[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Senate president pro tem Don Perata is ending his efforts to recall Republican state Senator Jeff Denham,reports the LA Times. Republican leaders have persuaded him his supportof the recall would hinder budget negotiations; the measure itself willstill remain on the ballot.

Barack Obama paid a visit to the House of Representativestoday, to the apparent delight of his supporters, reports the SanFrancisco Chronicle's politics blog. Speaker Nancy Pelosi hasreiterated that the race continues, but it's clear that many see Obamaas the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Obama's aides say that he will declare victory soonafter the Oregon and Kentucky contests give him a majority of pledgeddelegates on May 20, but Hillary Clinton is prepared to dispute hisclaim, reports Politico. According to Howard Wolfson, a chiefstrategist for Clinton, “We don’t accept 2,025. It is not the realnumber because that does not include Florida and Michigan. It’s a phonynumber.”

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Top Democratic politicos are weighing in the results of this Tuesday’s indecisive primaries with the New York Times.  “Everybody is sort of taking a deep breathright now,” says Obama backer Edward Kennedy. It may come down toMichigan and (oh dear) Florida—the governors of each state (Granholm, aDem, and Crist, a Republican) have issued joint statement to the DNCthat they would, in some way or another, like their votes to be counted.

In other news, Hillary Clinton’s spokesman Howard Wolfson has compared Obama to Ken Starr , reports the Associated Press. Please let this be over soon.

George Skelton at the LA Times urges us to give Governor Schwarzenegger credit for heeding legislative analyst Elizabeth Hill’s call to close tax loopholes,a move that could generate $2.7 billion, which would be a good waytowards digging the state out of its $8 billion deficit. Better yet,the Governor says, “This is $2.5 billion we can give straight toeducation. I am totally for that…”