Democratic Campaign Chatter 6-18-2008

Obama leads McCain in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida - new Quinnipac poll shows Obama is ahead in all three of these important swing states. In Ohio it is 48 - 42, PA - 52 - 40, and Fla. - 47 - 43. It is way early, but this is good news for the Obama campaign for they lost to Clinton in Ohio and Pennsylvania and did not campaign in Florida.. Remember, it was Clinton who said she would do better than Obama against McCain in these states. The poll was conducted June 9 - 16. Read more here.

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Tim Russert Wake visitors include President George W. Bush - Yesterday, thousands attended his wake at St. Albans School in Washington D.C. Russert had become one of us as we repeatedly invited him into our living rooms every Sunday morning as we watch "Meet the Press" Read more here and watch MSNBC video Today, the afternoon memorial service will be televised from the Kennedy Center at 4 PM ET - more details here.

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Clinton to appear with Obama at a fundraiser in D.C. next Thursday - More unity promotion stuff - Hillary asking her top financial supporters to attend this meeting at the Mayflower Hotel. Read more here.

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Meanwhile, the wartime spending bill remains stalled in congress - G.I. benefits, extended unemployment benefits and flood relief are all part of this bill. The Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate have had difficulty in reaching agreement. Read more here.

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President Bush joins McCain in calling for off-shore drilling for oil - The Republicans must see this as an issue to push. Federal regulations have kept companies from drilling here as well as in the Arctic due to environmental concerns. Bush has indicated he will submit legislation on this to Congress so this will become a heated battle on Capitol Hill. The voters are too smart to believe this is an answer to $4 gallon gas prices. Read more here.

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Yesterday, David Plouffe, Obama campaign manager and Ellen Marcom, founder of Emily's List met in Chicago. She was a huge backer of Clinton who was outraged when another woman's rights group NARAL endorsed Obama over Clinton. It is a positive sign to see these two meeting for Emily's List has many members and is able to offer a candidate a tremendous amount of support. Read more here.

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The war on terrorism also was debated by the candidates in the press yesterday - Republican McCain continued with the Democrats and Obama soft on terrorism mantra. Obama answered with how the Republican George W. Bush administration dropped the ball and did not pursue Al Queda in Afghanistan and Pakistan in their zest to invade Iraq. Today, the patriotic fog that developed after the horrific events on 9/11 has lifted and voters now see the misguided decisions made by the Bush administration. It is good that Obama is quickly pointing this out and not allowing the Republicans to continue with the "Republicans can keep your family safe" theme. Read more here.