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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:

* Apparently Fox News is on the anti-Republican polling scandal that's been denounced on Fox News: the network's new national poll shows President Obama leading Mitt Romney by five, 48% to 43%.

* After the "ladylike" developments yesterday, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) told msnbc this morning that her challenger, Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) "makes Michele Bachmann look like a hippie."

* On a related note, NRSC Chairman John Cornyn (R-Texas) said yesterday that as far as he's concerned, the U.S. Senate race in Missouri "is not a winnable race" for Republicans.

* In New Hampshire, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll shows Obama leading Romney by seven, 51% to 44%. The same poll shows Maggie Hassan (D) with a narrow lead over Ovide Lamontagne (R) in the state's gubernatorial race, 47% to 45%.

* In North Carolina, the NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll shows Obama maintaining a narrow lead over Romney, 48% to 46%.

* In Nevada, which Obama won with relative ease four years ago, the NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll shows the president ahead by only two points, 49% to 47%. The same poll shows Sen. Dean Heller (R) leading in his re-election bid by six points.

* In Virginia, where most recent polls show Obama leading by a healthy margin, a new Suffolk poll shows the president up by only two, 46% to 44%. The same poll shows Virginia's closely-watched U.S. Senate race between Tim Kaine and George Allen tied at 44% each.

* In Indiana, where Republicans are clearly concerned about the Senate race, a Howey/DePauw poll shows Rep. Joe Donnelly (D) inching past Richard Mourdock (R), 40% to 38%. The same poll found Romney cruising past Obama in the Hoosier state by double digits.

* And in Minnesota, a new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll shows Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) cruising to re-election with a 29-point lead over her Republican challenger, Kurt Bills (thanks to reader R.B. for the tip).