- New Yorker runs a long profile on Michelle Obama.

- An excellent Stanley Fish column explains why McCain has an overwhelming advantage in a match-up against Obama.

- Michael Tomasky ponders the superdelegate effect in the NY Review.

- Wine track vs. beer track voters, latte liberals vs. Dunkin’ Donuts Democrats, or just plain white vs. blue collar. Call them what you want, but these new liberal voting blocs make it clear that the Democratic Party is headed for a realignment. National Journal brings us the latest trend piece on the difference between the working-class Clinton supporter and Obama’s upscale masses.

-Tuesday is D-day for Clinton.

- The Dow is down 300 points, Goldman is projecting a two-year decline, and the kids are eating cat food, but a recession it most certainly is not!

-Idyllic suburban communities are the crime-ridden slums of the near-future as families abandon sprawl. But seriously though, it is NOT a recession.

- Prince Harry, not entirely unlike Pokemon…

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-Quote of the day, emphasis ours: “The incumbent’s hand-picked successor will win Russia’s presidential election on Sunday, and Putin has already made clear how he plans to hold on to power” -Time.com’s blurb for an article on the transfer of power to Medvedev. Yep, folks, he WILL WIN. There isn’t even the shadow of a doubt. Because it’s not like it’s an election or anything.

- The Clinton campaign redefines the science of spin, asserting that if Obama wins Texas and Ohio by anything less than 100% of the vote, he’s clearly the loser. Yet, if Clinton scrapes by, it’s practically a mandate. [Marc Ambinder, Political Ticker]

- Then again, Obama owes his good fortune to independents and wayward Republicans. Among Democrats, he’s losing to Hillary. [Trailhead]

- A taste of what the Republican National Committee has in store for Obama. [NYT]

- Every few months, some reporter writes a story about Matt Drudge’s god-like powers as a journalist. Read the latest of these. [Telegraph]

- Vote Hillary, FOR THE CHILDREN.
…and the hubbub the ad is causing. [The Page]

- Can Clinton win? Use this nifty delegate calculator. Slate sez: “…even if she wins every remaining primary by 100 percent, she’ll need help from superdelegates to hit the magic number of 2,025 [delegates needed to secure the nomination].” [Slate]

- Putin’s anointed successor, Medvedev, is a cuddly teddy bear ready to snuggle up to the West. Awww. Also, rainbows and unicorns over the Tundra. [NYT]

- Close one campaign finance loophole, another one opens. But the money is still green and still influential. [Mother Jones]

- B. Hussein Obama and other Americans with bone-chilling names. Be very afraid. [Salon]

- Tips on getting Muslims and Jews to chat each other up, make love not war, etc. [Economist]

- To understand politics, read less. Unless it is Link Digest. [Political Animal]

- Watch real-time audience response to Hillary’s debate points in Ohio. [Slate V]

• “Elegant, witty conservative writer…dies, leaving no intellectual heirs.” [Wonkette]
• “Father of conservatism” calls Bush “not a conservative. [CBS]
• An hour with Charlie Rose.

-Hedge funds heart Obama. [Reuters]

• Bonus: Obama’s economics. [TNR]

-Is life starting to imitate West Wing? Why Obama vs. McCain is eerily like Santos vs. Vinick and how the show’s writers predicted 2008 in 2005. [Slate V]

-Bill Clinton fells “out of practice” in politics. [IHT]

-Clinton’s message guru, Mark Penn, claims he’s been “misunderstood.” There’s some irony for ya. [NY Observer]

-Is this race over yet? Obama demolishes Hillary’s last chance at debate. [MSNBC]

• Bonus: No matter who’s campaigning, Russert is always the winner.

-Meanwhile, the Clinton matriarch prepares herself for the long silence. [NYT]

-And, in a fit of desperation, stoops to new lows in attack politics. [Drudge]

-Fear of attempts on Obama’s life grips the nation; bodyguards see wage hikes. [NYT]

-Who needs Nader? McCain, definitely. This is 2000 all over again, folks! [First Read, Politico, HuffPo]

-Finding superdelegate math a little puzzling? Don’t worry, so do we. [NYT]

-Presidential candidates take the Myers-Briggs. [Slate]

-Proving once again a time-tested maxim about French manners, President Sarkozy tells a malcontented constituent to “scram, you poor idiot.”

• Bonus: a very meta liveblog of the livebloggers! That’s right. There are now bloggers blogging about bloggers blogging about the candidates. But we wonder, who blogs about the bloggers blogging about the bloggers blogging about the candidates? Where is the accountability?! [Divided We Stand]

-Hillary’s wanton campaign spending reveals managerial ineptitude. [NYT]

-Learn all about superdelegates from Google’s self-anointed elections hipster! [Google Blog]

-Dream about any Democratic frontrunners lately? Send ‘em here. [I Dream of Hillary/I Dream of Barack]

-If you’re following the McCain brouhaha, this is the next must-read installment in the saga. [TNR]

-Breeding the “right” kind of babies. [The Nation]

-”Freedom and elections are fine sentiments for the comfortable–as long as you have enough to eat” and other nuggets of wisdom about Cuba. [Brad DeLong]

-9/11 Truthers, still digging. [Utne]

-Plus, Washington Post, not to be outdone, rushes to the scene. [WaPo]

-And don’t forget the reactions, especially on the right. In our humble opinion, this ignoble hit-and-run by the eeevil NYT will be viewed as a feather in McCain’s cap and burnish his right street cred for the Oval.

• McCain disavows relationship, denies special treatment, “disappointed” overall. [Politico, CNN Video]
• Right to Sulzberger: “You got nuthin’, NUTHIN’”. [Powerline, Campaign Spot]
• Or maybe “the meat was lawyered out of it.” [Josh Marshall]
• Tho perhaps it was just reckless. [Obsidian Wings]
• And yet, why did NYT sit on this story for months and publish it now? [Swampland, The Plank]

-Ha ha, funny! Context: Despite a spate of losses, Hillary’s support is strongest in non-primary states (Florida, Michigan) where Obama never campaigned. [Andrew Sullivan]

-Obama: But did he inhale? [New Yorker]

-More Americans believe in ghosts than approve of Bush 43. [Grammar Police]

-Two days old, but we’re still snickering about this video of Chris Matthews embarrassing an Obama supporter. [Huffington Post]

• Bonus: Obama’s legislative record, quite intact, actually, thanks. [Andrew Sullivan]

• McCain vs. Romney [Rasmussen]

• And while we’re at it, Hillary vs. Obama [NY Mag]

• In the thick of a horserace, a lone wonk wonders, “Where do progressives and conservatives come from, anyway?” [Stanley Fish]

• Two views on what the Kennedy endorsement [Marc Ambinder] means for Obama [Christopher Beam]

• Why Katie Couric can’t get her groove back [The Atlantic]

• Jack Bauer totally MIA from CIA [Washington Independent]

• The Netherlands takes on Islam, again [Financial Times]

• Thoughts on that stimulus package [Steve Chapman]

• Rambo’s right-wing politics [Matt Zoller Seitz]

• You think you know Gaza? [Slate]

• Some might question the prudence of an $8.5 million hit campaign against an outgoing president [AP]

• And everyone is still talking about whether statesman-turned-hit man Bill will chill:
  • Noam Sheiber
  • Peggy Noonan
  • Bill Kristol
  • The Clintons themselves
  • Plus, why they lost South Carolina [Daily Intelligencer]