May
29 McClellan on "Today"

That, and other news, in today's Political Panorama.

Scott McClellan told Meredith Viera on "Today" Thursday that there is a "larger purpose' to his new book --- ending the partisan warfare in Washington, even though he understands that the initial reaction is so focused on his seeming about-face on the Bush adminstration. "I had this great hope that we were going to come to Washington and change it," he says. "...Then we got to Washington, and I think we got caught up in playing the Washington game the way it is played today."

Murdoch for Obama?: Rupert Murdoch recently contributed to John McCain's presidential campaign, but that doesn't mean that he's endorsing him. In fact, he says that he has yet to endorse anyone in the race, and still wants to meet Barack Obama, whom he calls a "phenomenon." He predicts a big Democratic victory this year, and that Obama can overcome issues of race. "I want to be convinced that Obama is the real thing, that can really carry through. I'm open to that."

As for McCain, he "has been in Congress a long time, and you have to make a lot of compromises. So what's he really stand for?... I think he has a lot of problems." Video via Daily Dish.

Martin for Hillary: In the "where were you before?" department: Ricky Martin endorses Hillary Clinton. But it does come before Puerto Rico.

"Recount" Cited: Ambassador Terry Scumaker, a longtime supporter of Hillary Clinton, cites the movie "Recount" in a letter to the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee.

DreamWorks' Project: DreamWorks Animation held its official launch of the DreamWorks Animation Academy at Inner-City Arts in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday. The company provided a $500,000 grant to expand the org's art education program, which supports at risk youth. DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg was joined by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at the ceremony, along with a group of students from El Sereno Elementary School. A short animated film that they created while in a 14-week class provided by Inner-City Arts was premiered. ---Kurtis Lee