Obama on McCain: Hypocrisy and fear-mongering  —  In an appearance in South Dakota just now, Barack Obama came back at yesterday's attacks from George W. Bush and John McCain, accusing them of “hypocrisy, fear-peddling, and fear-mongering.”  —  He responded first to the charge from Bush …

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.

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.

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.”

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.

McCain reaches out to blogs...on the left; Update: “A new standard for transparency and accountability”  —  Scroll down for updates...  The McCain campaign holds weekly blogger conference calls with its candidate.  There are many questions I know you'd like asked, but I've never been able …

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 …

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 …

FIRST THOUGHTS: BUSH'S GIFT TO OBAMA  —  From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro  —  *** Bush's gift to Obama: When President Bush — thousands of miles away in Israel — decided to fire his thinly veiled shot at Obama yesterday, it was a giant gift to the Illinois senator and his campaign.

Belittled Woman  —  At some point along the way, Hillary Clinton became “poor Hillary” and it stuck.  —  She went up against a charmer who once made an audience cheer just by blowing his nose (poor Hillary), and she lost states and delegates and she bet on a filly that died (poor Hillary) …

SO IF THE REPUBLICANS ARE IN TROUBLE, WHY ARE THESE PEOPLE SO HAPPY?  I'm at the NRA Convention in Louisville, Kentucky.  I haven't been to a big gun event in probably a decade, and the change in mood is striking: People are, well . . . not ebullient, really, but noticeably cheerful and confident.

Edwards flatly rules out running with Obama  —  (CNN) — Seeing John Edwards and Barack Obama on the same stage earlier this week left political pundits buzzing: Could these two be an unbeatable presidential ticket?  —  They appeared to have natural chemistry — something Edwards …