Dems pound McCain for new Iraq quote  —  The Obama campaign and Democratic leaders accused Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) of being confused and heartless after he told NBC's “Today” show Wednesday that it's “not too important” when U.S. troops return from Iraq.  —  Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) …

Johnson resigns  —  Obama and his campaign staunchly defended Jim Johnson against the charge that his ties to troubled mortgage lender Countrywide disqualified him from sitting on Obama's vice presidential search committee, but Johnson just pulled the plug: He resigned as chairman of the steering committee just now.

Obama Gains Among Women After Clinton Exit  —  Now running as strongly vs. McCain among women as Clinton did  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Since Hillary Clinton decided to concede the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama last week, Obama has established a lead over Republican John McCain in general-election polling.

9th Circuit's chief judge posted sexually explicit materials on his website  —  Alex Kozinski, who is presiding over an obscenity trial in L.A., admits he posted sexually explicit photos and videos.  He says he didn't think the public could see the site, which is now blocked.

MORE FURMAN FUROR.  —  What I can't figure out about the furor of Barack Obama's decision to name Jason Furman his economic policy director is where have these people been?  This is like getting pissed at Project Runway because it's a show about clothes.  —  Austen Goolsbee …

McCain On Whether Cheney Might Serve In His Administration: ‘Hell, Yeah’  —  As Vice President Dick Cheney makes the rounds on “the GOP's rubber chicken circuit” these days to raise funds for conservative candidates, he always implores his audiences “to make sure that we elect John McCain the 44th President of the United States.”

Those Loyal to the Clintons Take Note of Who Was Not  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was gracious in her full-throated endorsement of Senator Barack Obama.  But that does not mean all is forgiven by others in the Clinton universe.  —  For proof, look no further than Doug Band …

Kucinich Forces Vote On Bush's Impeachment  —  Having failed in efforts to impeach Vice President Cheney, Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio) escalated his battle against the administration this week by introducing 35 articles of impeachment against President Bush, using a parliamentary maneuver that will probably force a vote today.

McCain to Cut Defense Spending?  —  According a Forbes article, McCain's economic advisor suggests that he will pay for a corporate tax cut by cutting defense spending: … If true, this would be a much bigger bombshell that McCain's remarks on Iraq withdrawal.

The Obama campaign deleted my blog post!  —  A couple of days ago, as part of my experimenting with how political rumors get started online, I created a blog in the community section of barackobama.com, the official campaign web site, and added a post.  As background, there have been several dust-ups lately …

Is the McCain Campaign Deluded By Its Primary Win?  —  Michael Gerson makes a great point in his column today: … If it's true that a campaign can't un-learn the lessons of its formative experience, then I'd much rather have had the Obama campaign's formative experience than the McCain campaign's.

TEASING TODAY'S NBC/WSJ POLL  —  From NBC's Mark Murray  —  Here's one question from today's NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that we're releasing early: 59% say it's more important to have a president who will focus on progress and moving America forward, versus 37% who would rather the president protect what has made America great.