The story behind McCain’s first divorce is heartbreaking. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the campaign.

Bob Barr’s Libertarian campaign for president is already having an impact.

Bob Barr’s Libertarian presidential campaign is poised to play a serious role in this year’s elections, with early polls showing him taking away enough votes from Sen. John McCain to give Democrats a chance to win states that should be safely Republican.

Polls in Georgia and North Carolina over the last two weeks show Mr. Barr winning 8 percent and 6 percent respectively of the presidential vote, and in both cases helping keep likely Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama within striking distance of Mr. McCain in those states — which, taken together, account for more electoral votes than Florida, Pennsylvania or Ohio.

Another former Bush insider turns on the Bush administration. In an incredible memoir, former press secretary Scott McClellan doesn’t pull any punches, discussing how the Bush administration was not “open and forthright on Iraq,” and took a “permanent campaign approach” to governing at the expense of candor and competence.

Anyone who was paying attention during the Bush presidency knew that McClellan was feeding the press and the American people incorrect information for years. Frankly, he wasn’t very good at it.

Again, Bush will go down as one of the worst presidents in American history. With this book, Scott McClellan helps to tell the sad story.

It’s refreshing to see a Democratic nominee who isn’t afraid to speak his mind about Cuba. Most Democrats run scared on this issue, but they always lose this vote to the GOP. The views in the Cuban-American community are changing, particularly among the young who question the policies that have changed mothing in Cuba.

Obama engaged McCain on this issue by promising to ease travel restrictions and the ability to transfer money.

Obama said he would maintain the existing trade embargo to use as leverage for winning Democratic change in the Communist island nation. But he said he would immediately allow “unlimited family travel and remittances to the island.”

“It’s time to let Cuban-Americans see their mothers and fathers, their sisters and brothers. It’s time to let Cuban-American money make their families less dependent upon the Castro regime,” he said.

This change will be very popular, even among older, more conservative Cuban-Americans who resent the tough travel restrictions. Obama has a tough road ahead of him in Florida, but this policy battle will help. Also, expect him to hit McCain hard later in the campaign on Social Security privatization.

Peggy Noonan blasts today’s pathetic Republican Party. She’s not saying anything new. She just has a way with words, and her essay sums up the problems nicely.

These problems, however, have been apparent for years, and even Peggy has been late to the party. In Kansas in 2006, old Republicans bolted from the party and won seats as Democrats.

The Republicans deserve to get crushed in the fall. If that happens, it will be the best possible result for the party (and the country).

Obama is gearing up for the fall, as he goes after McCain regarding Hamas.

Obama said he was offended when McCain said last month, “It’s very clear who Hamas wants to be the next president.”

“I think it’s disappointing because John McCain always says, ‘Well, I’m not going to run that kind of politics,’ and then to engage in that kind of smear I think is unfortunate, particularly since my policy on Hamas has been no different than his,” Obama said.

“And so for him to toss out comments like that, I think, is an example of him losing his bearings as he pursues this nomination.”

“Losing his bearings.” I love that line.

Both the Senate race and the presidential race are closer than one might expect.

The 2008 general election will be about issues, and abortion will resurface as an issue this fall.

Right now, McCain’s “maverick” reputation is causing many to think he’s a moderate on many issues. That is not the case, and the misperceptions are significant when it comes to abortion.

What John McCain really stands for came up most recently in light of his position on abortion. Planned Parenthood commissioned a survey showing that more than half of those women polled don’t know much about McCain’s stance, and a quarter of those who are in favor of keeping abortion legal mistakenly think the senator agrees.

These misperceptions will be corrected by November. Writers like Anna Quindlen are talking about it, and it will certainly come up in the campaign. McCain has been a favorite of many independents, but that was when he was running against Bush. Now that he faces a general election in a tough year for Republicans, his abortion stances are likely to hurt him with independents and some moderate Republicans.

He’s back.

McCain’s lame attempt to offer something about the mortgage mess just two weeks after saying he would do nothing to bail out homeowners shows he will say anything and propose anything to get elected. Conservatives are not happy.

Once the general election starts, McCain’s inability to articulate and defend clear positions on the issues in a consistent manner will be his undoing.

She’s starting to tank in the polls. Gallup has her down 9 points and Rasmussen has her down 10 points. The polls are tightening in Pennsylvania, and slowly the superdelegates continue to break for Obama.

It’s only a matter of time. Obama will be the nominee by June.

Also, McCain has not been able to build on his earlier lead when Obama was dealing with the Wright issue. The polls are now basically even, which means McCain is in trouble as well.

Former Republican Congressman Bob Barr might run for President as a Libertarian. If he decides to run, this could be a huge blow to John McCain.

Can a conservative former congressman who helped impeach President Clinton, is a board member of the National Rifle Association and has done contract work with the ACLU dent Sen. John McCain’s presidential bid?

That’s exactly what Mr. McCain would face if Bob Barr, the former Republican who joined the Libertarian Party two years ago, wins his adopted party’s presidential nomination.

Barr is one of many Republicans who are fed up with today’s Republican Party that has embraced the religious right and has abandoned the principles of small government and freedom. The Ron Paul candidacy showed that there is real support for traditional libertarian positions, and Barr could present a protest votes for conservatives who are fed up with the GOP.

It’s statements like this that explain I always liked Mike Huckabee and why he was able to generate so much support. I don’t agree with many of his policies, but the man is a true Christian. He has empathy for other people and tries to understand their plight. He also understands that we’re all human and we make mistakes.

And one other thing I think we’ve gotta remember. As easy as it is for those of us who are white, to look back and say “That’s a terrible statement!”…I grew up in a very segregated south. And I think that you have to cut some slack — and I’m gonna be probably the only Conservative in America who’s gonna say something like this, but I’m just tellin’ you — we’ve gotta cut some slack to people who grew up being called names, being told “you have to sit in the balcony when you go to the movie. You have to go to the back door to go into the restaurant. And you can’t sit out there with everyone else. There’s a separate waiting room in the doctor’s office. Here’s where you sit on the bus…” And you know what? Sometimes people do have a chip on their shoulder and resentment. And you have to just say, I probably would too. I probably would too. In fact, I may have had more of a chip on my shoulder had it been me.

Reverend Wright said some very stupid things. They should be condemned and Barack Obama condemned them. But, it’s clear this man is very angry about the injustices that blacks have endured in this country. This does not justify his statements, and as Obama explained, this anger can cloud one’s judgement. Wright could not see the progress we have made.

That said, it was incredibly gracious for Huckabee to show some compassion and understanding, and to not kick Wright while he’s down. Here’s the video.

Over the past several days, John McCain has twice repeated a ridiculous statement about al Qaeda in Iraq, saying that Iran (a Shiite nation) was training al Qaeda terrorists (who are Sunnis). This is almost as ridiculous as his recent statements that al Qaeda would take over Iraq if we left, as if the majority Shiites would ever let that happen.

Today, Barack Obama went after McCain on his fundamental misunderstanding of the situation in Iraq.

Now we know what we’ll hear from those like John McCain who support open-ended war. They will argue that leaving Iraq is surrender. That we are emboldening the enemy. These are the mistaken and misleading arguments we hear from those who have failed to demonstrate how the war in Iraq has made us safer. Just yesterday, we heard Senator McCain confuse Sunni and Shiite, Iran and al Qaeda. Maybe that is why he voted to go to war with a country that had no al Qaeda ties. Maybe that is why he completely fails to understand that the war in Iraq has done more to embolden America’s enemies than any strategic choice that we have made in decades.

These guys just suck.

Good move by Mitt. He’ll earn some points in the party for this one, as Huckabee looks like a fool for staying in the race.

As only Will Ferrell can explain. This one is a classic.

This news will bring conservatives closer to the ledge.

With many prominent conservatives in open revolt over his likely nomination, John McCain needs Hillary Clinton to get the Democratic nomination to win back conservative voters. Howard Fineman just made this point on MSNBC, even mentioning that McCain staffers have acknowledged this to him.

Many of us have been saything this for months. Hillary Clinton is the only person that can unite a Republican Party that is breaking apart.

Another Republican endorses Barack Obama in an eloquent op-ed peice in the Washington Post.

I am not alone in worrying that my generation will fail to do what my grandfather’s did so well: Leave America a better, stronger place than the one it found.

Given the magnitude of these issues and the cost of addressing them, our next president must be able to bring about a sense of national unity and change. As we no longer have the financial resources to address all these problems comprehensively and simultaneously, setting priorities will be essential. With hard work, much can be done.

The biggest barrier to rolling up our sleeves and preparing for a better future is our own apathy, fear or immobility. We have been living in a zero-sum political environment where all heads have been lowered to avert being lopped off by angry, noisy extremists. I am convinced that Barack Obama is the one presidential candidate today who can encourage ordinary Americans to stand straight again; he is a man who can salve our national wounds and both inspire and pursue genuine bipartisan cooperation. Just as important, Obama can assure the world and Americans that this great nation’s impulses are still free, open, fair and broad-minded.

No measures to avert the serious, looming consequences can be taken without this sense of renewal. Uncommon political courage will be required. Yet this courage can be summoned only if something profoundly different transpires. Putting America first — ahead of our own selfish interests — must be our national priority if we are to retain our capacity to lead.