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Sen. John McCain's campaign "asked a prominent Republican consultant, Craig Shirley, to leave his official campaign role and released a new conflict of interest policy Thursday after a Politico inquiry about Shirley's dual role consulting for the campaign and for an independent '527' group opposing the Democratic presidential candidates," according to The Politico.
"Shirley, a conservative public relations veteran, doubled as a consultant to McCain and to the group Stop Her Now, a 527 group barred from coordinating its activities with presidential campaigns. He is not currently on the McCain campaign's payroll, but would also step down from his role on McCain's Virginia Leadership Team, a McCain spokesman, Brian Rogers, said."
Marc Ambinder reports the McCain...
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Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) sent a memo to the Republican House leadership explaining his party's prospects in November noting "the political atmosphere facing House Republicans this November is the worst since Watergate and is far more toxic than the fall of 2006 when we lost thirty seats."
"The loss of three straight special elections, in once solidly Republican districts cannot be explained simply by 'bad candidates', or by being out-organized. They are canaries in the coal mine, warning of far greater losses in the fall, if steps are not taken to remedy the current climate." 
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NBC News notes Sen. Hillary Clinton didn't sound much like a candidate at a South Dakota campaign staff earlier today.
"Maybe we're getting a bit ahead of things, maybe its just the place and time, maybe its that we're all looking for clues about her intentions, but the vibe feels different."
"Clinton began her remarks talking about how great it is that South Dakota is going to vote, and how important those votes will be. But what followed was a detailed talk about farming and rural issues, not why she's still in the race, nor much of her usual stump speech."
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"I think John Edwards is obviously someone who would be on anybody's short list."
-- Sen. Barack Obama, quoted by Time, on whether he would consider John Edwards for a role in his administration.
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"Many House GOP operatives are privately predicting that the party could easily lose up to 20 seats this fall," according to The Politico.
"Combined with the 30 seats that the GOP lost in 2006, that would leave the party facing a 70-vote deficit against Democrats in the House -- a state of powerlessness reminiscent of Republicans' long wilderness years in the 1960s and '70s."
CQ Politics notes the Republican House leadership team "met in crisis mode" yesterday after losing a third special election this year.
For a snapshot of the key races, see CQ's Balance of Power Scorecard.
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A total of 82% of American voters are "somewhat dissatisfied' or "very dissatisfied" with the way things are going in the country today, according to a new Quinnipiac poll, while only 17% are "very satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied."
This is the lowest national satisfaction rate since Quinnipiac began asking this question in 2003. 
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Though John Edwards said last month he would decline a vice presidential nomination, the New York Times reports that "privately, he told aides that he would consider the role of vice president and favored the position of attorney general, which would appeal to his experience of decades spent in courtrooms as a trial lawyer in North Carolina; and his desire to follow in the footsteps of Robert F. Kennedy, one of his heroes."
Political Insider: The case for picking Edwards.
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Sen. Barack Obama's campaign is planning to announce "a major endorsement" tonight at 6:30 pm ET.
Mark Halperin hints it's John Edwards.
Marc Ambinder notes that all of Edwards's "brain trust" is unreachable today for some reason.
According to multiple sources, Edwards is on this flight heading to Michigan. It lands at around 6 pm.
Update: ABC News confirms Edwards will endorse Obama tonight.
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Joshua Green has a must-read piece on Sen. Barack Obama's fundraising operation which is "quite unlike anything seen before in national politics. Obama's machine attracts large and small donors alike, those who want to give money and those who want to raise it, veteran activists and first-time contributors, and -- especially -- anyone who is wired to anything: computer, cell phone, PDA."
"Here's another thing: he is doing it almost effortlessly. That is to say, in an era when the imperative for campaign dollars demands more and more of a politician's time and lurks behind so many recent scandals (including the auctioning-off of the Lincoln Bedroom), Obama has raised more money than anybody else without plumbing ethical gray...
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 In early 2000, Sen. Joseph Lieberman raised his national profile by writing a book, In Praise of Public Life, that helped position him to be Al Gore's running mate. The slim manifesto essentially showed he shared Gore's passion for good government.
Now, Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) has a new book coming out that just might help him be Sen. Barack Obama's running mate.
According to the book jacket, A Time to Fight: Reclaiming a Fair and Just America "presents a clear-eyed, hard-hitting plan of attack for putting government to...
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"The president swallows the microphone every time he opens his mouth."
-- Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), quoted by NBC News, blaming President Bush for the political situation House Republicans find themselves in after losing three special elections.
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Over at Political Insider, I make the case for John Edwards as Sen. Barack Obama's running mate. 
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"I don't think I was as ruthless as the movie portrays me, and I know he was not as wimpish as it makes him appear."
-- Former Secretary of State James Baker, quoted by the New York Times, on how he and former Secretary of State Warren Christopher are portrayed in the new HBO dramatization Recount. 
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A new Portland Tribune poll in Oregon finds Sen. Barack Obama "has amassed a nearly insurmountable lead" in advance of next week's primary.
Obama leads Sen. Hillary Clinton by 20 points, 55% to 35%, among likely Democratic voters.
Said pollster Tim Hibbetts: "Barring a disaster, Barack Obama's going to win Oregon, and he may win it very big. This is the widest lead that I've seen of any poll for Obama in Oregon. I'd be shocked if Obama didn't win here." 
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After losing their third special election loss in recent weeks, Mike Allen says there are "whispers among some House Republicans" about trying to replace Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) with Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), "who was NRCC chairman from 1998 to 2002."
In addition, Allen says House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) "also has to watch his back" since House conservatives are "especially restive."
Cole, as Marc Ambinder notes, pushed the panic button last night "warning his incumbents and challengers: change or die." 
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A new Quinnipiac poll finds both Democratic presidential candidates beating Sen. John McCain in a general election match up.
Sen. Barack Obama beats McCain, 47% to 40%, while Sen. Hillary Clinton is in front, 46% to 41%.
Meanwhile, an overwhelming majority of Democrats, by a 60% to 33% margin, want Obama to pick Clinton as his running mate. 
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Three former SEC chairmen will publicly endorse Sen. Barack Obama's presidential bid, including one who served under President Bush, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"William Donaldson, who was SEC chairman for about 2½ years from early 2003, along with Clinton and Reagan appointees Arthur Levitt and David Ruder, will join former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker in endorsing Sen. Obama, his campaign said." 
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Democrats "appeared to regain control of north Mississippi's 1st Congressional District" as Travis Childers (D) beat Greg Davis (R) in their special election runoff, the Clarion Ledger reports.
Childers victory means he will serve the final months of a term vacated by Roger Wicker. Wicker, a Republican, was appointed to the U.S. Senate after former Sen. Trent Lott resigned in December.
Democrats now have a 37 seat majority in the House of Representatives.
CQ Politics: "The outcome will require a serious post mortem by Republican strategists. It was the second consecutive special election in the South in which the GOP lost after staging a high-volume effort to tie a Democratic House candidate -- running as...
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Hillary Clinton will win West Virginia's Democratic primary by a wide margin, CNN projects based on exit polls.
"The result won't do much to cut into Obama's delegate lead, but her campaign is hoping a big win will raise doubts about Barack Obama's electability."
Ben Smith: "MSNBC'S Keith Olbermann says exit polls show Clinton beating Obama by a two-to-one margin -- if that's the result, somewhat lower than some Clinton backers had hoped." 
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"All the kitchen table issues that everybody talks to me about are ones that the next president can actually do something about, if he actually cares about it... More likely if she cares about it!"
-- Sen. Hillary Clinton, quoted by the Daily Telegraph, in a brief recognition that she might not be the Democratic nominee.
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Political Wire got an advance look at a new Strategic Vision poll in Georgia that shows Sen. John McCain leading Sen. Barack Obama in a general election match up, 54% to 40%.
The survey shows a stark racial divide in the state and finds Jewish voters backing McCain. The poll, which will be released tomorrow, has a margin of error of +/- 3%.
Political Insider: Will Bob Barr put Georgia in play?
Ballot Box: Could Obama win Georgia?
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David Nather notes Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama met today on the Senate floor "and the two exchanged one of those half-hug, half arm-clasp greetings."
"A more intriguing development was the series of intense, one-on-one conversations Obama and Clinton had with both of the Michigan senators - Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow - who are anxiously awaiting word on whether the Michigan delegation will be seated at the Democratic national convention in August... Both senators also spent time talking to Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, whose state's role in the convention is also up in the air."
But the "chilliest conversation of the day" was between Clinton and Sen. Ted Kennedy who recently said an...
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Over at Political Insider, I discuss how former GOP Rep. Bob Barr's presidential candidacy as a Libertarian might impact the race.
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"I still hear some dogs barking. I'm for Senator Clinton, but I think the great likelihood is that Obama will be the nominee. As soon as I determine when that is, I'll send him a check."
-- James Carville, quoted by the Columbia State.
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With a week until Oregon's primary, a new Public Policy Polling survey finds Sen. Barack Obama ahead of Sen. Hillary Clinton, 53% to 39%.
Key finding: "Our poll showed the war -- at 41% -- out polling the economy -- at 34% -- as the biggest issue for Democrats in Oregon. The last state where we saw the war poll remotely that high was in Wisconsin, and that was another state with a small minority population that Barack Obama nonetheless won big. It looks like we're headed for a repeat performance in Oregon." 
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