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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 latest New York Times/CBS News poll shows Mitt Romney leading President Obama by one point, 47% to 46%. The same poll shows a sharp, nine-point drop in the president's favorability rating since April, and a four-point drop in his approval rating.

* A new Fox News poll, meanwhile, shows Obama leading Romney by four points, 45% to 41%. Oddly, Fox News published a story about the poll results, but managed not to mention the president's lead anywhere in the piece. What a strange oversight.

* What's more, a new NPR poll shows Obama leading Romney by two, 47% to 45%, in 12 key swing states.

* First Lady Michelle Obama launched a new voter-engagement initiative this morning called, "It takes one."

* Speaking of the candidate's spouses, Ann Romney said this morning her husband will continue to refuse requests for his tax returns. She said the Romneys have "given all you people need to know." (Update: There's some debate about whether or not she actually said "you people," and after listening closely several times, I'll concede there's some ambiguity there. Turn up the volume and draw your own conclusions.)

* Karl Rove's American Crossroads is throwing another $8.8 million at the race, launching ads in nine states today defending Romney on criticisms over outsourcing.

* We talked yesterday about Obama's leads shrinking in New Hampshire and Iowa. Today we also see the president's margin slipping in New Mexico, and in Virginia, where Quinnipiac now shows Obama tied with Romney.

* And in the state of Washington, Republican gubernatorial hopeful Rob McKenna was forced to condemn an aide's comments after one of his staffers instructed Asian-American voters to "shut up and speak English." The aide, Kathlyn Ehl, resigned from the campaign yesterday.