Bartlett rips McClellan, calls allegation ‘total crap’  —  McClellan and Bartlett worked closely together in the White House.  (Getty Images)  —  Watch Dan Bartlett respond to McClellan at 4 p.m. ET on The Situation Room  —  (CNN) — Former White House counselor Dan Bartlett lashed …

Obama Seeks to Clarify His Disputed Comments on Diplomacy  —  WASHINGTON — With his experience and leadership credentials under sharp criticism, Senator Barack Obama and his advisers are trying to clarify what has emerged as a central tenet of his proposed foreign policy: a willingness to meet leaders of enemy nations.

Keith Olbermann Blows Last Remaining Gasket  —  So while we were away, Sen. Hillary Clinton apparently made an ill-advised reference to the RFK assassination (and the June timing thereof) by way of explaining her continuing run in the Democratic primary.  And apparently Keith Olbermann had a thing or two to say about it:

Pelosi vows to prevent fight at Dem convention  —  (05-28) 20:17 PDT San Francisco — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she will step in if necessary to make sure the presidential nomination fight between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama does not reach the Democratic National Convention …

McClellan's Publisher a Liberal: Advances Soros & Slams Limbaugh  —  Peter Osnos, who wrote Wednesday that he “worked very closely” with Scott McClellan on McClellan's new book published by PublicAffairs which Osnos founded, is a liberal whose publishing house is affiliated with the far-left …

What Jim Webb Is Worth to Obama  —  Now is the season for idle vice presidential speculation, and this year the field of potential nominees in both parties is unusually large.  —  Among Democrats, much of the chatter is understandably focused on Hillary Clinton, who, to judge …

New York to Back Same-Sex Unions From Elsewhere  —  ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson has directed all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, California and Canada.

The Uncle Seems Real  —  OK, Occam's Razor would indicate that Barack Obama has a maternal great uncle (i.e., his mother's mother's brother), named Charles Payne (middle initial unclear) who served with the 355th Infantry that liberated one of the camps in the Buchenwald complex, despite previous concerns on that score.

Ogonowski falls short on signature deadline  —  When the deadline for certification passed yesterday, Jim Ogonowski, the Republican leadership's choice to challenge US Senator John F. Kerry, was 82 signatures short of qualifying for the GOP primary ballot, according to the state's central voter registry.

Outlook  — Sen. Hillary Clinton's comment that Robert F. Kennedy's assassination in 1968 justified her staying in the presidential race was an event that crystallized the antipathy to her inside party ranks.  Even old-time Clintonites were appalled.  — The most important political impact …

Obama Says He Is Considering Iraq Trip  —  THORNTON, Colo. - Senator Barack Obama said today that he is considering visiting American troops and commanders in Iraq this summer.  He declined an invitation from Senator John McCain to take a joint trip to Iraq, saying: “I just don't want to be involved in a political stunt.”