Today on the presidential campaign trail

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., helps to organize a photo with the staff at Troutman's Bar-B-Q during a campaign stop in Concord, N.C. Monday, April 28, 2008. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

IN THE HEADLINES

Obama says he's outraged by former pastor's comments, saddened by spectacle ... Obama says Clinton, McCain pandering with their gas tax holiday proposals ... McCain wants to shift health insurance from employers to marketplace ... Clinton picks up prized endorsement in North Carolina ... Kentucky Rep. Ben Chandler endorses Obama ... Heated presidential campaign increasingly souring Democrats on rival candidates

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Obama outraged by former pastor's comments

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) -- Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday he was outraged by the latest divisive comments from his former pastor and rejected the notion that he secretly agrees with him.

Obama is seeking to tamp down the growing fury over the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and his incendiary remarks that threaten to undermine his campaign at a tough time. The Illinois senator is coming off a loss in Pennsylvania to rival Hillary Rodham Clinton and trying to win over white working-class voters in Indiana and North Carolina in next Tuesday's primaries.

"I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened over the spectacle that we saw yesterday," Obama said at a news conference.

After weeks of staying out of the public eye while critics lambasted his sermons, Wright made three public appearances in four days to defend himself. The former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago has been combative, providing colorful commentary and feeding the story Obama had hoped was dying down.

Obama stated flatly that he doesn't share the views of the man who officiated at his wedding, baptized his two daughters and had been his pastor for 20 years. The title of Obama's second book, "The Audacity of Hope," came from a Wright sermon.

"What became clear to me is that he was presenting a world view that contradicts who I am and what I stand for," Obama said.

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Obama says rivals pandering on gas tax

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) -- Democrat Barack Obama dismissed his rivals' calls for a national gas tax holiday as a political ploy that won't help consumers. Hillary Rodham Clinton said his stance shows he's out of touch with the economic realities ordinary citizens face.

Clinton and Republican John McCain are calling for a holiday on collecting the federal gas tax "to get them through an election," Obama said at a rally. "The easiest thing in the world for a politician to do is tell you exactly what you want to hear."

Clinton, who toured a manufacturing company in Indianapolis, said many people in Indiana would benefit from a gas tax holiday.

"That might not mean much to my opponent, but I think it means a lot to people who are struggling here, people who commute a long way to work, farmers and truckers," Clinton said. She has called for a windfall tax on oil companies to pay for a gas tax holiday.

With his comments, Obama continued a running dispute over whether ending collection of the gas tax is the quickest and best way to help consumers.

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McCain seeks tax credit for health care

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Republican John McCain wants to change how people get their health insurance, shifting away from job-based coverage to an open market where people can choose from competing policies.

McCain said Tuesday he would offer families a $5,000 tax credit to help buy insurance policies. Everyone would get the credit, whether he or she keeps a policy through an employer or shops for a new one.

"You simply choose the insurance provider that suits you best," McCain said in a speech Tuesday at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute. "The health plan you chose would be as good as any that an employer could choose for you. It would be yours and your family's health care plan, and yours to keep."

Advisers called the speech a major policy address though McCain has talked about the same ideas for several months.

Still missing: The total cost of the plan and an estimate of how many people it would help. An adviser said specifics will come later.

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N.C. governor endorses Clinton

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Gov. Mike Easley endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton Tuesday, boosting her presidential bid a week before North Carolina's May 6 primary.

Appearing onstage with Clinton and his wife, Mary, the two-term Democrat declared the New York senator "gets it."

"It's time for somebody to be in the White House who understands the challenges we face in this country," Easley said.

Easley is term-limited and will leave office early next year. Both Democrats vying for the party's nomination to replace him have endorsed Obama, whom polls show with a substantial lead over Clinton in the state.

Easley is the second North Carolina superdelegate to endorse Clinton. Obama has the backing of six of the state's 17 superdelegates.

Clinton also collected an endorsement from Democratic Rep. Ike Skelton of Missouri, who praised "her support in rural America, her commitment to national security and her dedication to our men and women in uniform."

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Ky. congressman throws support behind Obama

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Rep. Ben Chandler endorsed fellow Democrat Barack Obama for their party's presidential nomination.

Chandler told a group of Obama supporters that he was swayed by the Illinois senator's message of "change and hope." The congressman said he's impressed by Obama's ideas and his "quiet strength."

The endorsement gives Obama the support of Kentucky's two Democratic congressmen -- who represent the state's most urban areas -- leading into the state's May 20 primary. Chandler represents a central Kentucky district that includes Lexington.

The Chandler name is one of the most famous in Kentucky politics. Ben Chandler's grandfather, A.B. "Happy" Chandler, was twice elected governor, served in the U.S. Senate and was commissioner of baseball.

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Heated campaign souring Democrats on rival candidates

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic Party members increasingly dislike the presidential contender they are not supporting in the bruising nomination fight between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, an Associated Press-Yahoo News survey and exit polls of voters show.

That is raising questions about how faithful some will be by the November general election.

In the AP-Yahoo poll -- which has tracked the same 2,000 people since November -- Obama supporters with negative views of the New York senator have grown from 35 percent in November to 44 percent this month, including one-quarter with very unfavorable feelings.

As for Clinton supporters, those with unfavorable views of Obama have grown from 26 percent to 42 percent during this same period -- including a doubling to 20 percent of those with very negative opinions.

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DAILY TRACK

Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are statistically tied nationally in the Democratic presidential race, according to the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update.

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THE DELEGATE BREAKDOWN

Barack Obama: 1728.5

Hillary Rodham Clinton: 1595.5

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THE DEMOCRATS

Hillary Rodham Clinton toured a factory and held meetings in Indiana. Barack Obama met voters and played hoops with the University of North Carolina basketball team in North Carolina.

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THE REPUBLICANS

John McCain gave a speech on health care in Tampa, Fla.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"Now is the time for us not to get distracted. Now is the time for us to pull together. And that's what we've been doing in this campaign. And there was a sense that that did not matter to Reverend Wright. What mattered was him commanding center stage." -- Barack Obama.

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STAT OF THE DAY:

Forty-four percent of the Democratic-leaning respondents in an AP-Ipsos poll said the protracted Democratic presidential primary will hurt their party's chances in November; more supporters of Barack Obama than backers of Hillary Rodham Clinton said they had that fear.

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Compiled by Ann Sanner.