The standings of the Republican White House hopefuls has shifted, according to a new CNN poll.
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson has skidded into sixth place in a new CNN/WMUR poll of likely Republican voters in New Hampshire, edged out by ex-Libertarian and anti-war congressman Ron Paul and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney topped the poll, widening a lead he has held for months in neighboring New Hampshire, while Arizona Sen. John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani were running close in the second and third spots.
The CNN/WMUR poll was conducted by the University of New Hampshire between Wednesday and Sunday. Pollsters surveyed 404 Republican voters for the survey, which had a sampling error of 5 percentage points.
Mrs. Obama will be joining the popular talk show next month.
NEW YORK (CNN) - Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, will be a guest host on the television talk show "The View" next month.
Mrs. Obama will co-host the hour-long show on December 5th in New York, press secretary Katie McCormick confirmed to CNN Monday
The program’s regular panel includes: Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, and Sherri Shepherd.
- CNN Political Assignment Editor Katy Byron
Thompson is running two of his his ads in Iowa and one in South Carolina.
COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) - In a fundraising e-mail blast sent out Monday morning, Fred Thompson's presidential campaign asked supporters for help in getting more TV ads on the air in two key early states.
Thompson's ad "No Amnesty" is on the air in Iowa and "Consistent Conservative" is running in both Iowa and South Carolina. Thompson says in the e-mail: "To build even more momentum though, I'm going to need the resources to further get my message out."
The email says Thompson needs more money to stay on TV in Iowa and South Carolina, two states with conservative voting blocs crucial to Thompson's bid.
However, Thompson's e-mail pitch is more straightforward than most: he asks supporters to cover the cost of an entire 30-second ad, and outlines just how much the campaign says those ads will cost in different media markets.
"You can pay for a 30-second ad for my campaign in Sioux City, Iowa simply by contributing $70 to my campaign, and $250 will buy an ad in Greenville, South Carolina," the e-mail reads.
"If you and your friends and family can combine to give $850 to my campaign, I can buy a prime-time advertisement in Charleston, South Carolina."
The e-mail makes no mention of New Hampshire, where Thompson is not running ads and has struggled to gain traction in the polls. On ABC this weekend, Thompson acknowledged, "I don't know what the situation is going to be in New Hampshire. I haven't done as well there."
- CNN South Carolina Producer Peter Hamby
WASHINGTON (CNN) – New Jersey Rep. Mike Ferguson announced Monday he would not seek reelection in 2009, the 18th Republican this year to announce plans to either leave office during or retire at the close of the 110th Congress.
Ferguson, who was first elected in 2000, narrowly won re-election last year beating Democrat Linda Stender by a 49 percent to 48 percent margin.
Ferguson said he decided to leave Congress so that he could spend more time with his family.
“Being a representative in Congress is more meaningful than I had imagined, and I know that now is the right time to step away from public life to focus more on family life while our children are still young,” he said in a statement released by his congressional office.
- CNN Political Editor Mark Preston
Rudy Giuliani has released a new ad focused on his time as mayor of New York City.
NEW YORK (CNN) – Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani released a new campaign ad Monday touting himself as the best leader and most “tested” of the candidates hoping to win the race to the White House.
“I’ve been tested in a way in which the American people can look to me,” Giuliani says in the ad. “They’re not going to find perfection, but they’re going to find somebody who has dealt with crisis almost on a regular basis and has had results. And in many cases, exceptional results.”
In the ad, Giuliani promotes his resume, pointing out that he served as a U.S. Attorney and as an official in the Justice Department. Although he doesn’t mention 9/11 directly, the GOP presidential hopeful highlights that he was the mayor of New York during a “time of crisis.”
The ad will run in New Hampshire and Boston starting Monday.
- CNN Associate Producer Lauren Kornreich
Townsend will be joining the private sector.
WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Bush's top adviser on homeland security is stepping down after 4½ years on the job, the White House said Monday.
Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend turned in her letter of resignation to President Bush on November 6 and will be looking for new opportunities outside government.
"I'm going to just take another job doing 20-hour days, but this time in the private sector," said Townsend, who has spent 25 years working in law enforcement and government.
Bush praised Townsend's work Monday.
"Fran has always provided wise counsel on how to best protect the American people from the threat of terrorism," Bush said in a statement. "We are safer today because of her leadership."
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