Michelle Obama takes heat from Tennessee GOP.

The Tennessee Republican Party has set its sights on Michelle Obama – the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

A new web video highlights her controversial comment earlier this year, saying she was proud of America "for the first time in my adult life." Obama later clarified the remark saying she meant she was proud of how Americans were engaging in the political process, and that she was always proud of her country.

Nonetheless, the GOP video replays her remark six times and mixes in commentary by people who live in Tennessee on why they're proud of America. The party says it's always been proud of this country, and it requested that state radio stations play patriotic music in honor of Michelle Obama's visit there yesterday.

The Obama campaign calls the attack "shameful”. It says that the Republican Party's "pathetic" attempts to use similar smear tactics have already failed in elections in Mississippi and Louisiana, and will fail again in November.

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John McCain peered into the future this morning… delivering a speech that looked ahead to what the U.S. and the world would be like in 4 years, after the first term of a McCain presidency.

Some of the highlights: he thinks the Iraq war will be won, Iraq will be a functioning democracy and violence there will be "spasmodic and much reduced." McCain believes the U.S. will have welcomed home most of its troops. He thinks the threat from al Qaeda and the Taliban won't yet be eliminated – even though bin Laden will be captured or killed. It's a pretty bold move to lay out objectives like this – gives critics a lot to measure you against.

In any case, John McCain seems to be one of the few things Republicans have going for them this fall.

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"There is no district that is safe for Republican candidates," according to the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Representative Chris Van Hollen. He tells the Washington Post that "no one could have imagined the tsunami that just crashed on Republicans in Mississippi."

That's where a Democrat won a Republican-held congressional seat in the northern part of the state yesterday. This is a district where President Bush won by 25 points in the 2004 election, and the former Republican congressman won reelection with 66% of the vote in 2006.

It's the third special election the GOP has lost this spring, including a House race in Louisiana that had been Republican for more than three decades and the seat of former House speaker Dennis Hastert in Illinois.

Seems to have set off some warning bells.

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Barack Obama has generated an excitement and hope not seen in American politics in years, perhaps even decades. But behind the scenes, some of his field workers and volunteers are coming face-to-face with something very different: racism.

The Washington Post reports about what it calls "raw racism and hostility that have gone largely unnoticed – and unreported" in this election. Obama volunteers have had doors slammed in their faces, and have been called racially derogatory names. Some Americans apparently can't deal with the idea that Obama might become our first African-American president.

One volunteer reports being chased by dogs while canvassing in Indiana.

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George W. Bush may do as much damage to John McCain's chances of being elected as Jeremiah Wright does to Barack Obama's, according to results of a recent USA Today/Gallup poll.

Turns out President Bush might do more damage to John McCain's campaign than the Reverend Jeremiah Wright does to Barack Obama's.

A new USA Today/Gallup poll finds 38% of likely voters say McCain's ties to the president make them less likely to vote for the presumptive nominee in November. 33% says Obama's relationship with Wright has the same effect.

However, there is more of an upside when it comes to the relationship with President Bush, with 7% of those surveyed saying they're more likely to vote for McCain because of his association with Mr. Bush. That's compared to only 1% who say they're more likely to vote for Obama because of Wright.

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For all those like Mitt Romney who said, when talking about Barack Obama, "The presidency of the United States is not an internship," consider this.

The young guy with not nearly as much political experience is on the verge of toppling one of the most powerful political names of the last 50 years, Hillary Clinton. For all her claims of having more experience, the relative newcomer proved to have a lot more moxie.

She said "experience." He said "change."

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A group called 'Vote Both' is trying to push for a joint ticket.

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Now that Barack Obama appears on the verge of becoming the Democratic nominee, the buzz about a so-called "dream team" is starting up again.

ABC's George Stephanopoulos says that there are "intermediaries" discussing the possibility of an Obama-Clinton ticket. And he thinks Clinton "would be under some pressure and would like to accept." Former congressman Harold Ford also says an Obama-Clinton ticket is something the Democratic Party is going to have to seriously consider in the next few weeks.

There's even a group called "Vote Both” that's trying to push for such a ticket. It's seen as a way to unite the party after an often bitter campaign.

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Sen. Hillary Clinton at her Indiana Primary rally last night.

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

"The campaign may go on but the contest is now over: Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee for president."

Democratic strategist Bob Shrum tells The New York Times that now the only decision left for Hillary Clinton is how she wants to end this.

New York Daily News columnist Michael Goodwin puts it this way: "Unless Obama falls off a cliff, or the Reverend Jeremiah Wright pushes him," he will be the nominee. Another paper calls Clinton "toast."

All this points to a pretty grim scenario for Hillary Clinton.

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Here's something that might surprise you: After a 16-month, often bruising fight between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, most Democrats aren't eager for either candidate to drop out of the race. After all the contests and debates, speeches and TV commercials, fliers and phone calls, the Democrats want the suffering to continue.

A new USA Today-Gallup poll finds 60% of Democrats say Clinton and Obama should keep campaigning. Of those who want a speedier resolution, 23% say Clinton should give it up and only 15% say Obama should drop out.

There had been calls for Clinton to get out of the race a while back, but they've quieted down some since her strong performances in Ohio and Pennsylvania. It's looking increasingly unlikely the party will have a nominee until the uncommitted superdelegates weigh in.

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A new poll out suggests that Obama has rebounded from some of the damage caused by the Reverend Jeremiah Wright controversy.

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

The 16-month fight between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continues tomorrow in North Carolina and Indiana.

Obama leads Clinton in the polls in North Carolina, while the latest average of polls suggests Clinton is now slightly ahead in Indiana. If Obama can deliver a pair of wins, it would be a huge psychological boost for his campaign and could bring him one step closer to winning the nomination. If Clinton wins both, she'll still be behind but will think she's won the nomination.

The fact is that Obama continues to lead Clinton in everything except superdelegates where he has narrowed her lead to just 14. He leads in pledged delegates, popular vote and number of states won.

A new poll out also suggests that Obama has rebounded from some of the damage caused by the Reverend Jeremiah Wright controversy.

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Over the course of the campaign American's views of the top three candidates have changed some. According to a Gallup poll done in late April, here are some of the qualities associated with each:

John McCain-he's "too old, he's a "good man–likable," he would give the country more of the same-be another George Bush, and he has a "good military background." And the number of people who view him favorably are about equal to the number who don't like him.

When it comes to Hillary Clinton, the most common perceptions are that she is dishonest or not trustworthy, past scandals or baggage associated with her husband, the former president, that she is qualified, capable, and strong.

But the number of people who have a negative view of her-55 percent is almost twice the number that view her favorably–30 percent. Barack Obama is viewed slightly more positively than negatively-42 percent to 39 percent.

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

If you want to know which way the political winds are blowing, look at the young. Trends in the opinions of the youngest voters are often a barometer of shifting political tides. For the Democrats as we approach the 2008 election, this is great news…for Republicans, not so good. In fact, terrible.

The Pew research Center did a survey of young people between October of last year and March of this year. What they found was that the current generation of young voters who came of age during the George W. Bush years is giving the Democrats a wide advantage in party identification.

58 percent of voters under the age of 30 surveyed during that time identified or leaned toward the democratic party-compared with just 33 percent who identified or leaned toward the Republican party.

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Ever since Super Tuesday, Barack Obama has been outscoring Hillary Clinton big time when it comes to picking up support from the superdelegates. The Wall Street Journal suggests he's close to taking the lead, and that if he doesn't stumble badly in Indiana or North Carolina next week enough of them will break his way after June third to give him the nomination.

Seems simple enough. He leads in pledged delegates and she can't catch him there. He's won more states, has more popular votes, is a much better fund-raiser–very important consideration–and has shown he can appeal to Independents and Republicans. Piece of cake. Just run out the clock and get ready for McCain.

Yesterday on this program former President Carter, who is a superdelegate, was asked if he would support the candidate he voted for in the Georgia primary. His answer was, "Yes, unless I change my mind."

And therein lies the problem for Barack Obama.

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Rev. Jeremiah Wright addressed the National Press Club, Monday in Washington, DC.

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

It seems like Reverend Jeremiah Wright is going out of his way to make sure the United States does not elect its first African American president. Which is strange in light of all the complaints Rev. Wright has about the way white people have done things in this country.

Just as the controversy over Wright was dying down, he showed up at the National Press Club in Washington yesterday with a can of gasoline and got the fire going again.

Among other things he praised Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam who also reportedly provided Wright's security. He accused the United States of terrorism, said the government created the AIDS virus to cause the genocide of racial minorities, and defended the view that Zionism is racism.

And this is from someone who is supposed to be Obama's friend.

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Lincoln-Douglas made it famous…a debate with no moderator…but it doesn't look like it's going to happen between Obama and Clinton.

With just over a week to go before the Indiana and North Carolina primaries, and the two candidates running virtually neck and neck in Indiana, Clinton wants to debate Obama in both states, as a means of picking up votes in a race that he currently leads overall.

She says that she will debate him any place at any time, adding that it could even be done on the back of a flat-bed truck. He would probably prefer to run over her with a flat-bed truck at this point. She called over the weekend for this less-restrictive style of debate which got its name from a series of debates that took place during the 1858 U.S. Senate race between Republican Abraham Lincoln and Democrat Stephen Douglas.

She says that voters in Indiana would "love" to see that kind of debate and that it would be quote "good for the Democratic Party, it would be good for our democracy, and it would be great for Indiana." unquote.

Barack Obama has declined–saying that there will not be anymore debates between now and the May sixth primaries.

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Sen. John McCain tours New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, Thursday on his “It’s Time for Action” campaign Tour.

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

As the Democrats slug it out for their party's nomination, Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, is spending the week going where Republicans fear to tread. McCain is on another tour. This one he's calling his "Time for Action" tour- and it's taking him to parts of the country that have never seen a Republican.

He wants to convince voters in these areas he says have been "forgotten" that he cares about them. He said earlier this week quote "There must be no forgotten places in America, whether they have been ignored for long years by the sins of indifference and injustice, or have been left behind as the world grew smaller and more economically independent." unquote

Monday he was in Selma, Alabama; Tuesday, it was Youngstown, Ohio; yesterday was Inez, Kentucky; and today he toured the lower ninth ward which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Barack Obama missed another chance last night to knock Hillary Clinton out of the race. He beat her in Iowa, she came back and won New Hampshire. He reeled off eleven wins in a row, she came back and won Ohio and Texas. He had another clear shot at her last night and missed. It raises a question that gets more serious with each passing primary.

Why can't he put her away? Despite outspending Clinton more than 2-to-1 in Pennsylvania and waging a more aggressive campaign in the final days, Obama came up short again with many of the voters who form the traditional base of the Democratic Party. Clinton crushed him among white, blue-collar voters by 69 to 30 percent. She also won older voters, women and whites.

The last 6 weeks have tested Obama in a way he hadn't been before.

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

The winner of today's contest may not necessarily be the candidate who gets the most votes. In other words, all eyes will be on the margin of Hillary Clinton's victory, provided that she wins as expected.

The Los Angeles Times suggests Clinton could win but still lose. If Obama keeps the results closer than expected, he could be considered the winner. Some uncommitted superdelegates say Clinton needs to win by at least 10 points to show she hasn't lost her touch among working-class voters in a state like Pennsylvania.

If Clinton can pull that off in a state where she was outspent by more than 2-to-1, she can then try to persuade uncommitted superdelegates to support her. But if Obama keeps it close or delivers an unexpected win, the pressure will mount on Hillary Clinton to give it up.

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Money talks, and these days John McCain is getting an earful. And it's not good.

McCain raised $15.4 million in March. Barack Obama raised more than $41 million in March, and Hillary Clinton raised $20 million in March.

Overall, McCain has raised one third of the $240 million Obama has raised and less than half of Clinton's total. The Los Angeles Times reports that Obama has raised more in small donations than what McCain has raised in his entire campaign.

McCain's advisers and some Republicans insist he'll have enough money to run a competitive race in the general election, but not everyone is convinced.

One thing working in McCain's favor is the Republican National Committee, which is overwhelmingly outraising the Democratic National Committee.

The Republicans have about $31 million in the bank, compared to $5 million for the DNC.

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Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak meets with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in Cairo on Thursday. Carter also met with top Hamas officials in both Egypt and Syria.

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Former President Jimmy Carter has been making waves this week with his trip to the Middle East.

Today, Carter met with an exiled Hamas politician in Damascus, Syria. Earlier this week, he met with two other senior Hamas politicians in Cairo.

Carter's trip drew condemnation from the U.S. and Israeli governments; both consider Hamas a terrorist organization. Carter has said he's not a negotiator, but that he's "just trying to understand different opinions and… provide communications between people who won't communicate with each other." Critics say it's not useful to engage in diplomacy with a group like Hamas, and most Israeli officials have refused to meet with Carter.

His trip raises larger questions about what exactly former presidents should be doing with their time out of office, which could be many years for someone like Bill Clinton or the current President George Bush.

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