Clinton argues that she’ll be the stronger candidate in November, pointing to current polls of her strength in head-to-head match-ups with McCain. While it has been said before, it deserves repeating: You simply can’t predict in May what will happen in November. Case in point. [H/t Sullivan]

Some will be offended by this clip. I thought it was hysterical. But then, I’ve never been entirely comfortable with the constraints of political correctness.

Every time the matter of McCain’s age is raised, I yawn. I know it’s an aspect of the candidate that is worthy of some discussion, especially in the context of what is possibly the hardest, most taxing job in the world. At the same time, I have trouble fretting too much about the Senator’s almost-72 years. My apathy is perhaps best explained by what Groucho Marx once said: “Age is not a particularly interesting subject. Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long...

And from what I’ve read, all three represent strong options. Ben Adler has details. I remember reading the Napolitano and Sebelius blurbs in Time magazine’s “5 Best Governors” round up in 2005, which is noted in Adler’s article. (In a bit of irony, Huckabee was on that list, too.) And McCaskill … what can I say? She’s from my home state. She was the first Democrat I ever voted for (in 2006). And while I voted for her on a largely single-issue basis (stem-cell research),...

… the opposing party makes you the focus of the top half of the home page of its Web site. To be fair, the same is going on at the other party‘s Web site. Ahhh, politics. Obama is evil. McCain is the spawn of Satan. And Hillary is lost in the shuffle. Sorry, Meatloaf: in this case, we’ll have to settle for “one out of three ain’t bad.”

As I assume most of you know, the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC) will meet Saturday to help decide the fates of the Florida and Michigan delegates and hence the fates of the campaigns of Senators Clinton and Obama. Along with others, I predict Saturday’s meeting will end not with a resolution but with a non-conclusion, a mere speedbump on Clinton’s push to the August convention. Here are my top five reasons why: (1) The members of the RBC are already being warned that the...

I don’t know much about them beyond what I’ve outlined below, but I’ve submitted an interview request — pending which, you might consider this post a placeholder or bookmark on a “group to watch.” In a press release dated today, the Pacaderms bill themselves as “a new breed of 527.” Their Web site provides some additional (though admittedly vague) background, for instance: The organization “is a non-partisan group of citizens who have come together...

Joe Windish wrote earlier today about the “meltdown” of the broadcast TV industry. Elsewhere, the WaPo’s Howard Kurtz turns in a pre-death obit for newspapers. Toward the end of his column, Kurtz offers this telling vignette: The ticking time bomb here is the wholesale abandonment of newspapers by younger people who grew up with a point-and-click mentality. When I was speaking at Harvard recently, a smug graduate student said, “I get everything I need from YouTube. What are...

Last week, I offered a parsed defense of Hillary Clinton — challenging Andrew Sullivan and others who suggest Clinton is motivated by “power-at-any-cost” to recognize that she might be just as driven (if not more so) by her legacy than by her quest for power. I went on to write that, regardless of what her most spiteful detractors claim, I’d be willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, if she handled her rightful exit from this nomination fight with dignity and grace. So...

Ben Smith has an interesting item on Congressman-and-Obama-booster Adam Smith’s tip-toe defense of former lobbyists.* Rep. Smith makes a good point, and we should all (including Sen. Obama) be duly cautious about painting all lobbyists with the same brush. Qualitatively and quanititatively, “lobby” is not a four-letter word — nor is it a reliable indicator of evil. For every Jack Abramoff, there are two or more ethical, civil, decent people who ply their trade lobbying. Trust...

Call me less than bright. I’m OK with that because I’ve never been the sharpest tool in the shed. Sharper than many, maybe, but not the sharpest, not by a long shot. And so it is, wallowing in my eternal density, that I finally realized this morning why Clinton decided to fight on, post-Indiana. Yesterday, I noted and debunked her popular-vote argument. Granted, delegates are what counts; we all know that. But the pop-vote is one of the last remaining arguments she can make to the...

Following the news of Senator Kennedy’s diagnosis, the reactions are predictably swift and sure, respectful and concerned. As they should be. Oddly enough, I was at a high-school groundbreaking ceremony just this morning, where my son had the honor of introducing videotaped messages from none other than Sen. Kennedy and his son Patrick, a U.S. Congressman from Rhode Island. Several months ago, when we started planning for this event — designed to kick-off renovations enabled by the...

[Note: This post was written before the conclusion of the Kentucky and Oregon primaries.] So Sen. Clinton is still arguing the “I won the popular vote if you count Florida and Michigan” meme. But did she? If we just count Florida, she did not. Per RCP, just counting Florida, Obama still has the advantage by some 300,000 votes. Counting Michigan is a much more problematic. In that case, Clinton’s argument requires us to believe that — had Obama’s name actually been...

A friendly warning to those of you who bother to watch the largely meaningless primary returns tonight: Kentucky is a split-time-zone state. … polls in the eastern part of the state close one hour before those in the west. Since the eastern part of the state is home to the areas in which Obama hopes to be competitive (Louisville, Lexington, the Cincinnati suburbs) and since cities tend to report more quickly than rural areas, early results may make it appear a closer race than it is. The...

Ten days ago, Paul Silver tossed a spotlight on a May 9 David Brooks’ column, in which the NYT writer pondered what American conservatives might learn from their British counterparts. Among other things, Brooks claimed that British conservatives are resurgent today only after paying their dues. They wondered in the wilderness before they could emerge on the other side — chastened and wiser, more in tune with the times. Brooks further suggested that today’s American conservatives (and...

A former pollster for Howard Dean crunches Obama’s path to the 270 magic-number in the electoral college. His analysis demonstrates that no matter how popular a candidate might be — and no matter how disillusioned voters are with the Republican brand — the electoral college remains a daunting challenge, an eternal equalizer, a stubborn flatliner of lofty expectations. On diplomacy vs. appeasement: Proof yet again that wisdom, logic, and common sense can still be found in the...

I enjoy Andrew Sullivan’s writing and he’s been gracious enough on occasion to link to what I write. But this post may cause him to denounce and reject me. Andrew seems convinced that Hillary will do anything in the pursuit of power, and said pursuit is practically all that drives her. Maybe he’s right. But I think there’s something more powerful than power that drives her, and that is her concern about her long-term image; her legacy. I’m starting to believe image/legacy may be more...

In the first category, Jonathan Martin catches McCain and Obama walking the line, threading the needle, choosing their words carefully with respect to yesterday’s California Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage. I look forward to the day when this matter is resolved and is no longer an issue that’s of relevance to any campaign. (And yes, I’m pro civil marriage.) In the second category, Ben Smith catches Obama discouraging a powerful 527. I find that a very good sign and a strong...

You should know the tale. We all should know it. Kahle’s is the face of a modern-American hero, and Eric Mink ably summarized his story in yesterday’s edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Karl Rove in today’s WSJ: Both parties face major challenges and have little time to alter the dynamics of the election to their advantage. Recognizing underlying problems and correcting them within a matter of a couple of months is one of the supreme challenges in politics. Whichever party does that fast and well will benefit come November. That’s just one example. Read the entire commentary. Its title — “The GOP Must Stand for Something” — is probably deserving...

Namely, one of my favorite skits from the “Flying Circus,” you know, the one with the dead parrot. Priceless.

Those “myths” include: - The Primary has left Democrats divided. - The Primary campaign has hurt Obama with swing voters and Republicans. - Obama cannot perform strongly enough among white voters. - The race against Clinton has compromised Obama’s position among women. - Obama cannot win working class voters. Details at the RCP blog. Even though these responses come from the Obama camp, some of the data they offer is well worth considering — and vetting, for those who might...

In the category of great ironies, I trust you’ll enjoy this one as much as I did. And I hope this particular irony helps us mitigate our national tendency to define Presidents and potential Presidents by the people they know. (H/t RCP.)

So much for the claims that SNL is pro-Clinton.

From the gracious to the not-so-gracious, Ben Smith outlines the options for Clinton’s exit.