Compiled by Mary Grace Lucas
CNN Washington Bureau
CNN: Obama: I will be the Democratic nominee
In what he called a "defining moment for our nation," Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday became the first African-American to head the ticket of a major political party.
CNN: Clinton won't make campaign decision yet
Sen. Hillary Clinton said Tuesday night she would make no immediate decision on her next steps after winning the South Dakota primary but failing to pick up enough delegates to win the Democratic presidential nomination.
CNN: Preston: Top Clinton supporters ready to help Obama
Over the next several days, one of the main questions will be how much help Hillary Clinton will offer Barack Obama in his effort to win back the White House, which has been under Republican control ever since her husband Bill Clinton left office in January 2001.
Washington Post: McCain Mounts Immediate Attack on Obama's Record
Republican Sen. John McCain wasted no time Tuesday night in launching his first general-election broadside against Sen. Barack Obama, casting the Democrat as an out-of-touch liberal who offers a false promise of change.
CNN: McCain, Obama take to Lifetime to court military vote
John McCain and Barack Obama will make indirect pitches to women voters Wednesday, with both presumptive presidential nominees appearing in “salutes” to military families on the Lifetime Network.
Politico: New flick based on McClellan exposé?
Imagine this scene: “Quiet on the set!” shouts the assistant director as doughy actor Jonah Hill tugs uncomfortably on the Brooks Brothers suit he’s wearing to portray Scott McClellan. It’s the first day of shooting on “What Happened,” a big-screen adaptation of the former Bush press secretary’s best-selling exposé, and Hill is being directed by Judd Apatow, who turned the tell-all into a raunchy White House coming-of-age story co-starring Seth Rogan as Vice President Cheney and Michael Cera as President Bush. OK, so maybe that’s not going to happen. But buzz is already beginning to build about a possible docudrama based on the controversial book.
CNN: A flood of superdelegates for Obama
Moments after the polls closed, Barack Obama’s campaign announced the support of 26.5 superdelegates.
Washington Post: Two Words With a Ring Of Possibility
Black president. Two words profound and yet contradictory. Once thought of as an oxymoron, impossible to be placed together in the same sentence, context, country - unless followed by a question mark.
NY Times: Clinton Donor Base Is Obama’s Next Prize
As Senator Barack Obama claims the Democratic presidential nomination, his campaign is gearing up to recruit many of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s top fund-raisers, a move that could provide him with a huge infusion of cash if the two camps can get past the rancor of the primary season.
WSJ: McCain Sets Sights on Voter Blocs Favoring Clinton
As Hillary Clinton's primary campaign winds down, Barack Obama will be waiting with open arms for the support of her ardent backers. So will John McCain.
WSJ: South Dakota Symbolizes Obama's Lingering Woes
Some worrying signs for Barack Obama emerged Tuesday from the final two primaries of the long Democratic presidential-nominating race.
CNN: Schneider: Voters say Clinton is more caring
Hillary Clinton has made her vast experience a central theme of her campaign – and among those voters who said that was the top quality they were looking for in a presidential candidate, she was the undisputed choice in tonight’s exit polls: they chose her over Barack Obama by 93 to 7 percent in South Dakota, and 94 to 4 percent in Montana.
NY Times: Calm in the Swirl of History
He gives the appearance of a strikingly laid-back victor, this presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
WSJ: Democratic Poll Predicts Big Wave in GOP Districts
Democratic pollsters released a survey showing the possibility of a Democratic wave in Republican congressional districts this fall. The poll of 1,600 voters in 45 Republican congressional districts showed on average a 33% approval rating for President Bush, a 38% approval rating for the incumbent Republican and a strong desire for change.
WSJ: Downhill Traverse: Traveling With the Clinton Camp
Last November, when I joined Hillary Clinton's traveling press corps, the campaign possessed an air of inevitability. With name recognition and seemingly bottomless fund-raising coffers, Sen. Clinton operated almost like an incumbent.
Washington Post: On the Fence and in the Spotlight
The first time Hillary Clinton called, Heather Mizeur didn't pick up. Listening to the message, she heard Clinton's voice and assumed it was a campaign robo-call. But then the New York senator and Democratic presidential candidate asked Mizeur to call back - and left her personal cellphone number.
Washington Post: For Clinton, A Following Of 'Marshans'
Blogger Michelle Marshall has a confession to make. She's one die-hard Clintonite who has already moved on. She's ready to vote for Sen. Barack Obama. But don't tell that to the legions of Hillary Clinton fans who have made Marshall their de facto leader.
LA Times: Unity is now key for Democrats
Obama is scarred from the primary battle, but it may have left him more prepared for the clashes to come against McCain.
WSJ: Obama's Boon: Givers Who Keep On Giving
Many of Sen. Barack Obama's small-dollar donors turn out to have big pockets, and data suggest he will have little trouble raising the minimum $200 million political analysts say he will need to fund a general-election campaign in the fall.
Times of London: The Sixties and the presidential race
When David Ifshin died at the age of 47 he had already lived more than one life. And if you want to understand the forthcoming US presidential election and how it can be won, you could do worse than listen to his story.
Politico: Warming bill: Super Bowl for lobbyists
Not interested in the global warming bill? Count yourself among a lucky few in Washington. The climate change legislation being debated now in the Senate is the Super Bowl for lobbyists, roping in everyone from Alaskan Inupiaqs to venture capitalists.
NY Times: Senator Warns of a ‘Crisis’ in Pentagon Cost Overruns
The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday declared that cost overruns for Defense Department weapons had “reached crisis proportions,” after government auditors reported that the projected final cost of the Pentagon’s major programs had ballooned $295 billion over initial budget estimates.
NY Times: Bloomberg Said to Explore Third Term or Albany Bid
As the end of his term nears, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and his senior advisers have been exploring strategies that would allow him to remain in political life, including undertaking a campaign to overturn the city’s term limits law or making a bid for governor, according to two people who have been briefed on the deliberations.
AP: Woman to plead guilty in N.Y. governor call girl scandal
A woman who helped run the prostitution ring in the scandal that brought down former Gov. Eliot Spitzer pleaded guilty to a pair of federal conspiracy charges Tuesday and called her former business "disgusting."