Obama To Teachers' Union: I Support Merit Pay
Speaking today before the National Education Association, Barack Obama grabbed directly onto a third rail of education policy with the teachers' unions by endorsing scales of merit pay for teachers, based upon the results they can produce. At the same time, Obama endorsed across-the-board pay raises for teachers as a good thing in and of itself, paired with the increased accountability and incentives for student improvement. "I think there should be ways for us to work with the NEA, with teachers' unions, to figure out a way to measure success," the candidate said to the 9,000-strong crowd in Philadelphia. "I want to work with teachers. I'm not going to do it to you, I'm going to do it with you."

Edwards, Biden and Kucinich Court Steelworkers
John Edwards, Joe Biden and Dennis Kucinich spoke today in Cleveland, before a gathering of 600 activists in the United Steelworkers of America union. The three candidates all gave their takes on how they would work to reverse the loss of manufacturing jobs in America. Edwards touted the union's Blue Green Alliance with the Sierra Club, seeking to promote new jobs in alternative energy, while Biden called for new investments in the country's infrastructure. Kucinich spoke of his family's brief homelessness when he was a child, and the hope that the manufacturing sector brought to them, and called for a comprehensive national industrial policy to protect domestic industry.

Giuliani Will Spend Burgeoning Pocketbook In More States
Rudy Giuliani's top campaign manager said today on a conference call that they will begin devoting more resources to states that do not have the earliest primaries, such as California. Giuliani campaign manager Michael DuHaime also said Giuliani, who is moderate on social issues, would be able to compete against a Democrat in some traditionally blue states. "We're very confident right now that we are in a very, very strong place," DuHaime said.

ABC Looks At New Mexico Marijuana Program Signed By Richardson
ABC News takes look at the New Mexico medical marijuana bill signed by Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson earlier this year, putting the state in conflict with federal law. A key distinction of the New Mexico program: The state itself will be organizing the private cultivation and distribution of the herb.

GOPer Who Debates The Definition Of Rape To Challenge Johnson In South Dakota
Republicans have recruited their first candidate, South Dakota state Rep. Joel Dykstra, to run against Sen. Tim Johnson, who has been absent from the Senate for 7 months while recovering from a brain hemorrhage. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has already begun attacking Dykstra, digging up a quote from last year regarding exceptions to an abortion ban: "I think 'rape and incest' is a buzzword. It's a bit of a throwaway line and not everybody who says that really understands what that means. How are you going to define that?"

Poll: Three-Way Tie In Edwards' Home State Of North Carolina
A new poll from Democratic North Carolina firm Public Policy Polling shows the Demo race in John Edwards' home state turning into a three-way tie. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are both at 27%, while Edwards is at a statistically indistinguishable 26%. On the Republican side, Fred Thompson easily leads the pack with 34%, followed by Rudy Giuliani's 15%.

In New Hampshire, Keough Looking At Run For Governor
Former New Hampshire state Senator Bruce Keough (R) is considering a run against popular Democratic Governor John Lynch in 2008. "He seems to be spending most of his time responding to initiatives driven by outside groups," Keough said about Lynch, "whether it's the national labor movement, the gay rights movement or the abortion rights movement." Keough previously ran for governor in 2002, placing second in a three-way primary, and is currently the state chairman for Mitt Romney's campaign.

AP: Conservatives Link Romney To Marriott Hotels' Porn Sales
The Associated Press has picked up the story of conservatives upset about the apparent lack of leadership by Mitt Romney, who has spoken out against pornography, for not doing more to stop distribution of hardcore movies by Marriott Hotels while on its board. "Marriott is a major pornographer," said Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values, an anti-pornography group based on Ohio. "And even though he may have fought it, everyone on that board is a hypocrite for presenting themselves as family values when their hotels offer 70 different types of hardcore pornography."