BEATING THE CULTURAL LEFT'S CANDIDATE

There’s only one remaining chapter in this fascinating spectacle. Negotiating the terms of Hillary’s surrender. After which we will have six months of watching her enthusiastically stumping the country for Obama, denying with utter conviction Republican charges that he is the out-of-touch, latte-sipping elitist she warned Democrats against so urgently in the last, late leg of her doomed campaign.

IS ONE POLITICAL PARTY RACIST?

Dick Morris (former Clinton Adviser) said this about Hillary's comments: "This was a overtly racist appeal..." and "...here she's absolutely coming right out and saying it, vote white.... She is using race to win the election, she is using the identification of whites vis a vis blacks to polarize the society racially and win the election."

OBAMA FRIEND STOMPS ON US FLAG

At the time this photograph was taken, Obama and Ayers were serving together on the board of the Woods Fund. It was in 2001 when Ayers donated $200 to Obama's State Senate campaign fund.

THE REAL OBAMA?

Mr. Obama's unreflective condescension is reminiscent of the famous 1993 Washington Post article that described evangelical Christians as "poor, undereducated and easy to command." And the fact that he said it so naturally in front of a San Francisco crowd suggests that this is what he may truly believe. This is Mr. Obama's inner Mike Dukakis.

OBAMA CHIC

Geraldine Ferraro wasn't quite right: It's not just Obama's race that has made him the frontrunner on the Left. It's his chic-ness.

CARTER’S TERROR TOUR

Whatever else may be said of Carter’s forthcoming meeting with Khaled Meshal, it is entirely in keeping with his disgraceful post-presidential career. Whether out of a dangerous naiveté or genuine malice toward Israel – and there is evidence that both are at play in Carter’s aggressive advocacy for the Palestinian cause – Carter has become a pawn of terrorists who have the blood of countless Israelis, as well as Americans, on their hands.

STEYN: MICHELLE OBAMA LIKE KIM JONG-IL

IRAQ PROGRESS, ACTUALLY

Things are looking up in Iraq, which is why the Democrats have forgotten about benchmarks.

ISRAEL SNUBS CARTER

Israel's secret service has declined to assist U.S. agents guarding former U.S. President Jimmy Carter during a visit in which Israeli leaders have shunned him, U.S. sources close to the matter said on Monday.

MARK SCHNEIDER: JASPER SCHNEIDER’S PERSONAL ATTACK DOG

When it comes to the issues surrounding North Dakota’s worker’s compensation agency, Workforce Safety & Insurance, Fargo Attorney Mark Schneider gets a lot of press coverage. His is routinely the go-to guy for the state’s media when it comes to collecting negative soundbites about the agency.

But you know one little tid-bit of information about Schneider that never gets reported in these articles? The fact that he’s Democrat insurance commissioner candidate Jasper Schneider’s uncle. Or the fact that he’s also Jasper Schneider’s law partner. Given that Jasper, and the Democrat party in general of which Mark Schneider is a prominent member, is making WSI their #1 issue this election season, aren’t those facts something that should be disclosed to the public?

HOEVEN ENDORSES JOHN MCCAIN

Hoeven says he met with McCain last week in Washington to discuss national issues and issues close to North Dakota. Hoeven says he joins five other Republican governors in announcing their endorsement of McCain.

THE DEMOCRATS EMBRACE OF CHAVEZ

The article also pointed out that 16 Democratic Congressman voiced their support for Chavez back in 2002, and Congressman William Delahunt of Massachusetts established a "Venezuelan Caucus" to "show "friendship to President Chavez".

A number of Democratic Congressman have supped at the Chavez oil spigot, using subsidized oil from Chavez to garner support among their constituents who, in return for cheaper fuel, will presumably vote for the Democratic Congressmen who have opened this pipeline to Chavez.

CHÁVEZ'S 'WAR' DRUMS

What may really have upset Mr. Chávez is the capture of Reyes's laptop. According to Colombia's top police official, General Oscar Naranjo, the computer contains evidence supporting the claim that the FARC is working with Mr. Chávez. General Naranjo said Monday that Reyes's laptop records showed that Venezuela may have paid $300 million to the FARC in exchange for its recent release of six civilian hostages. Mr. Chávez had spun those releases as a triumph of his personal mediation.

General Naranjo said the laptop also contains documents showing that the FARC was seeking to buy 50 kilos of uranium, and the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo has reported that the records revealed the sale of 700 kilograms of cocaine valued at $1.5 million. The general added that the military found a thank-you note from Mr. Chávez to the FARC for some $150,000 that the rebels had sent him when he was in prison for his attempted coup d'etat in 1992.

THE POOR GIVE MORE

When given the opportunity to work for a living, the poor are at least as generous as the rest of society. The bottom line about the relationship between philanthropy and income is that it's surprisingly counterintuitive. Don't assume that the poor cannot afford to give--they can and do. In fact, we can all learn a lesson from our fellow citizens of modest means.

COLD WATER ON "GLOBAL WARMING"

Many natural factors, including variations in the amount of heat put out by the sun, can cause the earth to heat or cool.

The bigger problem is that this has long since become a crusade rather than an exercise in evidence or logic. Too many people are too committed to risk it all on a roll of the dice, which is what turning to empirical evidence is.

Those who have a big stake in global warming hysteria are unlikely to show up at the conference in New York, and unfortunately that includes much of the media.

OBAMA'S HALO NOT ATTACHED WITH SUPERGLUE

Eventually, Obama will be brought back down to earth from his pseudo-divine perch. When that happens, there will be plenty of areas of vulnerability for his opponent -- presumably, John McCain -- to exploit.

LET COLOMBIA WIN

Some city in the world owes thanks to Colombia, which on Saturday blew away a terrorist seeking uranium for a nuclear bomb. Instead of thanks, we see only fury at Colombia over its incursion into Ecuador.

BUCKEYE BLUES: DON'T BLAME NAFTA

WHEN VOTERS IN OHIO go to the polls today, they will have heard over and over again from Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton that their state's economic troubles are caused by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and other trade treaties.

But there was fresh evidence last week that NAFTA has had little to do with Ohio's doldrums, its job losses in particular. When the U.S. Air Force awarded a $40 billion contract for 179 new aerial refueling tankers, Ohio wasn't in the running as a site where the aircraft might be built. Instead, they'll be built in Alabama outside Mobile.

Why? The answer is simple: Alabama's business climate is good and Ohio's isn't. When major business projects are looking for the best site, job-hungry Ohio is rarely considered. And NAFTA has little or nothing to do with it.

OBAMA AND CHICAGO MORES

"We have a sick political culture, and that's the environment Barack Obama came from," Jay Stewart, the executive director of the Chicago Better Government Association, told ABC News. He notes that, while Mr. Obama supported ethics reforms as a state senator, he has "been noticeably silent on the issue of corruption here in his home state, including at this point, mostly Democratic politicians."

Mr. Obama will eventually have to talk about Illinois, if only to clear the air. After John McCain last month was attacked for cozy ties to lobbyists, he held a news conference and answered every question. Hillary Clinton held a White House news conference on Whitewater and her cattle futures. Mr. Obama must do the same for questions about Mr. Rezko and "the Chicago way" of politics. If he doesn't, they may increasingly haunt his candidacy.

THE COMING BROKERED DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION

National Democratic leaders realize their nominee must capture at least one and possibly both Michigan and Florida if their candidate is to win in November. Party leaders cannot afford to disenfranchise the voters in those two states and give them a reason to stay home in November. On top of this, Clinton will not let the status of the Michigan and Florida delegates pass without a fight. She could turn to the courts for relief.

In the end, the remaining 16 primaries are simply a beauty contest. The final competition for the Democratic nomination starts after June 7. It will not end with any certainty until the last week in August.