Running While Black  —  Gee, I wonder why, if you have a black man running for high public office — say, Barack Obama or Harold Ford — the opposition feels compelled to run low-life political ads featuring tacky, sexually provocative white women who have no connection whatsoever to the black male candidates.

Obama would consider off-shore drilling as part of comprehensive energy plan  —  ST. PETERSBURG — U.S. Sen. Barack Obama said today he would be willing to open Florida's coast for more oil drilling if it meant winning approval for broad energy changes.  —  “My interest is in making sure we've got …

Exclusive: Al Qaeda No. 2 Injured?  —  Unverified Letter Obtained By CBS News Urgently Requests Doctor To Treat Ayman al Zawahiri  —  (CBS) Ayman al Zawahiri - the second most powerful leader in al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden's No. 2 - may be critically wounded and possibly dead …

Obama says he opposes slavery reparations, apology  —  SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama opposes offering reparations to the descendants of slaves, putting him at odds with some black groups and leaders.  —  The man with a serious chance to become the nation's …

Bush Family on Rush  —  The Bush family called in to the Rush Limbaugh show this morning.  Listen Here!  —  RUSH: What are...? (interruption) Interrupting for what?  —  THE PRESIDENT: Hello!  —  RUSH: Oh, jeez.  The president?  —  THE PRESIDENT: Rush Limbaugh?  —  RUSH: Yes, sir, Mr. President.

A Big IE7 Problem on the Web  —  I've confirmed that there's some kind of problem on the Internet, that only seems to affect users of the Internet Explorer 7 web browser.  Attempting to browse to many sites results in an ‘Operation Aborted’ error.  No information about the problem elsewhere yet ... stay tuned.

1. Tall, dark and handsome  —  Political party: Democrat.  —  Dating status: Married to wife, Beth.  —  Women of all ages and political persuasions swoon when Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.) comes near.  During a recent elevator ride in the Rayburn House Office Building …

Obama camp responds: ‘sad...juvenile antics’  —  Barack Obama's campaign responded sharply to a new McCain webad depicting Obama as a parody of a biblical prophet.  —  “It's downright sad that on a day when we learned that 51,000 Americans lost their jobs, a candidate for the presidency …

Barack Obama courts white strongholds in his own backyard  —  ‘Southern Illinois is the South,’ the Democratic presidential candidate has often said — a nod to his belief that gains made here can help him prosper elsewhere among rural and blue-collar voters.

Anthrax Suspect Kills Self - How Conveeeeeeeenient...  Bruce Ivins, a bioweapons scientist at Ft. Detrick, Md. reportedly killed himself via overdose earlier this week.  He was about to be indicted in connection with the 2001 anthrax attacks (remember those?).

The Guerilla Congress  —  I just got back a short while ago from the press gallery at the House of Representatives where, as Ramesh mentioned, the Republicans are keeping up the fight on creating new domestic energy and lowering gas prices.  —  You can read more details about what happened here …