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.) …

Obama Leads, but Margin Is Less Than Some Expect  —  Poll Has Democrat Continuing to Lag With White Males  —  WASHINGTON — Democrat Barack Obama begins his presidential race against Republican John McCain with a lead in the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, but not so great an edge …

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.

Is Bobby Jindal — Who May Be On McCain's Veep Shortlist — An Exorcist?  —  Bobby Jindal, the 36-year old governor of Louisiana, is being taken seriously by the national press as a candidate on the shortlist to be John McCain's Vice President.  No one doubts that he's a political prodigy …

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.

New Gang of 14 won't back McCain  —  At least 14 Republican members of Congress have refused to endorse or publicly support Sen. John McCain for president, and more than a dozen others declined to answer whether they back the Arizona senator.  —  Many of the recalcitrant GOP members declined …

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 …

Hispanic Dems warn Obama he risks losing Latinos  —  Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) must commit to helping illegal immigrants achieve citizenship or else risk losing the vital Latino vote in the general election, Hispanic Democratic lawmakers are warning.  —  If he does not promise …

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 …

In Debate Over Permanent Bases In Iraq, U.S. Seeks Authorization For War In Iran  —  The ongoing negotiations between Iraqi leaders and the Bush administration over the future role of the military occupation “have turned into an increasingly acrimonious public debate.”

Unlike Others, U.S. Defends Freedom to Offend in Speech  —  VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A couple of years ago, a Canadian magazine published an article arguing that the rise of Islam threatened Western values.  The article's tone was mocking and biting, but it said nothing that conservative magazines …