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:
* A reporter asked John McCain whether he’d consider ending his presidential campaign in light of his sagging poll numbers and subpar fundraising totals. “That’s ridiculous,” McCain said. “Why in the world would I want to do that? It would be nuts.” McCain noted that the first primary contests are a full six months away and said voters won’t start paying close attention until the fall. “I don’t know why I would even remotely consider such a thing in the month of June or July,” he said. Sometimes, once those questions start, they’re hard to stop.
* Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) is apparently a little sensitive about his position on Bush’s immigration bill: “Republican presidential candidate Sam Brownback yesterday voted both for and against the immigration bill, explaining that he wanted to show his support for an overhaul but not President Bush’s legislation. When voting began on whether to advance the measure that would legalize millions of unlawful immigrants, the Kansas senator voted ‘yes.’ About 10 minutes later, Brownback switched his vote to ‘no.'”
* The Hill: “The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and a ramped-up draft movement are upping the pressure on former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D) to enter the race against vulnerable Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) as she pulls far ahead in polling. The DSCC yesterday sent out a release that showed Shaheen, who repeatedly has said she has not made a decision about entering the race, leading Sununu by a whopping 28 percentage points.”
* Politico: “Democrats are preparing to accuse more than a dozen vulnerable Republican House members of not supporting veterans in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s first issue ad buy of this election cycle. The DCCC will launch the campaign of e-mails, radio ads and ‘robocalls’ in at least 14 GOP-held House districts next week, according to Democratic officials.”
* And MSNBC notes a Mason-Dixon poll showing that Hillary Clinton “is the only major presidential candidate — either Democrat and Republican — for whom a majority of likely general election voters say they would not consider voting. In addition, she’s the only candidate who registers with a net-unfavorable rating.” I find this curious, in part because I’ve seen several national polls showing Clinton with majority support in hypothetical head-to-head match-ups with Republicans, but nevertheless, it speaks to Clinton’s number one hurdle during the primary process.