Looking at possible exit scenarios for a Clinton candidacy

If you think things aren?t getting tense on the campaign trail, check out this video from CBS News in Fayetteville, W. Va.

Alabama HB 738, which would have lowered the number of signatures for independent candidates (for office other than president) was never brought up on the House floor, and there isn’t enough time left in the session for it to pass. The legislature is about to adjourn for the year.

Sen. Barack Obama’s effort to pick up superdelegates gained momentum this morning with endorsements from two congressmen and John Gage, the influential president of the American Federation of Government Employees who backed Obama personally and professionally.

“Our people, I think, recognize the enthusiasm and vitality behind Sen. Obama’s campaign,” Gage told the Associated Press. The union represents some 600,000 federal and District of Columbia workers.

Unlike Gage, who had been an uncommitted superdelegate, Rep. Donald Payne of New Jersey switched his support from Sen. Hillary Clinton to Obama. Payne, a 10-term congressman whose district includes Newark, explained his change to the Newark Star Ledger, saying, “It’s time now for us to pull our party together. The quicker it’s over, the better we’ll be able to bring all of our forces together.”

Payne, who is African-American, went on to say that he had endorsed Clinton when it was unclear whether Obama’s candidacy “was just a trial balloon.” But as Obama’s victories piled up , “I did certainly have a great deal of pride in the fact that an African-American would do so well.” he said.

A endorsement that not only helps in the delegate count but also could give Obama a boost in the May 20 Oregon primary came from Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio, who is campaigning with Obama today. In a statement, DeFazio, an 11-term congressman, said Obama “has proven he is able to energize young Americans, independents, and even moderate Republicans to support his candidacy. I believe he represents our best hope of winning in November, and puts the needs and priorities of hard working Americans ahead of the powerful special interests that have been extraordinarily favored by the Bush-Cheney administration.”

Obama had earlier picked up endorsements of Beaver State Reps. Earl Blumenauer and David Wu. Rep. Darlene Hooley and Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski back Clinton.

Meantime, superdelegate John Edwards, the former North Carolina senator, Democratic candidate and vice presidential nominee, this morning refused to endorse either Obama or Clinton – but came close to embracing Obama, who swept the North Carolina primary on Tuesday.

“What [Obama] brings to the table is the capacity, number one, to unite the Democratic Party. Number two, to bring in new voters, to bring in people who haven’t been involved in the process over a long time and to get people excited about this change,” Edwards said on NBC’s “Today” show.

Still, Edwards couldn’t resist adding that endorsements aren’t that big a deal and that Obama “has done pretty well without any endorsement from John Edwards.”

The Minnesota legislature has passed HF 3986 and SF 3642, identical bills that say, “During the 2008 Republican National Convention, holders of an on-sale liquor license may remain open and may serve alcohol until 4 a.m. each day.” The Republican National Convention is in Minneapolis and St. Paul this year. The bill only applies to that part of the state, and is repealed effective September 8. The normal bar-closing hour in Minnesota is 2 a.m.

A new American Research Group poll in West Virginia finds Sen. Hillary Clinton way ahead of Sen. Barack Obama, 66% to 23%.

Key findings: Clinton leads among men, 57% to 27%, and she leads among women, 72% to 20%. Clinton leads among white voters, 70% to 19%, and Obama leads among African American voters, 91% to 3%. African Americans voters, however, only account for 5% of likely Democratic primary voters in the state.

It's also interesting that "someone else" received 5% of the vote on the ballot question. John Edwards is still on the ballot in West Virginia, but his name was not mentioned in the survey.

As Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY) contemplates his political future after admitting he fathered a child from an extramarital affair, a new SurveyUSA poll finds 61% of adults from his NY-13 district say he should remain in office, while 32% say he should resign.

The 2008 race for the White House is casting a long shadow over President Bush. So long, in fact, that it may extend all the way to the Middle East.

Did the former candidate slip this morning and reveal his personal choice for president?

Sorenson also admits that in 1957 -- just after the book won a Pulitizer Prize -- that Kennedy "unexpectedly and generously offered, and I happily accepted, a sum" for Sorensen's work on the book.

The overall review of Sorenson's book is glowing: "The heroic effort it required to complete this volume in the wake of his stroke, and to do so in a style that remains masterly, is itself an inspiration. Even when he is describing 40 years of post-White House law practice, there is hardly a page that does not confirm our sense of Mr. Sorensen as a writer of the first rank. If his active service to Kennedy is now concluded, we are still left with the inescapable sense that the words that the two men crafted together -- however one divides the credit -- will live on."