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
* In the unlikely event there was any confusion or doubt, Bill Clinton’s office issued a statement today, explaining<\/a>, \u201cPresident Clinton is obviously committed to doing whatever he can and is asked to do to ensure Senator Obama is the next president of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n * The dispute over convention delegates does not appear to have significantly weakened Barack Obama’s standing in Michigan<\/a>, where a new poll from Public Policy Polling (D) shows the Democrat leading John McCain by nine, 48% to 39%.<\/p>\n * Speaking of swing state polls, the Miami Herald polled Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties — Florida’s most populous area — and found Obama leading McCain by a whopping 16 points<\/a>, 46% to 30%. Among Hispanics in South Florida, who have historically voted Republican, Obama leads McCain by five, 40% to 35%.<\/p>\n * Hillary Clinton’s daunting campaign debts continue to pose a daunting challenge for the senator, so Clinton released an online video yesterday asking for her supporters’ assistance<\/a>. Text alongside the video reads: “By helping us pay off our campaign debt, you’re not just helping Hillary elect a Democratic president and grow our majority in Congress. You’re making it possible for her to work as hard as she can on the issues we care about.”<\/p>\n * The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown found that Catholic voters<\/a>, a swing constituency, now “identify as Republicans at a lower rate than at any point since 2000.” * Rasmussen also shows Obama with a narrow lead in Pennsylvania<\/a>, where he leads 46% to 42%. The pollster noted that Obama “has a sizable lead among those voters earning less than $40,000 a year,” a constituency that was allegedly reluctant to back Obama.<\/p>\n * Liz Cheney, a former State Department official who is also the daughter of Vice President Cheney, conceded yesterday that “on the really important issues that face the country<\/a>,” McCain is advocating Bush\/Cheney policies.<\/p>\n * At the Personal Democracy Forum in New York yesterday, McCain aide Mark Soohoo had the unenviable task of defending his boss — a candidate who doesn’t know how to use a computer and doesn’t know what Google is. “John McCain is aware of the Internet,” Soohoo said<\/a>. “This is a man who has a very long history of understanding on a range of issues.”<\/p>\n
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\n* The past couple of elections, New Mexico has been one of the most evenly-divided states in the country, and was one of only two states to switch from “blue” to “red” in 2004. The Obama campaign is anxious to flip it back, and the early evidence looks encouraging — a new Rasmussen poll shows Obama up by eight over McCain in New Mexico<\/a>, 47% to 39%.<\/p>\n