AP tally: Obama effectively clinches nomination … WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama effectively clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, based on an Associated Press tally of convention delegates, becoming the first black candidate ever to lead his party into a fall campaign for the White House.

Clinton, pushed as VP, doesn't push back  —  In a call with the New York congressional delegation that just ended, Hillary Clinton heard calls that she become Barack Obama's running mate — and notably didn't tamp those voices down, two people familiar with the call's contents said.

A Campaign to Hate  —  Wherever I go — from glittering dinner party to glittering dinner party — the famous and powerful people I meet (for such is my life) tell me how lucky I am to be a journalist in this the greatest of all presidential contests.  I tell them, for I am wont to please …

New Questions about Vice President Cheney's Role in CIA Leak  —  Chairman Waxman urges Attorney General Mukasey to turn over the FBI interviews of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, citing new information from the FBI interview of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby and the recent disclosures by Scott McClellan.

Obama's comfort level at the non-existent Applebee's salad bar  —  For over eight years now, we've been hearing that Democrats have been losing presidential elections because people don't want to have a beer with the party's nominees.  This always struck me as an odd formulation …

Former screen siren Bardot convicted in race case  —  PARIS - Brigitte Bardot was convicted Tuesday of provoking discrimination and racial hatred for writing that Muslims are destroying France.  —  A Paris court also handed down a $23,325 fine against the former screen siren and animal rights campaigner.

HALPERIN'S TAKE: What Obama And Clinton Underestimate  —  Obama underestimates:  —  1. The intensely loyal feelings many of Clinton's supporters have about her - and the intensely negative feelings they have about him.  —  2. That any delay in choosing a running mate will only bring rampant speculation …

Beckel's Obama Bombshell  —  Were you watching at 6:25 when Democratic strategist Bob Beckel dropped a bomb on us?  He said he'd heard through his political pipeline that a big shoe was about to drop on the Obama campaign.  It has something to do with Michelle Obama.

Another Congressional Wave Election  —  In the latest Democracy Corps battleground survey of 1,600 likely voters conducted May 19-26, 2008, we modified our sample design to include more hard-to-reach Republican-held districts.  And even in this totally Republican battleground that Bush won …

My Old Party  —  This is an astounding moment in American politics.  You cannot credibly say the Clintons are a political dynasty the way, say, the Kennedys or Bushs are.  But I think one has to say the Clinton rule of the Democratic party has been dynastic.