Just kidding. He didn’t make one of his Iran-style missteps.

But when a Republican campaigns on an environmental issue, it makes news. To that effect, John McCain signaled a split with both the Bush administration and environmentalists in a major global warming speech today.

The Arizona Senator and presidential nominee declares climate change undeniable and urgent, saying that the U.S. hasn’t acted quickly enough.

George W. Bush famously refused to sign the Kyoto global warming accord. McCain pledges to return America to international negotiations.

In the new campaign ad below, which he will begin airing this week, McCain places himself between what he describes as two warring factions on climate change. He paints it not only as an environmental issue, but a national security problem.

John McCain says he would set limits on greenhouse gases and allow the sale of rights of excess emissions - known as a cap and trade system.

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Despite declining support from superdelegates and dwindling odds, Sen. Hillary Clinton is expected to crush Sen. Barack Obama tomorrow in West Virginia.

A survey last week showed her leading 66-23 percent, and today, a new Suffolk University poll has Clinton drawing support from 60 percent of likely West Virginia Democratic primary voters compared to Obama’s 24 percent.

Clinton, for someone considered a divisive figure nationally, holds a remarkably high 70 percent approval rating among West Virginia’s Democratic primary voters.

A separate poll showed the former First Lady leading the Illinois Senator by a huge margin - 27 percent - in neighboring Kentucky, which votes May 20.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continue to battle for the nomination.

Only half of West Virginia primary voters think Barack Obama can beat John McCain in the general election - though Gov. Joe Manchin is one of them.

One of the remaining uncommitted superdelegates, Manchin said the delegate numbers are in Obama’s favor, but the popular vote is important as well.

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John Edwards has appeared conflicted on the subject of whether he supports Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential race.

In a recent interview, he and wife Elizabeth Edwards seemed disinclined to issue a formal endorsement, praising and criticizing both candidates.

A few days ago, though, while chatting with host David Schuster on MSNBC, Edwards said he would “very likely” endorse the Democrat he voted for the previous Tuesday in the North Carolina primary, which Obama won handily.

Things didn’t turn out as John Edwards hoped this primary season - but the former North Carolina Senator and V.P. nominee remains a powerful party force.

Pressed further, that’s when John Edwards may have slipped up.

“I just voted, I just voted for him on Tuesday,” he said.

Eh hem. Him? John Edwards is going to endorse Barack Obama?

Maybe he could he have said, in his Southern drawl, that he “just voted for ‘er on Tuesday.” ‘Er? ‘Em? Eh, probably not.

Schuster kept at him, asking “So it was a him or a her you voted for?”

Edwards, who has said more matter-of-factly that he believes Obama will win the nomination, then started backpedaling quickly and laughing.

So … we still don’t really know… do we? Does it even matter?

Thanks to two new endorsements, Sen. Barack Obama now leads Sen. Hillary Clinton in support from superdelegates, by an estimate of 275-273.

This is the first time his support from party officials and insiders - who will ultimately decide this historic presidential primary - surpassed Clinton’s.

Earlier this year, she led the superdelegate race by more than 100.

Obama’s lead in overall delegates is now estimated at 1,866-1,697.

While he will fall short of the 2,025 total delegates needed to win the nomination, Obama will likely clinch a majority of the Democratic pledged delegates if he posts an expected victory in the Oregon primary May 20.

Monday, Obama took the superdelegate lead when he picked up endorsements from Maine Rep. Tom Allen and Dolly Strazar, a Hawaii superdelegate.

“Most of the primary voters across the nation have now spoken. It is time to bring a graceful end to the primary campaign,” Allen said.

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Ah, Bill O’Reilly. Whether he’s bragging about how much money he makes each year or letting Hillary Clinton emasculate him on national TV, this is a man who never shies away from controversy.

Or from being a complete blowhard.

Just the same, this old school, behind-the-scenes clip from Bill’s days on Inside Edition is frightening (and hilarious) even by his high (low) standards.

Apparently some poor sap was screwing up on the teleprompter. Bill O’Reilly goes through several takes, then absolutely loses his $h!t.

WARNING: Clip of ass clown may contain profanity and induce laughter.

Classic Bill O’Reilly: More hair, same temper.

If you missed “tough guy” Bill’s recent interview with Hillary Clinton, you can watch Hill rough his punk a$$ up here in parts I and II.

Grasping at straws as she continues to stay in the contentious Democratic race, Hillary Clinton claimed the following in an interview this week:

“I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on… Senator Obama’s support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me … There’s a pattern emerging here.”

This followed Democratic strategist / Clinton supporter Paul Begala’s quote during Tuesday night’s coverage of the Indiana primary on CNN:

“We cannot win with eggheads and African-Americans. Okay. That’s the [Michael] Dukakis coalition, which carried 10 states and gave us four years of the first George Bush. President Clinton, you know, reached across and got a whole lot of Republicans and independents to come.”

Bill and Hillary Clinton are the ones dividing the Democratic party, rather than uniting it, by diminishing all that Barack Obama has accomplished.

With their dismissive strategy and divisive remarks such as these, the Clintons are indeed reaching across the aisle. Right to John McCain.

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Jenna Bush and Henry Hager are officially married as of Saturday, in a day marking the first wedding of a daughter of a sitting president in 16 years.

The most recent was the first President Bush’s daughter, Dorothy - Jenna’s aunt - who tied the knot in 1992. This wedding was a bit different.

Away from the spotlight, the Jenna Bush-Henry Hager wedding reflected their penchant for privacy and preference for the casual over grandiose.

The down-home setting was a lakeside ceremony at President Bush’s secluded 1,600-acre Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas.

Jenna Bush just couldn’t see herself getting married at the White House surrounded by antique furniture and oil portraits of presidents.

In Crawford, the corn is thigh-high, roads are named Cattle Drive and the Texas flag is painted on the rooftops of barns.

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The location of Sen. Barack Obama’s just-opened headquarters here in Wayne, W.V., says a lot about the challenges facing both the candidate and this Mountaineer community as voters prepare to vote in Tuesday’s primary.

The makeshift Barack Obama campaign office is across from the courthouse and next to a thrift shop. A hand-drawn sign covers a torn awning over its door, indicating that the storefront probably used to be a restaurant.

While Obama is ahead nationally in delegates and the popular vote, and more than a few pundits have said the Democratic race is game over, Sen. Hillary Clinton has an enormous lead in West Virginia polls thus far.

Read on for USA Today’s coverage of Obama’s uphill climb …

In 2000, Cindy McCain was mostly a cheerful sidekick to her presidential candidate husband, mostly keeping her positions on policy to herself.

This year, the wife of Sen. John McCain has been back by his side as he seeks the White House for a second time, but even more of a presence.

So ever-present is Cindy McCain that we swear we saw her on reality TV recently… though it turned out to be someone else.

Follow the jump to find out who…

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Hillary Clinton has shown more gumption, resiliency and tenacity than most of us expected - but is enough enough? That’s the subject of today’s Face-Off. Comments and opinions are encouraged as the Donkey Dish staff debates …

SHOULD HILLARY CLINTON STAY IN THE DEMOCRATIC RACE?

YES by harrytruman

All signs point to Barack Obama winning the Democratic nomination. No longer a question of if, it’s just a matter of when. Yet there are many reasons Hillary Rodham Clinton should - and likely will - stay in the race.

First, seeing this historic race to its end will give Democrats in more than 50 elections the chance to vote in meaningful primaries and caucuses.

Turnout levels across the U.S. are soaring - a boon for Democrats and a trend that should continue into November. As long as she keeps her campaign positive (a direction she has, albeit slowly, been heading), a protracted race does not necessarily hurt Obama. On the contrary, it makes him stronger.

The attacks have been heavy-handed, but ensure Obama will be ready for when the Republicans subject him to far worse. By fighting to the end, Hillary Clinton is forcing Obama to pass a vital, early test of political strength.

Finally, this isn’t like Mike Huckabee refusing to drop out.

While it may be game over in the eyes of the pundits, almost half of those voting in Democratic primaries chose Hillary, and she’s still winning states. If superdelegates want this over, they can make it so right now. They haven’t. Clinton is a giant who should set her own agenda, even regarding her own concession.

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