Gallup Daily: Clinton 49%, Obama 45%  —  McCain leads Obama in general election; McCain and Clinton tied  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Hillary Clinton has edged ahead of Barack Obama, 49% to 45%, in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update.  —  The four percentage point Clinton advantage …

‘D.C. Madam’ dead in Florida  —  Palfrey had been convicted of running $2 million prostitution ring  —  TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. - The woman convicted of running a high-end Washington prostitution ring that snagged a senator killed herself Thursday, police said, weeks after she was convicted on charges she vowed not to go to prison for.

Spike Lee tells US pastor to ‘shut up’  —  Director Spike Lee has waded into the ongoing controversy surrounding Jeremiah Wright, the Chicago pastor whose provocative statements have proved a thorn in the side of Democrat frontrunner Barack Obama.  Lee advises the preacher to do the right thing and keep quiet.

Poll: Bush most unpopular in modern history  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — A new poll suggests that George W. Bush is the most unpopular president in modern American history.  —  A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Thursday indicates that 71 percent of the American public disapprove …

MALPRACTICE  —  I really don't get what it is with the Clinton campaign sometimes.  Getting Joe Andrew's super-delegate endorsement is a minor coup for the Obama campaign.  It certainly gives them some help in Indiana.  But he's hardly a household name.  So why is it that when Howard Wolfson gets asked …

Rep. Fossella Arrested on Charges of Driving While Intoxicated  —  Rep. Vito J. Fossella (R-N.Y.) was arrested overnight in Alexandria and charged with driving while intoxicated, court records showed today.  —  Fossella is scheduled to appear in Alexandria General District Court on May 12 for an advisement hearing, the records said.

Obama's Image Slips, His Lead Over Clinton Disappears  —  Public Support for Free Trade Declines  —  Summary of Findings  —  Democratic voters are not as positive about Barack Obama as they were a month ago.  Somewhat smaller percentages of Democrats describe Obama in favorable terms …

How to Beat Gas Tax Demagoguery  —  The Clinton and McCain campaign have defended their plant to suspend the federal gasoline tax in strikingly similar terms.  Clinton's spokesman Geoff Garin says: … And John McCain, when asked about New York Times columnist Tom Friedman's opposition to the tax suspension, replied:

The Michelle Obama-patented subject-changer  —  In a pickle with your spouse over laundry you neglected to do or trash you forgot to take out?  —  Looking for an easy way to wriggle out of a tough spot with your boss?  —  Never fear.  Michelle Obama is here with her new patented subject-changer:

McCain's May Day in Des Moines  —  It's Thursday, May 1, 2008, and Republican presidential candidate John McCain is due to speak here at the Polk County Convention Complex at 2 o'clock this afternoon.  A sign on the ground floor advises “Eddie's Shoe Shine” is set up on he second floor.

What I Should Have Told John Edwards  —  I was sitting in a New York City restaurant with Jonathan Prince, John Edwards' deputy campaign manager, and at that moment the future of our candidate's quest for president was being decided.  —  But not by us.  All that Jonathan and I knew …

READING FIRST COMES IN LAST.  —  Sadly, the massive “Reading First” skills-builder program at the heart of No Child Left Behind doesn't actually improve reading skills among enrolled kids.  This fits into the larger pattern in education reform efforts which is that most ideas fall short of expectations.