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
* No one cared, even a little, but Mitt Romney won<\/a> the Maine Republican caucuses over the weekend with about 52% support. John McCain was second with 22%, while Ron Paul, who thought he might have an outside shot at a victory in Maine, came in third with 19%.<\/p>\n * The “temperament” issue continues to linger<\/a>: “Mitt Romney’s campaign is blasting out automated phone calls that feature a recording of former senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania raising questions about John McCain’s ‘temperament’ – a hot-button issue that Romney himself has assiduously avoided. Santorum said in an interview yesterday that he wrote the script himself, and the campaign deferred to him and approved it. ‘I think that to me it is a relevant issue for people to consider,’ he said. ‘I think it’s one without question that factors into his ability to govern, to form coalitions, and to get things done.'”<\/p>\n * There was quite a bit of talk yesterday about a possible “push poll” launched by the Clinton campaign against Obama in California. It looks like it may not have been <\/a>a push poll after all.<\/p>\n * Mitt Romney’s poised to have a bad day tomorrow, but he at least claims that he’s sticking around<\/a> past this week. “Looking at the numbers of delegates and the numbers of states, I don’t think somebody is going to walk away with the needed number, so I think this thing goes on well beyond Tuesday,” he said over the weekend.<\/p>\n * Barack Obama attended a campaign event in Boise, Idaho, on Saturday, drawing about 15,000 people<\/a> — not to mention thousands more who couldn’t get in when the arena hit its capacity. For context, consider that the total number of Democrats who participated in Idaho’s presidential caucuses in 2004 was about one-third the number who showed up for this rally. * Romney wants Huckabee to get out of the way, and Huckabee wants Romney to also get out of the way<\/a>: “White House hopeful Mike Huckabee denied the Republican presidential race had narrowed to two candidates, Mitt Romney and John McCain, telling journalists at an Alabama campaign stop Saturday that ‘if anybody ought to be quitting, it’s Mitt Romney.’ ‘John McCain hasn’t suggested I step aside. So if Mitt Romney’s going to engage me, which he has, then I feel like the engagement is on,’ said the former Arkansas governor.”<\/p>\n * The New York Daily News endorsed Clinton<\/a> over the weekend: “Clinton’s time is here now. Her greater seasoning and instinct for taking command of the executive branch – from the Defense and State departments to homeland security and transportation agencies that just might find money for New York – are decided advantages. So, too, her projection of strength. She is the right choice for the Democrats.”<\/p>\n * A surprisingly competitive Democratic primary in New Jersey<\/a>?<\/p>\n
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\n* Clinton is tweaking her message<\/a>: “Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton debuted an almost entirely new stump speech at a raucous rally with 5,000 people in Los Angeles on Saturday morning, meanwhile, replacing her old, policy-heavy remarks with a new overarching message \u2013 ‘the America I see’ \u2013 and new hits on two of her opponents, Mr. Obama and the Republican front-runner, Senator John McCain of Arizona.”<\/p>\n