Racist Incidents Give Some Obama Campaigners Pause  —  Danielle Ross was alone in an empty room at the Obama campaign headquarters in Kokomo, Ind., a cellphone in one hand, a voter call list in the other.  She was stretched out on the carpeted floor wearing laceless sky-blue Converses, stories from the trail on her mind.

Carville: Obama likely to win nomination  —  (CNN) — James Carville has been one of Hillary Clinton's most energetic defenders, but on Monday he all but declared Barack Obama will become the Democratic nominee for president.  —  Speaking to students at Furman University in Greenville …

Reach Out and Touch Faith  —  Andrew Sullivan is bothered by this illustration accompanying an endorsement of Barack Obama in an Oregon weekly paper.  —  But that's not really all that unusual, if you've been checking the alternatively hilarious and disturbing blog, “Is Barack Obama The Messiah?”.

McCain Backer John Hagee Apologizes to Catholics  —  Elizabeth Holmes reports on the presidential race.  —  John Hagee, the controversial evangelical pastor who endorsed John McCain, will issue a letter of apology to Catholics today for inflammatory remarks he has made …

Poll: Obama trouncing Clinton in Oregon  —  Illinois senator leading former first lady 55-35  —  A bit more than a week away from Oregon's May 20 primary, Barack Obama has amassed a nearly insurmountable lead in the Democratic presidential race, according to statewide polling conducted by Portland's Davis …

Senate rebukes Bush on energy policy  —  The Senate issued a strong, bipartisan rebuke to President Bush on energy policy Tuesday, voting 97-1 for a measure to suspend oil shipments to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.  —  “We are buying the most expensive crude oil in the history of the world and storing it …

The Neural Buddhists  —  In 1996, Tom Wolfe wrote a brilliant essay called “Sorry, but Your Soul Just Died,” in which he captured the militant materialism of some modern scientists.  —  To these self-confident researchers, the idea that the spirit might exist apart from the body is just ridiculous.

Senators say whether they'd agree to be vice president  —  The Hill asked all 97 senators who are not running for president the same question: “If you were asked, would you accept an offer to be the VP nominee?”  —  Some senators laughed, but others took the question seriously.

The Obama Rules  —  If Barack Obama gets his way, the Oxford English Dictionary will have updated its definition of “distraction” by the end of the campaign: “Diversion of the mind, attention, etc., from any object or course that tends to advance the political interests of Barack Obama.”

MS-01 Watch  —  The most important election taking place today is not in West Virginia.  It's in Mississippi, for the first congressional district, a seat held since the Republican revolution of 1994 by Republican Roger Wicker.  Wicker's retiring, and there's a good possibility …

A Spoiler, by Way of the Dairy Case  —  In his career in public service, Bob Barr has performed many important roles.  —  As a Republican candidate for the House in 1994, he rose to national attention when reports alleged that he had licked whipped cream off the breasts of two women at a charity event.

Handwriting of Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama may speak volumes  —  Experts see telltale markings of personality in penmanship samples from the presidential candidates.  —  WASHINGTON — Now that the presidential contest is looking ever more like a two-man race …

Clinton's top union supporter on fence?  —  Hillary Rodham Clinton's top union supporter Gerald McEntee, head of AFSCME, called for a one-on-one with Clinton this morning to get a sense of what her intentions are and what her post-West Virginia plans are, according to several people familiar with the meeting.