A new Hillary ad hits Obama on the economy.

"Trouble":

Fred Dicker talks to a source "deep roots in Wright's Chicago community and is familiar with his thinking on the matter" who tells him Rev. Wright's recent extravaganza was based on nothing more than revenge:

"After 20 years of loving Barack like he was a member of his own family, for Jeremiah to see Barack saying over and over that he didn't know about Jeremiah's views during those years, that he wasn't familiar with what Jeremiah had said, that he may have missed church on this day or that and didn't hear what Jeremiah said, this is seen by Jeremiah as nonsense and betrayal," said the source, who has deep roots in Wright's Chicago community and is familiar with his thinking on the matter. [snip]

"Jeremiah doesn't care if he derails Obama's candidacy or not . . . He knows what he's doing. Obviously, he's not a dumb man. He knows he's not helping."

The source noted that the roots of Wright's disillusionment with Obama began last year after the Illinois senator unexpectedly yanked him from participating in the public announcement of his presidential campaign. [snip]

The source added, "After 20 years of loving Barack like he is one of their own, after he was embraced by this congregation as a brother in Christ, after his pastor was a father figure to him and gave him credibility in a city he had not grown up in and in a black community that was suspect of someone from Hawaii and Harvard, he thanks him by not allowing him to speak publicly at his announcement last year?

"A lot of people in the church believe they were there for this man when no one else was, and a lot of people don't believe it any more when Obama claims he loves the man who did so much for him," the source added.

If this report is true and if Wright is actively trying to derail Obama's presidential bid out of spite and for revenge, doesn't that seem very "un-Christian" of him?

NBC's "The Today Show"

Andrea Mitchell does the post-denunciation wrap:

MSNBC'S "Morning Joe"

Obama Communications Director Robert Gibbs, on whether McCain or Clinton mention Wright in the future: "I think the most important thing here is what Barack Obama said and did. I think whether others decide to play political games with this time will only tell."

On Obama's timing in denouncing Wright: "I think people that saw what happened on Monday saw somebody repeat and validate said earlier ... and I think that Barack believed that what he said was outrageous and indefensible."

"I think obviously this was a very personal decision for Sen. Obama; this wasn't a political decision," said Gibbs. "What he said, he said from the heart."

Former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card, on which candidate he'd rather run against: "I think I'd take Barack Obama today...Because I think he his not well known, therefore we can give an awful lot of definition to him."

CBS's "The Early Show"

Juan Williams, on the impact of the Wright controversy on Obama's electability: "It goes beyond to the fall election, state parties are already using this."

Bob Schieffer: "There's this uneasiness even among people who really like him...This has really, really hurt him."

ABC's "Good Morning America"

George Stephanopoulos: "Rev. Wright emerged as the single greatest threat to Barack Obama's candidacy."

Talking about the campaign's decision to have Obama speak out against Wright yesterday: "For the first time they actually thought this could prevent Obama from becoming President so they had to act."

He also noted the positive turn this has had for Clinton: "She's been talking about jobs, jobs, jobs in Indiana...I've noticed a real change in the Clinton campaign in the last 48 hours. For the first time since that 11 state losing streak, you're starting to see signs in the campaign that they actually think they can win this thing."

Video here.

(Greg Bobrinskoy contributed to the Morning Update.)

To the North, Canada succumbs to food-buying panic. Across the pond, Britain is hit with its first decline in housing prices in 12 years.

Jay Leno on the Reverend Wright and Obama:

Craig Ferguson on Hillary Clinton and O'Reilly:

New SurveyUSA poll (April 26-28) confirms Clinton's big lead in Kentucky:

Clinton 63 (+1 vs. last poll April 12-14)
Obama 27(+1)

Speaking at University of South Florida, John McCain unveiled his health-care proposal to lower cost and increase coverage. "We want a system of health care in which everyone can afford and acquire the treatment and preventative care they need, and the peace of mind that comes with knowing they are covered," McCain said earlier today.

Stressing the importance of choice over mandates, McCain proposed a system where Americans could buy their health care from anywhere in the country, not just in the state they live.

"Americans need new choices beyond those offered in employment-based coverage. Americans want a system built so that wherever you go and wherever you work, your health plan goes with you," said McCain.

On a conference call with reporters following the event, senior economic advisor Doug Holtz-Eakin former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina talked about some of the details of the program, including the emphasis McCain would put on innovation.

McCain's plan, said Holtz-Eakin, "is a tribute to the best of medical science in America and the power of innovation. The Senator talked about harnessing that power and provide a more responsive system at lower cost."

McCain's plan would also include a $5,000 tax credit for families (and $2,500 for individuals) who choose to leave their company's health-care plan. This, said Fiorina, would "create a national market for health insurance."

"Clinton and Obama would propose the federal government would be in charge of your health care," said Fiorina. "McCain's plan puts the choice in the hands of the individual and the family, which depends on the powers of the free market."

There are some questions, however. McCain supports the idea of reimporting generic drugs from Canada to reduce the cost on seniors, which critics say would eat into the pharamaceutical companies research and development efforts. McCain also stresses the importance of prevention and "healthy living" as where lowering costs begins.

Whether McCain favors legislative efforts to promote "healthy living" remains unclear. Fiorina said there are models the senator is looking at that would offer incentives for consumers to live a healthier lifestyle.

These incentives, said Fiorina, would come in the form of "price breaks to focus people of prevention and wellness."

The campaign timed McCain's speech to the release of this new ad, "Health Care Action":

Here's the big question, and it's one that Barack Obama simply can't answer effectively: what did Reverend Wright say yesterday that was any different from what he's said before? For Obama to be so "outraged and saddened" now, and to suggest that the man he saw yesterday was somehow different from the man we saw in the clips on YouTube simply strains credulity.

It doesn't help matters that Obama seemed significantly less outraged last night by Rev. Wright's tour de force at the National Press Club than he was today, which would lead any thinking person to conclude that today was less an expression of sincerity than one of political expediency.

(UPDATE: Readers suggest I'm being unfair to Obama with this last comment, since Obama said he didn't see clips of Wright's performance until after he held his hastily arranged press conference in North Carolina last night. The flip side to that argument, however, is that 1) Obama's folks should have made time for him to view Wright's performance sometime yesterday, given how important it was, and/or 2) Obama should never have held a press conference unless and until he'd seen exactly what transpired with Wright earlier in the day.

The fact he called a press conference last night specifically to reissue a standard "he doesn't speak for me" kind of comment and then called another one today to communicate that he was "outraged and saddened" was either a strategic blunder or, again, Obama trying to take another at bat after realizing he'd whiffed the first time around.)

Here are the key clips:

SurveyUSA is out with new numbers (April 26-28) showing Clinton gaining on Obama:

Obama 49 (-1 vs. last poll April 19-21)
Clinton 44 (+3)

Overall, Obama's lead in the RCP Average for North Carolina is 10.3%.