Daily Tidbits: August 24, 2008

• Ted Kennedy hopes to speak at Democratic Convention, health permitting.
• USA Today/Gallup poll, which had earlier given McCain a 4-point lead among likely voters, shows a 7-point swing in favor of Obama, giving him a 48-45% lead among likely voters. Among registered voters, last month Obama held a 3 point lead and now his lead is 4 points. So it appears most of the change is in Gallup’s model for likely voters.
• Politico: Obama steps up the anti-McCain rhetoric and tone at an Eau Claire, Wisconsin barbeque event.
• Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) says this about the selection of Biden: “Joe Biden is the right partner for Barack Obama. His many years of distinguished service to America, his seasoned judgment and his vast experience in foreign policy and national security will match up well with the unique challenges of the 21st century. An Obama-Biden ticket is a very impressive and strong team. Biden’s selection is good news for Obama and America.”
• NY Times poll of Democratic delegates, taken before the selection of Biden, shows Hillary’s delegates have coalesced around Obama and only a small minority of them remain hold outs.
• CBS slams AP’s stridently partisan DC Bureau Chief, Ron Fournier, for his opinionated wire story criticizing Obama’s selection of Biden that masqueraded as a traditional “just the facts” AP wire story.
• New WaPo/ABC national poll shows Obama’s lead holding steady since July among likely voters, 49-45%. Voters cite the economy as by far the most critical issue, and substantially favor Obama’s leadership in that area.
• Frank Rich says it’s time to relaunch Obama Campaign 2.0, to evolve from Change We Can Believe In to a more pugnacious message. It’s exactly what the campaign is doing, as evidenced by the tough, populist response to McCain’s “Multi-McMansion” confusion and its choice of Biden, who will be a tough attack dog on the trail.

• MSNBC/AP report echoes Rich – selection of Biden reflects campaigns refocus with a more pugnacious edge.
• Maureen Dowd shines light on the McCain’s pathetic use of his POW experience as a POW Card — both a get out of jail free card, and a card to evoke moral outrage when faced with any criticism. He’s become Giuliani, where every sentence contains a noun, a verb and POW.
• Andrew Sullivan calls Team McCain’s recent reliance on the POW Card as a defense to his Multi-McMansions confusion as “clinical”, noting in disbelief, “He’s responding to middle class economic anxiety by referring to the Hanoi Hilton?”
• Boston Globe: Biden offers a raw, outspoken complement to Obama.
• NY Times: Obama’s selection was a very personal decision.
• WaPo: For Biden, another comeback.
• NY Times offers a profile of Biden’s career in public life.