TIDBITS FROM ROBERT NOVAK

#1 Clinton loyalists insist that the race may not be over. They say Sen. Clinton is a very "tight" woman with a buck and that she would not be putting up $11 million of her own money if she did not have some plan to win the nomination.

#2 The claims that McCain has a united Republican Party behind him are greatly exaggerated. We find considerable opposition on the right, ranging from economic conservatives (who consider him too green) to evangelicals. The biggest problem is that he does not realize he has a problem.

#3 The third straight Democratic win in a special election in a Republican district -- in Mississippi yesterday following Louisiana and Illinois -- raises the prospect of a tsunami in November against the GOP. Pessimism about McCain reversing this tide against Obama is growing.

#4 In the face of a possible catastrophe, Republicans in Congress are doing nothing to change their brand -- and President Bush is not helping. With the spendthrift farm bill coming up in the House Thursday, the House Republican leadership has informed the GOP "aggies" that they can vote their districts. Bush, in effect, has given them the same signal even while threatening a veto.