Ron Paul's forces quietly plot GOP convention revolt against McCain  —  Virtually all the nation's political attention in recent weeks has focused on the compelling state-by-state presidential nomination struggle between two Democrats and the potential for party-splitting strife over there.

Clinton creaming Obama in Ky.  —  U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton enters the final week before Kentucky's May 20 Democratic presidential primary with a commanding 27 percentage point lead over U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, a new poll shows.  —  She leads the Illinois senator 58 percent to 31 percent …

President Apostate?  —  BARACK OBAMA has emerged as a classic example of charismatic leadership — a figure upon whom others project their own hopes and desires.  The resulting emotional intensity adds greatly to the more conventional strengths of the well-organized Obama campaign …

O'Reilly's meltdown: ‘F*ck it!  F*cking thing sucks!’  —  Between 1989 and 1995, Bill O'Reilly hosted the entertainment program “Inside Edition.”  A new behind-the-scenes video from his time there has surfaced, showing O'Reilly flipping out because of a teleprompter malfunction.  “I can't read it!

Obama on Zionism and Hamas  —  The Hamas leader Ahmed Yousef did Barack Obama no favor recently when he said: “We like Mr. Obama and we hope that he will win the election.”  John McCain jumped on this statement, calling it a “legitimate point of discussion,” and tied it to Obama's putative softness on Iran …

Could Obama Be Another Dukakis?  —  It is a thought that sends shivers down the backs of Democrats, a name that brings to mind memories of an election lost that might have been won, against a war hero once referred to in headlines as a “wimp” who won not so much by his own strengths …

Bush Hits New Low as ‘Wrong Track’ Rises  —  Eighty-Two Percent of Americans Say the Country's Seriously Off on the Wrong Track  —  Public disgruntlement neared a record high and President Bush slipped to his career low in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll.

Death toll in China earthquake up to nearly 9,000  —  CHONGQING, China - One of the worst earthquakes in decades struck central China on Monday, killing nearly 9,000 people, trapping about 900 students under the rubble of their school and causing a toxic chemical leak, state media reported.

For Obama, Advice Straight Up  —  Valerie Jarrett Is Essential Member of Inner Set  —  In one of the small, rural towns where Barack Obama was campaigning this year, he asked an aide for a slice of pecan pie to go with his usual dinner of salmon, broccoli and brown rice.

Reading the Ron Paul Revolution  —  Ron Paul's book, The Revolution: A Manifesto benefits from many of the virtues of the author's maverick presidential campaign - but it also shares some of the Paul campaign's shortcomings.  —  Ron Paul's <i>The Revolution: A Manifesto</I> is an important book.

Obama's Inability to Hire Good Help Rears Its Head ... Again  —  We started covering Sen. Barack Obama's inability to hire good staffers in June 2007, when he blamed staffers for some opposition research trying to link Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, to outsourcing in India …