CNN

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Barack Obama apparently decided enough was enough.

Obama announced over the weekend he had resigned his 20-year membership at Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ.

Obama says he and his wife had discussed leaving the church since April, when his former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright made more controversial remarks at the National Press Club.

Obama's association with the church had caused an explosion on cable news weeks earlier when video surfaced of Wright's fiery sermons, blaming the U.S. for the 9-11 attacks and saying the federal government helped spread AIDS. Obama initially said he disagreed with Wright but couldn't disown him, but later did just that by denouncing his comments as "divisive and destructive."

More questions about Obama's ties to Trinity arose last week with a guest sermon delivered by the Reverend Michael Pfleger, who mocked Hillary Clinton as weeping over "a black man stealing my show” and said he wanted to expose "white entitlement and supremacy wherever it raises its head." Father Pfleger was harshly criticized by Chicago's archbishop and has since apologized.

Obama says he's not denouncing the church, but points out that because he's running for president, every time something is said in the church, it will be connected to him, even if it's something he disagrees with. The likely Democratic nominee says he has no idea how it will impact his campaign, but that it was a personal decision and the right thing to do for his family.

Here’s my question to you: How will Barack Obama's resignation from his church affect his chances in the general election?

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

We have some bad news for John McCain who has spent the last couple of weeks beating up on Barack Obama because Obama said he would be willing to meet with leaders of countries considered to be enemies of the United States. Most Americans support Obama. McCain was at it again today.

Speaking to a pro-Israel group, McCain said it's hard to see what a summit with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would lead to "except an earful of anti-Semitic rants, and a worldwide audience for a man who denies one Holocaust and talks before frenzied crowds about starting another"

Well, guess what. A new Gallup Poll suggests the country backs Obama. 59% of Americans responding to the poll say it's a good idea for the president to meet with the president of Iran. Here's the breakdown: 71% of Democrats, 58% of independents and 48% of Republicans support this kind of diplomacy. This is despite the fact that polls also suggest few people in this country view Iran favorably, and it leads Americans' list of top U-S enemies in the world.

This same poll also shows a majority of Americans, 67%, say the president should meet with leaders of other foreign countries who are considered enemies of the U.S. Apparently the American people are sick and tired of cowboy diplomacy.

Obama is the only one of the three candidates who has said he would personally meet with leaders of countries like Iran, Syria, Cuba and Venezuela. Both Hillary Clinton and McCain have criticized him for it.

Here’s my question to you: What message does it send to John McCain when most Americans say it's a good idea for the president to meet with Iran?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

If you're looking for clues, try this one: Hillary Clinton will give her post-primary speech in New York tomorrow night. The thing is: New York is not voting, Montana and South Dakota are.

Campaign aides say staffers who worked for Clinton in those two states and Puerto Rico have been invited to attend the event or go home and await further instructions. Here's another clue: it's being reported that the campaign's finance department is asking Clinton staffers to turn in their outstanding expenses by the end of the week.

Clinton has also has planned a rally with her husband and daughter in South Dakota tonight, the kind of reunion she usually saves for election nights. Meanwhile, former President Bill Clinton said that today may be his last day campaigning for his wife.

All this would seem to indicate that the end is near. The news comes on the heels of a weekend where Clinton swept up in Puerto Rico, yet was frustrated by the decision of the rules committee. With just two contests to go, Clinton continues to trail Barack Obama in the ever-important categories of pledged delegates and superdelegates.

Nevertheless, Clinton is making the argument that she leads in the popular vote and that by the time all the votes are counted, she will have won more votes "than anyone in the history of the primary process." The problem here is this is only true if you include Michigan and Florida, and don't include some of the caucus states.

Clinton has also suggested she's focusing not only on undecided superdelegates, but also those who have backed Obama and still have the option to change their minds. And finally she says she's still deciding whether to challenge the decision of the Democratic rules committee.

Here’s my question to you: Will Hillary Clinton admit defeat and go gracefully when the time comes?

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

It happens every time there's a presidential election. Some Hollywood celebrity comes out and announces that if the candidate they don't like wins the election, they are going to leave the country.

They say this with a sense of high drama, like anybody cares. Problem is, they never leave. In 2000, Alec Baldwin's wife had reportedly told a magazine that if George Bush won, her husband would make good on a threat to leave the country. I was working at CNNfn at the time and remarked I wanted to be sure to get off on time because I was going to go out to Long Island and help him pack. Alec Baldwin is still here.

This time around it's Susan Sarandon. If John McCain wins, Sarandon is threatening to move either to Italy or Canada. It might be reason enough to support McCain. But five will get you ten that regardless of the outcome of the race between John McCain and Barack Obama, you won't find Susan Sarandon at the Calgary Stampede or the Vatican.

But we can dream, can't we?

Here’s my question to you: Which Hollywood celebrity would you like to see leave the country and why?

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Gas prices soar over $4.00 a gallon in NY.

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Here we go again. Every time oil and/or gasoline prices get high enough, someone in the government announces an investigation. The idea is to try to convince the poor soul forking over four bucks a gallon for gas that his government gives a damn. This time it's the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.

We've been here before. Investigators this time say they're looking at potential abuses in the way crude oil is bought, shipped stored and traded nationwide. Usually they don't publicize this kind of stuff, but say they are doing so now "because of today's unprecedented market conditions." That and senators and congressmen are catching hell from their constituents who want an explanation of why oil prices are up 42% since last December.

And, heading into the peak summer travel season, gasoline prices are up an average of 76 cents over where they were a year ago.

When you read the fine print, you discover experts say this investigation – like all the others before it – will likely have a limited impact on oil prices, which have been going up for many reasons, including growing demand from places like China and India, the falling value of the dollar, international tensions and low interest rates.

Meanwhile, a new Gallup Poll asks Americans what should be done to reduce gas prices. A majority of those surveyed, 53% favor price controls. 58% support draining oil from the strategic petroleum reserve, and 57% are for drilling in U.S. coastal and wilderness areas that are now off limits.

However, a majority of people say it's a bad idea to ration gas, bring back the 55 mph speed limit or – are you listening, John McCain – suspend the federal tax on gasoline for the summer. If it makes you feel any better, the highest gas prices in Europe are in Norway where motorists pay more than $9 a gallon.

Here’s my question to you: Do you think a government investigation of oil prices will lead to cheaper gasoline?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Despite worries on the home front about the economy, the housing market and record high gas prices... the war in Iraq has made it to center stage once again in the presidential campaign.

Turns out both of the likely candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama, think the debate over the war can work to their advantage.

McCain has been blasting Obama about Iraq, criticizing him for making decisions without visiting the war zone since 2006. McCain argues conditions on the ground have changed drastically since then. The RNC says, "the fact that there are 2-year-old Iraqi children who weren't born the last time Obama was in their country raises questions about what he is making his decisions on."

It's part of a larger strategy to paint Obama as inexperienced. It's also pretty convenient to shift attention away from domestic issues – like the economy, energy and health care – where Obama polls much stronger than McCain.

Obama's camp now says the candidate is considering a trip to Iraq, during which he would focus on how best to withdraw U.S. troops, not reconsider whether or not they should leave. Obama suggests McCain hasn't learned enough from all his travels to Iraq, since all he wants to do is continue President Bush's war policies – even saying at one point American soldiers could be in Iraq for 100 years.

If elected, Obama has vowed to start pulling out troops immediately, with all combat brigades out of the country within 16 months. On the other hand, McCain says the U-S can't go until Iraqi forces have been trained and al Qaeda is defeated.

However, there's also a risk for McCain here: by talking about travels to Iraq, he reminds people about his infamous stroll through the Baghdad market last year where he returned to the United States and gave Americans a completely false report about how peaceful and secure it was there.

Here’s my question to you: How important is it for Barack Obama to go to Iraq?

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

California is set to start marrying gay couples next month – barring an unexpected legal challenge to the state's recent decision to overturn a ban on same-sex marriages.

This is all well and good for gays who get married in California, but what if they move to a state where gay marriage isn't legal? While there's been a slow and steady march in the direction of gay marriage in some states for years, there remains a question about the recognition of these unions in states where gay marriage remains against the law.

In light of this, New York Governor David Patterson has told state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states and countries where they are legal. This could affect as many as 1,300 state laws and regulations governing everything from joint filing of income tax returns to transferring fishing licenses between spouses.

Critics insist Paterson is trying to circumvent the legislature and courts, while experts say this would make New York the only state that doesn't allow gay marriage itself but fully recognizes same-sex unions from other states.

But the whole issue remains murky. Different states have different rules. Some states – like Vermont and New Jersey – allow civil unions but no marriage. With California, there will be only two states where gay marriage is legal. The legal rights accorded gay couples will continue to vary widely from one state to another complicating the decision of a gay couple that wants to move.

Nevertheless, the country seems to be developing an increasing tolerance for something that was once considered unthinkable.

Here’s my question to you: Is gay marriage in the U.S. inevitable?

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan is now talking, and everyone but the White House is listening.

McClellan strongly defended his critical memoir about the Bush Administration in a TV interview this morning. He said the president decided to go to war against Iraq shortly after the 9-11 attacks. He said Mr. Bush did not review all the evidence before making his decision and instead relied on his gut.

McClellan said he became "disillusioned" with the administration once he realized he was being used as a pawn in a much larger political game. He said the president and his aides operated in a "permanent campaign culture", which caused them to ignore the facts leading up to the war once those facts didn't fit their picture and advance their political agenda.

McClellan says the tipping point for him was the CIA leak case, particularly when he found out that it was the president himself who had secretly declassified parts of an intelligence report about Iraq, enabling Scooter Libby to leak classified information that bolstered the case for war to the media. These are damning revelations in light of Bush's repeatedly condemning the selective release of secret intelligence information.

McClellan says the low point of his job was being ordered to tell the press that Karl Rove and Scooter Libby were not involved in leaking CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity to the press. A criminal investigation later revealed that they were.

Critics call McClellan a turncoat, a sellout and a disgruntled former employee. The White House has called his book puzzling and sad, and some former colleagues want to know why McClellan never voiced any of these doubts earlier. His former deputy, Trent Duffy, says McClellan owes his whole career to President Bush yet he's "stabbing him in the back... and dancing on his political grave for cash."

Scott McClellan will be a guest in the Situation Room tomorrow.

Here’s my question to you: What would you ask Scott McClellan?

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Despite being hopelessly behind in pledged delegates and with only three primaries to go, Hillary Clinton refuses to give up. In fact, she continues to insist that she is more electable than Barack Obama.

Clinton told voters in South Dakota yesterday that her wins in swing states and her strong vote margins among certain groups make her more likely to beat John McCain in the general election.

At the same time, her campaign sent uncommitted superdelegates a letter with polling data showing how she could compete better than Obama in the fall. They pointed to her wins in states like Ohio and West Virginia along with her strong showings among older women, Hispanics and rural voters.

While Clinton has toned down her attacks on Obama in recent weeks, she has implied that if he becomes the nominee, the Democrats could lose in November. Clinton insists she's the stronger candidate against McCain "based on every analysis of every bit of research and every poll that's been taken and every state a Democrat has to win." Not true at all.

There are polls that show Clinton in a close race with McCain, many within the sampling error. And more importantly there are polls that show Obama beating McCain by a larger margin than she does. Sometimes facts are very inconvenient.

Clinton also claims to have won the most popular votes – but that's only if you include Michigan and Florida, states that were stripped of all their delegates after breaking the party's rules. Their votes don't count. Obama actually leads by 570,000 in the popular vote, and is now just 45 delegates shy of clinching the nomination.

Here’s my question to you: Has Hillary Clinton's continual drumbeat of "I'm more electable" gained her any traction?

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Here's another troubling sign of the state of our economy: more Americans are choosing to file for bankruptcy, despite a 2005 law that makes it more expensive and difficult to do so.

The Washington Post reports bankruptcy filings were up 38% last year for Chapter 7 – which wipes out debt, and Chapter 13 – which reorganizes it. The reasons behind the bankruptcy filings are many, including declining incomes, rising costs, poor health insurance and job instability.

Experts say that the bankruptcy trend cuts across all walks of life – including the young and old, homeowners and renters, the poor and middle class. It used to be that bankruptcies were more likely filed by those who had sudden life changes – like a divorce or job loss. Not anymore.

Declining home values have made bankruptcies even more common... in fact, many people are filing for bankruptcy in order to save their homes. By filing for Chapter 13, owners get a foreclosure frozen and they can negotiate payments with their lenders.

Meanwhile, billionaire investor Warren Buffett is warning that the economy is already in a recession. He believes though it may not be a recession as defined by economists, the people are already feeling it. Buffet adds, "It will be deeper and longer than what many think."

A new Gallup poll seems to show that most everyone is already feeling it, with 87% of those surveyed saying the economy is getting worse and only 17% rating the economy as "excellent" or "good."

Here’s my question to you: What does it mean when more Americans are choosing bankruptcy?

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