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Monday'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:

* A new national Washington Post/ABC News poll shows Mitt Romney taking the lead, 47% to 46%, over President Obama among likely voters. The latest CNN poll, meanwhile, shows Obama leading nationally by two points, 49% to 47%.

* The Obama campaign's latest ad focuses on Medicare, reinforcing the perception that Medicare has become a central focus of the 2012 race.

* Will Ron Paul offer a full-fledged Romney endorsement? "It wouldn't be my speech," Paul said. "That would undo everything I've done in the last 30 years. I don't fully endorse him for president."

* In Pennsylvania, the latest Philadelphia Inquirer poll shows Obama ahead by a surprisingly large lead over Romney, 51% to 42%.

* In Missouri's closely-watched U.S. Senate race, the latest Mason-Dixon poll shows Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) with a nine-point lead over Rep. Todd Akin (R), 50% to 41%.

* Latino Decisions has unveiled a new tracking poll, and the first edition shows Obama leading Romney among Latino voters by nearly 40 points, 65% to 26%.

* The NRSC narrowly outraised the DSCC in July, $6 million to $5.84 million.

* Conspiracy theorist/media personality Donald Trump will apparently no longer appear at the Republican National Convention.

* And in Massachusetts, for reasons that are unclear, Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) said last week he doesn't believe Elizabeth Warren (D) should be "talking or speaking or commenting" about his voting record in the Senate. Brown does realize what a campaign is for, doesn't he?