Campaign Chatter

Obama will be in Dayton, Ohio today - He is scheduled for a town hall meeting to be held at the Stiver School for the Arts beginning at 10:00 AM ET. The theme will be a "secure energy future". Read more here. Ohio is a state Obama needs to win and Dayton is one of the cities he will need to carry. I gave a speech there to Ohio county elected officials almost 30 years ago - a nice town.

--------------------

VP Search update - Senator Chris Dodd (Conn) says he has been asked for some information which is part of the vetting process. He recently was tied to favorable loans provided by countrywide mortgage, even though nothing improper has been disclosed. He is the chair of the Senate Banking Committee and was one of the Democratic Senators who opposed the recent FISA legislation that passed. A nice solid guy, but do not expect him to be chosen.

Senator Joe Biden (Del) indicates he has not been approached by the Obama campaign for any information. Another solid and experienced Senator who might help Obama some in the foreign policy arena. However, do not expect him to be chosen either.

If a woman is chosen, it has to be Senator Clinton (NY) as there would be severe negative fallout from her supporters if he bypassed her. I would say she still has to be in serious contention for the slot. However, Howard Wolfson for Clinton strategist and now a Fox commentator says Hillary has not been asked for any information which is part of the vetting process. Read more here.

Otherwise, I like former Senator John Edwards (NC) who was on "Good Morning America" today and Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico who did three morning talk shows today. Read more here.

Former Georgia Senator Sam Nunn and General Wesley Clark are still out there and are solid but neither bring a lot to the ticket.

Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, a former Clinton supporter, remains a possibility.

Stay Tuned

--------------------

Housing rescue bill being discussed in Congress - Rep. Barney Frank (Mass) is touting this bill aimed at helping the housing market. Read more here. Meanwhile, the woes of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue with consideration being given to a government take over. Read more here.

--------------------

Campaign finance report updates - early word is the McCain campaign will report raising 22 million in June and Obama will report 30 million. The Republican spin is they have a total of 97m on hand including the RNC. The Obama campaign is saying their general election budget will be 450m and the McCain campaign is saying their budget will be 400m. Almost 1 billion combined spent on the general election - did anyone say campaign finance reform needed? Read more here.