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:<\/p>\n
* After MoveOn.org’s online Town Hall Forum this week on the war in Iraq, the group asked members to participate in an online straw poll on which is the best Democratic presidential candidate “to lead the country out of Iraq.” According to the results<\/a>, released yesterday, Barack Obama won the overall vote with 28%, followed closely by John Edwards with 25%. Among MoveOn members who attended House Parties, Edwards won with 25%, followed by Bill Richardson with 21%.<\/p>\n * There’s been considerable speculation of late about Sen. John Warner’s (R-Va.) possible retirement next year, and the rumors grew considerably louder yesterday when the senator reported a first-quarter fundraising total of $500<\/a>. That’s not a typo. “It almost speaks for itself,” said one national Democratic official. “You have to try to raise only $500. You have to tell people not to give you money, and you have to return checks.”<\/p>\n * Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) is already the longest serving senator in American history, but that doesn’t mean he plans to retire anytime soon. “I am not getting ready for any re-election right now,” he said. “I will run in 2012<\/a>, the Lord willing.” Byrd will turn 95 shortly after Election Day 2012.<\/p>\n * Former football player Lynn Swann may have turned out to be an awful gubernatorial candidate, losing badly to Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) last year, but he isn’t necessarily done running for office. Swann told the AP<\/a> that he has been approached about running for Congress from Pennsylvania’s 4th, where freshman Rep. Jason Altmire (D) recently defeated three-term Republican Melissa Hart.<\/p>\n