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
* When it comes to helping Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama is putting his money<\/a> where his mouth is: “Senator Barack Obama said on Thursday that he had written a personal check of $2,300 to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, a good-will gesture intended to nudge his top donors to help ease Mrs. Clinton’s campaign debt and help the two Democrats move beyond their rivalry to focus on the fall contest.” Michelle Obama also contributed $2,300.<\/p>\n * More unity<\/a>: “A key hire by the Obama camp: He reportedly signs up senior Hillary policy adviser Neera Tanden, one of her top loyalists, as his new Director of Domestic Policy. Tanden, a fixture on many a Hillary campaign conference call, was a key architect of her health care plan, which was probably the one domestic policy proposal of hers that was most often compared favorably to Obama’s.”<\/p>\n * The unity efforts must be going at least relatively well — Terry McAuliffe told a national television audience this morning, “I love Barack Obama<\/a>.”<\/p>\n * While some recent national polls have shown Obama with a big lead over John McCain nationally, a new Time magazine poll<\/a> shows a much closer race, with Obama enjoying a five-point lead, 43% to 38%. Time added, “When undecided voters leaning towards Obama and McCain are accounted for, the race narrows to a mere 4 percentage points, barely above the poll’s 3.5% margin of error.”<\/p>\n * Given Obama’s height advantage, this<\/a> is generating a surprising amount of attention: “Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama would sit at a table at two of three presidential debates this fall, according to a formal proposal unveiled Thursday, which, perhaps unintentionally, would neutralize Obama’s height advantage. The Commission on Presidential Debates proposed the less formal, more conversational talk-show format for two of three 90-minute debates it’s seeking this fall. The third debate would be a town hall-style session in which the candidates would be free to get up from high stools and walk around the stage.” * Obama’s team is seriously thinking about campaigning in Alaska this year, which would make Obama the first Democratic presidential candidate to appear in Alaska since JFK<\/a>.<\/p>\n * Eric Kleefeld has an item<\/a> on a bunch of new Senate polls, including Dems looking good in Colorado, and New Jersey; struggling in Minnesota; and competitive in Mississippi and Texas.<\/p>\n
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\n* Tennessee probably won’t be one of the Obama campaign’s key targets. A Rasmussen poll now shows him trailing by 15<\/a>. That’s better than the 27-point margin McCain enjoyed in April, but it’s still pretty big.<\/p>\n