With most national polls showing Sen. Hillary Clinton expanding her lead over rivals John Edwards and Sen. Barack Obama, it's changed the dynamics of the Democratic presidential race.

The escalating attacks by Edwards and Obama on Clinton -- and on each other -- are attempts to better position themselves...

On Meet the Press yesterday, Tim Russert asked Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta what was the most important thing in their new book,

Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of Hillary Rodham Clinton

Gerth: "She's now running for president, and we felt that people needed to understand...

A new batch of American Research Group polls give the edge to Sen. Hillary Clinton in all three early states in the 2008 presidential race. Meanwhile, Sen. Barack Obama has slipped to third place behind John Edwards in each state, while Bill Richardson is up in Iowa and New...

Sen. Joe Lieberman's (D-CT) decision to make contingency plans to run as an independent in the event he lost today's Senate primary may have been the turning point in this campaign. Though no polls asked the question, the decision will almost certainly cost him votes.

I'm told...

The Washington Post confirms what Political Wire reported yesterday (see here and here): "Facing a likely defeat, Lieberman has scrapped plans for a massive and costly get-out-the-vote operation on primary day, according to several Democratic sources. Instead, he will shift some of his resources into more television...

Ned Lamont (D) leads Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) 54% to 41% among likely Democratic primary voters, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.

This compares to a 51% to 47% Lamont lead in the last poll two weeks ago.

Key findings:

* In this latest survey, 5% of likely...

Political Wire notes explosive news in the Nutmeg State this morning: "The Hartford Courant sent a bunker bomb in to Connecticut Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Alan Schlesinger's flagging campaign today with revelations that the former legislator was successfully sued for thousands of dollars in casino debts he ran up...

Political Wire has learned that in the Connecticut U.S. Senate race, Ned Lamont (D) has surged ahead of Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and now holds a razor-thin 51% to 47% lead among likely Democratic primary voters, according to a new poll.

The New Republic's Clay Risen has an interesting piece on President Bush's lack of success as the first MBA president. "He ran on that brand -- and, in turn, that brand has haunted him repeatedly as a favorite trope for conservatives trying to explain why his popularity, and his...

Interviewed on Bloomberg TV, Al Gore refused to endorse his former vice presidential running mate, Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT), in his re-election race.

Said Gore: "I am not involved. I typically do not get involved in Democratic primaries. Joe is my close friend, Joe and Hadassah are close to...

In Connecticut, Ned Lamont (D) has gained ground on Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), and now trails the incumbent 55% to 40% among likely Democratic primary voters, including undecided voters who are leaning towards a candidate, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.

Earlier polls showed Lamont more than

President Bush is the worst president in the last 61 years, according to a new national Quinnipiac poll. Bush is named by 34%, followed by Richard Nixon at 17% and Bill Clinton at 16%.

Several historians have made this point before -- see here and here --...

If email from Political Wire readers is a reliable indicator, it's safe to say that inside the Beltway chatter about Sen. Barack Obama's political future has increased dramatically in recent weeks. Many Democratic powerbrokers now hope the freshman senator will enter the 2008 presidential race as his many...

It was a very busy weekend for political news. Here's a quick roundup of some of the more interesting stories we tracked on Political Wire:

Sen. John McCain is ramping up his political travels, including a weekend trip to Jerry Falwell's Liberty University where he spoke of...

A grand jury indicted Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R) "on three misdemeanors for conspiracy, official misconduct and political discrimination." The indictments "cover crimes that may have occurred before Aug. 29, 2005, when Fletcher pardoned all administration officials except himself."

More as this develops on Political Wire later.

Political Wire got an advance look at Ryan Lizza's followup to last week's piece in the New Republic about Sen. George Allen's long history with the Confederate flag.

The piece explains in great detail how Allen has embraced the flag in one way or another...

Political Wire received an advance copy of a New Republic profile of Sen. George Allen (R-VA) in which author Ryan Lizza finds many of Allen's high school classmates surprised that he's considering running for president because of the racist tendencies he displayed as a teenager. They say he "plastered...

Over the weekend, an article in Time magazine highlighted the "five point recovery plan" being pushed by new White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten. One item in particular struck me as odd: "Making Wall Street Happy."

It never occured to me that Wall Street had an issue with...

Political Wire has learned that Treasury Secretary John Snow just cancelled a Friday guest lecture at a Harvard economics class taught by former Bush economic adviser Greg Mankiw.

Though Snow's exit has long been suspected, news that his potential replacement is Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez may...

One reason I love politics is that it's rarely dull and this week was no exception. Here's a quick rundown from Political Wire:

Vice President Dick Cheney was photographed asleep at a White House briefing. Though his eyes are clearly shut and his head is drooping into his...