The New York Times front-pages, "Senator Barack Obama's campaign began a concerted effort on Monday to rally undecided superdelegates around him so he can claim the Democratic presidential nomination after the primaries end on Tuesday night. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton invited fund-raisers and other supporters to an election-night rally in New York City where, aides said, she was prepared to deliver what they described as a farewell speech that summed up the case for her candidacy. They said Mrs. Clinton was not likely to withdraw from the race on Tuesday night, probably waiting until later in the week, once Mr. Obama's victory appeared clear."

The Washington Post adds, "Obama is optimistic that he will be able to claim victory Tuesday evening at a gathering in St. Paul, Minn., with superdelegates preparing to rally to his candidacy on the eve of the day's contests in South Dakota and Montana and push him past the threshold of 2,118 delegates needed to clinch the nomination." Meanwhile, "Clinton sent mixed signals about her plans throughout the day Monday. As her campaign recalled field staffers to New York, one adviser indicated that she would suspend, but not end, her campaign within days. But the candidate herself said she will continue to argue to the group of party insiders who will hold sway over the final outcome that her strong showing in recent contests demonstrates that she would be the more electable candidate in November."

Per NBC's Andrea Mitchell, Hillary Clinton will not concede or suspend tonight. Instead, it will be a "celebration" of her campaign themes. What happens tomorrow? She flies back late tonight to DC and appears back-to-back with Obama at the AIPAC conference. Campaign aides don't rule out a return to New York for a concession/endorsement with Obama as early as Wednesday night (there is that DNC event in New York City).

The AP: "Barack Obama said Monday he has asked Democratic presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton for a meeting on her terms 'once the dust settles' from their race. 'The sooner we can bring the party together, the sooner we can start focusing on John McCain in November,' Obama told reporters. He said he spoke with Clinton on Sunday when he called to congratulate her on winning the Puerto Rico primary."
 
"Separately, in an interview with The Associated Press, Obama said he expects to pick up 15 delegates in Tuesday's final contests in South Dakota and Montana and expects superdelegates who have been holding back to then start flocking his way. 'A lot of people recognize that it is going to be time for us to pivot and move on' after Tuesday, Obama told the AP."

Yesterday, Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee held a gaggle with reporters aboard the press plane. Here are some of the more interesting exchanges.
Q: If Obama passes the 2,118 threshold and declares himself the nominee, will Clinton be in a position to say, "No you didn't"? 
A: We'll cross that bridge if we come to it. But again, we do not expect that a nominee will be clear tomorrow night. We believe there is a significant number of delegates to the convention who have yet to make up their minds in this race. And we're going to talk to them up until they do.

Also… Q: Obama is just a few dozen delegates away from 2,118.
A: We do not believe that there will be a nominee, that the Democratic Party will have a nominee tomorrow night. We do not believe that is a likely scenario. We are going to be reaching out in the coming days …
Q: So you deny that she will be dropping out tomorrow night? 
A: Yes.

The New York Daily News adds, "Clinton staffers insisted the senator would not quit Tuesday night, even though she has returned to New York to celebrate the final primaries in Montana and South Dakota. Other body language from the campaign suggested her exit was not a question of if, just when."

The same Huffington Post reporter who broke the Obama "bitter" story got a new scoop yesterday of Bill Clinton lashing out at Vanity Fair's Todd Purdum and calling him "sleazy," "dishonest" and "slimy" for his critical magazine article on Clinton. It's worth noting that the HuffPo reporter didn't identify herself as a reporter and said she disliked the article when asking for his reaction.

From the piece: "Tightly gripping this reporter's hand and refusing to let go, Clinton heatedly denounced the writer, who is currently married to his former White House Press Secretary, Dee Dee Myers. '[He's] sleazy,' he said referring to Purdum. 'He's a really dishonest reporter. And one of our guys talked to him… And I haven't read [the article]. There's just five or six blatant lies in there. But he's a real slimy guy,' the former President said. When I reminded him that Purdum was married to his former press spokesperson Myers, Clinton was undeterred. 'That's all right-- he's still a scumbag,' Clinton said. 'Let me tell ya--he's one of the guys -- he's one of the guys that brought out all those lies about Whitewater to Kenneth Starr. He's just a dishonest guy-- can't help it.'"

Bill continued, "'It's just slimy. It's part of the national media's attempt to nail Hillary for Obama. It's the most biased press coverage in history. It's another way of helping Obama. They had all these people standing up in this church cheering, calling Hillary a white racist, and he didn't do anything about it. The first day he said "Ah, ah, ah well." Because that's what they do-- he gets other people to slime her. So then they saw the movie they thought this is a great ad for John McCain -- maybe I better quit the church. It's all politics. It's all about the bias of the media for Obama. Don't think anything about it.'"

"'But I'm telling ya, all it's doing is driving her supporters further and further away-- because they know exactly what it is-- this has been the most rigged coverage in modern history-- and the guy ought to be ashamed of himself. But he has no shame. It isn't the first dishonest piece he's written about me or her.'"

The New York Times: "By the end of the day, Mr. Clinton's aides had issued a statement saying that he had been 'understandably upset about an outrageously unfair article,' but that the language he had used about Mr. Purdum 'was inappropriate and he wishes he had not used it.'"

Reporting from South Dakota, NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli notes that the entire Clinton clan gathered for one last primary-eve rally yesterday evening, with Hillary saying she's counting on a grassroots effort to help her end on a strong note. "We're being outspent four-to-one, but we've had something better than money and TV ads," she said. "We've had thousands of South Dakotans who've gotten up every day and gone to work for us… And you know that by doing your part tomorrow and coming out to vote you send a strong signal that you really want to be included in helping to pick the next president of the United States."
 
Clinton joked that the campaign has been such a "grueling process" that she needed Chelsea to speak for her earlier. And sure enough, later her voice faded once again. "Ah, a long campaign," she said, as Chelsea and not Bill came on stage to relieve her. As she spoke, both parents watched on, faces beaming -- Hillary from the stage, and Bill from the floor off to the side. Hillary Clinton did return to the stage later, though, telling a hot crowd crammed into a building at the W.H. Fairgrounds that tomorrow would be "your day."
 
"What is so great about this campaign is that yesterday I can be in Puerto Rico and today I can be in South Dakota," she said. "It is a privilege and an honor to be part of making history like this. But you know, the campaign isn't an end in itself. The campaign is to nominate the stronger candidate against Senator McCain because that's the only way we're going to win in November."

Speaking yesterday to the pro-Israel group AIPAC, the Arizona senator blasted Obama on Iran and Iraq, the New York Times writes. "Some of Mr. McCain's main points of attack on Mr. Obama — including criticism of Mr. Obama's previous statement that he would meet with leaders of enemy nations without preconditions — were amplified, sharpened versions of attacks that have been leveled at Mr. Obama by his main Democratic rival, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Mr. McCain's voice seemed to drip with sarcasm at times, as when he spoke of Mr. Obama's call for more diplomacy with Iran. 'We hear talk of a meeting with the Iranian leadership offered up as if it were some sudden inspiration, a bold new idea that somehow nobody has ever thought of before,' Mr. McCain said. 'Yet it's hard to see what such a summit with President Ahmadinejad would actually gain, except an earful of anti-Semitic rants and a worldwide audience for a man who denies one Holocaust and talks before frenzied crowds about starting another.'"

The Boston Globe looks at Obama's limp to the finish line. A win's a win, but concerns remain. "[E]ven as Hillary Clinton sends mixed signals about her willingness to leave the race, Obama, unlike his counterparts in recent presidential cycles, is not exactly sprinting across the finish line. Over the last three months, the Illinois senator has won six of 14 contests, one less than the seven Clinton has won. (They essentially tied in Texas as she won the primary and he won the caucus.) A loss to Clinton in either primary today would underscore Obama's relatively weak finish and make his narrow victory over the New York senator slimmer."

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Obama today picked up four superdelegates to Clinton's two.

Since the rules committee judgment, Obama has gotten six superdelegates to Clinton's two.

Here's who they were:
OBAMA (6): WA DNC member David McDonald; VA DNC Member -- a rules committee member -- Jerome Wiley Segovia; Connecticut DNC Member Nancy DiNardo; and two from MI -- MI delegates get half a vote each: Lu Battaglieri and Brenda Lawrence. Yesterday, Obama got Maine add-on Gwethalyn Phillips and Nevada's Yvonne Gates.

CLINTON (2): NY Irene Stein and Louisiana's Democratic Party chair Chris Whittington.

Whittington got in an apparent dig at Obama in a statement released by the Clinton campaign. "There is no question that she is the strongest Democrat to go toe-to-toe with John McCain in a general election," Whittington said. "It is our responsibility as automatic delegates to choose the candidate we believe best fit to beat Senator McCain. That candidate is Senator Clinton."
 
The NBC NEWS Delegate Counts:
PLEDGED: Obama 1729 to 1625
SUPERS: Obama 333 to 295
EDWARDS PL.: Obama 16.5 to 0
OVERALL: Obama 2,078.5 to 1,920

COUNTDOWN TO THE NOMINATON:
OBAMA: 39.5
CLINTON: 198

* 196.5 undeclared supers.

* With the expected endorsement of Rep. Jim Clyburn tomorrow, Obama would be 38.5 away.

THE PERCENTAGES:
- Obama needs 17% (39.5 of 235.5); Clinton needs 84% (198 of 235.5).

* If Obama wins a 55%-45% split out of the delegates in Montana and South Dakota, he would get about a 17-14 split.

* That would bring his total to 2095.5 -- 22.5 short of the nomination. By contrast, Clinton's total would be 1,934 -- 184 short.

* At that point, there would be 204.5 delegates left, including superdelegates and the remaining Edwards pledged delegates out of Florida and elsewhere.

- Obama would need 11% of those; Clinton would need 90%.

MORE NUTS AND BOLTS NUMBERS:
* 4,234 DNC total number of votes to be cast at convention.

* 31 pledged delegates remain up for grabs -- between tomorrow's contests in South Dakota (15) and Montana (16).

From NBC's Caroline Gransee and Katie Mulhall
RNC chairman Mike Duncan and Minnesota GOP chair Ron Carey held a conference call with reporters this afternoon to discuss Obama's visit to the state tomorrow -- as well as to argue that McCain will be able to put the state in the GOP column for the first time since 1972. 

On the call, the chairmen repeatedly sought to label Obama as too liberal and out of touch with the state, with Carey calling him "the most liberal candidate to run for president of the United States, certainly in my lifetime." They also argued that once Minnesotans see the "real Barack Obama ... not the PR machine Barack Obama" -- and contrast this with McCain -- the state will be winnable for them. They added that Obama lacks judgment, while McCain offers "solutions to the world."

Carey asserted that Minnesota is "certainly within our reach, despite what some polling might say right now," and that the state has been trending Republican in recent years (although Democrats trounced Republicans in the open Senate race in 2006). Carey also noted that Minnesota has gone from being the only state to vote for Walter Mondale in 1984 to coming within 90,000 votes of giving its electoral votes to George W. Bush in 2000, and again in 2004.

From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann and NBC's Lauren Appelbaum
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Hillary Clinton isn't the only one insisting that she shouldn't be counted out.

At the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn., today, John McCain fielded a question from a woman who noted the Arizona senator's harsh words for -- almost exclusively -- Barack Obama. 

"At least, officially, Hillary Clinton is still in the race," the questioner pointed out.

McCain responded by launching into a particularly effusive paragraph of praise for the New York senator, noting her groundbreaking candidacy in the Democratic primary. 

"Yes, Sen. Clinton is still in the race," he agreed, going on to say that "she has inspired generations of American women to believe that they can reach the highest office in this nation."

Although she faces swirling rumors of an impending campaign disintegration, McCain said today that her political brand shouldn't be underestimated.

"A few of us who have been around politics for a while learned a lesson way back in 1992 that you better never count a Clinton out of any race," McCain said.

The presumptive GOP nominee often has kind words for the candidate once viewed as the inevitable nominee of the Democratic Party. Particularly in recent days, he has sometimes gone out of his way to praise her tenacity and resilience. He even made the somewhat unusual move of calling to congratulate her after her recent win in the West Virginia primary.

His description of Clinton has not always been rosy. In the early days of the primary season, McCain used her once-proposed appropriation of funds for a Woodstock musuem as one of the jokey centerpieces of his crusade against government waste. (He famously joked that he "was tied up at the time" of the 1969 iconic concert. It even inspired one of his TV commercials.) And in the bitter coldness of his lonely treks through Iowa, McCain gleefully hammered her for stating that a progress report on Iraq from General David Petraeus required "a willing suspension of disbelief."

Not so today. When McCain mentioned last year's flap over Petraeus' testimony, his indignation was reserved for Obama alone. He mentioned Obama's refusal to vote on a highly political senate resolution to condemn an anti-Petraeus ad run at the time by liberal group MoveOn.org. 

"It's hard to understand why Sen. Obama would not vote in favor of a resolution that condemns an advertisement by a far, far left liberal organization that questions Gen. Petraeus' patriotism," he said today.

No mention of Clinton, who voted against the measure outright.

From NBC's Christina Jamison, Ron Allen and NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
On the plane just now flying from Rapid City, S.D., to Sioux Falls, S.D., campaign spokesman Mo Elleithee maintained that Clinton is not getting out of the race tomorrow night -- or anytime soon.

Elleithee said as long as there is still no nominee (and incidentally he wouldn't say the campaign acknowledges a delegate number at which there will be a nominee), the senator will be making the case on the phone to committed and uncommitted superdelegates and uncommitted delegates.

He repeatedly said there will be "an ongoing dialogue" with committed and undeclared superdelegates.

Clinton has no public schedule beyond Wednesday, where she speaks at the AIPAC conference in Washington, D.C. Tomorrow, Clinton will spend the day at home in Chappaqua, N.Y. doing local radio in MT and SD, as well as making political calls. Bill Clinton, campaign aides believe, will be home with her, as well as daughter Chelsea.

When asked about reports the campaign has invited top donors to Tuesday night's celebration, and whether that signals an end to the campaign, Elleithee said donors are invited in every state the night of the primary and this is nothing new.

He insisted the e-mail to advance staff offering flights to New York or home was just to give them an option as "this phase of the campaign" wraps up.
 
So what's next?
 
The campaign plans an aggressive outreach to undeclared superdelegates, including many currently committed to Obama. Both Hillary and Bill Clinton are expected to be working the phones for most of the day. 
 
The campaign says it does not expect there will be a nominee after tomorrow night, and when asked about the magic number 2,118, Elleithee indicated that number may change depending on what Clinton decides to do about Michigan.

"She is, in the coming days, going to be aggressively courting superdelegates and unpledged delegates," Elleithee said, adding emphatically that there will be no nominee after tomorrow.

What if Obama reaches 2,118 and declares victory? The answer is basically that Clinton will deal with that when and should it happen.
 
The mantra is that Clinton will fight on especially for superdelegates until there's a nominee. But with Clinton hedging on whether she'll appeal the DNC's Michigan decision, it's unclear what she thinks actually determines when there's a nominee.
 
The spokesman wasn't clear about how an appeal would take place, saying check with the DNC -- perhaps only when the Credentials Committee is formed, and that's perhaps eight weeks ahead of the convention.
 
No word on future travel plans despite being asked numerous times about various scenarios like traveling to key battleground states, or whether she'd be focusing solely on McCain.
 
As Clinton said herself yesterday, "It's not over until it's over," and she's a person who takes things one day at a time. And as of now, insisting she's still determined to win, and believes she can.

There was a lot of parsing on when -- or if -- she will acknowledge there is a nominee, given that she has reserved the right to appeal the Michigan ruling, and her statement that superdelegates can change their minds, that it's not over until the votes are counted.

When asked, based on all that, if one could only infer that she wants only a convention vote to determine the nominee, and he demurred. Asked what happens if the leadership of the party (Pelosi, Reid, et al.) come out and end it, he said that many times in this campaign, people declared it over.

From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy
BILLINGS, MT -- On her first of two stops in the Treasure State today, Michelle Obama thanked roughly 400 volunteers here this morning and told them that "the real work begins after Tuesday, and it's going to be fun." 
 
Later she seemed to admit that some Americans may have a tough time trusting her husband, and that's what volunteers must fight against. Referring to Dr. Grace Kim, a volunteer for the campaign who introduced her, Mrs. Obama said that people are ready for change, even if they might be scared of it.
 
"People are hopeful that we can move to a different place, and they're ready," she said. "And it's true -- as Grace said -- there are fears there for sure. People aren't sure whether they can trust, and they need some reassurance. And they're not sure what the answer should look like, but we know a couple of things. People are hurting, life has gotten harder, things are tougher, so people are willing to step outside of their comfort zones, probably in a way that they wouldn't before because the need is so great."
 
While thanking the room full of volunteers, Mrs. Obama also was sure to try to convince them that all the rumors of a divided Democratic Party are only rumors.
 
"I know that once this primary is over, we're going to be able to pull together a united party, a united nation," she said. "It's not just going to be about pulling Democrats together. But there are many independents, lots of Republicans who have been desperate to find a candidate they can believe in. This is the direction that we're moving in."
 
The crowd in attendance didn't need much convincing to agree that her husband was the right candidate to move the country in the right direction, but Mrs. Obama also gave the crowd a talking point to help convince their friends.
 
"He represents almost all that America has to offer, and sometimes we're not used to that," she said. "It takes a certain level of hope to embrace the vision that he has, and one thing that I can tell you throughout this entire year, I haven't been more proud of Barack than I have been in this year ... and the only thing that I try to reassure people, if you want to know what kind of president that Barack Obama will be, just look at this year. I mean he has run a phenomenal campaign against all the odds."

From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones
The Obama campaign has two questions for McCain: 1) how will his foreign policy be different from George Bush's, and 2) if it is not different, why should anyone expect better results than Bush has achieved?
 
So asked California Rep. Adam Schiff (D) during a conference call held this afternoon to McCain's remarks at the AIPAC meeting in Washington today.
 
The 13-minute call continued what has become a common tactic of the Obama campaign -- linking Bush to McCain in several policy areas, a bid to portray a McCain presidency as a third Bush term.
 
"Unfortunately, [McCain] continues to cling to a foreign policy that's failed to make the US or Israel safer. Iran's nuclear program has continued during the course of the last several years, without abatement," Schiff said. "Hamas and Hezbollah have grown stronger not weaker. This has not only threatened our security, but Israel's as well. The only thing that appeared at all new in Sen. McCain's remarks was a adoption of a divestment policy, a sanctions approach, which ironically was something Sen. Obama has been championing for some time."
 
In his speech to the powerful lobby this morning, McCain criticized Obama for his openness to engaging in direct diplomacy with Iran; for his opposition to the Iraq troop surge; for his desire to end the war; and for being opposed to a 2007 amendment that classified Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. Obama has said he opposed other language in that measure -- not the terrorist label -- which Denis McDonough, Obama's senior foreign policy adviser, repeated today, adding that the senator had co-sponsored a bill to make that point clear.
 
McDonough continued the theme of what the campaign sees as Bush's poor track record on foreign policy asking similar questions to Schiff: ""I think that if you just tick through a series of simple questions after reading this speech, you come to a pretty stark conclusion: First, is Israel safer today than it was before the Bush administration policies? Is U.S. influence in the region greater or less than it was….Is Hezbollah stronger? Is Hamas stronger or weaker? Is Iran dramatically closer to its goal of perfecting this illicit nuclear technology? And has the war in Iraq strengthened or weakened Iran? I think that we know what the answers are to those questions are as a result of this administration's policies."

From NBC's Chuck Todd
Buzz on the Capitol Hill suggests that has many as 34 of the undeclared superdelegates residing in the House will endorse Obama by Wednesday. As many as 18 of these 34 -- many of them elected to Congress in the last four years -- will come out for Obama tomorrow so he can edge closer to his magic number before the vote counting ends in South Dakota and Montana. The biggest Obama get in the House to date will come tomorrow when House Dem Caucus Chairman Jim Clyburn officially declares.

No other member of the Dem leadership is expected to endorse Obama while Clinton is still running. 

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro and Mark Murray
"Not since 1972 has our party nominated a candidate who was not leading in the popular vote," Clinton adviser Harold Ickes told Tim Russert on Meet the Press Sunday. "That was, as you know, McGovern. That was the McGovern year."

"Oh, so you're comparing Barack Obama to George McGovern," Russert said.

"No, I'm not. I'm not," Ickes said.

VIDEO: Clinton supporter Harold Ickes appears on "Meet the Press."

To put the argument over the popular vote in proper historical context, First Read took a look back at the 1972 Democratic primaries. That is the year Clinton aides draw a comparison to as the last time a Democrat who lost the primary popular vote became the nominee. Of course, that year's nominee was George McGovern, who went on to lose in the general election.

There are, however, some interesting things to look at between 1972 and 2008. In 1972, there were just 21 primaries -- not the 56 there will have been this year after polls close in Montana tomorrow night. Also, less than half the number of people voted in 1972 than in 2008. About 16 million votes were cast in 1972 versus more than 35 million in 2008, according to CQ's Guide to U.S. Elections.

But there is one interesting parallel. Hubert Humphrey won the popular that year by about 68,000 votes, but only because McGovern wasn't on the ballot in West Virginia. There, Humphrey gained almost 250,000 votes.

You could say, West Virginia '72 is Michigan '08.
 
It's worth pointing out that McGovern wasn't on the ballot either in Indiana, where Humphrey got about 350,000 votes. But Humphrey wasn't on the ballot in Massachusetts where McGovern got about 325,000 votes. So those two states about canceled each other out. (Humphrey competed in 17 of the 21 states, and McGovern competed in 16.)

From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
RAPID CITY, S.D. -- Coming off what she said was "another lopsided win" yesterday, Hillary Clinton greeted patrons of a local diner here, saying South Dakota would have an important final say in who the nominee should be.

"We started out way behind in South Dakota," she said. "My opponent has a tremendous base of support here. But we have put together an amazing grassroots, volunteer driven campaign across the state. … Your votes really do count, and what South Dakota decides tomorrow will have a big influence on what people think going forward."

She called the Puerto Rico result a "great victory," and said it gave her a 300,000-vote lead in the cumulative popular vote. "I am slightly behind in delegates," she said, "but we're going to make our case to all of the delegates."

Some of the supporters at Tally's Restaurant said they came as early as 5 a.m. to get a chance to see Clinton, some hoping to get her to sign the diner's placemats that feature all 43 presidents. Clinton came about an hour late, explaining she got in very late the night before. One woman passed the time by drawing a devilish beard on the likeness of George W. Bush, while decorating adoringly the square reserved for Bill Clinton.

A larger crowd waited outside, some cheering, "H-I-L-L-A-R-Y! She is better than the guy!"

"It is so inviting," Clinton said of the quaint downtown. "I'm very grateful that we kept this campaign going until South Dakota would have the last word."

From NBC's Ron Allen
The Clinton campaign is pushing back on the report that it has told the advance staff that their jobs are finished. They're saying "no staff cuts are planned," and are simply giving the staff the option of flying to New York for the "victory party," or flying home and standing by until more trips are planned.

Campaign officials gave no indication of when or where those trips might be. The only definite appearance after Tuesday night for Clinton is Wednesday in DC for an AIPAC speech.

From NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger
MILBANK, S.D. -- Bill Clinton acknowledged Monday that today may be his last campaigning for his wife.

"I want to say also, that this may be the last day I'm ever involved in a campaign of this kind," the former president said at a town hall at the Milbank Visitor Center.

Clinton was talking about how his entire family was campaigning in South Dakota, and that he believed Hillary might surprise people in the primary Tuesday.

Acknowledging the campaign's likely fate, he went into more detail reflecting on the experience of stumping across the country for her.

"I thought I was out of politics, 'til Hillary decided to run," he said. "But it has been, one of the greatest honors of my life to go around and campaign for her for president. "

From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As the presidential campaigns sharpen their knives for the gelling general-election battle, McCain started the week by courting one of the country's powerful lobbies, wielding the key differences between his Middle East policy and Obama's.

Speaking to attendees at the annual conference of AIPAC, the top pro-Israel lobby here, McCain offered a hearty condemnation of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose fiery vows to eliminate the state of Israel have rendered him explosively reviled by the AIPAC community. 

The receptive audience offered McCain the chance to take a series of juicy swipes at rival Obama, who has suggested that he would participate in presidential diplomatic meetings with the Iranian leader. McCain called Obama's proposal a "serious misreading of history," that would bear little fruit except for "an earful of anti-Semitic rants" and a dangerous "spectacle."

His comments were received with loud enthusiasm from the conference-goers, who rewarded him with a standing ovation when he thumped Obama for his opposition to a 2007 amendment that classified Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. (Though, Obama said at the time that he did not oppose labeling the group a terrorist organization, but other language within the measure.)  

At the time, McCain said Obama described the measure as sending the "wrong message" to the international community.

"Here, too, he is mistaken," McCain said of his Democratic rival.
"Holding Iran's influence in check, and holding a terrorist organization accountable, sends exactly the right message -- to Iran, to the region and to the world."

Obama said at the time, "There was language embodied in that legislation that indicated that our troop presences in Iraq, in part, should be dependent on dealing with Iran." He added, "And I think, given the past experience with Iraq, given Sen. Clinton's authorization of the war in Iraq, she should know that when you give this Administration a blank check, you shouldn't be surprised if they cash it."

Rather than diplomatic meetings, McCain proposed stringent financial squeezes as a way to diffuse the volatile tensions spawned by Ahmadinejad's incendiary ideas.  He suggested tough sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran, coupled with a campaign for global divestment from the nation and strict limitations on oil imports, which he hopes will be enacted by an increasingly participatory UN Security Council.

"Should the Security Council continue to delay in this responsibility, the United States must lead like-minded countries in imposing multilateral sanctions outside the UN framework," he added.

Toward the end of his remarks, McCain also needled Obama for his opposition to the Iraq troop surge and painted a grim future for Israel should an Obama administration withdraw troops before the war's successful conclusion. 

"Allowing a potential terrorist sanctuary would profoundly affect the security of the United States, Israel, and our other friends, and would invite further intervention from Iraq's neighbors, including an emboldened Iran," McCain said.

McCain was the first speaker at the three-day conference, touted by AIPAC organizers at its largest ever with more than 7,000 participants.
Obama, as well as Hillary Clinton, address the group on Wednesday.

The Obama campaign took issue with McCain's remarks, and issued the following lengthy rebuttal: "John McCain stubbornly insists on continuing a dangerous and failed foreign policy that has clearly made the United States and Israel less secure. Here are the results of the policies that John McCain has supported, and would continue. During the Bush Administration, Iran has dramatically expanded its nuclear program, going from zero centrifuges to more than 3000 centrifuges.

"During the Bush Administration, Iran has expanded its influence throughout a vitally important region, plying Hamas and Hezbollah with money and arms. During the Bush Administration, Hamas took over Gaza. Most importantly, the war in Iraq that John McCain supported and promises to continue indefinitely has done more to dramatically strengthen and embolden Iran than anything in a generation.

"Confronted with that reality, John McCain promises four more years of the same policies that have strengthened Iran, making the United States and Israel less safe. He promises to continue a war in Iraq that has emboldened Iran and strengthened its hand. He promises sanctions that the Bush Administration has been unable to persuade the Security Council to deliver. He promises a divestment campaign, even though he refused to sign on to Barack Obama's bipartisan divestment bill, refused to get his colleagues to lift an anonymous hold on the bill, and willfully ignores the fact that trade and investment between Iran and Iraq continue to expand. He stubbornly refuses to engage in aggressive diplomacy, ruling it out unconditionally as a tool of American power.

"Instead of recognizing reality, John McCain continues to run on a platform of doubling down on George Bush's failed policies, while carrying on his divisive brand of politics. The United States and Israel cannot afford four more years of an unwillingness to change course."

From NBC's Mark Murray
The Democratic and Republican presidential candidates this cycle have spent almost $200 million on TV ads, according to data from TNS Media Intelligence/CMAG and analysis by the Wisconsin Advertising Project

The Democrats -- led by Obama's $75 million and Clinton's $46 million -- spent about $137 million on campaign TV ads.

The Republicans -- led by Romney's $32 million, McCain's $11 million, and Giuliani's $6 million -- spent almost $58 million.

Below are the actual numbers...

Candidate       Airings          Est. Spending
Biden              3,165              1,799,000
Clinton           80,505             46,027,000
Dodd              4,028             1,777,000
Edwards        14,732             8,283,000
Kucinich                27             6,000
Lamagna                 4             5,000
Obama           139,006          74,823,000
Richardson       5,936             4,234,000
Total Democrats 247,403     136,954,000
    
Cort                       15             6,000
Giuliani                 7,127          5,777,000
Huckabee             8,400          3,569,000
Hunter                    114             68,000
McCain              16,413       11,084,000
Paul                       7,220       3,161,000
Romney                 36,841       31,658,000
Tancredo                   99       158,000
Thompson             4,032       2,224,000
Total Republicans   80,261    57,705,000

Total for All Candidates 
                          327,664      194,659,000

From NBC's Mark Murray
It's official: The Clinton campaign has announced that Hillary will hold her Election Night celebration tomorrow night in New York City, at the Baruch College Athletic & Recreation Center.

*** UPDATE *** Just to clarify, this is the event Clinton will hold the night of the Montana and South Dakota primaries. Her campaign is billing it a "celebration."

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** The end game: With Florida and Michigan now resolved, and with the magic number now at 2,118 delegates, the focus is all about the end game -- for Clinton and Obama. Let's start first with Hillary, who still has a mathematical shot at the nomination, but it's the longest of longshots: To clinch the Democratic nomination, she needs to win about 87% of the remaining delegates. Given those odds, how does she end this thing? While there are plenty of hints today from some of her top supporters (like Ed Rendell and Debbie Wasserman Schultz) that Clinton won't take this to the convention, it's also clear that she and her campaign aren't leaving without a fight. Examples: 1) Harold Ickes declaring that Clinton reserves her right to take that fight to the convention over four Michigan delegates; 2) the campaign implicitly linking Obama with George McGovern by stating that the last time the Democrats didn't give the nomination to the candidate who won the most votes was in 1972; 3) Clinton demonstrating that superdelegates can change their mind by introducing one such super who has switched from Clinton to Obama and then back to Clinton; and 4) her victory speech yesterday from Puerto Rico, in which she said in the end: "Let's keep fighting. Let's keep fighting. Let's keep fighting. Let's keep fighting." Clinton certainly has the opportunity to make bygones be bygones -- as well as quell the resentment brewing among some of her ardent female supporters -- but when does she do this? And what does she say? For yet another hint at what Clinton's week is going to look like, Terry McAuliffe announced on Morning Joe that Clinton will be giving her Tuesday night victory speech in her elective office home state: New York.

VIDEO: During an interview on Morning Joe, Clinton campaign chair Terry McAuliffe announces that Clinton will give her Tuesday primary speech in New York.

*** Looking for that movie-ending moment: Meanwhile, as Obama looks to be a shoo-in as his party's nominee (he needs just 41.5 delegates to hit the new magic number), it's also undeniable that he's limping as he approaches the finish line. Including Clinton's 68%-32% win in Puerto Rico yesterday, the New York senator has won more than half of the contests since March, some by lopsided margins. His campaign might not admit it, but Obama needs to pick up enough superdelegates today and Tuesday (about one an hour, actually) to be able to declare victory -- or something like it -- after the South Dakota and Montana primaries tomorrow night, when he speaks from the same arena where the Republicans will hold their convention in September. Tuesday night provides him perhaps his last chance for a movie-ending moment before we head into the general election. Will he get it? The chances are better than 50-50, so claim those who know. But watch those superdelegate endorsements today and tomorrow. So far this morning, he has received two of them: DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee member Jerome Wiley Segovia (VA) and Nancy DiNardo (CT).

*** Where we stand: Obama is ahead in pledged delegates per the NBC hard count (1,729 to 1,625), Edwards' pledged delegates (16.5-0), superdelegates (331 to 293), overall delegates (2,076.5 to 1,918), the popular vote by 138,931 (17,304,352 to 17,165,421), and the total number of contests won (32 to 21). Two notes: 1) we're not including Texas in this contest count, given that Clinton won the primary but Obama won the caucus and netted the most total Texas delegates, and 2) after Saturday's DNC decision, we're now counting Florida and Michigan as wins for Clinton -- but, per guidance from the DNC, we're including Florida's popular vote but not Michigan's.

VIDEO: NBC Political Director Chuck Todd gives his first read on the possibility of Obama clinching a majority of delegates within the next 48 hours and Clinton's argument that she has won the popular vote.

*** Analyzing that popular vote: Here's some more on the popular vote now that it has become the Clinton campaign's chief talking point: If you count Puerto Rico -- which won't participate in the general election -- Clinton leads by just 2,731 votes (17,428,541 vs. 17,425,810). When you add the Michigan results and don't give Obama "Uncommitted," Clinton's lead increases to 330,882 (17,756,692 vs. 17,425,810). So it's quite likely after the Montana and South Dakota results that the only metric showing her leading the popular vote is when you include Michigan. Keep in mind that if you do give Clinton the most generous count including Michigan, Obama's lead in delegates is actually bigger -- percentage wise -- than Clinton's lead in total votes.

*** I want my four delegates! After Saturday's deal on Florida and Michigan, we heard two different questions. One, why did Ickes and the Clinton campaign make such a big deal over four Michigan delegates, especially considering that Clinton trails Obama by about 160 delegates? "This motion will hijack, hijack, remove four delegates won by Hillary Clinton," Ickes said on Saturday. Two, why didn't the Obama camp just cave in and give Clinton those four delegates, but make sure it ended up with Michigan's "Uncommitted" vote? Of course, cynics might say that Team Clinton would have complained about that compromise, too…But there's an argument that both sides were being petty, and the Republicans watching the Saturday DNC meeting were smiling because it was a picture of a party that's potentially going to stay divided for some time.

*** Don't forget about Ron Paul: With all the talk that Clinton might take the fight to the Democratic convention over those four delegates, it could very well be that Ron Paul ends up creating the more contentious convention. Here's what Paul told Newsweek about his plans at the GOP convention. "We'll have a big rally there one of the days. Since they won't give us a spot, we'll make our own spot. We won't disrupt things -- that doesn't achieve anything. But we'll have a presence and present views and try to … get in on the committees to vote on platforms. That's not disruptive." The media can gravitate to sideshows at conventions when there's nothing serious to cover. The McCain folks, no doubt, are very nervous that Paul forces of elected enough McCain delegates at GOP state conventions to create floor chaos. There's nothing official these Paul folks can do, but you don't need a rule to become disruptive.

*** The play for Jewish voters: Today, McCain gives the keynote address at the AIPAC conference in DC; Obama speaks to the group on Wednesday. According to advanced excerpts of his remarks, McCain will hit Obama -- once again -- over his position of meeting unconditionally with Iran, and he will say that the better response is sanctioning the country. "Rather than sitting down unconditionally with the Iranian president or supreme leader in the hope that we can talk sense into them, we must create the real-world pressures that will peacefully but decisively change the path they are on.  Essential to this strategy is the UN Security Council, which should impose progressively tougher political and economic sanctions.  Should the Security Council continue to delay in this responsibility, the United States must lead like-minded countries in imposing multilateral sanctions outside the UN framework… As a further measure to contain and deter Iran, the United States should impose financial sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran, which aids in Iran's terrorism and weapons proliferation.  We must apply the full force of law to prevent business dealings with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps." And: "We should privatize the sanctions against Iran by launching a worldwide divestment campaign."

*** Heroes and Legends? Get to know these names: Justin Johnson (WI); Matt Mason (OH), Robert Bozzuto (PA), Alexis Valdez (NM), James Garcia (CO) and Jessica Patterson (NV). These are among the state directors the RNC announced today for the general-election campaign. These six folks are running among the most closely contested states McCain and Obama could be fighting over. One or more of these six could be party heroes and end up becoming legends in their own times. No offense to the other state directors the RNC launched, but these six could be in charge of campaigns that are decided by the smallest of margins.

*** On the trail: Clinton campaigns in South Dakota, where she attends rallies in Rapid City, Yankton, and Sioux Falls (at that final stop with Bill and Chelsea); McCain, after giving the keynote address at the AIPAC conference, heads to Nashville, TN to campaign and raise money there; and Obama does a town hall in Troy, MI. Also, Bill Clinton makes six campaign stops in South Dakota, the last of which is in Sioux Falls with his wife.

Countdown to Montana, South Dakota: 1 day
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 155 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 232 days
 
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With 100% of precincts reporting, Clinton won 68% (263,120 votes) to Obama's 32% (121,458)

The Boston Globe: "Clinton scored a lopsided victory in the Puerto Rico primary yesterday, boosting both her spirits and her popular vote count, but offering little hope that she can catch rival Senator Barack Obama by the end of the Democratic presidential primary season tomorrow." More: "Even in defeat, Obama crept closer to the nomination … Obama still must unite a Democratic Party bitterly divided during the wrenching and lengthy campaign -- a challenge he acknowledged yesterday as he addressed supporters in South Dakota, which along with Montana holds its primary tomorrow."

The New York Times: "The victory … underscored a constant source of frustration among Mrs. Clinton and her supporters: that her strong finish over the past months, with big victories among blue-collar voters, have shown no signs of pushing uncommitted superdelegates into her camp. Most Clinton supporters are filled with bewilderment that this is happening," said Gov. Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania. 'We are willing to go on, and we understand the inevitability of this, but we are filled with disappointment and amazement: Why haven't these results caused the superdelegates to come around?'"

More Rendell: "'What good does it do? What good does it do anybody?' Mr. Rendell said that if the nominating contest were closer, it might make sense to take the fight to the convention. 'I think it's outrageous they took four delegates away from her,' he said. 'But I think with 170 delegates separating them, it's not worth making the case.'"

Indeed, there are lots of hints from Clinton supporters that they don't want to take this fight to the convention. "'It would be most beneficial if we resolved this nomination sooner rather than later,' said U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, a high-profile superdelegate who backs Clinton. 'The more time we have to get through a general-election period and the more time we have to prepare in advance of the convention, the better.'"

"As Barack Obama turns to concentrate on his general election challenge, his rival Hillary Rodham Clinton is mounting a last ditch campaign to stay relevant in what is left of the Democratic presidential contest," the AP writes. "The former first lady enters this week with an insurgent strategy not only to win over undecided superdelegates but to peel away Obama's support from those party leaders and elected officials who already have committed to back him for the nomination. 'One thing about superdelegates is that they can change their minds,' she told reporters aboard her campaign plane Sunday night."

Clinton is running a new TV ad in Montana and South Dakota that makes her claim that she's leading in the popular vote.

Al Gore spoke out for party unit. " 'There's no reason that the two political candidates -- the best we've seen in our party -- can't get together in the next few days or weeks to unite our party to defeat the Republicans in November,' the former vice president said at the soiree in a private apartment on Central Park South that raised more than $1.3 million," per the New York Post. "When asked if he was backing either candidate, Gore said, 'I'll know when I'm ready to endorse.' Corzine, a big Clinton supporter added, 'We need to unite the party when the time is right.'"

The Boston Globe writes, "The Democratic Party … reinstated the delegates from disputed presidential primaries in Michigan and Florida but with only half-votes, a compromise that brought Barack Obama closer to the presidential nomination but left the party facing the prospect of further internal conflict." 
 
"The Democrats are throwing this election away, and for what? An inadequate black male who would not have been running had it not been a white woman who was running for president?" Harriet Christian, who claimed to be a Clinton volunteer in Ohio and Pennsylvania, "bellowed at reporters after the meeting in a tirade posted on YouTube," per the New York Post. "I'm not gonna shut my mouth anymore. I can be called white, but you can't be called black. That's not my America. It's equality for all of us, and it's about time we all stood up for it … I was a second-class citizen before -- now I'm nothing."
 
"Her complaints came in response to the panel, which opposed Clinton's wishes to count the Michigan primary results - even though she was the only candidate on the ballot. Clearly irate that her candidate's chances to win the election had gone from bad to worse, the Clinton campaign volunteer warned that the Democratic Party would pay the price. 'They think we won't turn and vote for McCain. Well, I've got news for all of you: McCain will be the next president of the United States,'" she said. The Post's headline for the story: "Campaign worker's rant is a disg-race."

This isn't the name of a law firm; rather, they're the characters in a Vanity Fair by Todd Purdum on Bill Clinton. The piece's tease: "Old friends and longtime aides are wringing their hands over Bill Clinton's post–White House escapades, from the dubious (and secretive) business associations to the media blowups that have bruised his wife's campaign, to the private-jetting around with a skirt-chasing, scandal-tinged posse. Some point to Clinton's medical traumas; others blame sheer selfishness, and the absence of anyone who can say 'no.' Exploring Clintonworld, the author asks if the former president will be consumed by his own worst self.

The day after the Vanity Fair story hit, Politico touches on the subject that hasn't spoken its name in the Dem primary but hangs over it: Bill Clinton's impeachment.

Politico's Ben Smith reports, "Members of Hillary Clinton's advance staff received calls and emails this evening from headquarters summoning them to New York City Tuesday night, and telling them their roles on the campaign are ending, two Clinton staffers tell my colleague Amie Parnes." But this shouldn't be a surprise -- the primaries are coming to an end, so there's really not a need for advance staff beyond Tuesday. 

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the TV ads McCain has spent $1.5million on in the last few months. "John McCain's new TV-ad campaign says a lot about how he sees the general-election battle ahead. The message is economics and the state that has seen the most spending on ads so far is Ohio. Sen. McCain, the Republican candidate for president, is also on the air in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa and West Virginia, all battleground states in recent campaigns. Of those states, President Bush in 2004 carried Ohio, Iowa and West Virginia, and lost Michigan and Pennsylvania."

In his remarks to AIPAC this morning, McCain will also say this: "The people of Israel reserve a special respect for courage, because so much courage has been required of them.  In the record of history, sheer survival in the face of Israel's many trials would have been impressive enough.  But Israel has achieved much more than that these past sixty years.  Israel has endured, and thrived, and her people have built a nation that is an inspiration to free nations everywhere."
 
"Yet no matter how successful the nation of Israel, or how far removed from the Holocaust, there are experiences that will never pass from memory.  Not long ago I was in Jerusalem with Senator Lieberman and our colleague Lindsey Graham, and we went to the Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem.  And for all the boundless examples of cruelty and inhumanity to be found there, for all the pain and grief remembered there, somehow I was especially moved by the story of the camp survivors who died from the very nourishment given to them by their liberators.  They had starved and suffered so much that their bodies were too weak even for food.  They endured it all, only to die at the moment of their deliverance."
 
"These are the kind of experiences that the Jewish people carry in memory -- and they are far from the worst experiences of the Holocaust.  These are the kind of griefs and afflictions from which the State of Israel offered escape.  And today, when we join in saying "never again," that is not a wish, a request, or a plea to the enemies of Israel.  It is a promise that the United States and Israel will honor, against any enemy who cares to test us."

On Saturday, Obama announced the news he was leaving his church in Chicago -- as most of the political press corps was covering the DNC meeting in DC. It sure looked like a bad news dump. The campaign is trying to deny it, but it's hard to argue otherwise. The Washington Post: "The resignation came Friday in a letter Obama sent to the church's head pastor, the Rev. Otis Moss III. 'We make this decision with sadness. Trinity was where I found Christ, where we were married and where our children were baptized,' the letter said. 'But as you know, our relations with Trinity have been strained by the divisive statements of Reverend Wright, which sharply conflict with our own view.'" 

Not surprisingly, plenty of news organizations yesterday camped out in front of Obama's now-former church. The Los Angeles Times: "As thousands of churchgoers gathered on a warm spring morning Sunday, some directed their anger toward those they blamed for the loss of a favored son: the media. 'Why won't they leave?' Melissa Dwight-Washington asked."

"Block after block, along West 95th Street and the side streets leading up to Trinity, reporters peppered her and other anxious churchgoers with questions about Obama's departure. Glaring at the satellite trucks and clusters of news camera crews, she shook her head in disgust. 'Leave us alone,' she mumbled. 'They've already driven one of our best away.'"

Father Michael Pfleger, who made mocking comments about Hillary Clinton at Obama's Trinity United Church in Chicago eight days ago, apologized (sort of) at his church, St. Sabina's, yesterday, "I apologize for anyone who was offended and who thought it to be mockery," he said, per the AP. "Pfleger said he's received more than 3,000 angry e-mails since he was a guest preacher last Sunday at Trinity United Church of Christ, Obama's former church."

The New York Times explores whether Obama's more open policy on Cuba might allow him to win the support of younger Cubans. "Polls of the community have confirmed a tilt toward engagement, especially through travel. A survey in April 2007 by Florida International University found that 55.2 percent said they favored 'unrestricted' travel to Cuba for all Americans - a reversal from three years earlier, when 53.7 percent said they opposed it."

The New York Times takes a look at an open California congressional district, where two Republicans are battling it out for the right to defend a seat that might be tougher than it should against the Dems.

What is wrong with the Virginia Republican Party? Seriously, ex-Gov. Jim Gilmore BARELY got his Senate nomination. The weakness of the party is striking given that the state is still VERY closely divided. The party's weaker on the candidate front than the voter front. This could be the difference of two to three points, which could McCain the state