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:
* As if there weren’t enough big states moving their presidential primaries up to early February, Pennsylvania lawmakers reportedly considering a plan to do the same thing. The likely date would be Feb. 5, the date that other big states — California, Michigan, Illinois and Florida — are eyeing for their 2008 primaries.
* Long-time religious right heavyweight Phyllis Schlafly told a New Hampshire crowd yesterday that she doesn’t consider Mitt Romney, John McCain, or Rudy Giuliani “acceptable” for the GOP nomination.
* Following this week’s dust-up over David Geffen’s comments about Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama is reportedly trying to lower the temperature a bit. He told an audience in Houston last night that the nation will remain at a standstill “if we continue to engage in small and divisive politics and tit-for-tat.” Obama also told the NYT that he wasn’t aware of the competing press statements as they were flying, and he told his staff that he doesn’t want his team “to be a party to these kinds of distractions because I want to make sure that we’re spending time talking about issues.”
* In other Obama news, the Federal Election Commission appears ready to approve the senator’s request to raise private funds for the 2008 presidential general election while keeping open the option of returning that money should he later decide to accept public funding. The FEC will make a final ruling on the matter at a meeting next week.
* Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) filed paperwork this week in preparation for a 2009 race to be the next mayor of New York City.
* And for HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson’s GOP presidential campaign is off to a slow start, at least with regards to fundraising. His Forward America political action committee, launched Oct. 25, took in $3,500 from four donors and had spent $841 on operating expenses by year’s end.