From NBC's Abby Livingston
John McCain's tune toward evangelical pastor Rod Parsley has changed in three months' time.

During the thank you section of a speech in Cincinnati, Ohio on Feb. 26 -- the same Cincinnati event at which a conservative radio host referenced Obama's middle name, "Hussein," three times -- McCain had words of praise for Parsley.

"I'm very honored today to have one of the truly great leaders in America, a moral compass, a spiritual guide, Pastor Rod Parsley, who is here," McCain said. The Arizona senator then walked over and shook Parsley's hand. "Thank you for your leadership and your guidance. I am very grateful you are here, sir."

He continued, "And I want to assure you, he should be talking, not me. But I want to say thank you for being here. I want to thank you, Rod, for your kind introduction."

But yesterday, per NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann, McCan told the AP, "I believe there is no place for that kind of dialogue in America. I believe that even thought he [Parsley] endorsed me, and I didn't endorse him, the fact is that I repudiate such talk, and I reject his endorsement."

From NBC's Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro
This might not help the Hillary-for-veep chatter... The New York Post writes, "Hillary Clinton today brought up the assassination of Sen. Robert Kennedy while defending her decision to stay in the race against Barack Obama. 'My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it,' she said, dismissing calls to drop out."

"Clinton made her comments at a meeting with the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader's editorial board while campaigning in South Dakota, where she complained that, 'People have been trying to push me out of this ever since Iowa.'"

Obama spokesman Bill Burton responded to Clinton's remarks. "Senator Clinton's statement before the Argus Leader editorial board was unfortunate and has no place in this campaign."

NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli notes that Clinton said something similar the day after the Indiana and North Carolina primaries. "Sometimes you gotta calm people down a little bit. But if you look at successful presidential campaigns, my husband did not get the nomination until June of 1992," she said. "I remember tragically when Senator Kennedy won California near the end of that process."

In fact, the specter of assassination was first raised in this campaign on January 8, when a Clinton introducer, a retired teacher from New Hampshire, brought it up before Clinton spoke. "If you look back, some people have been comparing one of the other candidates to JFK, and he was a wonderful leader. He gave us a lot of hope," the retired teacher said. "But he was assassinated, and Lyndon Baines Johnson actually did all of his work and got both the Republicans and Democrats to pass those measures."

Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithe just said to a group of reporters in South Dakota -- including Memoli -- that this is "one of the more ridiculous" issues that has come up in a long race. The campaign, he said, will soon send out an official comment.

*** UPDATE *** Here is the official statement from Elleithe: "She was simply referencing her husband in 1992 and Bobby kennedy in 1968 as historical expmales of the nominating contest going well into the summer. Any, any reading into it beyond that is inaccurate."

*** UPDATE *** Here is what Clinton said in a quick avail: "I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation, particularly for the Kennedy family was in any way offensive. I certainly had no intention of that whatsoever. My view is that we have to look to the past and to our leaders who have inspired us and give us a lot to live up to and I'm honored to hold sen. Kennedy's seat in the United States Senate in the state of New York, and have the highest regard for the entire Kennedy family."

From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy
MIAMI -- Democrats often argue that McCain would be a "third Bush term" on Iraq and the economy, but today Obama linked the presumptive GOP nominee and President Bush on yet another issue: Cuban relations.
 
Speaking at a Cuban Independence Day celebration here, Obama delivered what advisors called a "major policy speech" on the United States' relationship with Central and South America, but he still found plenty of opportunity to throw some punches on McCain's policy towards our neighbors to the south.

"Instead of offering a strategy, a strategy for change, [McCain] chose to distort my position, embrace George Bush's, and continue a policy that's done nothing to advance freedom for the Cuban people," Obama said, referring to a speech McCain delivered in Miami earlier in the week. "That's the political posture that John McCain has chosen, and all it shows is that you can't take his so-called straight talk seriously."

How did McCain distort Obama's position you may ask? "John McCain's been going around the country talking about how much I want to meet with Raul Castro, as if I'm looking for a social gathering, I'm going to invite him over and have some tea. That's not what I said, John McCain knows it. After eight years of the disastrous policies of George Bush, it is time to pursue direct diplomacy, with friend and foe alike, without preconditions."

The decision over which foreign leaders to talk to as president and what conditions to set on these hypothetical talks has become a hotly contested issue in this pseudo-general election campaign between Obama and McCain. As previously noted here, this is one of those rare instances where both sides see this as a winning issue.

And in response to Obama, McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said, "Senator Obama's promises of unilateral concessions to Cuba's dictators even in advance of an unconditional summit meeting with Raul Castro is exactly the wrong approach to free the people of Cuba."
 
In his speech today, Obama called for the reinstatement of the Special Envoy for the Americas in the White House, and for loosening some of the restrictions placed on Cuban-Americans by the Bush Administration. "I will immediately allow unlimited family travel and remittances to the island," he said. "It's time to let Cuban-Americans see their mothers and their fathers, their sisters and their brothers. It's time to let Cuban-American money make their families less dependent upon the Castro regime."

And in a briefing before the speech, Obama's foreign policy advisers conceded that if certain conditions were met -- such as releasing political prisoners and allowing increased freedoms within Cuba -- loosening the trade embargo would also be on the table if Obama were president.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
NBC NEWS confirms two more Edwards pledged delegates have pledged to vote for Obama. So far, 12 Edwards pledged delegates have said they will vote for Obama, since Edwards endorsed Obama last Wednesday.

New Hampshire State Sen. Peter Hoe Burling tells NBC NEWS he and Deborah Bacon-Nelson have decided after talking with friends, family and constituents to go Obama "in large part because Obama's willing to not just consider but embrace the kind of fundamental change the country needs to go through. He gets it," Burling said. He added that Edwards' passion in his endorsement for Obama also played a part. (PolitickerNH first reported their endorsements this morning after they announced their intention at Lebanon High School in New Hampshire.)

Burling called Clinton an equally "superb" candidate, but said he believes Obama has the best chance to win in a general election against McCain. He said he "didn't buy" Clinton's latest electability argument, that she's better suited to win the key swing states of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida. He called polls showing that just a "snapshot."

The NBC NEWS Delegate Counts:
PLEDGED: Obama 1,647 to 1,502
SUPERDELEGATES: Obama 309.5 to 281.5
EDWARDS PL. DELEGATES: Obama 12 to 0
TOTAL: Obama 1,968.5 to 1,783.5

* Obama is 57.5 delegates from the 2,026 required.

He went on to draw an effusive comparison of Obama, saying, "Obama's an almost Lincoln-esque figure," Burling said. "He comes to us at a time when the country is badly torn and needs to be brought together. He has the mind and the heart to do it."

Burling also noted that he thinks Obama has a good chance to win New Hampshire, because of the economy and the war, despite the Granite State's affection for McCain's maverick style. "John McCain has not yet been touched by the press," Burling said. "He will be, and he must be. John McCain in my view, comes to New Hampshire, which I would say, is ferociously ready for change. What he offers is four more years of George W. Bush. ... What New Hampshire is going to ask, is how many more of our now middle-aged men and women have to die."

Burling added he is not urging that Obama put Clinton on the ticket, saying it's not for him to decide. "I'm convinced they'll figure out how to put together the best possible ticket."

He does hope, however, that the next attorney general will be John Edwards.

Obama has also picked up three more superdelegates today, including one switch from Clinton. They are: California congressmen Jim Costa and Dennis Cardoza (the switch) and Oregon DNC member Jenny Greenleaf.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Over the past month, the Clinton campaign, its supporters and its surrogates have been using Republicans -- in one way or another -- to make their case that Clinton should be the Democratic nominee.
 
Just today, the campaign sent out an e-mail with a link to a column in the Philadelphia Inquirer supporting their claim that Clinton is winning the popular vote. The column notes RealClearPolitics' popular vote totals, in which if Michigan and Florida are included, Clinton leads in the popular vote -- something First Read has noted several times. The writer of the piece notes that this is the "most inclusive count." But even this writer points out that the counts that include Florida, but not Michigan, "seem more fair." 
  
Interestingly, the writer is Jonathan Last, whose biography on the Inquirer's site, notes that he is a staff writer at the conservative magazine, the Weekly Standard. (He also runs this blog.) 
 
There are a few other examples of this that have cropped up. A May 1 Huffington Post piece wrote that Sidney Blumenthal -- whom the piece identifies as a senior campaign adviser and helped coin the phrase "vast right wing conspiracy" -- a decade later "is exploiting that same right-wing network to attack and discredit Barack Obama." The examples include conservative outlets such as Accuracy in Media (AIM), The Weekly Standard, City Journal, The American Conservative and The National Review.

Also just this week, Clintonites -- from Bill Clinton to Terry McAuliffe, to the candidate herself -- cited Karl Rove, of all people, to help make their case that Clinton is the strongest general election electoral map candidate. The L.A. Times (and others) put up the map from Rove's firm and headlined the development this way: "Breaking news: Hillary Clinton now thinks Karl Rove's a political genius" 
 
The paper's Malcolm notes in the item, "In recent months one of the worst things Sen. Hillary Clinton could say about her chief opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, was that he was taking moves out of the 'Karl Rove playbook.' Can you imagine?! 'Shame on you, Barack Obama!' she said."
 
Hillary Clinton said Monday, "I found some curious support for that position when one of the TV networks released an analysis done by -- of all people -- Karl Rove, saying that I was the stronger candidate. Somebody got a hold of his analysis and there it is."
 
McAuliffe even went on FOX News and praised Rove. "[L]isten, you've got to give credit," McAuliffe said. "They didn't win 2000 -- they got [inaudible] 2004; they clearly won that election. I think you've got to give credit to people when they actually win elections. They look at the numbers, and I think if you look at the maps that I guess Karl had sent out to a few people, go through that, it looks like Hillary Clinton has a better shot of beating John McCain than Senator Obama. He's just looking at the numbers, doing the analysis in how you win Electoral College victory.
 
"Karl is saying what I've said. We do agree that Hillary Clinton would be the toughest competitor to John McCain. She puts states in play like Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arkansas. I mean, some states -- we were in Kentucky last night, and we won West Virginia by 41 points. She can be competitive in those states. And I think if you want to win the Electoral College, the more states you put in play, the more competitive you're going to be."
 
Rove tried to quash some of McAuliffe's enthusiasm. "Well, Terry, that's not exactly what [inaudible] that she'd be the tougher in the fall. I'm simply saying that as of today she puts some states into play today that Senator Obama doesn't. Now there's a long time, as you know, between May and November. There's several geological ages that are going to come and go before then. But, in looking at it today, she does run better in states like West Virginia, Florida, Ohio, than he does. And, of course, Senator Obama runs better in states like Colorado, New Mexico and Iowa than she does."
 
The FOXers joked about it and had some fun pointing out the irony of the former Democratic National Committee chairman agreeing with Bush's "architect."
 
"The headline here for me is that Terry actually was agreeing with Karl's map," Gretchen Carlson said.
 
"Nostradamus predicted that, didn't he?" Steve Doocy added.
 
"Satan -- 'Terry Agrees with Satan Today,'" Rove concluded.
 
Politics, sometimes, can make for some VERY strange bedfellows.

From NBC's Andrea Mitchell and Mark Murray
Clinton campaign officials Howard Wolfson and Terry McAuliffe tell NBC News that reports of talks between the Clinton campaign and the Obama campaign over a possible vice presidential role are totally false.

Clinton campaign officials are eager to shoot down the reports -- even suggesting they could be deliberate leaks from the Obama campaign to signal that Clinton is ready to give up and cut a deal in order to dry up her fundraising and get superdelegates to declare for him.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton tells First Read that suggestions these leaks are coming from Obama Land are "completely and unequivocally not true." He adds, "We are still in a competitive primary."

Wolfson and McAuliffe both insist that she is not quitting and will campaign through the last primaries on June 3rd -- and until decisions are made on Michigan and Florida. They say she feels to do otherwise would be letting down her supporters. Despite the odds against her getting the nomination, Clinton aides say as long as people are still voting, there is always the chance something will happen and she ends up winning.

From NBC's Mark Murray
With Obama speaking today in Florida on foreign policy and Cuba, the RNC has released a Web ad whacking him on these issues. The video ends with, "Barack Obama -- naive on national security, not ready to be commander-in-chief."

[YouTube:MIlhTVyZfYY]

From NBC's Mark Murray
On a day when there's so much speculation that the Clintons are gunning for Hillary to be Obama's running mate, Hotline's Jennifer Skalka raises this question: What about Hillary as Obama's Supreme Court pick.

The pros, per Skalka's piece: "'There is much to be said for selecting a mixture of people with different experiences in the law and political affairs. Clinton has the political experience and the legal experience that would help to diversify the Court. In that sense, I wouldn't think the lack of prior judicial experience should in any way be seen as a detriment,' said [Mark] Agrast, an expert in constitutional law."

Also: "[W]ith just one woman -- 75-year-old Ruth Bader Ginsburg -- now serving on the nine-member Court, a President Obama would no doubt feel considerable pressure to nominate another. 'The fact is, it's disgraceful for the Supreme Court to have only one woman,' [Laurence] Tribe said. 'It was frankly disgraceful for there to be [only] two women when Sandra Day O'Connor was there.'"

The cons: "'In this time, when the Senate has become so polarized and the parties are at loggerheads, you put yourself in a vulnerable position as president, particularly a new president, nominating somebody who does not have a strong record of judicial experience,' said David Yalof, a University of Connecticut political scientist and the author of Pursuit of Justices: Presidential Politics and the Selection of Supreme Court Nominees."

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** All about McCain: For the first time in quite a while -- and, as it just so happens, the day before the Memorial Day weekend -- the political world today focuses squarely on McCain, whether it's the release of his medical records, the veep possibilities who head to Arizona, or yesterday's denunciation of pastors John Hagee and Rod Parsley. Here's the drill for the medical records, as the New York Times mentioned yesterday: The campaign is allowing a small pool of reporters (including NBC) access to McCain's medical records from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm ET in a conference room at the Copper Wind Resort in Phoenix. The reporters are allowed to take notes but not remove or photocopy the records. Then, at 2:00 pm ET, the campaign will host a conference call with McCain's doctors. Meanwhile, NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann says the guest list for the couples coming to McCain's Sedona, AZ cabin this weekend include three potential vice presidential picks: Bobby Jindal, Charlie Crist, and Mitt Romney. Also expected to attend, per reports, are former Ebay CEO Meg Whitman (a dark horse veep possibility), Sam Brownback, FedEx chief Fred Smith (a possible veep candidate as well), and Sen. Lindsay Graham. By the way, don't fret Huckabee and Ridge veep fans; they, too, were invited this weekend but couldn't make it. The weekend will include three days of BBQing and likely some outdoor festivities like fishing and hunting. McCain will be joined by his wife and some of his children.Here's what we really want from reporters staking these folks out in Sedona, find some local to discuss which veep candidate has the ideal energy levels to converge with the area's famous vortexes.  

*** An early look: The AP got an early look at McCain's health records. "Three-time melanoma survivor John McCain appears cancer-free, has a strong heart and is in otherwise general good health, according to eight years of medical records." More: "The details of McCain's health are contained in 1,173 pages of medical documents spanning 2000 to 2008 that his campaign made available to the AP to make the case that he's healthy enough to serve as president, as well as to counter the notion that he's too old. The Arizona senator will turn 72 in August and would be the oldest elected president."

VIDEO: NBC Political Director Chuck Todd gives his first read on the possibility of an Obama and Clinton "dream ticket" and  McCain's divorce from the Rev. John Hagee.

*** Playing hardball: Speaking of McCain, he's clearly is not a fan of Obama. Just take yesterday, for example. When Obama gave McCain a little push over Jim Webb's GI bill --  "I can't understand why he would line up behind the President in his opposition to this GI bill" -- McCain fired a political bazooka by issuing this statement: "I take a backseat to no one in my affection, respect and devotion to veterans. And I will not accept from Senator Obama, who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform, any lectures on my regard for those who did." Wow, "responsibility" is a VERY strong word. Then in announcing that he was denouncing Hagee, McCain made sure to remind everyone of Rev. Wright. "Hagee was not and is not my pastor or spiritual advisor, and I did not attend his church for twenty years," he said in a statement. And then at a rally in Stockton, CA, the Arizona senator said this about Obama: "For a young man with very little experience, he's done very well. So I appreciate -- with his very, very great lack of experience and knowledge of the issues -- he's been very successful." Whoa, this was all yesterday. Has Obama gotten under McCain's skin? McCain has reserved some of his most sarcastic barbs for the Illinois senator. Forget the shots he enjoyed taking at Romney during the primary; that was beanbag. His disdain for Obama is crystal clear every day on the trail. In politics as in sports, the toughest and meanest guy normally wins. But is this a longer-term problem? After all, the image that McCain built from his 2000 presidential bid was the insurgent, happy warrior who was wronged by Bush in South Carolina and not afraid to buck his party. Then again, this could be part of a strategy to get under Obama's skin and get the normally congenial Obama to get into the sandbox and get mean as well. And if McCain can wear away at Obama's likeability, then he may help turn off indie voters from being tempted to support the Dem senator in the fall.

*** Obama courting the Jewish vote: Lost in the craziness of yesterday's multiple back-and-forths between Obama and McCain was Obama's speech to Jews in South Florida. He faced some tough questions (which the Miami Herald notes might have been influenced by the local ads the Republican Jewish Coalition took out) and he seemed to handle them fairly well. Clearly, the Jewish vote is being seen as more critical than some would have predicted a year ago. Just look at how fast McCain dropped Rev. Hagee, once the pastor was seen as insulting Jews. McCain didn't drop him over the remarks on Catholics, but when it appeared McCain would lose a wedge issue against Obama with a key constituency in Florida, McCain dropped him like a hot latke. Obama's got a LONG way to go with Jews. The conspiracy theories are rampant in the Jewish community as yesterday's front page New York Times story showed. And one speech in front of one Jewish group isn't going to be enough. Can Obama afford to lose a third of the Jewish vote and still win an electoral majority? Some in Florida tell us he can make up the lost Jewish vote but it certainly makes things tough and if enough Jews crossover in Ohio and Pennsylvania and even Nevada, it could make the map that much tougher for Obama.

*** Audition time: But forget BBQs and short lists, the real tests for potential veep candidates are what they do in the public square. Jim Webb yesterday showed off his ability to take on McCain on veterans issues and win, and Joe Biden has an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal defending Obama from McCain's attacks. What should we look for on the GOP side? Romney and Tom Ridge have done a lot of campaigning on McCain's behalf. Will we see real auditions to test some other folks? Also remember: No story exemplifies the "silly season" more than veep speculation -- from "breaking news" speculation on Obama-Clinton to chatter about Bloomberg matching up with, well, everybody. Some of this may eventually turn out to be true, but it's probably not now. And remember, the source list on veep chatter grows exponentially because sources have agendas of their own now, like getting their clients mentioned in the Washington Post in short lists.

*** Hillary as Al Gore? So why is Clinton fighting so hard not only to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations -- but also on her campaign's terms? Is it all about trying to make sure she becomes Obama's veep? Or is it a way to extend the nomination fight as long as possible? Or does she see it simply as her only path to securing the Democratic nomination (which can't be the case, since she needs superdelegates, not Florida and Michigan, to push her past Obama)? TPM's Josh Marshall offers another opinion: It's about establishing the argument that the nomination was stolen from her. "What she's doing is not securing her the nomination," he writes. "Rather, she's gunning up a lot of her supporters to believe that the nomination was stolen from her -- a belief many won't soon abandon." To put it simply, is she trying to transform into Al Gore, circa 2001-2003? Gore was able to keep a core constituency of folks because of the belief he was wronged. Clinton might want this same constituency to follow her -- no matter who ends up the nominee because it makes her a potentially powerful political player, particularly if she can start delivering her vote for others.

*** Mo' money, mo' problems: All the speculation about whether or not Clinton wants to be Obama's veep -- including Time's report that Bill is pushing for it -- has ignored this point: Hillary becoming vice president would be a financial hit on the Clintons. Why? Because Bill Clinton would most likely have to give up all of his paid speeches, as well as many of his other business deals. Of course, this would have been the case had Clinton become president, but that sacrifice would have been worth it to Bill. Would the sacrifice be just as worth it on the veep front? With Obama promising an overly ethical and transparent White House, can his vice president's spouse be giving paid speeches and entering business partnerships with anyone that might have business before the US government? Perhaps the easiest way out for Obama is for Jim Johnson to ask the Clintons to submit to a thorough vetting on the financial front, including seeing the list of the library donors and restricting Bill's ability to make the living he's been making the last eight years. Of course, with the Clintons making $109 million since leaving the White House, they can survive if Bill is giving fewer paid speeches. 

*** The delegate count: Clinton yesterday got Guam Party Chair Pilar Lujan. Since Kentucky/Oregon now it's 2-2 in superdelegates, with 208 who remain undeclared. The NBC NEWS Delegate Counts: PLEDGED: Obama 1,647 to 1,502; SUPERDELEGATES: Obama 306.5 to 282.5; EDWARDS PL. DELEGATES: Obama 10 to 0; TOTAL: Obama 1,963.5 to 1,784.5

*** On the trail: Clinton campaigns in South Dakota; McCain is down in Arizona; and Obama remains in Florida, attending a Cuban Independence Day celebration in Miami and holding a rally in Broward County. Also, Bill Clinton stumps in Montana.
 
Countdown to Puerto Rico: 9 days
Countdown to Montana, South Dakota: 11 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 165 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 242 days
 
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Clinton supporter/New York Gov. David Paterson said Clinton was looking a "little desperate" by calling for the votes in Michigan and Florida to count. "'I would say at this point we're starting to see a little desperation on the part of a woman I still support and will support until she makes a different determination,' Paterson told WAMC-FM radio. 'Candidates have to be cautious in their zeal to win that they don't trample on the process.'"

"Paterson said he doubted his home-state senator would get the edge over Obama, even if the two states' votes were counted. Seating both groups in the way most favorable to Clinton would still leave her trailing Obama in the delegate count, because his lead is now almost 200 delegates." More:  "Paterson said he wouldn't agree with Clinton supporters who say her effort to capture the Michigan and Florida votes is akin to a civil rights fight. No candidates objected to the decision by party leaders to penalize the states, Paterson noted."

As the Clinton campaign argues about Florida and Michigan, and also stresses their big state argument, it's interesting to note that a new PPIC poll in CA shows Obama -- not Clinton -- as the stronger Democrat in that state, proving Obama's point that primary results do not necessarily translate to the general. Then again, this poll proves that Clinton benefited from the calendar in some cases as much as Obama. Had California been later in the process, she probably doesn't win the state by as much as she did on February 5. And California, more than any other state, is what kept her in the delegate and popular vote game.

Memories of the Florida recount? "Busloads of Hillary Clinton supporters will swarm a meeting next week at a D.C. Marriott, where Democratic Party elders hope to forge a compromise over Florida and Michigan's now-voided convention delegates," the NY Daily News reported Thursday. "'We really don't know what to expect, but we do know that the Clinton people are very organized,' said a senior Democratic National Committee source."

What does Hillary want? The New York Times reports that as many folks predicted, Bill Clinton is contemplating the idea of Hillary as Obama's running mate. "The reports about Mr. Clinton's musings surface as the Obama camp has quietly begun the process of searching for a partner on the Democratic ticket. The prospect of an Obama-Clinton ticket has been fodder for political gossip for months, with some Democratic leaders pushing the idea as a way to unify the party. The Obama and Clinton campaigns have consistently shrugged off the idea, however, and Mrs. Clinton has been adamant that she is only interested in the presidency."

"Yet anyone who knows the Clintons is well aware that, at times, they come to politics with different motivations. Both of them want to return to the White House; Mrs. Clinton, of New York, also enjoys being a senator, while Mr. Clinton, according to associates, sees the vice presidency as perhaps her best path to becoming president someday if she loses the nominating fight. And Mr. Clinton has his own ideas about his wife's best interests -- even if she sometimes does not share them."

A few things to think about regarding HRC as Obama's veep: Will the former president allow Jim Johnson to fully vet his business deals? Will he get a look at the library donor records? Will he be OK with the limitations on where he can speak and who he cuts business deals with?

"Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), a Clinton booster, told The [New York] Post, 'I am one that believes that if it works out that Senator Obama is the nominee, the strongest ticket would be Senator Clinton as vice president. No question in my mind. Because the constituencies in the votes are different. The weight of the states he carried versus the states she carried. It's different. And, therefore, if you combine them both, you've got the best electoral path.' Feinstein said she promotes an Obama-Clinton ticket with everyone she talks to.
 
"Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), a vice chair of the Democratic Leadership Council, said, 'I'll encourage [Obama] to ask, and if he does, for her to say yes.' He added, 'She would be a good president if something ever were to happen to him. She'll deliver a heck of a lot of women in a lot of states.'"
 
Check out the Post's cover, complete with an Obama-Clinton wedding cake: "Man and vice." 
 
And check out this graphic showing the pros and cons of putting Clinton on the ticket. (It also highlights that she's wearing two different shoes.)

The Washington Post previews the release of McCain's medical records. "Sen. John McCain's 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam undoubtedly changed the course of his life. But now that he is 71, that remote trauma seems unlikely to shorten his life span or to lead to mental or physical conditions that are not already apparent. That is the implication of a body of research on the lifetime effects of captivity and war trauma and the anecdotal experience of the small group of naval aviators imprisoned with McCain at the notorious 'Hanoi Hilton.'"

More: "The most obvious effect of McCain's captivity is in his arms. He broke both of them and a leg after ejecting from his bomber in 1967. Inadequate treatment of the injuries, as well as torture by his captors in Hanoi, left him with a decreased range of motion in his arms -- evident in the shrugging appearance of his shoulders. At the prison, which received its sarcastic Hanoi Hilton nickname from the Americans held there, McCain was repeatedly beaten, bound and placed in prolonged solitary confinement."

"Sen. John McCain on Thursday repudiated the presidential endorsement of the Rev. John Hagee after learning about a sermon in which the megachurch pastor from San Antonio declared that God allowed the rise of Adolf Hitler because it resulted in returning Israel to the Jewish people," the Washington Post writes. "Mindful of the controversy that ensnarled Sen. Barack Obama, his possible opponent in the November election, McCain tried to draw a distinction between his link to Hagee and Obama's ties to the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., who was the pastor for many years of the church Obama attends in Chicago. Wright's incendiary remarks about the U.S. government have dogged the Democratic front-runner for months.

"I have said I do not believe Senator Obama shares Reverend Wright's extreme views," McCain said in the statement. "But let me also be clear, Reverend Hagee was not and is not my pastor or spiritual advisor, and I did not attend his church for twenty years." He added: "I have denounced statements he made immediately upon learning of them, as I do again today." 

The Los Angeles Times: "McCain, who is viewed with suspicion by many conservatives in the Republican Party, had actively sought endorsements from evangelicals. He has had a rocky relationship with evangelical leaders, notably calling Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell 'agents of intolerance' in the 2000 presidential campaign."

Just asking: Did McCain's anxiousness about evangelical support allow him to not vet these pastors? Did his campaign's lack of experience with dealing with some of these evangelical folks allow these folks to slip through the cracks?

On the eve of the release of hundreds of pages of his medical records, McCain fired off a particularly deep dig at Obama's age and experience, NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann reports. "For a young man with very little experience, he's done very well," the senator from Arizona jibed at a rally in Stockton, CA. "So I appreciate -- with his very, very great lack of experience and knowledge of the issues -- he's been very successful."

For the second day in a row, the Washington Post examines the lobbying career of a McCain supporter and volunteer with the last name of Black -- specifically, Charlie Black's wife, Judy Black. "His wife, Judy Black, is a national co-chair of the fundraising group 'Women for McCain,' and she has a vibrant lobbying practice that includes a foreign client and several companies with business before the Senate Commerce Committee, where McCain is a senior member."

"Judy Black works at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, a firm that earned $12.9 million in lobbying fees last year. She is listed as an agent of Dubai Aerospace Enterprises, whose partners include the government of Dubai, according to forms filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Since 2004, she has also represented telecomunications companies AT&T and Global Crossing Ltd., which have matters before the Commerce Committee. At one point on the campaign trail, Charles Black joked with reporters that deciding to leave behind his lucrative lobbying practice and volunteer full time for McCain left him to seek an allowance from his wife."

More: "Judy and Charles Black have complied with the policies, according to a senior McCain campaign aide who requested anonymity because he is not permitted to make public comments. Judy Black is one of 'hundreds of people' who are both lobbyists and volunteers, the spokesman said."

The Washington Post also editorializes on this anti-lobbyist purge going on with both McCain and Obama. "The McCain campaign has been tossing overboard a lobbyist a day to comply with an anti-lobbyist policy written by, yes, its lobbyist-turned-campaign manager. The Obama campaign seized on the issue to portray the McCain campaign as bought and paid for by lobbyists, then found itself under fire for having a looser policy than the McCain campaign when it comes to lobbyists who volunteer for campaign work. This is, as we suspect both candidates know, a silly exercise. Lobbyists are a symptom of a larger problem that can't be fixed by turning them into political pariahs. The real problem is the distorting influence on public policy of moneyed interests; lobbyists are merely a particularly efficient delivery vehicle for the money that candidates need to satisfy their fundraising habits. The most effective cure would be to free lawmakers of this addiction by providing for public financing of campaigns, a solution that is, admittedly, a long way off."

The Hill notes how McCain could benefit if some troops, as Gen. Petraeus promised, are  withdrawn from Iraq before November. "Petraeus, the top U.S. general in Iraq, told the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday that he expects in September to recommend additional reductions in U.S. troop levels in Iraq before he takes over Central Command, where he will oversee troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. He did not specify how large the cuts would be, but is expected to offer another assessment on Iraq troop levels about a month before the presidential election."

After making his presence known in the presidential race last week during his visit to Israel, the Wall Street Journal reports that Bush plans to keep quiet and stay out of the campaign as much as possible.

The New York Times writes that Obama "sought to assure Jewish voters here on Thursday of his commitment to the security of Israel and implored them to disregard the false stories and rumors about his beliefs, background and foreign policy views toward the Middle East… For nearly two hours, Mr. Obama tried to work through a deep-seated skepticism of his candidacy by some Jews. He was welcomed by warm applause that seemed to grow throughout the afternoon session at a synagogue."

The New York Daily News: "The senator's remarks were one of his strongest public appeals to Jewish voters and come as Obama is shifting his focus on Republican John McCain and the fall campaign. Florida will be a critical swing state in November, and defections among Jews who usually vote heavily Democratic would cripple Obama's chances. Brief interviews with audience members following his remarks suggest Obama continues to face an uphill battle in the Jewish community. 'He's a very articulate person,' said Simon Mizrachi of Boca Raton. 'But I'm voting for McCain.'"

The Miami Herald: "Obama took questions for an hour [at a conservative temple], even responding to the man who rambled on and asked if he had friends who were Jewish and 'anti-terrorist.' He also answered a couple of the hostile questions posed by the Republican Jewish Coalition in ads taken out in local newspapers that criticized his 'dangerously naive foreign policy thinking.'"  More: "Retirees Marvin and Edith Manning said they were not necessarily on board with Obama when they arrived at the synagogue, but he won them over. 'I needed to see him in person, which is different than on TV,' said Marvin Manning, who lives in nearby Century Village. 'My gut feeling is that he will make a tremendous president. I thought he handled all of the questions forthrightedly, which impressed me.'"

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "A few Clinton backers attended the speech, and some said after the address that they were moved by Obama's charismatic remarks and impressed by his command of the issues. Some still expressed reservations about voting for him."

While not claiming the nomination, Obama's doing a lot of things that nominees do -- like start a veep vetting process and plot the takeover of the DNC, so notes the LA Times today. "Obama is also moving to solidify his position in November's likely battleground states. He is in the midst of a three-day swing through Florida, where he has sought to allay fears among some Jewish voters that he is not sufficiently supportive of Israel. On Memorial Day, Obama and his wife, Michelle, are scheduled to visit New Mexico, also considered a swing state."

TPM's Greg Sargent adds, "In a sign that Obama is shifting more aggressively into general election mode, the Illinois Senator will undertake a tour of three purple states -- New Mexico, Nevada, and Colorado -- on the first three days of next week… Obama will visit the Las Cruces area on Monday, the Las Vegas area on Tuesday, and the Denver area on Wednesday... The tour will draw attention to three states that Camp Obama has argued he can run well in this fall -- an assertion that's key to deflecting Hillary's case to super-delegates that she's more electable in a general election."

Per NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy, Obama will deliver a foreign policy address this afternoon at the Cuban American National Foundation's annual luncheon commemorating Cuba's independence from Spain. Obama spokesman Bill Burton tells First Read that Obama "will deliver a major foreign policy address that rejects the Bush-McCain approach that has neglected the Americas and failed to adapt to the realities of our changing world. He will renew the leadership of the United States in the hemisphere by using direct diplomacy to advance democracy, forging a new regional approach to combat insecurity, and aggressively promoting economic opportunity through new trade, aid and energy policies."

The New York Times adds: "A decade ago, it would have been difficult to imagine Mr. Obama, or any other liberal Democrat for that matter, being invited to speak in such a setting, or even thinking it was worthwhile to do so. Republicans still campaign for votes among the Cuban-American community, including most recently Senator John McCain who was in Miami earlier this week. And the foundation was closely identified with the Republican Party, and many of its members were openly hostile to liberal Democrats and any approach to the Castro regime, an attitude that dated back to John F. Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs. But the politics of Miami-Dade County have been changing in recent years. And so, it would appear, has the foundation: Mr. Obama's address comes during commemorations of Cuban independence week that the group has sponsored for a quarter of a century, and whose main speaker that first year was none other than Ronald Reagan."

Yesterday, Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R) hosted a conference call to discuss Obama's campaigning in Florida, NBC's Caroline Gransee notes. The congressman discredited the importance of tomorrow's event by claiming the foundation does not reflect the consensus within the Cuban-American community about foreign policy toward Cuba. Diaz-Balart also argued that Obama's desire to sit down with enemy leaders such as Castro without preconditions -- as well as Obama's opposition to the Colombian Free Trade Agreement -- is "extremely worrisome," and shows his "naivety and inexperience."

Much was made yesterday about the appearances of Charlie Crist, Bobby Jindal, and Mitt  Romney will make this weekend at McCain's Arizona ranch. But they aren't the only veep  candidates who were invited. Apparently, Tom Ridge was invited -- but couldn't make it because he'll be in Europe. In addition, Outgoing EBAY CEO Meg Whitman who has caught the political bug will be there this weekend as will FEDEX founder/CEO Fred Smith, both who are seen as longshot VP prospects. In addition, the AP reported that Mike Huckabee was also invited to the McCain ranch this weekend but he's off celebrating his anniversary.

So did you make the list? Here's who the Washington Post lists for Obama today: Joe Biden, Sam Nunn, Jim Webb,  Kathleen Sebelius, Janet Napolitano, Claire McCaskill, Evan Bayh, Ed Rendell, Ted Strickland, Michael Bloomberg and Chuck Hagel.

Here's who the Post lists for McCain: Charlie Crist, Tim Pawlenty, Rob Portman, Mitt Romney and Bobby Jindal. 

Here are folks listed in the LA Times today: Clinton, Bill Richardson, John Edwards,  Biden, McCaskill, Webb and Sebelius.

The Libertarian Party has qualified for the North Carolina ballot.

From NBC's Ken Strickland
In two different votes today on the Senate floor, 40 of the 49 Senate Republicans defied President Bush's request for fiscal discipline. One vote was add billions of dollars in domestic spending to the war-funding bill; the other vote was to override the President's veto of the farm bill. 

Some of the senators voted against the president of both measures; others on just one. The list of 40 includes every single one of the 18 Senate Republicans facing re-election this year. 

As recently as two days ago, the Bush Administration made it clear they would veto any war-funding bill that included domestic spending. In its Statement of Administration Policy, which carries the official rational for vetoes, it said, "The President also made clear that this bill must be fiscally responsible... this legislation includes billions of dollars of unrequested domestic spending, all of it in excess of the President's request."

Some of the items included are $11 billion for unemployment insurance, $10 billion for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and $5 billion a year (over 10 years) for a new GI Bill expanding educational benefits for veterans. 

The passage of the GI Bill can also be seen a rejection of McCain. The Arizona senator and presumptive GOP presidential nominee offered an alternative proposal that was killed on the Senate floor last week with the help of some Republicans. They included fellow Republican war vets John Warner and Chuck Hagel. In total, 11 Republicans in the Senate signed on as co-sponsors to Senator Jim Webb's bill that was approved today.

The defections on the veto override of the farm bill came as no surprise, since the legislation had overwhelming bipartisan support on its initial passage. In a press conference last month, Bush called the farm bill "bloated" and told Congress to dramatically reduce subsidy payments to multi-millionaire farmers. "Congress can reform our farm programs, and should, by passing a fiscally responsible bill that treats our farmers fairly, and does not impose new burdens on American taxpayers."

There were seven Republicans who voted with the president on both bills. They were Robert Bennett, John Ensign, Judd Gregg, Jon Kyl, Dick Lugar, and George Voinovich. Jim DeMint voted "present" on the farm bill. Republicans John McCain and Tom Coburn were absent, but both have said the would have voted with the president for fiscal discipline -- and the records support that position.

*** UPDATE *** Strickland adds this important point: The domestic spending measure may have attracted Republicans because it likely provided some political cover for those up for re-election. For instance, while the GI bill provision was opposed by the president and McCain, it was supported by every major veterans organization in the country. And one outside group was using it to run ads against some of those Republicans.

The domestic spending package also included things like $11 billion for unemployment insurance and $10 billion for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Voting for the entire package allowed Senators to in effect say, "I voted for it because I really supported money for Katrina (or something else), not that I supported Webb's veterans bill." And knowing that Bush would veto it anyway if it reached his desk, it may have been a safe bet for GOPers to support it. Most importantly, it's passage as part of a broader bill eliminated a stand alone vote on Webb's proposal.

From NBC's Mark Murray
In the back-and-forth over the GI bill, Obama counterpunched with this after McCain played the you-didn't-serve-in-the-military card:

"I am proud to stand with Sen. Webb and a bipartisan coalition to give our veterans the support and opportunity they deserve. It's disappointing that Sen. McCain and his campaign used this issue to launch yet another lengthy personal, political attack instead of debating an honest policy difference. He should know that this is not about John McCain or Barack Obama -- it's about giving our veterans a real chance to afford four years of college without harming retention," Obama said in a statement. "Sen. Webb's bipartisan bill will do this, and the bill that John McCain supports would not. These endless diatribes and schoolyard taunts from the McCain campaign do nothing to advance the debate about what matters to the American people."

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell and Mark Murray
NBC News has been told that McCain decided to "reject" the endorsement of evangelical pastor John Hagee. While McCain has denounced some of Hagee's past comments, he had not until today rejected Hagee's actual support. 

Advisers acknowledge this endorsement was not properly vetted and that McCain was not aware of the range of controversial comments Hagee has made. The latest surfaced remarks were that "Hitler was a hunter" -- regarding the Holocaust -- and today advisers called those statement "heinous." While they acknowledge a "bit of concern" that some evangelicals needed by McCain might be offended, the campaign felt this step was needed today.

VIDEO: NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports on McCain rejecting the endorsement of the controversial Rev. John Hagee.

Here's the statement McCain released and do note the dig at Obama and Jeremiah Wright: "Obviously, I find these remarks and others deeply offensive and indefensible, and I repudiate them. I did not know of them before Reverend Hagee's endorsement, and I feel I must reject his endorsement as well. I have said I do not believe Sen. Obama shares Reverend Wright's extreme views. But let me also be clear, Reverend Hagee was not and is not my pastor or spiritual adviser, and I did not attend his church for twenty years. I have denounced statements he made immediately upon learning of them, as I do again today."

*** UPDATE *** McCain renouncing Hagee's endorsement comes almost three months after the Arizona senator received it. Hagee endorsed McCain on Feb. 27. Two days later, McCain issued a statement disagreeing with some of Hagee's views, but he didn't outright denounce the endorsement until today.

*** UPDATE II *** And here's a statement from Hagee withdrawing his endorsement: "Ever since I endorsed John McCain for president, people seeking to attack Sen. McCain have combed my records for statements they can use for political gain. They have had no qualms about grossly misrepresenting my position on issues most near and dear to my heart if it serves their political ambitions. I am tired of these baseless attacks and fear that they have become a distraction in what should be a national debate about important issues. I have therefore decided to withdraw my endorsement of Senator McCain for President effective today, and to remove myself from any active role in the 2008 campaign."

More: "I hope that the Senator McCain will accept this withdrawal so that he may focus on the issues that are most important to America and the world."

From NBC's Mark Murray
Obama will fill in for Ted Kennedy in giving Sunday's commencement address at Wesleyan University, his campaign says.

"Ted and I talked about me filling in for him at Wesleyan University earlier this week," Obama said in a statement. "Considering what he's done for me and for our country, there's nothing I wouldn't do for him. So I'm looking forward to standing in his place on Sunday even though I know I won't be able to fill his shoes."

From NBC's Mark Murray
Republican political operative and Karl Rove protégé Tim Griffin -- who served as an interim US attorney in Arkansas before the US attorneys firing scandal forced him not to seek confirmation to that post -- is returning to the Republican National Committee to handle the party's opposition research against Obama.

Griffin served as the RNC's research director during the 2004 presidential election.

"He's one of the best political operatives in the country," said a Republican source who confirmed to First Read Griffin's hire at the RNC.

*** UPDATE *** Another Republican operative pushes back slightly that Griffin's role will focused solely on oppo-research, adding that his role is still being worked out.

From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann and NBC's Ken Strickland and Mark Murray
IRVINE, CA -- Today, McCain's pick for "Person of the Year" -- Gen. David Petraeus -- was appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, of which the Arizona senator serves as the ranking member. Also, a GI bill that McCain actively debated came to the Senate floor and was passed as part of a larger war-spending bill.

But while Obama and Clinton both left the campaign trail to return to Hill, McCain happens to be in, well, California, where (among other things) he's attending a town hall with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

A McCain spokesman said the Arizona senator's absence was due simply to a scheduling conflict. "We have a schedule that is set far in advance," spokesman Brian Rogers said. (Per a Senate Armed Services press release, the Petraeus hearing was scheduled eight days ago, on May 14.)

But McCain's absence didn't stop the Arizona senator from sparring with Obama over an education bill authored by Sen. Jim Webb, a Vietnam vet who might be a possible Obama veep pick.

McCain, a fellow vet, tried to amend that bill last week after raising objections to the Webb plan, which offers education benefits to service members that would be so attractive that some Republicans (including McCain and President Bush) were worried that the Armed Forces would face declining retention rates as a result. McCain's version failed after being tabled by the Senate last week. But today, the Webb measure passed as part of a larger domestic spending bill. 

On the Senate floor today, Obama blasted McCain's opposition to the Webb bill. "I respect Sen. John McCain's service to our country. He is one of those heroes of which I speak. But I can't understand why he would line up behind the President in his opposition to this GI Bill. I can't believe why he believes it is too generous to our veterans. I could not disagree with him and the president more on this issue. There are many issues that lend themselves to partisan posturing but giving our veterans the chance to go to college should not be one of them."

McCain, however, shot back with this fiery response, which included a sharp jab at the fact that Obama didn't serve in the military. 

"It is typical, but no less offensive that Sen. Obama uses the Senate floor to take cheap shots at an opponent and easy advantage of an issue he has less than zero understanding of," the Arizona senator said in a statement. "I know that my friend and fellow veteran, Sen. Jim Webb, an honorable man who takes his responsibility to veterans very seriously, has offered legislation with very generous benefits. I respect and admire his position, and I would never suggest that he has anything other than the best of intentions to honor the service of deserving veterans. Both Sen. Webb and I are united in our deep appreciation for the men and women who risk their lives so that the rest of us may be secure in our freedom."

McCain added, "And I take a backseat to no one in my affection, respect and devotion to veterans. And I will not accept from Sen. Obama, who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform, any lectures on my regard for those who did."

From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
On a conference call this morning, Clinton senior adviser Harold Ickes argued not only that Michigan's and Florida's delegations should receive full votes at the convention, but that the Michigan's 55 uncommitted delegates should be seated as such, not given to the Obama camp.
 
"The views of the voters in the Michigan primary and in the Florida primary [should] be respected and be reflected in terms of the allocation of delegates," Ickes said. (For the numbers, if Clinton were awarded the delegates based on the results of the primary, she would get 73 delegates. Neither of the challenges to be taken up by the Rules and Bylaws Committee on May 31 call for splits adhere strictly to the results of the primaries.)
 
Communications Director Howard Wolfson later acknowledged that these uncommitted delegates would likely go for Obama, and that there were efforts from his supporters in the state to drive up the uncommitted count, since he wasn't on the ballot. But Ickes then added that it would be "presumptuous" to assume that these uncommitteds would go for either candidate, and that these delegates would "get a lot of attention" from both campaigns.
 
The Clinton camp has argued consistently for months now that Michigan and Florida should be seated. But to what degree has varied of late. Terry McAuliffe told NBC's Tim Russert on Meet the Press May 11 that the campaign "certainly might" accept giving Michigan and Florida half votes, which he claimed DNC rules called for. As DNC chairman, McAuliffe wrote about threatening to strip Michigan of 50% of its delegates if it moved up its date. Bill Clinton has also called a 50% penalty "appropriate."
 
Ickes today said Michigan and Florida should be seated fully because, in his view, they have already been punished.

"The fact is that punishment was imposed by virtue of not running the primaries there; the lessons were learned," he said, adding that the attention should now turn toward winning the states in the fall.
 
Asked why then the votes should count if there weren't traditional, contested primaries, Ickes pointed to significant turnout in both states.

"People came out in droves," he said. "They knew who they wanted to vote for."
 
Both Ickes and Wolfson declined to say what would happen if the Rules and Bylaws Committee ruled for anything less than a full commitment, but did not rule out taking it to the Credentials Committee at the convention. Ickes sits on the committee and last year voted to strip Florida of its delegates.
 
Wolfson also continued to press the campaign's electability argument, pointing to new Quinnipiac numbers in Ohio and Florida specifically that show her running stronger against McCain than Obama.
 
"We urge superdelegates to look at the map that we believe makes very clear that Sen. Clinton would be the stronger nominee against John McCain," he said. "We believe the party ought to choose the person who is already winning these [swing] states, has won them in primaries, and would be the strongest possible nominee."

From NBC's Ken Strickland
Clinton and Obama will be back in the Senate this morning.

Both are expected to take part in a series of votes on emergency war-funding bills, which also have money for various domestic programs. (Specific details of the votes are forthcoming in a later note.) But in short, both are here more than likely to maintain their anti-war stance by VOTING AGAINST war funding, and their pro-troops stance by VOTING FOR an expanded GI bill. The votes -- four of them -- should start about 11:30 am ET.

As is always the case when these two come back to the Hill, we'll monitor the Senate floor for any huggin' or snubbin'. When both voted last week, the hovering press was rewarded with a handshake between the two.

Before the votes, Clinton is also scheduled to attended an Armed Services Committee hearing with Generals Petraeus and Odierno. The 9:30 am ET session is a confirmation hearing for both men who've been nominated to higher posts: Petraeus to CentCom commander and Odierno to replace Petraeus as commander of the Iraq multi-national force.

 From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** Shiny object time: You've got to hand it to Team McCain. By leaking out word that the candidate will be hosting three potential veep running mates (Charlie Crist, Bobby Jindal, and Mitt Romney) at his ranch this weekend, the campaign has given the press corps a nice distraction story to focus on at a time when he'll have just released details of his medical records on Friday, which just happens to mark the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend. There are veep short lists, and then there are short lists serving as shiny objects. And this weekend meeting appears to fall into the "shiny object" column. That said, all three men would bring some strengths and weaknesses to a McCain ticket. Crist is a centrist governor who would lock down Florida for the GOP, but he has been governor for just a year and a half and he's unmarried. Jindal has served even less time as governor -- remember that McCain's veep pick will receive extra scrutiny due to his age -- but he brings diversity as well as incredible smarts (Rhodes Scholar). Yet is Jindal TOO young, meaning that every time Jindal stands next to McCain, it's a reminder of McCain's elder status? McCain, at 71, is nearly twice Jindal's age, who turns 37 on June 10. And Romney, as we've mentioned before, would help McCain both on the economy and in Michigan, but his campaign skills proved to be weaker than we all expected. Speaking of veep stuff, the Atlantic's Marc Ambinder curtain-raises the Jim Johnson vetting process on behalf of Obama which may have started a lot sooner than folks think.

*** On the defensive: Obama's finding himself more and more on the defensive on this issue of talking with rogue leaders. The campaign's surrogates have slowly been walking back his initial declarations and the RNC and McCain folks have been pouncing hard on him. The issue is one the Obama campaign still likes -- because it allows them to tie McCain to Bush's foreign policy -- but it will have to deal with a couple of challenges today. The first is a critical AP article: "Obama gets cheers at his rallies when he declares there is nothing to fear, and potentially much to gain, from talking to enemies as well as friends. But U.S. diplomacy is not that simple and neither is his position." The other is a New York Times op-ed noting that Kennedy's meeting with Khrushchev in '61 didn't turn out all that well. Still, McCain has his own challenge that hasn't received that much scrutiny: How would the course he proposes -- not to mention still trying to win the war in Iraq -- change Iran's and North Korea's behavior? This really is a unique issue debate because both campaigns believe they can win the argument. Right now, judging by body language alone, McCain appears to be winning it right now. 

*** A Black eye? Here's another challenge for McCain: How much of a distraction does Charlie Black (and potentially Rick Davis) present the campaign these days now that the DNC and outside groups like MoveOn want to make their lobbying pasts a major issue. This has to be a frustrating issue for the McCain camp, because most voters likely don't care. But it's the type of story the media loves to cover because it can look like such rich terrain. Just check out today's Washington Post story on Black's past clients. A reasonable explanation of Black's decision to represent these folks can be presented. But what's reasonable when the lens is the presidential campaign? Something Obama's learning with his rogue states comments and something the McCain campaign is experiencing right now when it comes to the staff's ties to the business side of Washington.

*** How do his members feel about this? AFSCME's Gerald McEntee has been one of Clinton's biggest supporters this presidential cycle, and he's one of Washington biggest political players? But is his union's reputation going to suffer if Obama wins the nomination -- and then the presidency? Check out these comments in today's Washington Post: "[McEntee] said in a telephone interview that Clinton has been the superior candidate over the past few months and that Obama's losses in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky could haunt the party in November. 'Are we going to pick a candidate that will literally walk almost lame into the Democratic National Convention?' he asked." How is McEntee going to wriggle out of these comments? Remember, if Obama wins, this will be the second straight presidential election McEntee picked the wrong horse. McEntee has been instrumental in propping up Clinton. Whether it's organizing unofficial events in Florida or helping to direct money to that 527, McEntee might be the single most important endorser in Clinton's camp.

*** Here comes the Wolfson-Singer call: A new round of Quinnipiac polls shows Clinton to perform better against McCain in the battlegrounds of Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. In Florida, it's Clinton 48%, McCain 41%; McCain 45%, Obama 41%. In Ohio, it's Clinton 48%, McCain 41%; McCain 44%, Obama 40%. And in Pennsylvania, it's Clinton 50%, McCain 37%; Obama 46%, McCain 40%. No doubt Clinton looks stronger in these states, but she can't use these polls to argue that Obama can't win them. Clinton has to prove that he's unelectable, not less electable, and that's the frustration the Clinton camp must feel. Why is that the standard? Many Superdelegates aren't going to be comfortable denying Obama the nomination without definitive proof he CAN'T win. Of course, the Obama campaign is probably wishing that Quinnipiac picked three different battleground states to poll (like Wisconsin or Colorado or even Michigan)…

*** The Woman In Red: While those Quinnipiac polls boost Clinton's electability claims, does her fundraising report suggest the opposite? Once again, Clinton's monthly FEC report shows her campaign to be in the red. Per the New York Times, she has a little over $6 million in the bank (compared to Obama's $38 million), but has campaign debts of $9.5 million, which is on top of the $11.4 million she has loaned her campaign. If Clinton becomes the Democratic nominee, just how much money would she have to run TV ads between now and the Democratic convention?

*** The delegate count: Obama picked up two superdelegates yesterday to Clinton's one. Obama got Mississippi Dem Party Chair Wayne Dowdy (a former congressman) and current congressman Joe Courtney (CT). Clinton was first out of the gate yesterday with a super: Ohio add-on Craig Bashein. The NBC NEWS Delegate Counts: PLEDGED: Obama 1645 to 1502; SUPERDELEGATES: Obama 306.5 to 281.5; EDWARDS PL. DELEGATES: Obama 10 to 0; TOTAL: Obama 1,961.5 to 1,783.5.

*** On the trail: Clinton is in the Senate attending Gen. David Petraeus' nomination hearing at the Armed Services Committee; McCain spends his day in California, hitting the San Jose area and Stockton, where he holds a rally and raises money; and Obama returns briefly to Capitol Hill and then resumes campaigning in Florida, speaking to the B'nai Torah congregation in Boca Raton in the afternoon and then raising money in Miami in the evening. Also: A very interesting McCain-Ellen DeGeneres interview airs this morning (for more on that, see below).
 
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The Boston Globe writes of "Clinton's seven stages of grief." 1. Shock -- third place in Iowa; 2. Denial. "Publicly at least, Clinton is still in this stage, insisting to supporters that the race isn't over despite the all but insurmountable delegate math;" 3. Bargaining. Clinton and her top aides have been cajoling superdelegates for weeks, trying to convince them that she would be the stronger nominee against Republican John McCain; 4. Guilt. Not for Clinton, herself, necessarily...Some loyalists say her staff has not run the campaign she deserved; 5. Anger. "It has surfaced most clearly in complaints about media coverage -- what she sees as the coddling of Obama, and what she described this week as sexist, at times even misogynist, treatment;" 6. Depression. "[N]o outward sign so far of this phase, other than fatigue on the campaign trail; 7. Acceptance. "This probably won't come until after the last contests on June 3, when Obama could very well mathematically clinch the nomination."

AFSCME's Gerald McEntee is not giving up on Clinton and continues to raise doubts about Obama. "He said in a telephone interview that Clinton has been the superior candidate over the past few months and that Obama's losses in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky could haunt the party in November. 'Are we going to pick a candidate that will literally walk almost lame into the Democratic National Convention?' he asked."

"McEntee said McCain will be a formidable opponent, one who is 'distancing himself from Bush every day" and whose status as a war hero will make him attractive to many of the voters Democrats need to win.'"

Clinton's talking points yesterday about counting FL and MI only seem to be helping to do one thing: promoting HBO's movie "Recount."

Clinton likened Obama to President Bush and his 2000 election victory following his disputed win in the Sunshine State. Florida 'learned the hard way what happens when your votes aren't counted and the candidate with fewer votes is declared the winner,' she said. 'The lesson of 2000 here in Florida is crystal clear,' Clinton added. 'If any votes aren't counted, the will of the people isn't realized and our democracy is diminished.'"

The New York Post looks at some of the details of Clinton's debt. Mark Penn's firm is owed about $5 million. "I've been working with the Clintons for 10 years and they've always paid their bills," Penn said yesterday. But one professor said, "I feel more badly in general for the vendors who get stiffed than the candidates who do the stiffing." He added, "that campaigns often haggle down the amount they owe."