From The “If McCain Did This” Files  —  Obama, below, is tired, nothing more.  —  But if John McCain did this — if he mistakenly said he'd visited 57 states — the media would be all up in his grill, accusing him of a senior moment.  Just saying....

Barack Obama sacks adviser over talks with Hamas  —  One of Barack Obama's Middle East policy advisers disclosed today that he had held meetings with the militant Palestinian group Hamas - prompting the likely Democratic nominee to sever all links with him.  —  Robert Malley told The Times …

Obama Won't Rule Out Easing Clinton Campaign Debt  —  WOODBURN, Ore. - Senator Barack Obama said today that he would not rule out the possibility of helping Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton retire her campaign debt to bring her into the fold and unify Democrats.  But he said no discussions have taken place yet.

Lanny Davis on CNN primary night: ‘Worst experience I ever had on television’  —  When Clinton supporter Lanny Davis appeared on CNN during primary night, shortly before 10 p.m., there was a peculiar exchange with host Anderson Cooper. … During the Election Night broadcast …

Fox News Assistant Fired For Red Carpet Disclosure  —  TVNewser Exclusive: A 24-year-old Fox News Channel production assistant was fired this morning for something she said during the red carpet arrivals at the Time 100 Gala last night.  —  Insiders tell us the assistant, identified as Jennifer Locke …

Gallup Daily: Obama Not Yet Pulling Away  —  Democratic nomination preferences remain evenly divided  —  PRINCETON, NJ — According to Gallup Poll Daily tracking, Democratic voters remain closely divided in their presidential nomination preferences, with 48% favoring Barack Obama and 46% backing Hillary Clinton.

McCain to Me in 1999: Bush “As Dumb as a Stump”  —  As a lawyer might say (OK, I am one), I have no personal knowledge of whether John or Cindy McCain voted for George W. Bush in the 2000 election.  However, now that that has been called into question by Arianna Huffington (who says no) …

Toll the Bell for the Polls, Part III  —  Well, this is one way to influence the outcome of elections in Iraq I suppose (refer to Part I and Part II for background): … The BBC offers one version of the grisly death toll: … Back to McClatchy: … Wonder if this hospital was on the receiving end of those supplies:

NMI EXCLUSIVE: Count one more superdelegate for Barack Obama  —  New Mexico Democratic superdelegate Laurie Weahkee announced today she's backing Barack Obama.  —  SANTA FE — If Sen. Barack Obama needs a mere 170 more delegate votes to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination outright, he just got one vote closer.

Swing State Democrats Say Hillary Best For Top Of Ticket  —  Over a dozen members of Congress wrote to other Democrats touting their support for Hillary, saying she is the strongest candidate to have at the top of the ticket in the fall.  —  The text of the letter is below.  —  Dear Fellow Democrat,

Clinton Supporters Send Last-Ditch Obama Attack Emails To Supers  —  As the Democratic primary nears its long-awaited conclusion, undecided superdelegates have been drowned under a sudden deluge of angry, sometimes vicious emails from Hillary Clinton supporters urging them to not fall in line behind Barack Obama.

Kennedy: No veep slot for Clinton  —  It's fun to think about, but there are so many obstacles, and Ted Kennedy isn't buying, he said on Bloomberg Television's “Political Capital With Al Hunt,” which airs this weekend. … Ouch.