On the Hustings

OBAMA, MCCAIN SNIPE OVER HAMAS ENDORSEMENT

Senator Obama is accusing Senator McCain of "losing his bearings" after the Republican defended discussing what Mr. McCain said was a Hamas leader's endorsement of Mr. Obama's presidential campaign. "This is offensive and I think it's disappointing," Mr. Obama told CNN. "To engage in that kind of smear is unfortunate, because my policy towards Hamas has been no different than his."

In an appearance on Comedy Central's "Daily Show" Wednesday, Mr. McCain said he did not regret pointing out that a Hamas political adviser, Ahmed Yousef, told WABC-AM recently, "We like Mr. Obama and hope that he will ... the election." Despite the missing word, Mr. Yousef went on to call Mr. Obama a "great man with great principle."

"I think they think I'm their worst nightmare," Mr. McCain said.

"For him to toss out comments like that, I think is an example of him losing his bearings," Mr. Obama told CNN.

A top aide to Mr. McCain, Mark Salter, later argued in a memorandum sent to reporters that the comment from Mr. Obama was "a not particularly clever way of raising John McCain's age as an issue."

CINDY MCCAIN WON'T RELEASE TAX RETURNS, EVER

Senator McCain's wife, Cindy, is flatly refusing to release her tax returns, even if her husband wins the presidency. "You know, my husband and I have been married 28 years and we have filed separate tax returns for 28 years. This is a privacy issue. My husband is the candidate," Ms. McCain said in an interview broadcast yesterday on NBC's "Today."

Ms. McCain inherited a Phoenix beer distribution firm and is reported to be worth about $100 million.

MICHIGAN DEMOCRATS OFFER PLAN TO SEAT DELEGATION

Michigan Democrats moved a step closer to resolving the impasse over how the state's delegates should be seated at the Democratic National Convention in August. State party leaders outlined a plan yesterday in which 69 Michigan delegates would be allocated to Senator Clinton and 59 to Senator Obama. Aides to both candidates were noncommittal about the proposal, but Mrs. Clinton sent Mr. Obama a letter pushing for immediate action. "Your commitment to the voters of these states must be clearly stated and your support for a fair and quick resolution must be clearly demonstrated," she wrote. "I am asking you to join me in working with representatives from Florida and Michigan and the Democratic National Committee to arrive at a solution that honors the votes of the millions of people who went to the polls in Florida and Michigan."

AD WATCH

The presumptive Republican nominee, Senator McCain, released a new Mother's Day-themed ad yesterday that features the 71-year-old candidate and his mother Roberta, 96, sitting in a den discussing his birth. Campy, sitcom-like music plays in the background. The ad, which aims to show a softer side of Mr. McCain, starts with the pair discussing whether he was born on a Friday or a Saturday. "It was a happy hour, I thought," Mr. McCain says. His mother says it was not, but it was a Saturday and that, at the club that her husband attended, "there were 27 bottles of Scotch, all presents to Johnny. Well, you may as well enjoy it," she says.

NEW YORK CLINTON SUPERDELEGATE ASKS OBAMA FOR AUTOGRAPH

Even supporters of Senator Clinton greeted Senator Obama like a celebrity during a surprise visit to the House floor yesterday. According to a report on the Politico Web site, supporters and opponents maneuvered to get face time with Mr. Obama. Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York, a superdelegate who backs Mrs. Clinton, asked him to autograph the cover of yesterday's New York Daily News, which had the headline "It's His Party." Mr. Obama bowed before House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer before posing for photos with pages on the staircase leading up to the House gallery, the Politco said.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"You're like one of these Japanese soldiers that's still fighting in 1953." - Chris Matthews, host of "Hardball" on MSNBC, describing the tenacity of Senator Clinton's spokesman, Howard Wolfson