Obama Has The Lead, But Potential Problems Too  —  Increasing Optimism About Iraq  —  Summary of Findings  —  Barack Obama is riding high as the March 4 primaries approach.  Obama has moved out to a broad-based advantage over Hillary Clinton in the national Democratic primary contest …

McCain Endorsement Angers Catholic League President  —  Updated 6 p.m.  —  HOUSTON — The president of the Catholic League today blasted Sen. John McCain for accepting the endorsement of Texas evangelicalist John Hagee, calling the controversial pastor a bigot who has “waged an unrelenting war against the Catholic Church.”

American Traitor Adam Gadahn is Dead Update  —  A source tells The Jawa Report that Adam Gadahn is dead  —  ***Sticky: Scroll down for newer posts***  —  Is American al Qaeda member and indicted traitor Adam Gadahn dead?  Shortly after a U.S. Predator drone attack killed Abu Laith al-Libi …

Black backers steadfast for Clinton  —  African-American superdelegates said Thursday that they'll stand up against threats, intimidation and “Uncle Tom” smears rather than switch their support from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to Sen. Barack Obama.  —  “African-American superdelegates are being targeted …

Michelle Obama: name Hussein is ‘the fear bomb’  —  Michelle Obama, who often has decried “the fear bomb” that opponents have used against her husband for his middle name — Barack Hussein Obama — said in Canton, Ohio, today that it is happening again and shows why it's so important that he wins election as president.

Army prepares to evacuate Harry after news blackout fails  —  Army commanders were making frantic arrangements last night to bring Prince Harry back from Afghanistan after an American website disclosed that he had been serving with other British troops fighting the Taliban.

Staying to Help in Iraq  —  The request is familiar to American ears: “Bring them home.”  —  But in Iraq, where I've just met with American and Iraqi leaders, the phrase carries a different meaning.  It does not refer to the departure of U.S. troops, but to the return of the millions …

1 in 100 U.S. Adults Behind Bars, New Study Says  —  For the first time in the nation's history, more than one in 100 American adults is behind bars, according to a new report.  —  Nationwide, the prison population grew by 25,000 last year, bringing it to almost 1.6 million.

Hope and fear  —  Democratic economic policy sounds worryingly populist  —  FOR a man who has placed “hope” at the centre of his campaign, Barack Obama can sound pretty darned depressing.  As the battle for the Democratic nomination reaches a climax in Texas and Ohio …

Democrats Want To Fund ACORN, La Raza With Stimulus Bill  —  The Democrats reacted in anger when Senate Republicans blocked their latest economic stimulus bill.  Harry Reid said that bankers and lenders were high-fiving each other in hallways after the GOP torpedoed the bill …

Quiet Out There  —  We're at that moment in the campaign that reminds me of a horror movie.  There's a kind of relief that the worst cannot happen, that the Clintons are politically dead, that our long national nightmare is over.  The screen falls silent.  We look at pleasant images …

Joint Chiefs Chair Warns Obama & Clinton on Iraq  —  ABC News' Jonathan Karl Reports: The Joint Chiefs chairman has a word of warning to Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton: A rapid of withdrawal from Iraq would lead to a “chaotic situation” and would “turnaround the gains we have achieved …

Did ‘SNL’ Go Beyond the Pale With Fauxbama?  —  Lorne Michaels Defends Casting Of Non-Black Man in Sketch  —  When Barack Obama announced his candidacy for president last year, some observers questioned whether the senator from Illinois was “black enough” to embody the hopes and aspirations of African Americans.

Obama's Open Letter To Gay Americans  —  Money quote: … The full thing after the jump:

Kenyan elders want U.S. apology over Obama photo  —  ISIOLO, Kenya (Reuters) - Kenyan elders demanded an apology from Washington on Thursday ahead of a planned protest over a controversial photo of U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama in traditional Somali dress.

Fewer U.S. Dead = Less TV Coverage of Iraq  —  One year ago, liberal journalists depicted the surge of U.S. troops to Iraq as a certain failure.  “A lot of people are going to go to bed tonight terrified,” MSNBC's Chris Matthews opined just minutes after President Bush announced the policy on January 10, 2007.