Congressman Payne, NJ superdelegate, switches from Clinton to Obama  —  Rep. Donald Payne (D-10th Dist.), a New Jersey superdelegate who had been supporting Hillary Clinton for president, has switched his allegiance to Barack Obama.  —  “After careful consideration, I have reached the conclusion …

Not Quite Yet  —  Elite opinion on the Democratic race has congealed around the idea that it is over.  Clinton has no chance whatsoever to win the nomination now.  There is a minority of analysts out there - maybe 5%, maybe even less - who see her path to the nomination as much narrower …

Obama: McCain is ‘losing his bearings’  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Barack Obama chastised John McCain Thursday for engaging in “smear” politics, and defended himself from critics who question whether he is capable of being commander-in-chief, during a wide-ranging interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer …

Al Qaeda in Iraq leader not captured - U.S.  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the head of al Qaeda in Iraq, has not been captured, a senior U.S. military official told CNN on Friday.  —  Iraqi authorities said Thursday that al-Masri had been captured in Mosul.

The Obama Democrats' Ostrich Moment  —  The full-court press to force Hillary from the presidential race ain't working.  She will win the West Virginia, Kentucky, and Puerto Rico primaries.  —  But the screwed-up, patchwork system the Democrats are using to choose delegates has given small states …

Many Economists Back McCain, but More Are Silent  —  Almost half of the economists in the latest Wall Street Journal forecasting survey decided against answering a question on which presidential candidate offers the most responsible fiscal policies.  However, Sen. John McCain was the clear favorite of those who answered the question.

McCain Sets Stage for Fall Run  —  Senator Stakes Out Positions and Fills Campaign Coffers  —  In the three months since effectively capturing the Republican nomination, John McCain has built up his staff, filled campaign coffers and tried to define himself as a reliable conservative but not a George W. Bush clone.

Thinking About November  —  The fight for the Democratic nomination seems to be winding down.  It's not completely over, but the odds now overwhelmingly favor Barack Obama.  —  Assuming that Mr. Obama is the nominee, he'll lead a party that, judging by the usual indicators …

Chris Matthews Debuts New Hairdo  —  MSNBC host Chris Matthews took to the airwaves Thursday night with a new 'do.  The normally bleach blond Matthews, host of “Hardball,” now has noticeably darker hair.  It's more of a russet/rusty coloration and is a bit shorter.  —  Below are 4 screengrabs.

Clinton campaign opposes giving Obama more Mich. delegates  —  LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign opposes Michigan's plan to give fewer delegates to her and more to rival Barack Obama, a campaign spokesman said Thursday.  —  The Democratic National Committee stripped Michigan …

3 accused of using corpse head to smoke pot  —  The Kingwood teenager's story of decapitating a corpse and using the head to smoke marijuana was so outlandish that at first Houston Police Department senior police officer Jim Adkins did not believe it.  —  Yet, Kevin Wade Jones Jr., 17 …

Cindy McCain says she'll never release her tax returns  —  WASHINGTON - Cindy McCain says she will never make her tax returns public even if her husband wins the White House and she becomes the first lady.  —  “You know, my husband and I have been married 28 years and we have filed separate tax returns for 28 years.

Rendell as Obama's VP does not make sense  —  Now that the primary season finally appears to be winding down and exhausted political junkies like myself can take a breather before the pre-convention definition and registration battles begin, the talk is shifting to what arrangements …

Pious Amorality  —  In what I think was a rephrensible one-sided Jimmy Carter article in the Guardian condemning Israel for the conditions in Gaza, I was struck by these two sentences: … An ex-President of the United States seems to be saying that the “strong voices” …

Once-secret memos question Clinton's honesty  —  A decade before Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton admitted fudging the truth during the presidential campaign, federal prosecutors quietly assembled hundreds of pages of evidence suggesting she concealed information and misled a federal grand jury …