At the beginning of the week we asked the question, "Will Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama make any difference?" My guess was that it would, at least a little bit. New polling information from the Washington Post suggests that it did… a little bit. Obama beats John McCain in a new WaPo-ABC News tracking poll by 11 points. Twenty percent of independent voters said that they are more inclined to vote for Obama now that he has Powell's endorsement, and 4 percent said they were less inclined to vote for him now. The numbers, while a positive for Obama, show that Powell's pull isn't quite what it as in late 1995, when 55 percent of voters said a Powell endorsement would have an impact on their vote.

It's never wise to put too much stock one solitary political poll, but the just-released results from a CBS News/NY Times poll are too remarkable not to ignore. This poll has Barack Obama leading John McCain 53 to 39 — a 14 point difference. More respondents had a positive view of the Democratic party than the Republican party, and the majority of them did not care about Obama's past associations (like Bill Ayers) and felt that McCain was focusing too much on attacks and not enough on the issues. While other polls have Obama ahead of McCain, most of them show a tighter race than this one. [NYT]

ABC News and the Washington Post stand accused of purposefully withholding the results of their latest polling, which revealed Barack Obama commands an eight-point lead over John McCain among registered voters. This is interesting, because the media is supposed to have it in the bag for Obama…

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POLLS THAT MEAN LITTLE AT THIS POINT BUT ARE EXCITING ANYWAY "With strong support from women, blacks and younger voters, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the apparent Democratic presidential contender, leads Arizona Sen. John McCain, expected to be the Republican candidate, among likely voters in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to simultaneous Quinnipiac University Swing State polls released today.This is the first time Sen. Obama has led in all three states. No one has been elected President since 1960 without taking two of these three largest swing states in the Electoral College."

Prior to Hillary Clinton leaving the race, there was a lot of talk from her camp that she was in a better position to beat John McCain than Barack Obama, based on the polls. Obama's camp said that after HRC dropped from the race, Democrats would (mostly) come together, giving Obama a bump in the polls that would put him ahead of McCain. Despite my slight worry and skepticism, Obama has indeed received the bump that pundits and Obama reps promised. In Gallup and Rasmussen polls taken after Hillary's concession and endorsement of her opponent, Obama is ahead of McCain by six points. Surely the number will rise and fall over the course of the election, but for now, Obama's support is growing. Among women, he's got a leg up on McCain, and he's polling better with women than John Kerry did in 2004.

Speaking of bumps, people in the know are estimating that Obama will receive a "presumptive nominee" bump in the fundraising arena as well. Some have predicted that he could raise $100 million in June. And he might need to hand some of that over to HRC, who faces the largest campaign debt in history.

• Amy Winehouse has hair from the '60s and drug habits from the '80s. And she also just checked herself into a mental health facility. [MG]

• Proving that it ain't just the white females celebs with the major problems, Heath Ledger was found dead in a NYC apartment owned by Mary-Kate Olsen. Pills were found in the vicinity of the bed. R.I.P. [Jossip]

• Americans are more ready for a black president than a female one blah blah blah Bradley Effect blah blah blah. [LAT]

• For the presidential candidates, "black" equals "poor." [NPR]

• Two reasons why Lil Jon should always keep his sunglasses on. [C&D]

Despite the polls showing Barack Obama in a comfortable lead in New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton has won the state's primary, along with some much-needed momentum. Was it her late-breaking show of emotion or did people just lie when they said they were voting for Obama? The latter strikes me as more plausible, but it could be a combination of the two. Anyway, enjoy Clinton's speech, although, if you haven't seen it, you should wait until after your morning coffee. Check Barack Obama's "Second Place Ain't Bad" speech and the stats from the primary, which John McCain won on the GOP side, after the jump.

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Snapshot from Barack Obama's MTV/Myspace forum yesterday in Iowa, where, according to a recent poll, he's in a statistical dead heat with Hillary Clinton:

Asked via an IM question if he'd be willing to run on a ticket with Clinton and if he'd bring Republicans into his cabinet, Obama answered the second part first, saying, yes, he would absolutely consider having some Republicans in his Cabinet, noting that "Democrats don't have a monopoly on wisdom." As for the Clinton question, Obama said forcefully that it's too early to say who he might pick as his vice president, but stressed that "I am not running for vice president." What if the position was offered, Cillizza wondered? "No," said Obama. "Because, as I said, I'm not running for vice president, I'm running for president of the United States." Coming more than 20 minutes into the forum, the latter received the first sustained applause of the afternoon.