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Friday's campaign round-up

<p>Today's installment of campaign-related news items that won't necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to

Today's installment of campaign-related news items that won't necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* Fresh off his well-received convention speech, former President Bill Clinton will hit the campaign trail next week on President Obama's behalf, appearing in Ohio and Florida.

* Bill Clinton will also reportedly be "a frequent presence" between now Election Day, with a particular emphasis on the Midwest.

* Sen. Claire McCaskill (D), eager to claim the center in her Missouri re-election bid, has a new ad touting National Journal rankings putting her 50th out of 100 on the ideological spectrum.

* On a related note, Rep. Todd Akin, McCaskill's right-wing challenger, had one of his ads pulled from a local NBC affiliate because his campaign failed to pay its bill. The Republican claims this wasn't the result of financial trouble, but rather, "shifting schedules."

* One of the driving messages of Paul Ryan's new stump speech is complaining about the Democratic Party platform, which excluded then included a reference to "God." The laser-like focus on the economy is a thing of the past.

* The Young Guns Action Fund, run by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's (R) former aides, is launching a new round of attack ads targeting Mike McIntyre (D) in North Carolina, John Tierney in Massachusetts, and Bill Enyart in Illinois.

* The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, meanwhile, released new independent expenditure TV ads yesterday, targeting Republicans in eight competitive districts.

* Swing-state voters should expect to see an advertising deluge with no historical parallel: "Federal candidates and their supporters are gearing up to unleash up to $3 billion worth of advertising and other expenditures over the next nine weeks."