“Barack Obama inspired thousands of new voters in my state of South Carolina to get involved in our democratic process, and I am proud to announce my endorsement today," he said in a statement released by the campaign. "With Barack Obama as our nominee, we can bring more and more new voters out to become involved and have their voices heard. Obama has worked his whole life to unite people from all backgrounds and walks of life for change, he has done that in this campaign and he will continue to do that as President. I am excited to join his campaign today.”

Trouble Ahead?

The national poll of registered voters, taken April 30-May 3, shows enthusiasm for McCain within the GOP is lagging. Just 34% of GOP primary voters said they would back him enthusiastically, while 42% said their vote for McCain would be, at base, a vote against the eventual Dem nom. In our February survey, 50% of Repubs polled said they'd support McCain enthusiastically, and 30% said their vote for him is a vote against the Dem candidate.

Obama, meanwhile, has seen his support among Inds suffer as his party's fight for the nom trudges on. Just 44% of Inds said they have a favorable opinion of the IL Sen, white an equal number have an unfavorable opinion. In March, his fav/unfav was 49%/40%.

McCain's Ind fav/unfav, by contrast is 57%/29%, a likely sign that he has to some degree maintained his trademark "maverick" image and his long-time appeal to moderates. Also, in a head-to-head with Obama, McCain wins out with Ind voters, 44% to 33%.

We Still Heart You Guys

Obama and Hillary Clinton's support among Dem voters hasn't waned dramatically -- despite the protracted fight for the nom. Obama's backing has remained steadier, with 56% of Dems saying they'll vote for him enthusiastically, compared with 55% in February. Clinton's support is not quite as solid, with 50% saying they'll vote for her enthusiastically. In Feb, 59% said as much of HRC.

Mano A Mano

Both Dems trump the likely GOP nom. Obama leads 47% to McCain's 43%, while Clinton has the edge, 46% to 43%.

Interestingly, among non-whites, Clinton fares better against McCain than Obama -- a sign that her edge with Hispanics could help in the general. Non-whites surveyed edged 66% for Obama, 20% for McCain. But 80% of non-whites backed Clinton, compared with 21% for McCain.

The female vote edges Democratic, meanwhile, no matter who emerges victorious. Obama has a 51%/37% advantage over McCain with women, while Clinton's edge over the GOPer is comparable, 52%/37%.

And for whatever this is worth in the homestretch of the Dem primary contests -- Obama leads Clinton, 48% to 37%.

Note: The survey of 803 registered voters has a 3.5 percentage point margin of error.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

And, he added, if age is a legitimate issue, so are a few things about his likely opponent.

"Every issue that the American people want to be an issue, and it's part of their discussions, it's fine with me," he said in reponse to the question about his age.

Not missing a beat, he added the controversial statements of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's former pastor, onto that same list.

Obama, McCain noted, "has said that [Wright] is a legitimate topic of discussion."

"'If that's what the American people want to discuss, that's fine," he added.

McCain also told reporters that the recent complimentary remarks for Obama by a Hamas spokesman are also fair game for debate. Prefacing his comment by saying that he believes that it's clear that Obama "shares nothing of the values or goals of Hamas," the presumptive GOP nominee added that the Palestinian organization's favorable assessment of Obama's candidacy is "a legitimate point of discussion."

"That's of interest to the American people," he said. "And that is something that needs to be discussed."

McCain said that he was not offended by Obama's assessment that he is "losing his bearings," a comment interpreted by some observers – including campaign biggie Mark Salter – as a swipe at the older McCain's mental sharpness.

During the morning press conference at Liberty Science Center in Newark, NJ, the senator was flanked by Sen. Joe Lieberman and former NJ Gov. Tom Kean, Lieberman was quick to jump to McCain's defense.

'I just want to report that this morning I personally checked John McCain;'s bearings," said the 2000 Dem veep nom. "He has not lost any of them. They are all in really great shape."

(NBC/NJ's CARRIE DANN)

WV votes Tuesday.

“I am endorsing Barack Obama today because throughout this process I have seen him show a judgment and character that we need in our next president," Espinoza said in a statement released by Obama's campaign. "From day one he opposed the Iraq war and has a plan to end the war in a responsible way and bring our sons and daughters home. He has shown he has the character to lead our great nation, from his choice to spend his career serving people in the poorest communities in Chicago to his commitment to speaking truth to the American people, even when it isn’t politically convenient to do so. To unify the country at this time in our history we need a president who has these qualities, and that is why I am proud to endorse him today. My good friend Bill Richardson, who backed Obama some weeks ago, knows what it takes to lead, and I trust his judgment in this decision as well. I look forward to working with this great movement to bring victory in November.”

Also, Rep. Donald Payne, a NJ superdelegate who supported Hillary Clinton, has switched his allegiance to Obama. And Rep. Peter DeFazio today became OR's third Democratic congressman to endorse Obama.

SUNDAY:

Meet the Press hosts Chris Dodd and Clinton chair Terry McAuliffe, and a roundtable with Washingtonpost.com's Chris Cillizza, CNBC's John Harwood, NPR's Michele Norris and Wall Street Journal's Gerald Seib.

Face the Nation hosts John Edwards, McAuliffe and Politico's Jim VandeHei.

This Week hosts Senate Maj. Leader Harry Reid and McCain Victory chair Carly Fiorina, and a roundtable with Cokie Roberts, Sam Donaldson, George Will and Washington Post's Ruth Marcus.

Fox News Sunday hosts Obama strategist David Axelrod and Clinton comm. dir. Howard Wolfson. The "Power Player" is Ben Stein.

Late Edition hosts Reps. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez (Ret.), Iraqi Amb. to the U.S. Samir Sumaidaie, and a roundtable with CNN's Ed Henry and CNN's Jessica Yellin.

See other weekend shows after the jump (KATHERINE LEHR).

Why, as an Illinois state Senator, did he vote “present” over 130 times instead of “yes” or “no” on difficult issues like abortion, crime, and guns?

On fiscal responsibility, how he intends to pay for over $660 billion in his new spending proposals and whether he can do it without raising taxes on families and small businesses?

Why he voted against funding for our troops after promising not to use them as pawns in a war funding debate?

Why did he tell donors in San Francisco that the economy has driven small town voters to “cling” to guns and religion?

And here's the accompanying project vid, a very creepy piece. The party turns "Yes We Can" -- Obama's mantra on the stump -- into a dark, dismal, zombie-like chant.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Here's a snippet of the interview, which you can hear today on National Journal On Air:

LD: So, many reporters have been seeking your views because you are one of the top members of the House leadership and, of course, are African-American as well, and we often ask you to weigh in on these ticklish issues of race that have been raised in the campaign along with other things. So, starting off on that subject, let me ask you this question – Hillary Clinton has been continuing to campaign today, yesterday, throughout West Virginia and the other states that she is seeking to win, making the argument that she wins with certain kinds of voters – blue collar voters, Catholic voters, and Obama does not.

Do you think that as she continues to press the case that he can't win, that she's doing damage to him as a candidate?

CLYBURN: Continuing to press the case seems to me to be in search of a self-fulfilling prophecy here. You know, we all know anything that continues to be reinforced in the minds of voters, tends to take on a life of its own. I would hope, as I have said before, that the candidates will continue to press their case on their own behalf. I don't know why it's necessary to talk about anybody else's shortcomings, just talk about your own attributes and what you bring to the table, and it seems to be that that's the better way to go. As I've said before, if we continue to raise these extraneous issues, we can and we will do irreparable harm, not just to our party but to our country. And it would seem to me that we ought to be about bringing this country together. We are fighting an international war on terrorism. We cannot afford for this country to be divided on any front – gender, race, ethnicity, no matter what. This country has to come together, and the extent to which all of our candidates running for office would carry that kind of positive message of unification, I think the better off we are.

In his first nat'l interview since the 5/6 primaries, Obama spoke with CNN's Blitzer.

Obama, on the Time cover declaring him the "winner": "I don't want to be jinxed. We've still got some work to do. ... Senator Clinton is a very formidable candidate. She is very heavily favored to win West Virginia. She'll win that by a big margin. She's favored in Kentucky. We'll probably split the remaining contests so she's going to be actively campaigning."

On Mitt Romney saying he is inexperienced and being POTUS "is not an internship": "Yeah. Well, the contest didn't work out so well against John McCain suggesting that John McCain as a senator hadn't done what Mitt Romney had done. And yet here we are and there Mitt Romney is. Look, when it comes to national security, I think that what people are looking for is good judgment."

On McCain's comments that Hamas favors him for POTUS: "This is offensive and I think it's disappointing, because John McCain always says, well, I'm not going to run that kind of politics and that engages in that kind of smear I think is unfortunate, particularly since my policy toward Hamas has been no different than his. ... And so for him to toss out comments like that I think is an example of him losing his bearings as he pursues this nomination. We don't need name calling in this debate."

More after the jump (KATHERINE LEHR).

Also, check out the interesting collection of national co-chairs for the massive door-knocking extravaganza, think Melissa Etheridge and Dave Matthews and Usher, among others.

"I am not the candidate," she told Curry.

Here's a clip of the interview, circulated by the DNC:

DNC Chairman Howard Dean pounced on McCain's statement. "What is John McCain trying to hide?" Dean said in a statement released by the party. "Throughout this campaign, he has acted like his own calls for openness and accountability apply to everyone but himself. Now he thinks he can bring that same double standard to the White House. Whether he is skirting the FEC, withholding his tax returns, or stocking his campaign with the same Washington lobbyists he attacks on the campaign trail, John McCain is showing that he doesn't respect the voters enough to be honest with them. John McCain may not like it, but the American people have a right to know about the well documented links between his political career and the McCains' business ventures. John McCain's refusal to meet the standard of every other candidate seeking the office is one more reason he's the wrong choice for America's future."

The Delegate Working Group -- Sen. Carl Levin, Rep. Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick, Debbie Dingell and Ron Gettelfinger -- signed off. The group believes the solution "splits the difference between the January 15th results supported by the Clinton Campaign, which would create a delegates allocation of 73-55, and the 50-50 split supported by the Obama campaign, which would create a 64-64 allocation of the delegates."

MI Party Chair Mark Brewer: "This resolution meets the main criteria that we set forth for a resolution. It is a negotiated solution that recognizes the results of the January 15th primary while taking into consideration that Obama's name was not on the ballot. This proposal seats a full Michigan delegation and gives all delegates the same voting power. This is a good step toward a solution that unites Democrats and ensures that our state will not face a McCain presidency and four more years of the failed Bush trade and economic policies that have devastated our state."

The will be filed as a formal appeal to the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee. No comment yet from the DNC.

David Bonior, a former congressman from Michigan, called 2008 a "watershed year in politics" and said this could be a big year for change, like 1932, 1960 or 1980.

"The American people want a new direction and want some fundamental change, big change I think," he said on a conference called hosted by the campaign.

He said Edwards' campaign was about putting people first and that Obama had proven he could bring the necessary change to Washington and would improve the lives of working families by standing up to Wall Street lobbyists and special interests.

The former congressman cited Obama's work as a community organizer in Chicago. He said the Illinois senator had inspired a movement, drawing new people into politics. "He's the first candidate that has brought a movement with him," Bonior said, adding that this election could be "transformational" and "history-making."

He also said Obama had shown courage in opposing the war in Iraq.

Bonior waited until now to endorse because he was "waiting for Sen. Obama to show me the fight that I wanted to see because it's gonna be a difficult" campaign with John McCain.