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
* I don’t imagine anyone could have expected this<\/a>: “On Monday, a group of Paul supporters helped raised more than $4.07 million in one day — approaching what the campaign raised in the entire last quarter — through a Web site called ThisNovember5th.com, a reference to the day the British commemorate the thwarted [Guy Fawkes] bombing.” The total is the best single day of fundraising for any Republican presidential hopeful this year.<\/p>\n * In the latest national CNN poll<\/a>, Hillary Clinton still enjoys a huge lead over the rest of the Democratic field, but it’s not quite as huge as it was a couple of weeks ago. Clinton now enjoys 44% support (down from 51%), Barack Obama is second with 25% (up from 21%), and John Edwards is third with 14%. No other Dem topped 5%.<\/p>\n * In the same CNN poll<\/a>, Rudy Giuliani is still on top, but his national lead has dropped back to single digits. The former mayor is first with 28% support, followed by Fred Thompson with 19%, John McCain with 16%, and Mitt Romney with 11%. Mike Huckabee is a close fifth with 10%, and no other Republican topped 5%.<\/p>\n * Just as an aside, just to show how much more competitive the GOP race is, the gap between first place and second place among the Dems is 19%. The gap between first place and fifth<\/i> place among the Republicans is 18%.<\/p>\n * Mitt Romney got a big boost yesterday when he earned the endorsement of Paul Weyrich<\/a>, a religious right pioneer who helped create the Moral Majority.<\/p>\n * It’s Election Day in several parts of the country, including Kentucky and Virginia. Perhaps the biggest race in Kentucky’s gubernatorial contest, where conservative activists are engaged in some of the predictable dirty tricks<\/a> cowards pull when they’re losing.<\/p>\n * It’s safe to say the right-wing media has chosen its favorite in the Republican presidential race. Not only does Fox News go out of its way to help Giuliani, but the Washington Times, the Moonie-owned conservative paper in DC, featured a banner-headline<\/a> — above the fold on the front page — to report on a routine campaign stop Giuliani made in New Hampshire. * Fred Thompson backer Philip Martin, who apparently had some run-ins with the law 25 years ago, resigned<\/a> as a campaign fundraiser yesterday. “I have decided to resign my position as chair of ‘First Day Founders’ of ‘The Friends of Fred Thompson,'” Martin said in a statement. “The focus of this campaign should be on Fred Thompson’s positions on the issues and his outstanding leadership ability, not on mistakes I made some 24 years ago. I deeply regret any embarrassment this has caused.”<\/p>\n * Joe Biden said he has no interest in being Hillary Clinton’s running mate. “If I don’t win the nomination, the likely nominee is going to be Hillary,” Biden told CNN<\/a>, “and I love Bill Clinton, but can you imagine being vice president?” The former president “is such a dominant and powerful and positive force that I think the question is if you’re going to stay in public life do you want to be a contributor … I’m not looking for a ceremonial post,” Biden said.<\/p>\n * I haven’t heard too much from the presidential candidates about the Writers Guild strike, but a statement from Barack Obama landed in my inbox yesterday: “I stand with the writers. The Guild’s demand is a test of whether corporate media corporations are going to give writers a fair share of the wealth their work creates or continue concentrating profits in the hands of their executives. I urge the producers to work with the writers so that everyone can get back to work.”<\/p>\n
\n
\n* Speaking of Giuliani, the former mayor praised his old friend and partner, Bernie Kerik, yesterday during an interview with the AP. “Sure, there were issues [with Kerik], but if I have the same degree of success and failure as president of the United States, this country will be in great shape,” Giuliani said<\/a>.<\/p>\n