After The Press Leaves, Some Edgy Questions  —  Barack Obama drew his biggest cheers of the night when he vowed to help Hillary Clinton pay off her campaign debt.  The pooler was ushered out of the meeting room where about 200 of Clinton's top donors — those who had raised a combined $230m …

FIRST THOUGHTS: GET YOUR GUN  —  From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro  —  *** Get your gun: Yesterday's Supreme Court decision on the 2nd Amendment elevated an issue — guns — that hadn't received that much attention until now.  Remembering that the subject hurt Al Gore …

When Anonymity Fails, Be Nasty, Brutish and Short  —  Throughout the Bush presidency, he toiled in secrecy deep within the White House, a mysterious and feared presence who never stepped into the sunlight of public disclosure.  —  Until yesterday.  —  There he sat, hunched and scowling …

Obama Lead Tight Over McCain  —  Illinois Senator Barack Obama enters the General Election with a tight lead, 43% to 38%, over Arizona Senator John McCain, according to a new TIME Magazine poll of registered voters.  The poll shows Obama gaining only a slight bounce from Hillary Clinton's departure from the campaign early this month.

The Sam's Club Agenda  —  Among the many dark tidings for American conservatism, there is one genuine bright spot.  Over the past five years, a group of young and unpredictable rightward-leaning writers has emerged on the scene.  —  These writers came of age as official conservatism slipped into decrepitude.

Openly Gay Army Sergeant Discharged Under “Don't Ask, Don't Tell”  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Decorated Army Sergeant Darren Manzella has been discharged under the “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” law banning lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans from military service, effective June 10.

Keith Olbermann's reply and Obama's Secret Plan to Protect the Rule of Law  —  (updated below)  —  Keith Olbermann went to Daily Kos to respond to what I wrote yesterday regarding his and Jonathan Alter's statements on Obama's support for the FISA bill.  Despite his having packed his response …

Transcript of McCain interview  —  THIS IS A PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW I CONDUCTED WITH JOHN MCCAIN ON WEDNESDAY:  —  (Who is the real John McCain - the guy who voted 95 percent with the president or the guy in his first two ads running from George W. Bush like a scalded dog?)

Cheer up.  We're winning this War on Terror  —  Al-Qaeda and the Taleban are in retreat, the surge has worked in Iraq and Islamism is discredited.  Not a bad haul  —  “My centre is giving way.  My right is in retreat.  Situation excellent.  I shall attack!”

The Ever-Malleable Mr. Obama  —  “To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies.”  —  That was then: Democratic primaries to be won, netroot lefties to be seduced.  With all that (and Hillary Clinton) …

Tanden signs on  —  Hillary Clinton's former policy director, Neera Tanden, will start next week in Chicago as Barack Obama's director of domestic policy, reporting to policy director Heather Higginbottom, a source familiar with the plans said.  —  Tanden is the most senior Clinton loyalist to join Obama …

New Ad Hits Obama on Abortion  —  The lobbying arm of the Family Research Council, the conservative Christian organization, is going on the air in several cities on Friday with a television ad featuring a personal note from the group's president, Tony Perkins, to Senator Barack Obama.

Divide and Concur  —  Bipartisanship in Washington is dead.  Maybe now we can get something done.  —  There's no doubt that America's political parties have undergone a major transformation in the last two decades, and that we now have, for better or for worse, a center-left party and a center-right party …