaps; it doesn't seem to have happened yet.

Discussion: TownHall Blog

Mark Murray / MSNBC:

FIRST THOUGHTS: MCCAIN'S BUSH PROBLEM — From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro — *** McCain's Bush problem: Yes, Jeremiah Wright could be a huge liability for Obama if he becomes the nominee. Sure, questions about Clinton's honesty and trustworthiness could also hurt …

Discussion: The Swamp and Wonkette

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, The Page, Donklephant and AMERICAblog

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: AMERICAblog, TalkLeft, The Washington Independent, Donklephant, MSNBC and Spin Cycle

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Rasmussen: Ten-point swing towards Hillary since Wright's presser three days ago — Dude. … He's lost five points to McCain over the past week, too, and seven points over the past month in New Hampshire. Pray tell, what do voters in this important swing state think of Obama's relationship to Wright?

Discussion: TownHall Blog, Rasmussen Reports, Weekly Standard Blog, TalkLeft, Fox News and The Other McCain

Southern Political Report:
InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Survey: North Carolina Democratic …

Jennifer Rubin / Commentary:
Obama's Bad Numbers

Discussion: The Campaign Spot, MyDD, Daily Kos and The Corner

Marc Ambinder:

Andrew Explains Decision To Switch — “I'm calling on my all of my friends who are superdelegates to help heal the rift and unite behind Barack Obama, now,” says former Clinton supporter and former DNC chair Joe Andrew. — After saying that he's “going to be an advocate for an Obama-Bayh ticket …

Discussion: The Opinionator, The Page and Flopping Aces

The Big Trunk / Power Line:
Wright's wrong — Barack Obama gave his “More Perfect Union” …

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

CNN:
Michelle Obama: Let's get back to issues

Discussion: TownHall Blog

New York Times:
A Strained Wright-Obama Bond Finally Snaps

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

Patrick Healy / New York Times:
While Clinton Focuses, Obama Is Distracted

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

Associated Press: Obama says public tired of hearing about his former pastor

Ann Althouse / Althouse:
The “long and painful falling out” …

Discussion: PrestoPundit and The Swamp

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, Daily Kos, Democratic National Committee, Scott Rosenberg's Wordyard, Blue Girl, Red State and Political Machine

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

Discussion: Think Progress, Booman Tribune and Sadly, No!

Rasmussen Reports:

Indiana Democratic Primary — Indiana: Clinton 46% Obama 41% — Senator Hillary Clinton leads Senator Barack Obama by five percentage points in the Indiana Democratic Presidential Primary. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the state finds Clinton attracting 46% of the vote while Obama earns 41%.

Discussion: Agence France Presse and MyDD

Christine Sloan / WCBS-TV:

New Jersey Lawmakers Consider Tax On Fast Food — ‘Sin’ Tax Could Help Fund Struggling Hospitals — WINDSOR, N.J. (CBS) ― The sputtering economy has caused an increase in prices of many staples including gasoline, rice, ice cream, even beer. Now some lawmakers in New Jersey …

Discussion: QandO and Don Surber

Michael Goldfarb / Weekly Standard:

Republicans Go Green? — The party follows Arnold's lead. — California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, once the proud owner of a fleet of gas-guzzling Humvees, got religion on global warming pretty quickly after taking office. And in one of the great political reversals of the decade …

Discussion: The New Republic

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

Wall Street Journal:

The Census Follies — This is supposed to be the digital age, but over at the Census Bureau they're still partying like it's 1799. — The Constitution requires that the national population be counted every 10 years. This time around, the Census Bureau wanted to do things differently …

Discussion: The Corner, Flopping Aces and Betsy's Page