It took them the better part of a day to respond, but the Obama campaign struck back with this effective rebuttal to Clinton's ad:

After the announcement of Pastor John Hagee's endorsement of John McCain, not everyone took it as good news. Catholic League President Bill Donohue said Hagee "has waged an unrelenting war against the Catholic Church."

In response, the McCain campaign released a statement on the endorsement today:

"Yesterday, Pastor John Hagee endorsed my candidacy for president in San Antonio, Texas. However, in no way did I intend for his endorsement to suggest that I in turn agree with all of Pastor Hagee's views, which I obviously do not.

"I am hopeful that Catholics, Protestants and all people of faith who share my vision for the future of America will respond to our message of defending innocent life, traditional marriage, and compassion for the most vulnerable in our society."

Obama received his second Senate endorsement of the week today when West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller announced his support. Former presidential candidate Chris Dodd (D-CT) endorsed Obama on Tuesday.

Rockefeller is up for re-election this year, but appears to be safe. Though the governor and both senators are all Democrats, West Virginia voted for President Bush in both 2000 and 2004.

West Virginia will hold its presidential and congressional primaries May 13.

Kudos to advertising firm Wieden & Kennedy for taking the ultimate risk: letting comedian Will Ferrell - in character as Jackie Moon from his new comedy "Semi Pro" - ad lib lines about Old Spice's new "pro strength" deodorant for an upcoming ad campaign. Here's what you get when you let Ferrell roam without a leash talking about your product:

"Now, I'm not familiar with the metric system or any other foreign language, but that's the equivalent of 300 gallons, I would guess. Hey, cauterize your sweat glands shut . . . sss-ka-owww . . . with Old Spice Pro Strength antiperspirant."

More from the Los Angeles Times piece:

[Ferrell] ad-libbed much of the material in the eight ads during a daylong shoot, signing off with such politically incorrect tag lines as "Don't smell like a turtle cage" and "The finest street-legal antiperspirant you can get outside of Mexico that's not poisonous."

Half the battle in advertising these days is to break through the clutter and avoid getting Tivoed out of existence. Will Farrell in a huge afro tossing out hilarious one liners is sure to do the trick. Whether it actually increases market share is another matter, but you've got to hand it to W&K for coming up with the idea, and to the suits at Proctor and Gamble for taking the leap.

Lord Conrad Black heads off to the slammer on Monday.

The Obama campaign headquarters in Houston:

(via Beltway Confidential)

Rasmussen out with new numbers in Ohio (Feb 28, 851 Dem LV) showing Hillary Clinton's lead continuing to detiorate:

Clinton 47 (-1 vs. last poll Feb 25)
Obama 45 (+2)
Undecided 9

Clinton's lead in the RCP Average for Ohio dipped to 5.0%.

New Fox News/Opinion Dynamics surveys in Texas and Ohio (Feb 26-28). In Ohio, Fox shows Clinton with an 8-point lead:

Ohio
Clinton 46
Obama 38
Undecided 14

Overall Clinton leads by 5.5% in the RCP Average for Ohio.

In Texas, Fox shows Obama leading by three:

Texas
Obama 48
Clinton 45
Undecided 5

Obama leads by 2.4% in the RCP Average for Texas.

Despite the Obama campaign's denials, CTV, the Canadian news outlet that reported that a senior campaign official had assured the Canadian ambassador that Obama's tough talk on NAFTA was just "campaign rhetoric," isn't backing off the story:

On Wednesday, CTV reported that a senior member of Obama's campaign called the Canadian government within the last month -- saying that when Senator Obama talks about opting out of the free trade deal, the Canadian government shouldn't worry. The operative said it was just campaign rhetoric not to be taken seriously.

The Obama campaign told CTV late Thursday night that no message was passed to the Canadian government that suggests that Obama does not mean what he says about opting out of NAFTA if it is not renegotiated.

However, the Obama camp did not respond to repeated questions from CTV on reports that a conversation on this matter was held between Obama's senior economic adviser -- Austan Goolsbee -- and the Canadian Consulate General in Chicago.

Earlier Thursday, the Obama campaign insisted that no conversations have taken place with any of its senior ranks and representatives of the Canadian government on the NAFTA issue. On Thursday night, CTV spoke with Goolsbee, but he refused to say whether he had such a conversation with the Canadian government office in Chicago. He also said he has been told to direct any questions to the campaign headquarters....

But on Wednesday, one of the primary sources of the story, a high-ranking member of the Canadian embassy, gave CTV more details of the call. He even provided a timeline. He has since suggested it was perhaps a miscommunication...

Sources at the highest levels of the Canadian government -- who first told CTV that a call was made from the Obama camp -- have reconfirmed their position.

What's missing here is whether Goolsbee was relating his personal opinion or the campaign's.

(h/t Geraghty)

Echoing campaign manager David Plouffe, Obama at a rally in Houston earlier today, responding to the Clinton ad:

Now before we open this up for conversation, I just want to take a moment to respond to an ad that Sen. Clinton is apparently running today that asks, "Who do you want answering the phone in the White House when it's 3 a.m. and something has happened in the world?"

We've seen these ads before. They're the kind that play on peoples' fears to scare up votes.

Well it won't work this time. Because the question is not about picking up the phone. The question is -- what kind of judgment will you make when you answer? We've had a red phone moment. It was the decision to invade Iraq. And Sen. Clinton gave the wrong answer. George Bush gave the wrong answer. John McCain gave the wrong answer...

And I'll never see the threat of terrorism as a way to scare up votes, because it's a threat that should rally this country around our common enemies. That's the judgment we need at 3 a.m. And that's the judgment that I am running for president to provide.