McCain-Jindal?  —  Barack Obama said Friday, “We've had a rough couple of weeks.”  Actually, he's had a rough couple of months.  He's lost three big primaries to Hillary Clinton.  And, should he hold on to win the nomination, he can no longer be considered a clear favorite over John McCain in the general election.

In Iraq, a storm before the calm  —  April saw 49 U.S. casualties in Iraq, the highest total in seven months.  Does this mean, as some insist, that the enormous progress we have made since the start of the military surge is being lost?  —  As one who has spent nearly two years …

Outback Strikes Back  —  Ezra Klein's right to bemoan the sneering condescension in this NYT piece on suburban chain restaurants.  For me, this is made all the worse by the knowledge that the attitude of contempt is almost certainly fake.  I was actually born and raised in Manhattan …

Ruthlessness and Grit Seen in Clinton's Style  —  Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton at a campaign rally on Sunday at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne.  That state and North Carolina will hold primaries on Tuesday.  More Photos >  —  JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is waving …

Obama Says Teamsters Need Less Oversight  —  Campaign Talks On Issue Preceded Union's Backing  —  Sen. Barack Obama won the endorsement of the Teamsters earlier this year after privately telling the union he supported ending the strict federal oversight imposed to root out corruption …

US-backed plan sees shiny future for Green Zone in Iraq  —  BAGHDAD - Forget the rocket attacks, concrete blast walls and lack of a sewer system.  Now try to imagine luxury hotels, a shopping center and even condos in the heart of Baghdad.  —  That's all part of a five-year development …

Clinton's “Nuclear Option?”  —  HuffPost political editor Tom Edsall writes that the Clinton campaign is preparing to “ram through” the party's rules and bylaws committee a proposal to seat the disputed Florida and Michigan delegations and thus close the delegate gap by about 55.

Few Details on Immigrants Who Died in Custody  —  Word spread quickly inside the windowless walls of the Elizabeth Detention Center, an immigration jail in New Jersey: A detainee had fallen, injured his head and become incoherent.  Guards had put him in solitary confinement, and late that night …

Andrew Sullivan Suggests A “Hate-Filled Dream Ticket”  —  Sully's scared she'll damage him too much.  —  I have a similar concerns, but is choosing her for Veep really the way to go?  —  From TimesOnline: … I think Sullivan's points about JFK picking LBJ and Reagan picking the elder Bush …

I Don't Want to Talk About the Clintons Anymore  —  Even bloggers get tired.  I'm tired of writing about the sins of the Clinton campaign.  Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow all filled with new energy, but much like the way I feel about the Bush administration, I feel like my point has been made.

The Party System and the 2008 Campaign  —  The following is the text of the address I delivered on Thursday, May 1st at Princeton University, at a conference entitled “The American Electoral Process,” sponsored by the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics.