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 Ames Straw Poll is scheduled for tomorrow in Iowa, but the event will almost certainly be a mismatch. With Giuliani and McCain sidestepping the event, Romney is poised to win easily, thank in large part to an unrivaled operation: “[A] statewide corps of 60 ‘super-volunteers,’ who have been paid between $500 and $1,000 per month to talk him up; a fleet of buses; more than $2 million in television ads in Iowa; a sleek direct-mail campaign; and a consultant who has been paid nearly $200,000 to direct Romney’s straw poll production, which will include barbecue billed as the best in the state.”
* If Ames goes as expected, we probably won’t have Tommy Thompson in the hunt for the GOP nomination much longer. His campaign manager said the former Wisconsin governor must finish first or second in this weekend’s Ames Straw Poll for him to remain in the presidential race. “If you’re a SOTT (Supporter of Tommy Thompson), then this is probably the most important e-mail you have ever received from his campaign,” Steve Grubbs wrote. “Without your help and support this week, Tommy Thompson’s campaign cannot go on.”
* At the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Las Vegas yesterday, Kiara Ashanti, a Republican blogger, confronted Hillary Clinton with charges that she supports “socialized medicine,” which he insisted would hurt the black community. “Oh man, I can’t answer that in 30 seconds, that was a string of misrepresentations,” Clinton responded. “I have never advocated socialized medicine, and I hope all the journalists hear that. That has been a right-wing attack on me for 15 years.” The two also traded barbs about Medicare — which he also said was “socialized medicine” — but the crowd seemed to side with Clinton in the end.
* The DCCC hopes to use the August recess to its advantage: “The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has begun running radio ads in 12 districts held by vulnerable Republicans, targeting the GOP lawmakers on their support for President Bush’s policy in Iraq. The new DCCC radio ads are running in the districts of GOP Reps. Christopher Shays (Conn.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Joe Knollenberg (Mich.), Mike Ferguson (N.J.), Heather Wilson (N.M.), Jon Porter (Nev.), Jim Walsh (N.Y.), Deborah Pryce (Ohio), Phil English (Pa.), Jim Gerlach (Pa.), Tim Murphy (Pa.) and Dave Reichert (Wash.).”
* And the DNC, hoping to take advantage of the discontent among Republicans about the party’s weak presidential field, has launched a new project. It’s called, “I’m With None of the Above.” As the site explains, “Voters are hungry for change and real leadership on the issues they care about. None of the Above is the only Republican candidate who represents the values and priorities of the American people. He is the only Republican offering real solutions to the challenges facing our country.”