Huckabee jokes about Obama ducking a gunman  —  (CNN) - During a speech before the National Rifle Association convention Friday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky, former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee — who has endorsed presumptive GOP nominee John McCain …

Obama Admires Bush  —  Hezbollah is one of the world's most radical terrorist organizations.  Over the last week or so, it has staged an armed assault on the democratic government of Lebanon.  —  Barack Obama issued a statement in response.  He called on “all those who have influence with Hezbollah” to “press them to stand down.”

Bush Rebuffed on Oil Plea in Saudi Arabia  —  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — With the price of oil hitting record highs, President Bush used a private visit to King Abdullah's ranch here Friday to make a second attempt to persuade the Saudi government to increase oil production and was rebuffed yet again.

The Long Night of an Obama Presidency  —  Reading this piece about the Edwards endorsement of Obama, a cold shiver went down my spine.  As scary as a Deval Patrick appointment as AG would be (I've long thought he would be Obama's likely choice), the suggestion that John Edwards …

Election 2008: Kansas Senate  —  Kansas Senate: Roberts 52% Slattery 40%  —  Before March, the Unites States Senate election in Kansas was a shoe-in for Republican incumbent Pat Roberts.  At that point there was no viable Democratic candidate in the race and the state has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932.

Pity Party  —  Big picture, May 2008:  —  The Democrats aren't the ones falling apart, the Republicans are.  The Democrats can see daylight ahead.  For all their fractious fighting, they're finally resolving their central drama.  Hillary Clinton will leave, and Barack Obama will deliver a stirring acceptance speech.

A Blogger Call With Hillary Clinton: It's the Map Not the Math  —  We had a great blogger call with a very hoarse Hillary Clinton today.  It was just for bloggers so she could thank us for our support.  —  She is staying in the race.  She is ahead in the popular vote by 50,000 votes …

The Real Iraq  —  Moment of Truth in Iraq, by Michael Yon (Richard Vigilante Books, 227 pp., $29.95)  —  Iraq is where ideologies go to die.  Arab nationalism, Baathism, anti-Americanism, al-Qaidism, Donald Rumsfeldism, and Moqtada al-Sadrism have either died there or are dying.

What Went Wrong?  —  The exclusive story of Hillary's fall, as told by the high-level advisors, staffers, fundraisers, and on-the-ground organizers who lived it.  —  Endings are rarely as joyous as beginnings—and in the case of a long, wearing, and ultimately disappointing campaign, they can be downright brutal.

Rove Belittles Obama At NRA Convo  —  At the NRA convention in Kentucky this afternoon, Karl Rove portrayed Barack Obama as an effete, South Side liberal who claims he's immune to criticism and and who would confiscate guns by the barrel.  The gun stuff is much less important than Rove's general line …

US soldier refuses to serve in ‘illegal Iraq war’ … Matthis Chiroux is the kind of young American US military recruiters love.  —  “I was from a poor, white family from the south, and I did badly in school,” the now 24-year-old told AFP.  —  “I was ‘filet mignon’ for recruiters.