MCCAIN: AMERICANS SHARE MY ANGER

Senator McCain is acknowledging that he is prone to bouts of anger, but he said they are justified by the sorry state of affairs in Washington. “I get angry when I see a guy named Abramoff that ripped off Native Americans for millions and millions and millions of dollars,” Mr. McCain said at a town hall meeting in Rochester, Mich., yesterday, in response to an audience member’s question about his temper, according to Fox News. “I get angry when I see $233 million of your tax dollars going to a bridge to an island with 50 people on it. … I get angry when I see corruption to the point where we have former members of Congress residing in federal prison. And you know something, the American people are angry too and they’re not going to take it any more. And that’s why they want change. And they’re mad and they’ve lost their temper, you know?”

OBAMA CAMPAIGN MOUNTS VOTER DRIVE

The Obama campaign will launch a 50-state voter registration drive today in New York City. The effort to bring in new voters, with the aim of boosting Democrats’ chances in the general election this November, will begin at Mt. Zion Church in Harlem. After a training session there, volunteers will walk the streets looking to sign up new voters. Senator Obama has the support of the area’s state senator, Bill Perkins, who is one of only a handful of local politicians to go against Senator Clinton in the presidential race. The district’s congressman, Charles Rangel, has been a strong supporter of Mrs. Clinton.

MCCAIN FUND-RAISER IN CITY

Organizers estimated that a fundraiser for Senator McCain in New York yesterday would net the Republican presidential candidate some $7 million, the Washington Post reported. The money will be spread across several organizations, including Mr. McCain’s campaign, the Republican National Committee, and various state committees. Guests included Mayor Giuliani, who endorsed Mr. McCain after ending his own presidential bid, and Senator D’Amato, who previously had supported Senator Thompson’s presidential campaign. Senator Lieberman, who caucuses with the Democratic Party but backs Mr. McCain, also was on the list. Robert Wood Johnson IV, an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune and owner of the Jets, hosted the event.

POLL: OBAMA LEADS MCCAIN AMONG JEWISH VOTERS

A new Gallup poll shows Jewish voters prefer Senator Obama to Senator McCain in the presidential race, 61% to 32%. Senator Clinton did only a bit better than her colleague from Illinois, leading Mr. McCain, 66% to 27%. The results suggested news coverage about Mr. Obama’s ex-pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright Jr., who has been critical of Israel and friendly toward Louis Farrakhan, took little toll on Mr. Obama’s standing with Jews. The poll was based on Jewish voters who took part in Gallup tracking surveys in the month of April.

In a statement, the Republican Jewish Coalition noted that in 2004 the Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Kerry of Massachusetts, took 75% of the Jewish vote, according to exit polls.

OBAMA LAWYER: BUSH FIXING FEC FOR MCCAIN

The top campaign finance lawyer for Senator Obama’s presidential bid, Robert Bauer, is accusing the White House of reshuffling its nominations to the Federal Election Commission to aid Senator McCain. President Bush announced Tuesday that he was dropping the longstanding renomination of David Mason and moving forward with three other nominees. Mr. Mason had expressed public skepticism about the legality of Mr. McCain’s attempt to withdraw from the public financing system despite having relied on matching funds to secure a loan he obtained earlier in the campaign.

“In this one move, the White House ended McCain’s accountability for his use or abuse of the primary public financing system while putting him in position to take money for the general,” Mr. Bauer wrote on his Web log, More Soft Money Hard Law. “For this maneuver to have been arranged for the benefit of Senator McCain, of all people — the John McCain who has regularly, severely criticized the FEC as a ‘corrupt’ agency — is a remarkable turn in his career as a reformer.”