Today Christopher Hitchens asks in Slate why Obama took so long to disown his pastor. And he comes up with an intriguing theory that to date no-one else has touched: blame Michelle.

Hitchens writes: “I have the distinct feeling that the Obama campaign can’t go on much longer without an answer to the question: ‘Are we getting two for one?'”

The other Obama: If there is a reason why the potential nominee has been keeping what he himself now admits to be very bad company — and if the rest of his character seems to make this improbable — then either he is hiding something and/or it is legitimate to ask him about his partner. I direct your attention to Mrs. Obama’s 1985 thesis at Princeton University. — Christopher Hitchens, Slate

Politics at the pump: We’ve made it clear how we feel about the gas tax holiday being proposed by Sens. McCain and Clinton: It’s a boondoggle. Seemingly every economist in America agrees. But the economists are in the wrong subfield of punditry: they look at the relevant numbers, come to a conclusion, and viola — their moment in the spotlight is over. On the other hand, political analysts and campaign correspondents, unburdened by facts, can and have speculated for weeks about a question like which candidate the gas tax kerfuffle helps more. — MojoBlog

About that crush on Obama: I’m not a disinterested observer, not even pretending to be, but rather an unapologetic believer—I’ve been an Obamaphile from the get-go. My whole life, I’ve never cared about sports, never experienced that intense, emotional, extra-rational rooting interest in any team’s struggle to win the championship. I figure this must be what it feels like to be a hopeful, fretful, stressed-out fan during the Super Bowl or World Series. — Kurt Anderson, NY Mag

The religious right is alive and well: Despite the rumors, conservative Christianity is alive and well in the USA, still flexing its moral muscle. And that’s a good thing. For those who might cheer its demise fail to see that religious vitality is actually strengthened by the creative tension between the left and the right. — USA Today

Meanwhile, McCain gathers strength: John McCain knows it’s going to be tough to make much news while the dramatic Democratic battle rages on, so in recent weeks, he has turned to frenetic rounds of fundraising and a series of themed travels and messages — campaigning among heavily Democratic working-class white and poor black Americans. Along the way, McCain has also thrown the occasional jab at his prospective rivals, more often at Barack Obama than Hillary Clinton, signaling his campaign’s belief that Obama will ultimately be McCain’s opponent. — ABC News