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
* John Edwards’ campaign has released probably the hardest-hitting spot of the Democratic campaign, issuing a YouTube clip<\/a> this morning accusing Hillary Clinton of engaging in the “politics of parsing.”<\/p>\n * Speaking of Edwards, the former senator won the endorsement of the New Hampshire chapter of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), but under unusual circumstances<\/a>. The chapter’s executive board endorsed Barack Obama last week, following a 7-to-5 vote, but met again this week, with more board members present. Edwards won the second vote, 9 to 8.<\/p>\n * The DSCC really<\/i> wanted Rep. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) to consider running for New Mexico’s open Senate seat, but as recently as last week, Udall said he wasn’t interested. As of yesterday, that may no longer be the case. Udall has reportedly told party leaders that he’s giving the race another look<\/a>. If he runs, he’ll be considered the automatic frontrunner.<\/p>\n * Bill Richardson picked up a high-profile endorsement yesterday when former Chrysler Corp. Chairman Lee Iacocca<\/a> threw his support to the New Mexico governor. “Unlike others on the stump, he’s offering bold plans, not just pandering talk,” Iacocca said Thursday in a post on his personal blog titled “Bill Richardson is my guy.” After noting some of Richardson’s policy positions, Iacocca, a former Bush supporter, added, “I also just plain like the guy.”<\/p>\n * It appears that comedian Stephen Colbert’s one-state presidential campaign came to an abrupt halt yesterday when the South Carolina Democratic Party rejected his application<\/a> for a spot on the primary ballot. The state party’s executive council voted 13 to 3 in opposition to Colbert’s bid. * Wired<\/a>: “If Texas congressman Ron Paul is elected president in 2008, he may be the first leader of the free world put into power with the help of a global network of hacked PCs spewing spam, according to computer-security researchers who’ve analyzed a recent flurry of e-mail supporting the long-shot Republican candidate. ‘This is clearly a criminal act in support of a campaign, which has been committed with or without their knowledge,’ says Gary Warner, the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s director of research in computer forensics.”<\/p>\n * Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) endorsed<\/a> Giuliani yesterday. Andy Barr, Al Franken’s campaign manager, responded<\/a>, “So the Senator who didn’t think Halliburton’s war profiteering was worth investigating is endorsing the candidate who wanted to put Bernie Kerik in charge of Homeland Security. Makes sense to us!”<\/p>\n * Just how crazy is Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo), best known for leaving threatening<\/a> voice-mail messages for some of his Republican constituents? So crazy that the Colorado Republican Party has decided not to endorse<\/a> his re-election bid.<\/p>\n * Unsure how to stop former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner’s (D) Senate bid, some conservatives hope to lure<\/a> former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson into the race. How sad.<\/p>\n
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\n* After trading a couple of shots earlier this week with Rudy Giuliani, Joe Biden sought to keep the fires burning with another salvo<\/a>. Luis Navarro, Biden’s campaign manager, sent this to reporters: “Rudy Giuliani seems to be increasingly worried that Joe Biden is questioning his lack of leadership and his use of 9\/11 for his own political purposes. This criticism is grounded in reality: there are numerous examples of Mr. Giuliani using 9\/11 as a substitute for real experience and real answers to important topics.” Navarro added, “In the spirit of Halloween, Rudy, if the dress fits, wear it.”<\/p>\n