Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* The exodus from John McCain’s staff continued late last night, when Mary Kate Johnson, the finance director for the senator’s presidential campaign, joined the stampede. As Chris Cillizza noted, “With Johnson gone, the vast majority of McCain’s senior staff has left the campaign.” Apparently, the resignations aren’t quite done yet, either.
* Rudy Giuliani responded to questions about David Vitter’s apparent connection to prostitutes yesterday, calling the scandal a “personal issue,” though he admitted that “some people disappoint you.” One assumes it’s the prostitution angle that’s disappointing, given that Giuliani is hardly in a position to complain about another’s adultery.
* The Des Moines Register reports that John Strong, an unemployed senior citizen and Army veteran, caught Barack Obama’s attention yesterday when Strong “pleaded for the United States to withdraw time limits on educational benefits given to soldiers.” Obama called this an “outstanding idea,” and said he’d consider introducing legislation on this as early as next week.
* Bill Richardson is fending off criticism for having used a homophobic slur on the radio with Don Imus a year ago. Richardson apologized for his use of the word “maricon,” which generally translates to the word Ann Coulter used to describe John Edwards.
* And in slightly related news, perhaps Richardson can explain himself in more detail next month when the Human Rights Campaign hosts the first-ever debate for presidential candidates focused solely on LGBT issues. Obama, Clinton, Edwards, and Dodd have already confirmed their participation in the event, scheduled for August 9 in Los Angeles.