FIRST LADY TO HIT CAMPAIGN TRAIL
First Lady Michelle Obama will jump into the midterm political fray in a big way next month, stumping in six states and attending fundraisers for Democratic candidates, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in California.
Also among those Obama will campaign for during the Oct. 13-27 swing is Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold, who passed up a chance to appear with President Obama on Labor Day in Milwaukee. Other stops will be in New York, Illinois, Colorado and Washington state.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Michelle Obama is "a popular 'ask' on the campaign trail, and I think she will go out and make a forceful and positive case" for the administration's achievements.
ROMNEY LEADS EARLY GOP FIELD
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, right, is the early frontrunner among potential Republican candidates for president in 2012, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll.
The survey asked 369 Republicans or Republican-leaning independents out of a larger sample in interviews last week whom they favored among seven potential primary candidates.
Romney led with 25 percent, followed by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, 18 percent; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, tied at 16 percent; Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, 6 percent; Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, 4 percent, and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, 2 percent.
NEWS SERVICES
