TRAIL MIX: Ralph Nader Picks A Running Mate

By: Emily Vaughan New on the presidential scene for this election cycle, Independent Party candidate Ralph Nader was the first to pick a running mate, says Dana Milbank at washingtonpost.com's The Trail. Nader's man, Matt Gonzalez, doesn't have much of a political background, he lost elections for San Francisco district attorney and San Francisco mayor.

Barack Obama shattered fundraising records in February: his campaign suggested they could hit $50 million in the 29 short days, say Christi Parsons and Rick Pearson at the Chicago Tribune's The Swamp. Hillary Clinton also had a great month, raising a reported $35 million, pulling the Democratic total to close to $85 million.

John McCain defended his "100 years" comment about the Iraq war, claiming it has been distorted, says Mark Memmott at USA Today's On Politics. McCain says that he wasn't talking about the length of fighting, but about "American presence after the war." Another boost for the Republican candidate: he got Secretary of State James Baker's endorsement.

Another superdelegate is feeling the pressure to switch alliances from Clinton to Obama following Rep. John Lewis' flip this week. Rep. Diane Watson, who represents much of Los Angeles who went strongly for Obama, has been receiving mail trying to persuade her to change, but she insists she is staying with her girl, say Don Frederick and Andrew Malcolm at the L.A. Times' Top of the Ticket.

Clinton showed that she could take orders, scribbling down some dishes at a campaign stop at a Bob Evans in southern Ohio, says Katharine Q.Seelye at the New York Times' The Caucus. This wasn't the New York senator's first time waiting tables. She worked a family restaurant in high school in Park Ridge, Ill. and at a Chinese restaurant while at Yale.

In a presidential race that has been a lot about words, McCain may soon be under fire for some of his. The Arizona senator, notorious for breaking with his party to join with Democrats has been using a political slur aimed at the party, says Laura Meckler at The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire.
McCain's references to the "Democrat debate" and "Democrat friends" ruffles feathers with Democrats who know it to be the "Democratic party." Use of "Democrat," it can be argued, separates the liberal party from the notion of being democratic.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked in her weekly press conference about what she would do to unify the Democratic Party should the March 4 primaries not produce a definitive winner. Pelosi, a superdelegate and Chair of the convention, said she would not intervene, pledging to remain neutral within the party, says Carolyn Lochhead at SfGate.com's Politics Blog. Pelosi also predicted that the race wouldn't go to the convention and expressed her hopes that Democrats would unify behind either candidate.