Former FBI Director Louis Freeh endorsed Rudy.

Thompson will officially enter the race sometime around the first week of July, but not on the 4th. "Fred is not that pretentious," an aide tells Jason Horowitz.

There seems to be some confusion over whether John Edwards read the October 2002 NIE or not.

Chris Dodd takes a gamble on Global Warming ad buy.

Pat Leahy is fuming at Jon Kyl for putting a hold on a bill promoting openness in government because of concerns voiced by the Justice Department.

Obama upbeat about prospects in Nevada.

Sam Brownback released the following brief statement criticizing New Hampshire's signing into law a bill recognizing same sex marriage:

"In nations that have embraced same sex unions, overall marriage has declined putting families in jeopardy. This is a massive social experiment whose early results have been quite harmful to families and children."

"We know in our hearts and we know from all the social data, marriage is a union of man and woman bonded together for life. The last thing we ought to do is redefine marriage out of existence."

CNN goes to town on Jack Murtha's pork:

Loads more video clips in the RCP Video Vault.

This quote from the excerpt of Bob Shrum's new book appearing on Time.com is a dagger to the Edwards campaign:

Kerry talked with several potential picks, including Gephardt and Edwards. He was comfortable after his conversations with Gephardt, but even queasier about Edwards after they met. Edwards had told Kerry he was going to share a story with him that he'd never told anyone else - that after his son Wade had been killed, he climbed onto the slab at the funeral home, laid there and hugged his body, and promised that he'd do all he could to make life better for people, to live up to Wade's ideals of service. Kerry was stunned, not moved, because, as he told me later, Edwards had recounted the same exact story to him, almost in the exact same words, a year or two before - and with the same preface, that he'd never shared the memory with anyone else.

Siena released its new poll for New York today. No surprise that the New Yorkers lead in their respective primaries. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton extended her lead over the rest of the field:

Democrats
Clinton 42 (+3 vs. last Siena poll)
Obama 13 (-4)
Gore 13 (+1)
Edwards 7 (-4)
Undecided 15 (+2)

On the Republican side, Siena conducted two separate horse race questions. The first included all of 10 declared candidates plus Pataki:

Republicans
Giuliani 52 (+5 vs last Siena poll)
McCain 14 (-2)
Romney 7 (-1)
T. Thompson 4 (na)
Paul 2 (na)
All Others 1
Undecided 17 (+1)

The second question put Fred Thompson and Gingrich in the mix with the three first tier candidates and excluded everyone else:

Republicans
Giuliani 50
McCain 12
F. Thompson 8
Romney 7
Gingrich 7
Undecided 15

Head-to-Head Match Ups
Clinton 52 - Giuliani 39
Clinton 54 - McCain 36
Clinton 57 - F. Thompson 29

Obama 50 - Giuliani 40
Obama 50 - McCain 33

Gore 56 - F. Thompson 28

To see all the latest polls on 2008, click here.

The long-simmering internecine feud on the Right over immigration has taken an interesting turn. The editors of National Review, who embody the "enforcement-first" wing of the Right, have challenged the editors of the Wall Street Journal editorial page, who champion the "comprehensive" view, to a debate.

A bit of background for those readers unfamiliar with this: For a couple years now, the Wall Street Journal editorial page has singled out various conservative publications for criticism in its pages, publications like National Review, the Washington Times, etc. which don't believe the country should embark on comprehensive immigration reform without first securing the borders. In fairness to the editors of the Journal, at times the enforcement-first wing has clung to a non-negotiable position, namely, that under no circumstances should the United States create a path for citizenship for illegal immigrants. In fairness to National Review, the Journal has at times used incendiary and obtuse language to describe its opponents.

The pot boiled over finally when the Journal editorial board, which has begun taping its editorial board meetings, went on an NR-bashing session last week. It is a bit beneath the reputation of the Journal editorial board to have done this, but that it did so perhaps highlights the disconnect on the Right over immigration.

Today, the editors of NR responded:

We hereby challenge the Journal's editors to debate the immigration bill in a neutral venue with a moderator of their choosing -- two or three of us versus any two or three of them. We propose to do it in Washington next week so it will have the maximum impact on the Senate's consideration of the most sweeping immigration reform in decades (time and place to be worked out in a mutually satisfactory fashion).

It shouldn't be a problem for the Journal's editors to take up this challenge, since opponents of the bill aren't "rational" on the question, have no arguments, and are "foaming at the mouth," as they explained in a videotaped session of one of their editorial meetings last week.

Here's hoping the Journal's editors accept the challenge, not only for the spectator value involved, but also -- and more importantly -- because this is a debate worth having, certainly from the top conservative editors in the country. It recalls a time when many of the Right's most fervent battles were waged within the movement itself, battles that were at the same time exciting, smart and good for the country.

To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war.

New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch signed a legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples, becoming the fourth state to legalize such unions.

The Greenville News reports that Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) told a crowd yesterday he would "definitely" filibuster the Senate immigration bill when it comes to the floor next month. DeMint said before Congress recessed for Memorial Day he didn't have the 40 votes needed to sustain the filibuster and prevent a cloture vote.

DeMint became a leading foe of the immigration compromise last week when he offered an amendment to eliminate Z-visas that would allow immigrants to stay indefinitely once obtained. The amendment was defeated but split the GOP almost down the middle: 20 voted in favor of the amendment, 25 against.

Even before Fred Thompson made an overt gesture that he'll run for president, he was doing well in the polls, but now he must sprint to stay in the Republican top-tier and perform well in a crucial summer test.

The Washington Post's Michael Shear and Dan Balz report that GOP strategists caution that Thompson will "need a more refined message and an error-free start to live up to the publicity surrounding his all-but-certain candidacy." Tomorrow a committee will start to raise money for Thompson and in the next few weeks the campaign will launch a Web site, select a campaign headquarters and dust-off his iconic red pickup truck the former Tennessee senator used in his first, highly-successful campaign. This weekend Thompson will be speaking in Virginia and then on Jay Leno in June.

"But his celebrity and relatively late start in the contest mean that Thompson will face immediate challenges that a less-celebrated candidate might not," Shear and Balz write. "Questions about his viability would arise if there should be anything less than strong performances in his first debates, in his ability to raise funds quickly, or in rapidly assembling organizations in states with early contests next year."

One such challenge will likely be the Ames, Iowa, straw poll on Aug. 11, about a month after Thompson plans to formally announce in early July, reports The Politico's Jonathan Martin. The Iowa GOP's executive director predicted Thompson will be on the ballot at the same time some Thompson advisers are urging him not to participate. The Ames poll will be the first major test of Republicans' support in that key primary state and has a history of thinning the GOP field.

Even sooner will be the June 5 GOP debate that Thompson will be eligible to participate in after he makes his FEC filing the day before, reports the New Hampshire Union Leader's Tom Fahey.

Thompson's real potential may be felt among the majority of President Bush's Florida fundraisers, who are "sitting on the sidelines" of the presidential race so far, reports the St. Petersburg Times' Adam Smith. Thompson has created buzz among conservatives who are unenthusiastic about the current field, which is one possible reason the Bush donors aren't giving yet. Next door in South Carolina, two lawmakers said they would back Thompson yesterday.

Meanwhile, Mitt Romney said Democrats are wrong to advocate a single, federal system for health care and that states should experiment with reforms, reports Radio Iowa's O. Kay Henderson. As governor of Massachusetts Romney signed a health care reform law that requires residents to get health insurance and requires businesses to provide health care coverage or pay a fine. Romney said what was needed was a market-based approach to health care rather than "government-mandated, government-run, government insurance." Rudy Giuliani called Hillary Clinton's plan to reverse the Bush tax cuts to help pay for health care and other programs, "an astounding, staggering tax increase."

The Wall Street Journal's Jackie Calmes reports the Congressional Budget Office has indicated it "could not credit" potential savings from technology that are included in the Democratic health care plans because, while the savings are likely real, they're ambiguous and would take years to realize.

Get these and today's other elections stories at RCP's Politics and Elections page.

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs make nice.