More on the Obama-Clinton Meeting  —  Senator Dianne Feinstein of California got the call from Hillary Rodham Clinton Thursday afternoon: Could she, would she let Mrs. Clinton use her home in Northwest Washington for a little sit-down with a certain senator from Illinois …

Unemployment Rate Hits 5.5% as 49,000 Jobs Lost  —  The unemployment rate surged to 5.5 percent in May from 5 percent, the largest monthly spike in more than two decades, as the economy shed 49,000 jobs for a fifth month of decline, the Labor Department reported on Friday.

For Obama, a Ticket Test  —  WASHINGTON — An axiom.  When voters watch a presumptive presidential nominee considering this or that running mate, they think: What if the president dies?  When the presumptive nominee considers this or that running mate, he thinks: What if I live?

HamNation: Obama on Your Shoulder  —  Mary Katharine Ham, with the help of her favorite songwriter, explores life under the new rules and politics of an Obama administration that's in all your business.  —  Your Name:  —  Your Email:

McCain bumbles the delivery  —  NEW ORLEANS - As Democrats buzzed this week about their new de facto nominee, his historic candidacy and the unlikely political demise of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Republican circles were humming with another topic.  —  The topic: Is there a way John McCain …

Don Young Embodies What's Wrong With the GOP  —  Today, the Club for Growth Political Action Committee endorses Alaska Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell in his bid to unseat Republican Rep. Don Young in the state's August primary.  —  The reason for the endorsement is simple.

Tribune Co. Plans Sharp Cutbacks at Papers  —  Tribune Company newspapers like The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune will quickly cut costs — by printing fewer papers and employing fewer journalists — top company executives said on Thursday.  —  Samuel Zell, the chairman …

Andrews says he heard racist strategy from Clinton camp  —  A Democratic superdelegate from New Jersey said this week he is worried that unifying the party behind Barack Obama may be difficult because the Clinton camp “has engaged in some very divisive tactics and rhetoric it should not have.”

Why Does the Michelle Obama Tape Rumor Match a 2006 Novel?  —  Sometimes, this rumor of this alleged tape of Michelle Obama denouncing “whitey” sounds like something out of a clichéd political thriller novel.  —  Actually, it sounds exactly like something out of a clichéd political thriller novel.

Malcolm not over Clinton defeat  —  In an e-mail to supporters, EMILY's List President Ellen Malcolm writes warmly of Obama, but also writes that she's not, personally, quite over her “anger and grief” at Clinton's defeat: … Full e-mail after the jump.  —  Dear ,  —  Thank you Hillary.

You buying it?  —  Spiritual wise ones say: This sure ain't no ordinary politician.  You buying it?  —  I find I'm having this discussion, this weird little debate, more and more, with colleagues, with readers, with liberals and moderates and miserable, deeply depressed Republicans …

Vote by Numbers  —  IT appears that Hillary Clinton is going to suspend her presidential campaign this weekend, at the urging of Democratic Party leaders and superdelegates.  Before that happens, Mrs. Clinton and the superdelegates might want to know this: if the general election were held today …

William Jennings Obama?  —  McCain tells USA Today:  —  “I believe that people are interested very much in substance,” McCain said, contrasting himself with Barack Obama's charismatic style.  “If it was simply style, William Jennings Bryan would have been president.”