‘She Could Accept Losing.  She Could Not Accept Quitting.’  —  In a campaign of near-deaths and premature obituaries, the night of May 6 will be remembered inside Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign as the moment it really ended.  —  The staff had settled into the war room at the campaign's Arlington headquarters.

PHASE II  —  The Senate intel committee's Phase II report on pre-war intelligence on Iraq is just out.  We'll be bringing you more through the day, but if you're eager to take a look, you can find the reports here:  —  “Report on Whether Public Statements Regarding Iraq by U.S. Government officials …

Overseas, Excitement Over Obama  —  In Presumptive Nominee, Many See Chance for New Direction and New Attitude  —  For much of the world, Sen. Barack Obama's victory in the Democratic primaries was a moment to admire the United States at a time when the nation's image abroad has been seriously damaged.

Obama In Heated Conversation With Lieberman  —  Update: Obama and Lieberman had a heated conversation on the floor of the Senate later today.  Details below.  —  Senator Joe Lieberman, serving aptly as John McCain's foreign policy attack dog, jumped on a conference call with reporters …

GOP fears Obama's money machine  —  With Hillary Clinton's campaign coming to an end this weekend, Barack Obama's rise as the Democratic nominee brings serious bad news to a new group — John McCain's finance team.  —  A review of campaign finance data offers not one ounce of good news …

HOW ‘LIBERAL’ CARE WOULD KILL TED  —  IRONICALLY enough, the dangers of the lib eral health-care agenda are being made clear by the care that a liberal icon, Sen. Ted Kennedy, has received since his brain seizure last month.  —  One day after an MRI detected a tumor, Kennedy was quickly diagnosed …

FIRST THOUGHTS: OBAMA'S WIDER MAP  —  From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro  —  *** Obama's wider map: About two months ago, we unveiled our early look at the electoral map.  And this being the second official day of the general election, now's as good a time as any to see where we stand in the McCain vs. Obama race.

Revealed: Secret plan to keep Iraq under US control  —  Bush wants 50 military bases, control of Iraqi airspace and legal immunity for all American soldiers and contractors  —  A secret deal being negotiated in Baghdad would perpetuate the American military occupation of Iraq indefinitely …

Sen. Warner avoids backing would-be GOP successor  —  Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) is avoiding an endorsement in the closely watched Senate contest to succeed him, so far declining to support fellow Republican Jim Gilmore several days after the former Virginia governor clinched the GOP nomination.

Dean will remain as DNC chair  —  The Obama campaign confirmed today that Howard Dean will remain chairman of the Democratic National Committee, even as Obama puts his own stamp on the DNC.  —  “Sen. Obama appreciates the hard work that Chairman Dean has done to grow our party …

Breaking — Obama to change DNC lobbyist policy, will focus on small-group economy chats  —  Good Thursday morning.  —  DRIVING THE DAY: On Day 2 as nominee, Senator Obama wants to show that he will change the nation's politics.  As the presumptive DemoObama already eager to show …

McCain Rips Off Obama's Slogan And Logo  —  Is John McCain trying to be the older, whiter, more conservative Barack Obama?  —  On Tuesday, the Senator co-opted the slogan that has come to personify Obama's candidacy, taking the Illinois Democrat's “Change You Can Believe In” and altering it into “A Leader You Can Believe In.”

How Long in Iraq?  —  Here's CBS's poll on how long Americans would like to see our troops stay in Iraq.  John McCain's supporters can try to spin his 100 years remark any way they'd like, but it's clear enough that McCain's one of the thirty percent who think longer than two years is acceptable.

Many Blacks Find Joy in Unexpected Breakthrough  —  Kwabena Sam-Brew, a 38-year-old immigrant from Ghana, doubted that Nana, his 5-year-old American-born daughter, would remember the rally that effectively crowned Senator Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee Tuesday night.

My Own Votes, Four of Them, Were Flipped Yesterday Before My Very Eyes  —  As a fairly well-known Election Integrity journalist who has personally covered, for years, the myriad election woes of thousands (if not millions) of voters around the country who have tried to bring seemingly endless stories …