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:
* Superdelegate announcements have been relatively spare this morning, with only one endorsement I can find: Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) endorsed Obama.
* On a related note, the Obama campaign issued this press item on delegates: “Yesterday, Obama secured the support of 4 superdelegates (Reps. Henry Wexler, Jim McDermott and Howard Berman and Larry Cohen (CWA DNC)), 1 pledged delegate in North Carolina (because of updated vote tallies in the state) and 7 pledged delegates that had previously supported John Edwards. That means that the number for Obama to secure a majority of pledged delegates has gone down from 25 to 17. And the number Obama needs to secure the nomination is 121.5.”
* Democrats pushed back pretty hard against Bush’s “appeasement” talk yesterday, but this afternoon, Obama will reportedly do some pushing of his own: “Obama foreign policy adviser Susan Rice vowed on MSNBC this morning that Obama will respond forcefully today to President Bush’s claim yesterday that Democrats’ willingness to negotiate with hostile foreign powers constitutes ‘appeasement.’ ‘What you’re going to hear is a very vigorous response to what was an outrageous, unprecedented, and divisive attack from President Bush yesterday,’ Rice said.”
* Despite some rumors Wednesday night, John Edwards flatly ruled out the possibility of joining Obama’s ticket as VP.
* Clinton continues to take the high road this week, and indirectly defended Obama yesterday against Bush’s ridiculous smear. Campaigning in South Dakota, Clinton told reporters, “President Bush’s comparison of any Democrat to Nazi appeasers is both offensive and outrageous on the face of it, especially in light of his failures in foreign policy. This is the kind of statement that has no place in any presidential address and certainly to use an important moment like the 60th anniversary celebration of Israel to make a political point seems terribly misplaced. Unfortunately, this is what we’ve come to expect from President Bush.”
* On a related note, Clinton also criticized McCain yesterday for his opposition to the Senate-passed farm bill.
* The Tennessee Republican Party has decided the way to help McCain win is to attack Obama’s wife.
* I actually like the idea of Tom Daschle serving as Obama’s White House Chief of Staff.
* A non-partisan Research 2000 poll, commissioned by Daily Kos, shows Democrats ahead in both of Alaska’s major statewide campaigns this year. Mark Begich leads Ted Stevens in the Senate race by five (48% to 43%), and Ethan Berkowitz leads Don Young by 10 (50% to 40%).
* Speaking of Senate races, a new SurveyUSA poll shows Rep. Tom Udall (D) looking very strong in New Mexico, leading both of his possible Republican rivals by about 25 points.
* And Alan Keyes, after having been rebuffed by the Republican Party and the Constitution Party, has decided to create his own entity, called “America’s Independent Party.” He claims to have groups of supporters getting to work in Texas, California, Florida, New York, and Missouri, though he already fell far short of qualifying for the ballot in Texas. The state required 74,000 signatures; Keyes had 10,000.