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Thursday'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:

* The perception is that the Romney campaign has overflowing piles of cash, but the New York Times reports that the Republican campaign's finances "have been significantly less robust than recent headlines would suggest."

* Looking for cover on Medicare, the Romney campaign unveiled this new spot today featuring Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). For the record, Rubio is hardly an ideal defender -- he supports ending Medicare and replacing it with a voucher scheme, which the American mainstream strongly rejects.

* In Wisconsin, a Marquette University Law School poll shows President Obama with a commanding, 14-point lead over Mutt Romney, 54% to 40%. The same poll shows Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D) taking the lead in Wisconsin's U.S. Senate race, leading Tommy Thompson (R), 50% to 41%.

* A new Fox News poll shows Obama leading Romney in Ohio by seven, 49% to 42%. The same poll shows Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) leading Josh Mandell (R), 47% to 40%,

* Fox News also shows Obama leading Romney in Virginia by seven, 50% to 43%.

* In Florida, the Fox News poll shows Obama up by six over Romney, 49% to 43%. In the Senate race, incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson (D) leads Rep. Connie Mack IV (R), 49% to 35%.

* In Michigan, a CNN poll shows Obama up by eight, 52% to 44%, while a Detroit News survey gives Obama a 14-point lead in the state.

* In Virginia's closely-watched U.S. Senate race, three new polls show Tim Kaine (D) pulling ahead of George Allen (R). Fox News shows Kaine up by four, the Washington Post puts Kaine's lead at eight, and Quinnipiac/New York Times/CBS News has Kaine ahead by seven.

* And in Massachusetts, Sen. Scott Brown (R), who was reluctant to endorse Romney's presidential campaign yesterday, has seen several recent polls showing him trailing Elizabeth Warren, but a new poll by UMass Lowell and the Boston Herald shows him up by four, 49% to 45%.