As the primary season drew to a close, Sen. John McCain spoke in suburban New Orleans, attempting to portray himself as the real agent of change in this election - with the new tagline, “A Leader We Can Believe In” to prove it.

No matter who wins the general election, John McCain told supporters in Kenner, La., the direction of the United States will change dramatically - the choice voters have to make is between the right change and the wrong change.

The first thing we’d change personally? The hideous green background behind the Arizona Senator during his speech. Blegh!

In all seriousness, John McCain will have to do a lot better than this…

Follow the jump for the transcript of John McCain’s speech …

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Hillary Clinton campaign surrogate Harold Ickes will do and say anything for the former First Lady. That includes contradicting himself repeatedly, talking out of his a$$, and generally confusing the hell out of people.

Case in point: Yesterday’s interview with Tim Russert on Meet the Press. Forget what I said then, Tim, this is what we are saying now!

Russert was not buying into the Hillary Clinton camp’s convoluted popular vote argument. But watch this master manipulator at work.

This should be a red flag to anyone unconvinced that the Clintons are grasping at straws, growing more and more desperate, and doing whatever it takes to keep this nomination fight going - collateral damage be damned …

Making stuff up as he goes based on what sounds good, Harold Icky Ickes tries to change the story of the Democratic race over and over and over …

Former Senate Majority Leader and Barack Obama campaign surrogate Tom Daschle also appeared on the program. Follow the jump for a clip …

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Priests continue to give Barack Obama problems.

First, of course, there was Jeremiah Wright.

Now, Michael Pfleger - a Catholic priest at St. Sabina Roman Catholic Church on Chicago’s southwest side - has been forced to apologize for his mockery of Hillary Clinton crying before the New Hampshire primary in January.

During the sermon Sunday at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Pfleger wipes his eyes with a handkerchief and suggests Clinton grew teary-eyed not for political gain - but because she was dismayed as a white person and former First Lady; she figured she was entitled to the presidency.

“And then, out of nowhere, came ‘Hey, I’m Barack Obama,’” Pfleger mocked, to laughs and cheers from the congregation. “And [Clinton] said, ‘Oh damn, where did you come from? I’m white! I’m entitled! There’s a black man stealing my show!’”

Senator Obama condemned this divisive act, Clinton’s campaign challenged Obama to do so more specifically and forcefully - and then Pfleger apologized for his comments last night.

“I regret the words I chose on Sunday,” he said in a statement. “These words are inconsistent with Sen. Obama’s life and message, and I am deeply sorry if they offended Sen. Clinton or anyone else who saw them.”

A Donkey Dish staff writer has written a commentary on this issue. See if you agree with his stance NOW.

As strong supporters of democracy, we believe every vote should count. Yes, even those in the caucus states, Hillary Clinton.

After getting a first hand look at why many voters in the West Virginia primary did not vote for Barack Obama, however, we may have to consider the concept of an aristocracy.**

There were many great/nauseating/astounding quotes from citizens in the video below, but here are our two favorite:

• “I don’t feel like putting a black man in [office]…. I ain’t prejudice or nothing.”
• “Hillary can probably sing the Star Spangled Banner as well as anybody…. I just don’t sense that from Obama.”

Seriously, watch the interviews:

** We’re kidding. Mostly. Did you see the video?!?

Considering the bias Keith Olbermann has shown toward Barack Obama throughout the Democratic Primary - which we mean as a compliment, Donkey Dish strongly encourages reader bias! - it’s not surprising that he was salivating at the chance to attack Hillary Clinton for her misguided reference last week, during which she invoked the Robert Kennedy assassination of 1968.

And attack her he did!

During a Special Commentary on his MSNBC program, Olbermann laid into Senator Clinton. He was irate and passionate, but he was also reasonable, acknowledging that there’s no way Mrs. Clinton actually wished physical harm on Obama.

Still, that’s no excuse for a presidential candidate - in this America, Olbermann emphasizes - to use such rhetoric. Let us know what you think of this clip:

For a change, Scott McClellan isn’t answering questions about the news.

The former press secretary to George W. Bush is making it.

In his new book, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception, McClellan holds little back. He writes that the Iraq war was sold to the American people with a sophisticated “political propaganda campaign” led by President Bush and aimed at “manipulating sources of public opinion” and “downplaying the major reason for going to war.”

Harsh, accurate words for sure.

McClellan admits to standing at the White House podium and attempting to lead reporters in the wrong direction on issues such as the Valerie Plame case. Watch his exercise in tap dancing around questions regarding it below:

Unsurprisingly, some of those criticized in McClellan’s book - such as Karl Rove, who McClellan says he unknowingly exonerated when discussing the issue of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq - aren’t pleased with this turn of events.

Rove responded to the book by saying it sounds like it comes from the mind of a “left wing blogger.” Here he is on his home away from home, Fox News:

Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, a.k.a. “Bush’s Brain,” is the sultan of slime. The king of slick. The best at the worst.

Even he can’t hide it any longer.

Interviewed Sunday by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Karl Rove betrayed his guilt as he bungled his own tactics. Instead of changing the subject without appearing to be changing the subject, as is the custom of true, evil, conniving manipulators like himself … Rove just flat out changed the subject.

Asked by Stephanopoulos about his involvement in the Don Siegelman case, the master of cover stories absolutely bungled his non-denial denial.

The Lou Pearlman look-alike claimed he found out about it by reading the newspapers, while not refuting that he talked to anyone in the DOJ…

Last night, Sen. Barack Obama spoke in Des Moines, Iowa, the site of his first caucus victory January 3. Although he lost the Kentucky primary to Hillary Clinton Tuesday, Obama won in Oregon and has officially garnered a majority of pledged delegates in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Here’s Obama’s address in Des Moines, where his historic run began …

While it is likely too little too late, Sen. Hillary Clinton posted another demonstrative victory in Kentucky Tuesday night. Here’s the first part of the former First Lady’s victory speech in the Bluegrass State …

Clinton won by approximately 35 percent and 250,000 votes over frontrunning Sen. Barack Obama - who won the Oregon primary later that night. Follow the jump for more of Clinton’s Kentucky speech…

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The web’s hottest political analyst, Amber Lee Ettinger (a.k.a. Super Obama Girl) is at it again. This time, she’s telling Hillary Clinton - whose chances dissipate with each passing day - to knock it off with the negative attacks, already!

Not to worry, Mike Gravel. Obama Girl hasn’t forgotten her recent crush on you. She just thinks the former First Lady needs to cool it.

The amazing thing? This video was posted March 25. Almost two months later, HRC is still launching attacks amid calls for her to drop out.