We have gathered some of the top political writers in the country and asked them to discuss the presidential race throughout the year. Today they discuss McCain’s new frontrunner status, religion in American politics, and Edwards’ departure. Seattlest: How do you handicap the Republican race following John McCain’s win in Florida? Mark (The New York Times): The GOP in Florida has given McCain true front runner status. It must suck to be a wacko Republican......

Mercer Island is not just the home of the fifth richest man on earth. And 98040 isn't just the wealthiest zip code in our state. It is now known as a childhood home of Barack Obama's mother, Stanley Dunham. Yes, she was born in Kansas. Yes, Obama was in the Midwest this morning, touting his deep Kansas roots. But his mom spent most of her adolescence in Mercer Island, and was a standout member of......

Howard Schultz, Inc. has made some interesting business decisions recently. The latest, as we obliquely mentioned yesterday: Signing former Beatle and Heather Mills survivor Paul McCartney to a record deal, the first from Starbucks' new Hear Music label. Actually, it’s not interesting, and that’s the problem. The formation of a music label by a massively successful company with global tentacles was intriguing. Would Hear reach out to unknowns—American or otherwise—who could use the kick-start of......

Sometimes you need to clean yourself up, get serious, and move in with daddy for a few months before you head to Latin America for a new gig. The District bids Jenna Bush adios. D.C.-based television shows have an elderly audience and DCist has some suggestions to fix that. They're also throwing Butterstick the panda bear a birthday bash. Yeah, we may have a few issues with our World Cup broadcasters here, but this guy......

Pizza sucks in Seattle. Feel free to post your own obscure favorite in the comments or simply let it pass. Sure, there are a few highlights here or there around the city where something resembling an actual pizza can be obtained, but the overall quality of the city's pizza is piss poor. Here's a tip: If the crust is wet, it sucks. Wallingford, oddly, has a few ok places, though. The Wallingford Pizza House......

Local FBI (that's Fantagraphics Books Inc) leader Gary Groth will read excerpts of the Nixon tapes Saturday night at the Rendezvous' Jewel Box Theater in Belltown, as part of the travelling theater series Verbatim Verboten. The premise of the series is an interesting one: word-for-word (hence the "verbatim" title) interview transcripts with famous people who thought they were speaking off the record. According to The Chicago Reader, the Windy City's version of the show featured......