On this day in 1859 Oregon is admitted as the 33rd state in the Union. On to today's top stories:

"Policy Shifts Likely As Candidates Share Similar Views" (Alex Frangos, Wall Street Journal) This is just the kind of article John McCain doesn't need right now, since it basically says that domestically he's very similar to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. All three support action to combat climate change, embryonic stem cell research, the estate tax, and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. With a Democratic Congress next year, it's likely these positions will be put into action, no matter who is president.

"House GOP Leadership Endorses McCain" (Jonathan Weisman, Washington Post) Whatever was said behind closed doors between the presumptive nominee and the minority leaders of Congress, it worked. John Boehner, Roy Blunt and Adam Putnam -- the top three GOP House members -- gave McCain their support. It bodes well not just for the general election but also for the day when a President McCain is battling a Democratic Congress. (Then again, see the above item.)

"Clinton Team Seeks to Calm Turmoil" (Monica Langley and Amy Chozick, Wall Street Journal) The latest in a series of stories beginning to leak revealing the many schisms that have developed in the Clinton campaign.

"Obama Takes Hit on Economic Policy" (Abdon Pallasch, Chicago Sun-Times) An interesting alliance sprang up yesterday when the three remaining candidates (save Mike Huckabee) got into an economic tiff. It began when Obama attacked both McCain and Clinton for the country's economic woes. That in turn led McCain to accuse Obama of stealing Clinton's economic ideas, comments which the Clinton team circulated.

"Huckabee Hangs In -- But Why?" (Steven Thomma, McClatchy Newspapers) It's the $64,000-question. Even as his campaign has released the numbers showing Huckabee is mathematically eliminated from the nomination, McCain has been coy about asking his fellow Republican to withdraw. Two possible advantages for McCain could be competition and media attention -- the former helping McCain hone his message to conservatives, the latter to keep the media focused on the race.

"Clinton Intensifies Her Attacks on New Front-Runner Obama" (Michael Muskal, Los Angeles Times) It's usually the candidate who's behind who wants to debate more. So it is with Hillary Clinton, whose campaign is attacking Obama for dodging more debates. The idea of course is that Clinton hopes to expose what her campaign sees as an empty message emanating from the rhetorically-gifted Obama.

"Sharpton: Don't Seat Fla., Mich." (Associated Press) The Clinton campaign's effort to get Michigan and Florida delegates seated at the convention is causing a rift in the civil-right community. On the one side is Al Sharpton, who says that to change the rules mid-game is a disservice to the primary system, while on the other side is NAACP chairman Julian Bond, who says the DNC's rule disenfranchise minority voters.

"Clinton Ex-Campaign Manager Backs Obama" (Phillip Elliott, Associated Press) Make that Bill's campaign manager from 1992, David Wilhelm, who says that Obama has the ability to become a 65% candidate, as opposed to the 51% candidate that has marked the Clinton-Bush years.

"McCain Won't Cede Texas to Huckabee, Aide Says" (Todd Gillman, Dallas Morning News) McCain has the backing of the Texas political establishment, but Huckabee has the support of the state's evangelical community. It could lead to an interesting contest in March, assuming Huckabee stays in long enough.

"Enthusiasm Scale Tips to Dems" (Susan Page, USA Today) One of the major challenges facing McCain in the general election is to overcome Democrats' enthusiasm edge among voters. In state after state, more Democrats, in some cases many more, have voted than Republicans, leading to the speculation that unless McCain can fire up his supporters, November could be cold and bleak for the GOP.

Get today's other election stories at RCP's Politics and Election page.