Obama Now Takes The Lead in Superdelegates Too  —  ABC News' Karen Travers Reports: For the first time this campaign season, Barack Obama has surpassed Hillary Clinton's support among superdelegates, according to the ABC News delegate estimate.  —  Sen. Obama, D-Ill., picked up two superdelegates …

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 …

Almost there  —  Barack Obama deserves the nomination.  It is not yet clear whether he deserves the presidency  —  IN CARTOONS there is often a moment when a hapless character, having galloped over a cliff, is still unaware of the fact and hangs suspended in the air, legs pumping wildly …

Sometimes I Feel This World Is An Evil Place  —  With Hezbollah seemingly on the verge of a coup in Lebanon, my eyes turn to my friends Chris Allbritton and Rania Abouzeid.  And — thanks a lot, guys — they're in Dubai when I need them to be in Beirut.  Chris, however, has some second-hand information to pass along:

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.

Damsel of Distress  —  This is an amazing story.  The Democratic Party has a winner.  It has a nominee.  You know this because he has the most votes and the most elected delegates, and there's no way, mathematically, his opponent can get past him.  Even after the worst two weeks of his campaign …

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 …

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.

Obama's Faulty Tax Argument  —  As the presidential campaign heats up, a key issue is whether to extend the 2001 and 2003 income tax cuts, which expire in 2011.  John McCain wants to make the tax cuts permanent.  Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton want to let the rates rise.

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 …

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.

Against Unity  —  Ed Kilgore's case for an Obama-Clinton ticket has made me like the idea even less.  He canvasses various things Clinton would allegedly bring to the ticket, but in almost every case I can think of better people to bring the quality in question.

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 …