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:
* In the latest twist in the ongoing saga over what Democrats can and should do about Florida and Michigan, there’s growing interest in a cheap alternative for a re-vote: “Some prominent Democrats are converging on the prospect of settling the dispute over Florida and Michigan delegates through mail-in voting to re-do those states’ presidential nominating contests. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, speaking on the Sunday morning talk shows, called mail-in voting — in which every registered Democrat, including those overseas, receives a ballot by mail — ‘a very good process.’ But Dean said it is up to the states and both campaigns to decide how to proceed.”
* Who’d pay for the re-vote primaries? Govs. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) and Ed Rendell (D-Pa.) announced yesterday that they would be willing to “raise half the $30 million it would take to run new contests in those two states.” Both Corzine and Rendell are major Clinton backers, but are also known as two of the party’s most successful fundraisers.
* This won’t help the “third term” problem: “John McCain is getting much more than President Bush’s endorsement and fundraising help for his campaign. He’s getting Bush’s staff. It’s no secret that Steve Schmidt, Bush’s attack dog in the 2004 election, and Mark McKinnon, the president’s media strategist, are performing similar functions for McCain now. But other big-name Bushies are lining up to boost McCain, too.” Among them are Karl Rove, Ken Mehlman, Dan Bartlett, and Sara Taylor.
* What’s McCain going to do while the Democratic contest continues? Raise a lot of money.
* Talk of Mitt Romney joining the McCain ticket continues to make the rounds. Both Fred Barnes and Bill Kristol have touted the idea in recent days.
* Bob Novak reported that Republicans are worried about a Florida do-over primary: “Republicans fear a revote would be won by Sen. Barack Obama, who they consider a tougher opponent of Sen. John McCain than Clinton.”
* Al Sharpton, meanwhile, is threatening to sue the DNC if Florida’s delegates, chosen during a primary boycotted by the candidates and not sanctioned by the DNC, end up getting seated at the convention.
* Last week, reports out of Canada caused a stir when it appeared Hillary Clinton’s campaign assured Canadian officials that her anti-NAFTA talk was just political posturing. On Friday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office said Clinton “never gave Canada any secret assurances about the future of NAFTA.”
* A new Rasmussen poll shows Obama ahead by 14 points in tomorrow’s Mississippi primary.
* Not only did Puerto Rico change its Democratic contest from a caucus to a primary, but it also moved itself up on the nominating calendar to June 1. While Puerto Rico was expected to be the very last contest, the move means Montana and South Dakota will go last, holding their primaries on June 3.
* Gallup’s daily tracking poll has been all over the place lately — Clinton and Obama have traded national leads four times in three weeks — but the latest shows Obama inching back into the lead.
* And finally, remember the young girl sleeping at the beginning of Clinton’s “3 a.m.” ad? It turns out, the footage was shot eight years ago, and the little girl is now 17-year-old Casey Knowles — an Obama precinct captain in Washington state. Knowles, who’ll turn 18 next month, told CNN, “I think it would be wonderful if Barack Obama and I could get together and do a counter-ad.”