Via ABC's Political Punch:

Electoral maps put together by the consulting firm helmed by Karl Rove, and obtained by ABC News, show Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, to be a stronger general election candidate in a hypothetical general election match-up against Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., than Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois.

Click HERE to see the maps and charts from Karl Rove & Co. provided by ABC.

Of special interest in the link, check out the two charts showing polling trends, and you'll see that Hillary Clinton is the ONE candidate of all three who has had signficiant momentum from March through May.

Hope the Superdelegates are paying attention!

Cross-posted at TexasDarlin

Seven former chairs of the Democratic party, and the family of an 8th, sent a letter to DNC members today urging them to support the most electable candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The Obama campaign, apparently in need of new endorsements as national and state polls show trouble for the Senator, announced today the support of former DNC chair Paul G. Kirk, Jr.  However, Kirk had already announced his support for Obama back in February.  Perhaps the campaign forgot that Kirk was already in their camp...?

Clinton enjoys the support of a majority of DNC automatic (or "super") delegates.

As reported by The New York Times, here is today's letter in full:

May 2, 2008

Dear Fellow Democratic Party Member:

Democratic National Committee members work tirelessly to elect Democrats locally, and they serve as strong advocates for finding solutions to our nation's most pressing problems. As former DNC Chairs, we are proud to be leaders in a Party that seeks to alleviate the burden of limited access to health care, fix broken systems of public education, improve working conditions for middle-class men and women, and ensure America's safety and security, at home and abroad.

Those of us who support Hillary Clinton for president do so with the knowledge that she, just like us, has dedicated her life to improving the standard of living for others, and she has worked to make our Party the strong force that it is today. Her values are our Party's values. Her record of fiscal prudence is matched by her commitment to social responsibility. Her accomplishments in the area of strengthening America's security are a matter of public record.

Hillary has run one of the most formidable campaigns in the history of our Party. Her wins this primary season are significant -- Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas. Her base of support includes women, Hispanics, seniors, Catholics, middle and low income Americans, and rural, suburban and urban voters. That's a formidable coalition tailor-made for victory in a November general election.

In fact, if the election were held today, Hillary would beat Senator McCain, but Senator Obama would lose to the presumptive GOP nominee. According to the most recent polls available, Hillary would beat McCain by a margin of 279 to 259 Electoral Votes. But McCain would beat Obama by a margin of 291 to 247 Electoral Votes.

In a hypothetical general election matchup with McCain, Clinton is winning handily (50%-41%) while Obama is statistically tied with McCain (46%-44%), according to the AP-Ipsos poll released Monday. In the days following the Pennsylvania primary, Gallup Poll Daily tracking showed Hillary pulling even with Senator Obama. As of Thursday, Hillary was ahead 49%-45%.
Hillary can win our Party's nomination. She is neck and neck with her opponent in Indiana and North Carolina. Both states have sizeable voting blocs that resemble constituencies who supported Hillary by large margins in Pennsylvania, Ohio and other contests.

Years of job loss and the recent economic slowdown mean that most Indiana and North Carolina voters are more concerned about the economy than anything else. Hillary has consistently garnered the majority of support from voters who say the economy is the most important issue facing our country.
Hillary's campaign is currently operating at full capacity in Guam, Indiana, North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota.

As in states that have already voted, election official are expecting record turnouts. Pennsylvania registered more than 215,000 new voters ahead of its April 22 primary. More than 200,000 new voters have registered in Indiana since the start of the year. And in counties across North Carolina, registration numbers are double -- or triple -- what they were in 2004.

More than 30 million Americans have already cast a ballot in our Party's nomination contest and millions more will go to the polls between now and June 3. The record numbers of Americans who are registering and coming out to vote reflect the excitement about our candidates and the strength that our nominee will have behind him or her in the fall. The primary process will make our nominee stronger and better prepared to take on John McCain. Our Party only gains from having more voters -- including more new voters -- all across our country.

We encourage you to continue to fully consider Hillary Clinton and the fact that she is qualified and accomplished. Too much is at stake for us not to consider deeply the choice we must make for our Party and our country.

Sincerely,
Kenneth Curtis
Former DNC Chairman (1977-1978)

Charles Manatt
Former DNC Chairman (1981-1985)

The Family of the late Ron Brown
Former DNC Chairman (1989-1993)

Mrs. Alma Brown, Michael Arrington Brown & Tracey Brown James
Debra DeLee

Former DNC Chair (1994-1995)
Don Fowler

Former DNC National Chairman (1995-1997)
Steve Grossman

Former DNC National Chairman (1997-1999)
Governor Edward Rendell

Former DNC General Chairman (1999-2001)
Terence McAuliffe

So much for Barack Obama's "downticket" advantage that his campaign has touted.

As reported by Mark Halperin of The Page:

Travis Childers, who is running for Congress in northern Mississippi, is responding to attacks on his Obama ties from the NRCC and his opponent with an ad backing away from the Illinois Senator.

TV spot says: "Senator Obama hasn't endorsed my candidacy. I have not been in contact with his campaign nor has he been in contact with mine."

NRCC spokesman responds: "His new television ad not only says a lot about himself, but also about the toxicity an Obama candidacy can bring to Democratic campaigns down-ballot."

And from Mississipi's Daily Journal:

Today, Childers is releasing a new TV ad saying his family "has heard the lies and attacks linking me to politicians I don't know and have never even met."

In a Tuesday news release, Childers accused Davis of being a hypocrite because he criticized Childers for not saying anything about Wright's comments but said nothing on his own Web site to condemn the preacher.

Davis is pressing Childers about the apparent endorsement from the Obama campaign e-mailed to Obama supporters in the 1st District...

Childers insists he didn't ask for Obama's support and he deflected a question of whether he would accept his endorsement.

"Let me tell you what kind of endorsements we're looking for ... endorsements from the working people of North Mississippi, working families," Childers told a Memphis TV station in a story about the attack ad.

This must be bad news for the Obama campaign, especially as it seeks to lock up the all-important Superdelegate endorsements.  It's hard to believe that Obama's rejection of Rev. Wright yesterday will make much difference because obviously Obama was well aware of Rev. Wright's positions for 20 years, and is only now "divorcing" him because it's politically necessary.

Updated 4/1/08 3:49pm EST: While it's true that the national tracking polls have declined in relevance as all eyes watch upcoming primary states -- the results this week from Gallup and Rasmussen national tracking polls among likely Democratic voters are important, in my opinion, because they demonstrate (especially to super delegates) that half of Democratic voters still want Hillary Clinton as their President despite the continuous glorification of Obama in the MSM and despite her recent Bosnia gaffe. And in Pennsylvania, contrary to Todd's front-page story, I see the 12-point SUSA lead for Hillary in a positive light (see below.)

Hillary has recovered!!

Hillary supporters should be delighted to see the net 6-point gain in 2 days shown by the Gallup daily tracking poll among likely Democratic voters.  It's now 1 point from being in the MOE:  O49:C45.

Rasmussen Daily Tracking Poll shows an even closer race, now within the margin of error at O46:C45, representing a 4-point net gain for Clinton in the past 2 days.

In other interesting polling news, 58% of Democrats would like to see Obama as Hillary's VP, where 42% of Democrats would like to see Hillary as Obama's VP. (see Gallup link above.) Could this reflect the view that Hillary should be at the top of a joint ticket?  Perhaps Gallup should have asked the baseline question of do you want to see these two on a unified ticket?

Here's Gallup's analysis:

Lopsided Willingness to Embrace the Opponent

The reason for the disparity is that a relatively small number of Obama supporters -- just 29% --favor Obama choosing Clinton as a possible running mate. Seventy percent say they'd rather he choose someone else. In contrast, a majority of Clinton supporters -- 53% -- would want Clinton to choose Obama for vice president if she is nominated.

Bottom Line

Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, among other Democratic Party elders, has recently argued that the only way for Democratic voters to come together in the fall will be for the two candidates to come together on the Democratic ticket.

Last week, Gallup reported that Obama supporters are more likely to remain loyal to the Democratic ticket in the fall than are Clinton supporters if their respective candidates aren't nominated for president.

However, according to the vice presidential preferences reported here, party loyalty and party unity are not one and the same. Most Obama supporters may be willing to bury the hatchet and vote for Clinton for president, but they don't seem eager to embrace Clinton as Obama's running mate for the sake of party unity.

In any event, seems like a Clinton/Obama ticket would be a definite winner!

In state news, SUSA shows a whopping 2:1 lead for Clinton in Kentucky and a 12-point lead in Pennsylvania, down from a 19-point lead 3 weeks ago, reflecting Obama's recent presence in the state and the fact that this survey was conducted during the height of bad publicity for Clinton.  Following national trends, expect to see her lead grow in Pennsylvania this week.  SUSA analyzes Penn. results:

Clinton continues to dominate among voters focused on the economy, the No. 1 issue, and health care, considered the No. 3 issue, according to the survey.

Obama has gained ground but Clinton continues to lead among voters focused on Iraq, the No. 2 issue.

And here is the impressive graphic for SUSA's Kentucky primary survey:

Let's give a collective shout out of gratitude for the fine folks in blue grass country!

Yesterday Obama supporters celebrated his 10-point lead in the Gallup national tracking poll for likely Democratic voters.

Clinton, however, re-bounded with a net 2-point gain overnight (now O51:C43).  The Rasmussen daily tracking poll, which shows a much tighter race, also posted a net 2-point gain for Clinton today (O46:C43).

The polls are good news for Clinton, as they confirm that her slide last week has reversed course. The Gallup graph illustrates the ongoing weave of this statistical tie:

It ain't over yet, folks!

Last night I wrote a short diary called "Obama's Weather Underground Friends" attaching a You Tube video that's been circulating on political websites. The video claims that Obama's political career in Chicago was launched with the help of William Ayres and Bernardine Dohrn, WU leaders.

The point of the diary was to emphasize the risk facing the Democratic Party should Barack Obama be our nominee. As one commenter to that diary put it: "Heck the Republicans won't even need Karl Rove this year.   Hit pieces against Obama practically write themselves.   Once you clear away the fog of liberal guilt, things become quite simple indeed."

Now today the story has gained momentum in the blogosphere. A link to this commonvoice.com article is making the rounds on comment boards. The article references a conservative talk radio broadcast in Oregon that reported claims by a Pentagon official from Pres. Bush Sr.'s Administration and a former CIA officer that Obama and Ayers funneled money to Professor Rashid Khalidi, a known terrorist sympathizer. Excerpt here:

Bill Ayers, along with his wife Bernadine Dohrn, was an active member of the Weather Underground, a radical left-wing group that advocated violence against the United State.

Both Ayers and Dohrn went "underground" in 1970 after others in the group accidentally detonated a bomb in a Greenwich Village (New York City) townhouse. The blast killed three of the group's members including Ayers' girlfriend at the time.

While Ayers and Dohrn were hiding from law enforcement, the Weather Underground participated in the bombings of the US Capital, the Pentagon and a State Department building. In 1981 Ayers and Dohrn turned themselves in to federal authorities, but all charges were dropped as a result of alleged "government legal misconduct." In his 2001 memoir, Ayers wrote, "I don't regret setting the bombs. I feel we didn't do enough."
Ayers and Dohrn are known to have held at least one fundraiser for Barack Obama in their Chicago home.

During Obama's last year on the board of The Woods Fund (2002), he participated in awarding grants, including a $70,000 grant to the Arab American Action Network, a Chicago-based group founded by Rashid and Mona Khalidi.

In another suspected quid pro quo arrangement similar to those with Ayers and Rezko, Rashid Khalidi also held a fundraising event in his home for Barack Obama.

In the Middle East, Rashid Khalidi was known as a man to be reckoned with. From 1972 through 1983, Khalidi was the director in Beirut of the official Palestinian press agency, FAFA. His wife worked there as well.

According to sources, when the Khalidi's left Chicago for Columbia University in New York, Rashid was honored with the Edward Said Chair in Arab Studies at that Ivy League university. Their goodbye party in Chicago included testimonials from Bill Ayers and Barack Obama.

It really is frightening to imagine what the GOP and right-wing 527's will do with all the material stacking up in their Barack Obama hit files.  To highlight the point, here is the You Tube video again. I don't know who made this one but I've no doubt that this can of worms is still barely cracked.

Already multiplying in the blogosphere, will this be the MSM's next Obama story?

The video explains how Weather Underground terrorists Dorhn and Ayres helped launch Obama's political career in the 1990s in Chicago and describes some of WU's activities. It's not hard to imagine what McCain and the Republicans (not to mention FOX) would do with this...

Take a look, it ain't pretty:

Barack Obama suffered a net 2-point loss overnight, according to Rasmussen's daily national tracking poll among likely Democratic voters (O45:C44).  These numbers are identical to those prior to Obama's speech on Tuesday, Rasmussen says. Link.

Rasmussen reports that among all likely voters nationally 56% are concerned about Obama's relationship with Rev. Wright even though 51% thought Obama's speech was "good or excellent."

So, the speech apparently did not remedy Obama's Wright problem.

Moreover, Obama's favorability ratings nationally continue to take a hit:

On Friday, Obama's favorable ratings remain little changed from recent days--48% favorable, 50% unfavorable. Before the Pastor Problem became big news, Obama was viewed favorably by 52%. One month ago, he was viewed favorably by 56%. The number with a Very Unfavorable opinion of Obama has increased from 26% a week ago to 33% today.