Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Barbour snuck into Iowa - Martinez ad: 'Don't be fooled' - Friday standings: Rendell up, Murkowski down - Lanny Davis undercuts 42 - Angle backs out of debate - Dart could run in Chicago
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2010 05:53:48 -0400 (EDT)

By Alexander Burns (@aburnspolitico, [email-masked] )

2012 SIREN - BARBOUR IN IOWA - POLITICO's Jonathan Martin reports: “Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour slipped into Iowa last month to raise money for the RGA at a previously undisclosed fundraiser. Barbour held a breakfast at a downtown hotel in Des Moines on Aug. 11 that drew a group of top business leaders and political insiders, said two Iowa Republicans. He didn't stay long in the state, only a few hours, and made no public appearances. The quick trip was Barbour's first to Iowa this year. The RGA is helping to boost Terry Branstad's gubernatorial bid.”

GOV RACE EXCLUSIVE - COURAGE OF HER CONVICTIONS: Prosecutor Susana Martinez, the Republican nominee for governor of New Mexico, is up with a new television ad charging that Democrats will “say anything” to stop her campaign. “Remember this attack ad for [Democratic Lt. Gov. Diane] Denish, with this teacher?” Martinez asks, as an image of the teacher from Denish's commercial appears on screen. “There's a reason she did it.” A new photo pops up, showing a man's mug shot: “Here's her husband. We convicted him. He's in prison now for 23 years. Kidnapping. The ad looks different now, doesn't it?” Both Denish's campaign and the DGA have been hitting Martinez with negative ads about her policy views and record as Dona Ana County district attorney. “I don't know what they'll do next, but don't be fooled,” Martinez says in her spot. “This election, it's a clear choice: Four more years of the same or bold change.” Watch the ad here. http://bit.ly/c2EWx5

As Lee Fisher gets Bill Clinton, Jon Ralston goes nuclear on Twitter and Sarah Palin crosses the Delaware, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily cheat sheet for the 2010 midterm elections.

FRIDAY STANDINGS - ARE YOU BETTER OFF NOW? There are 53 days left before Election Day and the last primary of the season - in Hawaii - takes place one week from tomorrow. Here's Morning Score's every-Friday take on how some of the top candidates and campaign players should answer the question: Are you better off now than you were one week ago?

YES: (1) Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, whose unfiltered, pugilistic speech at the Democrats' fall kickoff rally upstaged DNC Chairman Tim Kaine and proved why Rendell is still one of the best showmen in the business; (2) Christine O'Donnell, the Delaware Senate candidate whose last-minute endorsement from Sarah Palin gives her at least a small glimmer of hope in next week's Republican primary; (3) The Republican Party of Guam, according to reports. http://bit.ly/atbTFZ

NO: (1) Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who's getting strong signals from Washington that it's time to stand down, as she considers a write-in campaign after losing the GOP primary; (2) Christine O'Donnell, whose personal financial problems made her an easy target for Rep. Mike Castle's negative ads, and who continues to be viewed as a toxic general election candidate; (3) The White House's $50 billion infrastructure plan, which already has battleground Dems - including Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet and Pennsylvania Rep. Mark Critz - looking for distance.

DRIVING THE WEEKEND - PALIN CROSSES THE DELAWARE - Her Facebook post yesterday: “Please support Christine O'Donnell .... She will support efforts for America's energy security, patient-centered health care reform, cutting government waste, and letting the private sector thrive and prosper! We can't afford 'more of the same' in Washington. Christine will help usher in the real change we need to get America on the right track.” http://bit.ly/c0qoi8

NO FURY LIKE A RALSTON SCORNED: Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle just picked a fight with the most powerful political journalist in her state, pulling out of a debate on Jon Ralston's “Face to Face” television show just hours after Ralston announced it. Then, Angle's team said that she would participate in a different “debate” on Sept. 23. “You cannot make this stuff up, folks. These folks are so ham-handed,” Ralston blasted in an e-mail. “Truth: There will be no 'free-flowing debate' [on Sept. 23] because Reid won't even be there. He already taped a Q and A for the group and will be in DC. Angle will be there but will be alone answering questions from a moderator. Not a debate.” Ralston was even blunter on his Twitter feed: “Remember 'Scanners' where people's heads exploded. That's how I feel right now. This is a Senate race, not a competition for h.s. president.” http://bit.ly/bRCIEc

MURKOWSKI'S TIMELINE: The New York Times confirms that the Alaska senator may very well buck her party and run for Senate off the GOP ballot line, starting as soon as next week. Murkowski ally Andrew Halcro even spoke about a campaign in definite terms, telling the paper: “It's going to be the kind of campaign you should have seen in the primary. … It's going to be no-holds-barred, pedal-to-the-metal stuff.” http://nyti.ms/dnHqgs

THIS WEEKEND - LOYALTY TOUR - From the Lee Fisher for Senate campaign: “Former President Bill Clinton will join Lee Fisher this Sunday, September 12, 2010 at 6:00 pm at a get-out-the-vote rally in Cincinnati, two weeks before early voting begins.” Clinton also aided Fisher during the Democratic primary campaign, helping him cement his status as the frontrunner for his party's nomination. http://politi.co/biJrPY

COUNTERPOINT - ELSWHERE IN CLINTON-LAND: Former White House counsel Lanny Davis is sticking up for Portman ahead of his former boss's trip to Ohio, saying in a statement shared with Score that Portman had a “reputation among many Democrats as a person who could remain committed to conservative principles while still being open to new ideas.” More from the not-quite-an-endorsement: “I greatly respect his integrity, open-mindedness, intellectual honesty, and most important in these polarized times, his proven ability to work with Democrats and his commitment to get America back into the 'solutions business,' turning the page on today's hyper-partisan, divisive politics.”

THE OTHER PRESIDENTIAL SKED - “Obama plans rallies in 4 states,” POLITICO's Kendra Marr reports - “President Obama is returning the campaign trail in the fall with four rallies planned in swing states: Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Nevada. He'll also call into a 'tele-town hall' to talk to voters at thousands of events across the country. … On Sept. 28, he'll headline an event in Madison, Wis., focusing on 'young people and the change that matters to them.' On Oct. 10, he'll be in Philadelphia, followed by a tele-town hall on Oct. 12 to encourage supporters to commit to vote. Then Obama will travel to rallies in Ohio on Oct. 17 and in Las Vegas on Oct. 22.” http://politi.co/cFRts9

BUT - TWO MAKES A TREND: First, Sen. Russ Feingold missed President Obama's Labor Day visit to Milwaukee, going to a parade in his hometown of Janesville instead. Now, Greg Sargent reports, Feingold's planning to go zero for two when Obama returns later this month: “Feingold won't be there to campaign alongside the president because he has votes scheduled for that day. 'The Senate is scheduled to be in session, and there are going to be votes,' the spokesman, John Kraus, told me. … 'Senator Feingold doesn't miss votes to do politicking.'” http://bit.ly/8YPY7p

COUNTDOWN TO SEPT. 14 - “Anticipated GOP Senate debate fireworks fizzle,” writes the Union-Leader's Dan Tuohy, summing up the WMUR event: “No political fireworks. No name-calling. No referee needed.” http://bit.ly/dCFEgS

AND - PREEMPTIVE STRIKE: New Hampshire Democrats are dropping campaign mail against GOP congressional candidate Sean Mahoney, even though he still has a competitive primary ahead of him. The Union-Leader reports: “[T]wo full-color mailers hit GOP homes attacking Republican 1st District U.S. House hopeful Sean Mahoney. One claims that while Mahoney says he opposed the Wall Street bailout, he actually profited from it. The other claims that Mahoney drove a Massachusetts firm he owned, Folio Exhibits, into bankruptcy. Both urge Republicans to 'vote “no” on Sean Mahoney.'” The former RNC member is competing with Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta and contractor Rich Ashooh for the chance to challenge Democratic Rep. Carol Shea-Porter. http://bit.ly/bIcDXx

AD WATCH - THE HERO CARD - Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the Democratic nominee for governor of Wisconsin, is reminding voters in a new television ad of the incident that first put him on the national map: His 2009 attempt to stop an assault on a woman outside the state fair. Barrett's commercial shows footage of a local police official announcing: “Last night, in an attempt to assist a grandmother and a one-year-old granddaughter in need, Mayor Barrett was viciously attacked by a desperate individual.” Kris Barrett, the mayor's wife, appears on screen to explain why the incident should matter to voters: “There's people with the kind of character who don't think about circumstances, about what might happen to them. They just respond. … I know, and our kids know, that their dad will always stand up for them. And he will always stand up for Wisconsin.” Watch the ad here. http://bit.ly/deoQE7

NOT HELPING HIMSELF - “Bishop steered scholarships to family”' - POLITICO's John Bresnahan reports: “Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) awarded three scholarships from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation to his stepdaughter and wife's niece between 2003 and 2005, according to records from the non-profit group. Bishop is the second Democrat found to have funneled Congressional Black Caucus Foundation scholarship funds to relatives, threatening to turn the program into a larger political problem for the party.” http://politi.co/aNL7Hn

CHET CULVER PRE-MORTEM: Des Moines Register columnist Kathie Obradovich has penned a deflating profile of Democratic Gov. Chet Culver, writing that it was “a cowed candidate who launched his first post-Labor Day campaign ad on Wednesday: meek, humble, almost pitiable. He said he fears Iowans are so wrapped up in their own problems that they won't give him a fair hearing. … Culver says he wants to 'hit the restart button' and make sure Iowans understand that he feels their pain. Maybe he'll get some sympathy in return.” http://bit.ly/9bgmlF

CHICAGO UPDATE - DART'S DODGE: If Rahm Emanuel runs for mayor of Chicago, he may have to contend with a formidable opponent in Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. The local hero's office issued a statement pointedly not ruling out a run, and the AP reports that at an event Thursday, “Dart said there are some things he's done as sheriff that could be 'transferred' to the mayor's job. Dart pointed to things like his decision to halt evictions until a process could be implemented that protected people who shouldn't have been evicted. He also discussed some initiatives that he says could break the cycle of crime.” http://bit.ly/9emo7Y and http://apne.ws/bLKSvE

JUST KIDDING! Former Kansas congressional candidate Wink Hartman ended his brief flirtation with a run on the Libertarian Party line, announcing that he won't challenge the man who beat him for the GOP nomination. That's a dodged bullet for Republican Mike Pompeo, who's competing with Democratic state Rep. Raj Goyle for the 4th District House seat. http://bit.ly/acguAw

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I'm in the political fight of my life. I don't think I need to be prognosticating on a race down the road a piece.” - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, candidly explaining why he won't talk about the Chicago mayor's race. http://bit.ly/cNCfiN

Go to Morning Score Now >> http://www.politico.com/morningscore

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