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
* Barack Obama, appearing on “Meet the Press” yesterday, talked a bit about his search for a running mate<\/a>. “I think the most important thing, from my perspective, is somebody who can help me govern,” Obama said. “I want somebody who I’m compatible with, who I can work with, who has a shared vision, who certainly complements me, in the sense that they provide a knowledge base or an area of expertise that can be useful. Because we’re going to have a lot of problems and a lot of work to do…. I’m not interested in a vice president who I just send off to go to funerals.”<\/p>\n * Speaking of the VP search, Sen. Jack Reed (D) of Rhode Island, who accompanied Obama to Iraq and Afghanistan last week, seemed to withdraw from consideration<\/a> the other day. “I am interested in serving in the United States Senate and that interest trumps any consideration of serving as a vice president,” Reed said. He was asked, “If you were offered this position you would decline, is that correct?” Reed answered, “Yeah, but I frankly I don’t expect to be offered the position.”<\/p>\n * Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) hasn’t endorsed Obama, but he’s coming closer. On CBS’s “Face the Nation” yesterday, Hagel said<\/a>, “Each candidate has strengths and weaknesses, and experience does matter. But what matters more in my opinion is character and judgment.” <\/p>\n * CNN<\/a>: “The rabbi who supervises Jerusalem’s Western Wall condemned the removal of a prayer note purportedly written by Sen. Barack Obama, saying the action was ‘sacrilegious.’ The U.S. presidential candidate visited the holy site early Thursday and placed a note in the cracks of the wall — a custom of visitors. It was subsequently removed from the wall, according to the Israeli newspaper, Ma’ariv, which printed what it said were the contents of the note.” * Rasmussen’s tracking poll shows Obama getting a post-trip bounce last week, but it started to fade<\/a> over the weekend.<\/p>\n * Rasmussen shows Obama leading McCain in California<\/a> by 12, 50% to 38%.<\/p>\n * Research 2000 shows McCain leading Obama in South Carolina<\/a> by 13, 53% to 40%.<\/p>\n * Rasmussen shows Obama leading McCain in Pennsylvania<\/a> by six, 51% to 45%.<\/p>\n * Rasmussen shows Obama leading McCain in New Hampshire<\/a> by six, 47% to 41%.<\/p>\n * Research 2000 shows McCain leading Obama in North Dakota<\/a> by just three, 45% to 42%.<\/p>\n * Research 2000 shows McCain leading Obama in Mississippi<\/a> by nine, 51% to 42%.<\/p>\n
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\n* Post-trip bounce? The latest Gallup tracking poll shows Obama leading McCain by nine<\/a>, 49% to 40% — Obama’s biggest lead in the poll to date.<\/p>\n