MIDDAY BLOG ROUNDUP

Barack Obama is facing an embarrassing loss in West Virginia today, Hillary Clintons campaign is in more trouble with superdelegates, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has defeated President Bush in the fight over immunity for telecommunications companies, bloggers are saying.

Obama will be crushed by Clinton in West Virginias Democratic primary today, possibly by 30 or 40 percentage points, Open Lefts Matt Stoller proclaims. The defeat will be an embarrassment for Obama, TPM Election Central Eric Kleefeld predicts, as Clinton will likely promote her support among working-class whitessupport Obama cant get. And Obama strategist David Axelrod has already written off a November victory in West Virginia, RedStates Dan McLaughlin says, as Axelrod avoided discussing Obamas general election standing there on MSNBC.

Clinton continues to struggle to pick up superdelegates as Obama has already netted four today, Townhall.coms Matt Lewis surmises. Even Clintons supporters dont think she can win anymore, Kleefeld argues, as a pledged delegatealready elected by voters to support Clinton at the Denver conventionhas proclaimed Obama the winner and defected to his camp.

President Bush has shown he is willing to bend to Pelosis demands, Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey declares, by indicating to a senior GOP lawmaker that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court could decide on immunity for telecommunications companies. Bush will accept a political bloody nose in the debate, Morrissey says, in order to reinstate the National Security Administrations authority and pass necessary reforms.

And Barack Obama has begun wearing the politically charged American flag pin, bloggers report. Commentarys Peter Wehner says Obama is making the pin an issue again on his own, now that wearing the pin will benefit him in a general election.

FROM THE BLOGS:
How the Pentagon Machine Worked – Faiz Shakir, Think Progress
Today’s the Day for Greg Davis – Moe Lane, RedState
Obama’s Town Hall Weakness – Stephen Hayes, The Weekly Standard
Too Perfect to Make Up – Christopher Orr, The Plank
Stupid Party Strikes Again: ‘Change You Deserve’ – Michelle Malkin
Rebranding Republicans – Robert Borosage, The Huffington Post
Hagee: Just Kidding! – Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
Domenici Stays Neutral – David Freddoso, The Corner
Earmark…Defeated – John Campbell, Townhall.com
Hoo Boy – Ezra Klein

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Bernanke: Financial Turmoil Easing – AP
Obama Pushes for New G.I. Bill – The Charleston Gazzette
Obama Heads to Cape Girardeau, Courts Rural Votes – Post-Dispatch
DCCC Links Davis to KKK Founder’s Statue – The Hill
Bond: White House Seems Flexible in Immunity – The Hill