DNC chairman under Bill Clinton: Unite behind Obama  —  WASHINGTON - A leader of the Democratic Party under Bill Clinton has switched his allegiance to Barack Obama and is encouraging fellow Democrats to “heal the rift in our party” and unite behind the Illinois senator.

InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Survey: North Carolina Democratic Primary: Hillary Clinton Takes Lead Over Obama  —  A survey of 571 registered likely voters in North Carolina's May 6 Democratic primary shows Sen. Hillary Clinton having moved from a double digit deficit in an InsiderAdvantage poll taken …

A Strained Wright-Obama Bond Finally Snaps  —  Late Monday night, in the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, N.C., Barack Obama's long, slow fuse burned to an end.  Earlier that day he had thumbed through his BlackBerry, reading accounts of the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.'s latest explosive comments on race and America.

Veterans to Unfurl Replica ‘Mission Accomplished’ Banner at White House  —  Along with Iraq war veterans and concerned citizens, Iraq Campaign 2008 says it will unfurl a 50-foot replica “Mission Accomplished” banner at the White House tomorrow, marking the five-year anniversary of President Bush's now-infamous speech.

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.

Official: Iraqi delegation goes to Iran to discuss militias  —  BAGHDAD - An Iraqi delegation traveled to Iran with evidence that proves the Islamic republic is arming and training of Shiite militias in Iraq, an official said Thursday.  —  Five Shiite politicians left Wednesday carrying documents …

Where Were Obama's Friends?  —  It's tough being Everyman.  —  Way back when, before the angry and antic prophet Jeremiah rose to smite him, Barack Obama appeared before us as an open presidential vessel, into which many poured their political dreams.  —  Foremost were black Americans.

Hell No, No Premonition Coulda Seen This!  —  Seven months of declined U.S. casualties in Iraq are over — as even Bob Gates is acknowledging — with 48 fallen soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors taken from us in April.  McClatchy reports that two soldiers were killed in Anbar last month …

Surge in U.S. Hispanic Population Driven by Births, Not Immigration  —  Dynamic Differs  —  From '90s Growth,  —  Census Data Show  —  Hispanics now account for more than 15% of the U.S. population, and their surge is largely the result of births among people already in the country, according to new Census Bureau data.

Wright's wrong  —  Barack Obama gave his “More Perfect Union” speech in Philadelphia on March 18 to tamp down the furor caused by the release of videos excerpts of his pastor's sermons.  Obama himself had proclaimed the importance of his pastor to his life over the past twenty years in books and interviews.

Kerry Rips MSNBC On Wright: ‘You People Need To Let Go Of This’  —  Today, John Kerry officially became the 87,436th person to receive one of the three or four versions of the same Reverend Wright question MSNBC has been asking everyone it comes in contact with, including their plants and pets.