Compiled by Jonathan Helman and Mary Grace Lucas, CNN Washington Bureau

USA Today: In Final Contests, It's All About Momentum
If leading pledged delegate counts and the seating of Michigan and Florida delegates are the determining events for the nomination, what are the last few contests for? Bragging rights, momentum and symbolism.

Politico: Six ways the GOP can save itself
Things are so ugly for the members of the GOP right now, it’s worth pondering their political mortality: Put bluntly, can this party be saved?

Politico: McCain adviser ousted in conflict uproar
John McCain's campaign asked a prominent Republican consultant, Craig Shirley, to leave his official campaign role Thursday after a Politico inquiry about Shirley's dual role consulting for the campaign and for an independent "527″ group opposing the Democratic presidential candidates. The campaign also released a new conflict of interest policy barring such arrangements.

Washington Post: Bush May Have Lost Wealth During Presidency
President Bush's financial fortunes appear to have declined over the past seven years, with his family assets dropping as low as $6.5 million, according to disclosure forms released yesterday. Bush and his wife, Laura, were worth at least $9 million and as much as $24 million at the start of his term. The Bushes could still be worth as much as $20 million now, according to the financial documents filed with the Office of Government Ethics, which requires assets to be reported only within broad ranges.

Read the rest of this entry »

Compiled by Jonathan Helman and Mary Grace Lucas, CNN Washington Bureau

CNN: Edwards Endorses Obama, Praises Clinton
Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards endorsed Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday at a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

AP: McCain Envisions How First Term Will Go
John McCain, looking through a crystal ball to 2013 and the end of a prospective first term, sees "spasmodic" but reduced violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden dead or captured and government spending curbed by his ready veto pen.

Washington Post: Agitated? Irritable? Hostile? Aggressive? Impulsive? Restless?
House Republicans may be heading off a cliff in November, but give them credit for perseverance. Even after the new slogan they floated — "The Change You Deserve" — was discovered to be trademarked ad copy for the antidepressant drug Effexor, GOP leaders decided to go with the rollout anyway.

USA Today: McCain Aide Trains His Sights on Obama
Mark Salter is working on the climactic chapter of his career: getting his boss, Sen. John McCain, elected president. Now that Obama has emerged as the likely Democratic nominee, Salter is poised to play a large role in a campaign filled with potential land mines, from race issues to McCain's age.

The Hill: Clinton’s 11th-hour push
Sen. Hillary Clinton rallied her Capitol Hill supporters on Wednesday night, telling them to bring an uncommitted friend and seeking to capitalize on her 41-percentage points victory in the West Virginia primary.

GOP Can't Rely On Money Advantage Now
For years, Republicans could survive mistakes in congressional races and still gain new advantages because they always had more money than the Democrats. Those days are over now, and not in some incremental way.

WSJ: Democratic Hold on Jewish Vote Could Slip
Is the Jewish vote up for grabs this year? Many Republicans think so — particularly with Barack Obama likely heading the Democratic ticket. That calculation has fueled an intense back-and-forth in recent days between the two parties over Sen. Obama's views on Israel.

USA Today: Republicans Fear Public Has Lost Confidence
Republicans must regain the confidence of Americans and recast their message to voters to avoid a catastrophe in the fall congressional elections, top GOP officials said Wednesday in a stark postmortem of a loss in rural Mississippi.

WSJ: Obama's Strategy for Low-Turnout Caucuses Helps Drive Delegate Edge
For evidence of the strategy that has made Barack Obama the likely Democratic presidential nominee, look at Nebraska, where the candidate narrowly won a little-noticed primary Tuesday. Sen. Obama's 49% to 46% victory barely got any attention from the campaigns or the press, because the state's delegates, who vote on the nomination, were chosen in a February caucus.

NY Times: Mrs. McCain Sells Funds Tied to Sudan
Cindy McCain, the wife of the Republican presumptive nominee for president, has sold off at least $2 million she held in funds with investments in Sudan businesses.

AP: Obama and Oregon: More In Common Than 'O'
Oregon is fertile ground for Barack Obama, the self-described "change" candidate. The state that has led the way in everything from bike trails to assisted suicide is also the first to vote entirely by mail.

NY Times: The Politics of the Lapel, When It Comes to Obama
It showed up on Monday, right there on his lapel, as he addressed veterans in West Virginia: a flag pin.

Compiled by Jonathan Helman & Mary Grace Lucas

NY Times: ‘Almost Nominee’ Status Keeps Obama in Limbo
The contest with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton not quite over and the one with Senator John McCain not quite under way, Senator Barack Obama is floating somewhere between the two major phases of his long campaign — a political limbo that brought him to this Republican hamlet on the night of a West Virginia primary he was expected to lose.

WSJ: Clinton's Win Brings Little Reward
Hillary Clinton trounced Barack Obama in West Virginia's Democratic presidential primary, as expected. But her negligible payback in convention delegates illustrates why her rival and her party are turning away from her candidacy to begin the fight against Republican John McCain.

The Hill: GOP Looking Past Bush
A growing number of Senate Republicans are preparing to break from President Bush on an emergency war-spending bill. It is the latest in a series of fights that demonstrate GOP willingness to look ahead to the next administration while ignoring the one still in office.

Washington Post: Democratic Victory May Be a Bellwether
A Democrat won the race for a GOP-held congressional seat in northern Mississippi yesterday, leaving the once-dominant House Republicans reeling from their third special-election defeat of the spring.

Read the rest of this entry »

Compiled by Jonathan Helman
CNN Washington Bureau

WSJ: Obama Braces for West Virginia Setback
Barack Obama has conceded he will likely lose the West Virginia primary Tuesday, but as the Illinois senator shifts his focus to the general election, he must prove he can win over the state's working-class white voters.

LA Times: In West Virginia, Women For Hillary Clinton Haven't (Quite) Given Up The Dream
Women can't get over the irony that Sen. Hillary Clinton seems to have lost her race with Sen. Barack Obama right when she looks to be at the height of her game. Clinton is expected to trounce Obama in West Virginia tonight, after which she'll doubtless bound onto a stage in Charleston to roaring cheers, bobbing signs and a sea of hats. It is sure to look like a victory in every sense, except one: Few people believe that a Clinton victory here would alter the arithmetic that seems to be guiding Obama to their party's presidential nomination.

Politico: For McCain, Distance From Bush Is Key
This year, John McCain is going to have to do what he failed to do in 2000: Beat George W. Bush. But wait, isn’t McCain going to be running against Barack Obama or (possibly) Hillary Clinton this year?

Washington Post: For Obama, the General Election Is Calling
Sen. Barack Obama will make it clear on Tuesday that he has turned his attention to the general election, traveling to the November battleground states of Missouri and Michigan.

Read the rest of this entry »

Compiled by Jonathan Helman
CNN Washington Bureau

Washington Post: Environmental Stances Are Balancing Act For McCain
McCain has made the environment one of the key elements of his presidential bid. He speaks passionately about the issue of climate change on the campaign trail, and he plans to outline his vision for combating global warming in a major speech today in Portland, Oregon. But an examination of McCain's voting record shows an inconsistent approach to the environment: He champions some "green" causes while casting sometimes contradictory votes on others.

WSJ: Obama Gains in Party's Top Ranks
Barack Obama's new edge in endorsements from Democratic leaders not only signals the party's establishment is solidifying behind him, but also could allay concerns among party liberals and his supporters that these superdelegates might throw the presidential nomination to Hillary Clinton.

USA Today: West Virginia Savors Moment In Spotlight
West Virginia Democrats and unaffiliated voters — who together make up more than 800,000 registered voters — find themselves debating Iraq withdrawal plans and the benefits of universal coverage, as the campaigns blanket the state with ads and rallies.

WSJ: Obama, Clinton Adjust Aim, Target McCain
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton stepped up their criticism of John McCain and aimed fewer potshots at each other amid signs the nomination fight is winding down and the Democratic Party is coalescing around Sen. Obama.

Read the rest of this entry »

Compiled by Jonathan Helman
CNN Washington Bureau

NY Times: Short of Cash, Clinton Is Forced to Cut Spending
The once-formidable fund-raising machine of Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton has begun to sputter at the worst possible moment for Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign, Clinton advisers and donors said Thursday, with spending curtailed on political events and advertising as Mrs. Clinton seeks to compete in the last six nominating contests.

Boston Globe: Infighting Rains On McCain's Party
Senator John McCain is sailing toward his coronation as the Republican presidential nominee while the Democratic candidates battle fiercely. But Republicans also are engaged in some tough infighting that could disrupt the national convention and make it more difficult for him to unite the party in the fall.

USA Today: Obama Takes Superdelegate Fight To The Hill
Democrat Barack Obama took his fight for superdelegates to the House floor Thursday, as his rival Hillary Rodham Clinton rejected calls to abandon her uphill battle for the Democratic presidential nomination.

WSJ: McCain Sets Stage for Fall Run
Sen. McCain received the gift of time to lay the groundwork for his fall campaign, as Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton fought each other for the Democratic nomination. Now that the Democratic fight appears to be nearing an end, the Arizona senator will soon find out how effectively he used the time.

Read the rest of this entry »

Compiled by Jonathan Helman
CNN Washington Bureau

NY Times: Support for Clinton Wanes as Obama Sees Finish Line
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton struck a publicly defiant posture on Wednesday about continuing her presidential bid despite waning support from Democratic officials and donors. Some of her advisers acknowledged privately that they remained unsure about the future of her candidacy.

WSJ: Campaigns Throw Out Traditional Political Map
This year, both sides are setting their sights on distant targets. The result may be a scrambled battleground map that mixes traditional swing states with those long thought to be in one camp or the other long before November.

Boston Globe: Key Superdelegates Keeping Preferences Strictly Under Wraps
A lot of superdelegates have been working on their secret-keeping skills. Scores of officially uncommitted superdelegates have voted in the Democratic presidential race, including such subjects of ongoing speculation as Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi. While some say that additional factors will affect how they vote at the party's convention, others are just staying silent about their preference. For them, what happens in the voting booth will stay in the voting booth - for now, at least.

Washington Post: Did Rush Limbaugh Tilt Result In Indiana?
Even as Barack Obama's campaign celebrated Tuesday's primary results, aides charged yesterday that they would have had an even stronger showing were it not for meddling by an unlikely booster of Hillary Rodham Clinton: the popular conservative radio host and longtime Clinton family nemesis Rush Limbaugh.

Read the rest of this entry »

Compiled by Jonathan Helman
CNN Washington Bureau

CNN: Clinton Narrowly Takes Indiana, CNN Projects
Sen. Hillary Clinton will narrowly win in Indiana, CNN projects, edging out Sen. Barack Obama by a 2-percent margin.

NY Times: For the Republicans, It’s McCain (and Others)
Amid the chatter about whether the Democrats would be able to unite around one of their candidates was an interesting nugget. Incomplete returns on Tuesday night showed that more than 20 percent of those who voted in the Republican primary in Indiana voted for someone other than Senator John McCain, the party’s presumptive nominee.

Washington Post: Clinton Aides Doubtful About Future
After failing to win the decisive sweep in North Carolina and Indiana that could have reshaped the Democratic race, disappointed aides to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton conceded it would be difficult for her to catch Sen. Barack Obama in either delegates or overall votes in the six remaining contests.

The Hill: Superdelegates Say, We Will Decide
Uncommitted Democratic superdelegates in Congress overwhelmingly say they won’t necessarily back the presidential candidate who wins the most primary delegates. Instead, electability will be very important in their decision.

Read the rest of this entry »

Compiled by Jonathan Helman
CNN Washington Bureau

Washington Post: Two Candidates, Two States and One Big Day
On a final, fevered day of campaigning, Sen. Barack Obama looked to voters in Indiana and North Carolina to reverse a string of defeats in key states, while Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton fought to keep her improbable comeback hopes alive with a pair of strong showings.

Politico: Clinton Fate Hangs In The Balance
If Hillary Clinton wins in either Indiana or North Carolina Tuesday, the primary election terrain suddenly begins to look more favorable to her than at any other point since Super Tuesday Feb. 5.

Washington Post: Paul Campaign Never Ended, Spokesman Says
As the Democratic presidential candidates held pre-primary rallies yesterday in Indiana and North Carolina, and presumptive Republican nominee John McCain spoke to the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, another major-party presidential candidate continued his own quest for nomination, headlining a "Freedom Rally" on a Fort Wayne, Ind., university campus.

NY Times: For Two Primaries, Several Scenarios
It’s almost over. Well, not quite. But the Democratic presidential primaries taking place on Tuesday in North Carolina and Indiana have more delegates up for grabs than any of the remaining contests. For political, demographic and mathematical reasons, those states have the potential to reshape the competition between Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

Washington Times: McCain Courts Hispanic Voters
Sen. John McCain said yesterday that Republicans have shed support among Hispanic voters because of the party's get-tough approach to illegal immigration, but he predicted that his enforcement-then- legalization approach will rebuild those bridges.

Read the rest of this entry »

Compiled by Jonathan Helman
CNN Washington Bureau

CNN: Republicans Use Obama As The Bad Guy In Negative Ads
Is Sen. Barack Obama the new Sen. Ted Kennedy, Sen. Hillary Clinton or former House Speaker Newt Gingrich? For Republican candidates and political ad makers, the White House hopeful might very well be. A review of political television advertising nationwide shows that Obama has played a starring role or has been mentioned in at least 9 GOP-inspired ads designed to undercut a Democratic candidate in recent months.

NY Times: Seeing Grit and Ruthlessness in Clinton’s Love of the Fight
The kind of language and pugilistic imagery Sen. Hillary Clinton uses on the campaign trail evokes the baggage that makes Clinton such a provocative political figure. For as much as a willingness to “do what it takes” and “die hard” are marketable commodities in politics, they can also yield to less flattering qualities, plenty of which have been ascribed to her over the years. Just as supporters praise her “toughness” and “tenacity,” critics also describe her as “divisive,” “a dirty fighter” or “willing to do anything to win.”

Indianapolis Star: Primary Party Switches Could Aid Incumbents
Voting Republican in Indiana used to be so easy. Grab a ballot, skip the presidential nominees — those races were usually over by now, at least for the past 40 years — and focus on local and state primary races. But this year, Hoosiers have that rare chance to help determine a presidential nominee. Of course, to do so means you have to vote like a Democrat.

Washington Times: Democrats Lose Footing For Gains In November
"Saturday Night Live" veteran Al Franken should have had an easier run for U.S. Senate in Minnesota against an embattled Republican incumbent but is being dogged by $70,000 in unpaid taxes and is slipping in the polls — just one of the topsy-turvy races clouding Democrats' expectations of big gains in November.

Read the rest of this entry »

Compiled by Jonathan Helman
CNN Washington Bureau

USA Today: Obama Narrows Superdelegate Gap
The Democratic nomination race is murkier than ever. Hillary Rodham Clinton is rising in the polls while Barack Obama is gaining ground among superdelegates who will decide the winner.

WSJ: Democrats Scramble for Indiana
Determining the victor in Tuesday's presidential nominating contest in Indiana could very well be left to that most elusive of Democratic primary voter: the Republican.

Washington Times: McCain Sets Sights On Moderates
Faced with a crumbling Republican Party image, Sen. John McCain is gambling on a general-election strategy that relies on winning over conservative Democrats and independents, breaking with President Bush's 2000 and 2004 game plan of focusing on the party's core voters.

LA Times: Ron Paul Supporters Not Lining Up Behind McCain
As far as John McCain is concerned, the Republican presidential nomination is a done deal and the party is united behind him. But thousands of Republicans — particularly supporters of Texas Rep. Ron Paul — aren't buying that.

Indianapolis Star: Some Refuse To Budge From Candidates' Corners
It's voters that say if their candidate is not chosen as the Democratic candidate they may not vote or may vote Republican — and they're easy to find not only in Indiana but across the nation — that have some Democrats worried that this long primary battle between Obama and Clinton could leave the party divided and defeated this November.

Read the rest of this entry »

Compiled by Jonathan Helman
CNN Washington Bureau

Washington Post: Obama Catches Up In Support From Hill
With endorsements coming in from California, Iowa and Indiana, Sen. Barack Obama yesterday pulled even with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the race for support on Capitol Hill, as Democratic lawmakers shrugged off his recent struggles.

NY Times: Senate Says McCain Is Qualified
The Senate on Wednesday delivered its judgment on a constitutional question involving one of its own and formally declared that Senator John McCain is eligible to be president — at least from a citizenship perspective.

LA Times: Clinton Supporters Fund Anti-Obama Ads In Indiana
With Sen. Barack Obama's campaign stumbling in recent days, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's backers have poured $1 million into an independent ad campaign in Indiana critical of Obama's economic recovery program.

Politico: GOP Gives Clinton The Silent Treatment
Hillary Clinton’s decisive Pennsylvania primary win last week may have reinvigorated her campaign, but you wouldn’t know it from listening to the Republican party.

Washington Post: Clinton Gas-Tax Proposal Criticized
A growing chorus — including a top congressional Democrat — labeled Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's proposal for suspending the federal gasoline tax ineffective and shortsighted yesterday, even as she continued to paint Sen. Barack Obama as insensitive to drivers' woes for not endorsing the plan.

Read the rest of this entry »

Compiled by Jonathan Helman
CNN Washington Bureau

WSJ: Candidates' Plans Could Indirectly Raise Gas Prices
Although the major presidential candidates are making record gasoline prices a campaign issue, they are avoiding mention of measures they each support that would indirectly raise prices at the pump.

NY Times: McCain Strengthening His Political Marriage
Senator John McCain’s recent harsh critique of the Republican-led response to Hurricane Katrina no doubt reminded some of his newfound allies in Congress that his independent image was often honed at his party’s expense.

AP: Heated Campaign Souring Democrats On Rivals
Voters increasingly dislike the Democratic presidential candidate they are not supporting, according to a new survey and exit polls, raising questions about the party's White House chances as Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama's contentious nomination battle drags on.

WSJ: Clinton Seeks Edge by Focusing on Voter Insecurities
Hillary Clinton's embrace of the tiny industrial-magnet industry in Indiana, site of Tuesday's primary, plays to the insecurities of blue-collar voters — a successful strategy in other states.

Read the rest of this entry »

Compiled by Jonathan Helman
CNN Washington Bureau

WSJ: Obama Heads for Superdelegate Edge
Despite his loss in Pennsylvania and other campaign bumps, Barack Obama is heavily favored to win what will be the final and decisive contest for the Democratic presidential nomination — the "invisible primary" for the convention votes of party leaders.

LA Times: Wright's Re-Emergence Does Obama No Favors
At a moment when Barack Obama is struggling to win over white voters worried about the economy, a series of public appearances by his former pastor is threatening to revive a tempest over race, patriotism and religion that the Democratic presidential front-runner hoped he had quashed.

USA Today: McCain Would 'Put Families In Charge' Of Health Care
John McCain spent much of last week emphasizing how he's a different kind of Republican. This week, he focuses on his plans for health care, which are more aligned with President Bush and other Republicans.

Indianapolis Star: Female Factor: White Women Could Be Swing Vote May 6
If Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton wins Indiana's May 6 Democratic primary, the votes of white women may be a huge reason why.

Read the rest of this entry »

Compiled by Jonathan Helman
CNN Washington Bureau

WSJ: Obama Tackles Bread-and-Butter Issues in Indiana
Barack Obama recast his call for change by speaking more directly to voters' economic concerns as polls show him in a dead heat with Hillary Clinton in Indiana. The shift comes amid signs that Sen. Obama's lofty appeals for hope and change may not be resonating with financially insecure voters, and may even be driving them away.

NY Times: McCain Criticizes Remarks by Obama’s Former Pastor
Senator John McCain delved on Sunday into remarks made by Senator Barack Obama’s former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., saying it was “beyond belief” that Mr. Wright had likened the Romans at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion to the Marines and had suggested that the United States was acting like Al Qaeda under a different color flag.

USA Today: McCain Runs Strong As Democrats Battle On
Why is this man smiling? Arizona Sen. John McCain could understandably be scowling: He could face a more difficult political landscape than any presidential candidate in a generation. Only 39% of Americans have a favorable view of the Republican Party he represents, the latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows. A record 63% say the Iraq war he defends was a mistake. The disapproval rating for President Bush, the incumbent McCain has embraced, has hit 69%, the most negative assessment of any president since Gallup began asking the question 70 years ago.

Washington Post: Democrats Registering In Record Numbers
The past seven states to hold primaries registered more than 1 million new Democratic voters; Republican numbers mainly ebbed or stagnated. North Carolina and Indiana, which will hold their presidential primaries on May 6, are reporting a swell of new Democrats that triples the surge in registrations before the 2004 primary.

Read the rest of this entry »

Compiled by Jonathan Helman
CNN Washington Bureau

Charlotte Observer: Obama Outraises Clinton 3 To 1 In N.C.
Heavy support from the Triangle — and from supporters of John Edwards — helped Democrat Barack Obama outraise Hillary Clinton nearly 3 to 1 among N.C. donors last month, reflecting his huge cash advantage heading into the state's May 6 primary.

Washington Post: McCain Offers Tax Policies He Once Opposed
Now that Sen. John McCain is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, however, McCain is marching straight down the party line. The economic package he has laid out embraces many of the tax policies he once decried: extending Bush's tax cuts he voted against, offering investment tax breaks he once believed would have little economic benefit and granting the long-held wishes of tax lobbyists he has often mocked.

NY Times: Using New Math, Clinton Contends She’s Ahead
Seizing on her Pennsylvania primary victory, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and her surrogates are renewing their efforts to have the disputed Michigan and Florida convention delegates seated and pushing the argument that she now leads in the total number of votes cast when the tallies in those two states are included.

Washington Post: Clinton's Hopes May Lie With N.C.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday emphasized her plans to remove combat troops from Iraq and challenged Sen. Barack Obama to a debate in North Carolina, as she turned her attention to a state that could upend her hopes of a comeback.

Read the rest of this entry »

Compiled by Jonathan Helman
CNN Washington Bureau

WSJ: Indiana Poses Challenge for Each of the Democrats
After six weeks of trading jabs in Pennsylvania, the Democratic presidential candidates turned to Indiana and the lower-income white voters seen as a test of who is most electable in November.

Washington Post: With New Cash, Clinton Moves to A New Venue
Coming off a convincing win in Pennsylvania, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton recorded her best fundraising day of the campaign, and she will need the money for what is being framed as a do-or-die contest in Indiana two weeks from now.

Washington Post: For McCain: Different Place, Same Message
Sen. John McCain stood before a small crowd in this tiny Appalachian town with the same mission he has had all week: convincing what he calls "forgotten" voters who are traditionally hostile to his party that he is a different kind of Republican.

NY Times: For Indiana Voters, Talk of Change May Fall Flat
With all the talk among the Democratic presidential hopefuls about change, they may wish to consider this as they wander Indiana: People here practically revolted a few years ago when their governor, Mitch Daniels, pushed to change to daylight saving time like most of the country.

Read the rest of this entry »

Compiled by Jonathan Helman
CNN Washington Bureau

Washington Post: Decisive Win Can't Forestall A Daunting Task
Pennsylvania Democrats threw a much-needed lifeline to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton last night, offering a fresh incentive to keep pursuing her dimming hopes of winning the party's presidential nomination and turning the May 6 primaries in Indiana and North Carolina into critical showdowns against Sen. Barack Obama.

WSJ: Delegate-Allocation Rules Mean Vote May Have Minimal Impact
Pennsylvania's 187 convention delegates are the largest remaining lode in the primary season, dwarfing the 134 delegates in North Carolina and 83 in Indiana, states that vote in two weeks. But the party's process of choosing delegates means Tuesday's vote wasn't likely to resolve the nomination. Pennsylvania may "have tremendous public-relations impact, but a minimal practical impact," said University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato.

Pittsburg Post-Gazette: Obama Shifts Quickly To Indiana, Next Battleground
Just hours after his defeat in the Pennsylvania primary, Sen. Barack Obama took his campaign to Indiana, the next battleground in his primary election fight against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

WSJ: McCain Softens Economic Pitch In Hard-Hit Ohio
As Sen. John McCain brought his economic message to this battleground state, he didn't back away from his support for free trade but added a heavy dose of compassion in a quest to win voters here.

Read the rest of this entry »

Compiled by Jonathan Helman
CNN Washington Bureau

LA Times: What To Look For In The Pennsylvania Primary
Today in Pennsylvania's hard-fought Democratic presidential primary, there will be a winner and a loser. But the winner might not be the one with the most votes.

Washington Times: Candidates Playing Expectations Game
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton dominated Ohio, squeaked out a win in Texas and is looking for a solid victory today in Pennsylvania to keep superdelegates from breaking for her Democratic presidential rival and finally ending the nomination battle. If she gets the big win, she'll have more evidence for her claim that Sen. Barack Obama is unable to deliver in major swing states and, her team says, it will raise serious questions about his electability.

Philadelphia Inquirer: Election Officials Gird For A Hectic Day
With record numbers of new registrants, voter groups and election officials warn of the potential for record numbers of problems at the polls today. Though they anticipate the traditional complaints - errors in voter rolls, overzealous poll watchers, and the like - the overwhelming issue will be the sheer volume.

CNN: Former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow joins CNN
Former White House press secretary Tony Snow will join CNN as a conservative commentator beginning Monday.

Read the rest of this entry »

Compiled by Jonathan Helman
CNN Washington Bureau

NY Times: Trailing in Pennsylvania, Obama Sharpens Tone
Senator Barack Obama sharpened his tone against Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday as the six-week Pennsylvania primary contest raced to a close, with the rivals marshaling extensive resources in a battle for undecided voters and delegates that could determine whether the Democratic nominating fight carries on.

AP: McCain Reports His Best Fundraising Month
Sen. John McCain latest financial reports show him in the best financial condition of his presidential drive with $11.6 million in the bank at the end of March.

WSJ: Party Chiefs Plan Push To Avoid Long Fight
Some party leaders are quietly planning to try to end the clash between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, said people familiar with the matter. After the primaries end in June, these influential Democrats — led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — plan to push the last uncommitted party leaders to endorse a candidate, in hopes of preventing a fight at the August presidential convention, party insiders say.

Washington Post: Justices to Hear Challenge of Law That Affects Self-Funded Candidates
Wealthy, self-financed congressional candidate Jack Davis says the McCain-Feingold Act's "Millionaire's Amendment," which raises the contribution limits for opponents of wealthy, self-financed candidates, is not only unfair but also unconstitutional, and his lawyers will try to persuade the Supreme Court of that tomorrow.

Read the rest of this entry »