POLITICAL HOT TOPICS: Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Compiled by Mary Grace Lucas, CNN Washington Bureau

CNN: After six months, can Democratic race be over?
After six months and 61 contests, the Democratic primary season finally draws to a close Tuesday, but the big question is whether this historic and at times bitter battle for the party's presidential nomination will also come to a close.

WSJ: Obama Camp Begins Delicate Task Of Wooing Clinton's Supporters
The awkward courtship has begun between supporters of presidential candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama.

CNN: Clinton message: She'll do what it takes in November
Sen. Hillary Clinton is poised to deliver a message Tuesday "that she will do whatever it takes" to put a Democrat in the White House - a message that Sen. Barack Obama insiders say indicates she would accept an offer to be Obama's running mate if asked.

CNN: Sen. Robert Byrd, 90, hospitalized, spokesman says
Sen. Robert Byrd was hospitalized Monday night, a spokesman said. Sen. Robert Byrd is expected to remain hospitalized overnight. The 90-year-old Democrat from West Virginia appeared lethargic when he arrived at his Senate office Monday afternoon in preparation for a vote on global warming, the spokesman said.

Washington Post: For Superdelegates, 'Huge Relief' at End of Primary Season
The novelty of famous suitors and media interviews long ago eroded into exhaustion, and now state Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter of South Carolina is just plain sick of all this. An undecided superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention in August, she opens her e-mail inbox each morning and deletes a handful of threatening notes sent by strangers. Campaign followers call her incessantly. She struggles to find time to run her own campaign for reelection.

CNN: House whip Clyburn will support Obama, sources say
The House majority whip and the top ranking African-American in Congress is expected to endorse Sen. Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential race on Tuesday, several sources told CNN.

Washington Post: 'The People Have Spoken'
Whatever Clinton might say, there is considerable doubt about her claim to be "winning the popular vote." The only sense in which that is true is if she includes all the people who voted for her not only in Florida but also in Michigan, an election that she previously said "is not going to count for anything." She also has to exclude the 230,000 "uncommitted voters" in Michigan, most of whom would have probably supported Barack Obama had he been on the ballot, and caucus participants in Iowa, Nevada, Maine, and Washington.

WSJ: Iran Emerges As Key Issue In Jewish Vote
John McCain told Washington's most powerful pro-Israel lobby that if elected president he would drastically ramp up financial pressure on Iran's rulers by targeting the country's gasoline imports and imposing sanctions against its central bank.

New York Post: GAMBLERS BET ON HILL & MITT FOR VEEP
Hillary Rodham Clinton and Mitt Romney are the favorites to be their parties' vice-presidential nominees, according to a popular online betting site. Intrade, which correctly picked the winner of every state in the 2004 general election, evaluates the veepstakes chances of 30 prominent political figures – 16 Democrats and 14 Republicans.

Washington Post: Old Issue in N.J. Race Could Be Preview
In a preview of what could become a central theme of the fall presidential campaign, New Jersey's Democratic voters will answer a question today that may weigh heavily on John McCain's prospects in November: Just how old is too old?

WSJ: Some Superdelegates May Defer Decision
Dozens of superdelegates may throw their support behind Barack Obama after polls close in Montana and South Dakota on Tuesday, possibly settling the nomination within days. But other superdelegates may see no advantage in taking sides just yet, and some even say they may arrive at the August convention uncommitted.

New York Sun: Clinton Is Due in N.Y. for End of Primaries
Senator Clinton will return to New York City this evening for the final election night of the Democratic presidential primary, as she faces the likelihood that Senator Obama will secure enough delegates to clinch the nomination soon after the polls close in Montana and South Dakota.

AP: Former House aide pleads guilty in lobby scandal
A one-time top aide to former Oklahoma Rep. Ernest Istook pleaded guilty Monday to a conspiracy to defraud the House as part of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

Boston Globe: Make no mistake – gaffes have been around for generations
The parade of candidates' mistakes has been fast and furious throughout this campaign season, creating the impression that our future leaders are the most gaffe-prone in history. In fact, campaigns have been seizing on opponents' misstatements for generations.

NY Times: Obama, Awaiting a New Title, Carefully Hones His Partisan Image
In his telling, his opponent is wrong on the Iraq war and wrong on the ailing economy, a would-be George W. Bush running for what amounts to a third term.

USA Today: Record $201M spent on TV ads by primary candidates
Presidential contenders spent nearly $201 million — easily a record — on TV ads during the primary season that ends today, researchers said Monday. Equally impressive: Campaigns in both parties put ads on the air nearly 330,000 times, according to the Wisconsin Advertising Project and TNS Media.

NY Times: As Clinton Campaign Winds Down, a Spouse Remains Wound Up
Former President Bill Clinton took the microphone here on Monday and began with a lament that it might be his last day as a campaigner. If so, he went out venting the kind of anger that has punctuated his efforts to put his wife in the White House.

USA Today: Voter pessimism over finances likely to influence polls
Americans are more downbeat about their personal financial situations now than they've been in decades, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, an attitude likely to dominate this year's presidential and congressional elections.

USA Today: Students find the presidential race is not politics as usual
As the Democratic nominating process draws to a close today with the last primaries in Montana and South Dakota, educators say the 2008 election season has provided both an electrifying civics lesson and a reminder of just how much is at stake.

USA Today: Gay marriage ban qualifies for Calif. Ballot
California's Secretary of State says an initiative that would again outlaw gay marriage in the state has qualified for the November ballot.
Debra Bowen says a random check of signatures submitted by the measure's sponsors showed that they had gathered enough for it to be put to voters. The measure would amend the state constitution to define marriage as a union "between a man and a woman."