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
* AP<\/a>: “Four Democratic candidates have withdrawn from Michigan’s Jan. 15 presidential primary, leaving what amounts to a beauty contest for front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton…. Barack Obama, John Edwards and Bill Richardson filed paperwork Tuesday, the deadline to withdraw from the ballot, said Kelly Chesney, spokeswoman for the Michigan Secretary of State’s office. A fourth candidate, Joe Biden, said in a statement that he was bypassing the primary.” Hillary Clinton will not compete in the primary, but her campaign said, “We don’t think it’s necessary to remove ourselves from the ballot.”<\/p>\n * Speaking of Clinton, the New York senator unveiled<\/a> “the second biggest domestic policy idea of her Democratic presidential campaign today, proposing to spend $20 billion to $25 billion a year to create 401(k)-style retirement accounts for all Americans and provide federal matching money of up to $1,000 to middle-income people.” Clinton would pay for the program by freezing the estate tax at its 2009 level of $7 million per couple.<\/p>\n * Chris Dodd called for reforming<\/a> the absurd bankruptcy bill passed by the last Congress. I don’t imagine Joe Biden is going to care for that, but I’m glad to see someone emphasizing the issue.<\/p>\n * Former Rep. Mike Sodrel (R-Ind.) will face Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.) next year, in a rematch of the 2006 race. And the 2004 race. And the 2002 race. Yes, this will be the fourth<\/i> consecutive cycle<\/a> Sodrel and Hill have gone head-to-head. For the record, Sodrel lost in 2002, won in 2004, and lost again in 2006.<\/p>\n * In Idaho, Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) will apparently stick around for a while, but Republicans hoping to replace him are already stepping up. Lt. Governor Jim Risch (R), a leading candidate to replace Craig after he said he would step down in September, announced his candidacy<\/a> yesterday. Risch is now considered the front-runner for the GOP nod, and will likely face former Rep. Larry LaRocco (D).<\/p>\n