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By Alexander Burns (@aburnspolitico, aburns@politico.com)


HAPPENING NOW - CROSSROADS BLITZES: The conservative behemoth American Crossroads, fresh off reporting $32 million in fundraising to date, is dropping some $2.2 million on attack ads in half a dozen key Senate races this week. In one ad starting today, American Crossroads goes on offense against Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher with $260,000 worth of commercials, targeting the Democrat in Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, Youngstown and Lima for his record on employment. The spot shows a man driving in car, looking into his rear- and side-view mirrors and seeing - Lee Fisher. "Where will Lee Fisher take our economy? Just look behind you," the narrator says. "Fisher served as Gov. Strickland's top official on job creation, yet Ohio has lost almost $400,000 jobs." The group's putting $235,000 into ads linking Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway to John Kerry, Barbara Boxer and Barack Obama, in Evansville, Paducah, Nashville and Bowling Green. Watch the Ohio ad here http://bit.ly/bxN5CK ; and the Kentucky ad here http://bit.ly/cfyzNS


MORE - Other buys - some of them previously reported - include $482,000 against Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, in Chicago, Springfield and St. Louis. A week-long Crossroads GPS campaign against Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak will cost $226,000 and run in Philadelphia only. On Tuesday, Crossroads started airing $320,000 worth of ads against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and $643,000 in buys against New Hampshire Rep. Paul Hodes. See the Illinois ad here http://bit.ly/bbpBJ7 ; the Pennsylvania ad here http://bit.ly/cKHFNN ; the Nevada ad here http://bit.ly/bf67OB ; and the New Hampshire ad here: http://bit.ly/dru7r2


GOV RACE PREVIEW - THE NEW BAILOUT BOB: The Democratic Governors Association is going up today with air support for Maryland Gov. and DGA Vice Chairman Martin O'Malley, funding a commercial that attacks Republican nominee Bob Ehrlich as a tool of "big banks and millionaires." "Four years ago, Bob Ehrlich got fired as governor of Maryland," the ad reminds viewers, continuing: "For good reason. First, he protected tax loopholes for giant cable companies, then he let utilities jack up our rates 72 percent. And for the last four years, he worked as a hired gun for big corporations - even a bank that took billions from a taxpayer-funded bailout." The narrator ties it all together, concluding: "Ehrlich sides with corporate executives again and again and again." The commercial is airing on broadcast television in the Baltimore market and on broadcast and cable in D.C. Watch it here. http://bit.ly/cfhxlm


As Michael Bloomberg gets on board, Idaho gets closer and Lisa Murkowski faces another setback, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily cheat sheet for the 2010 midterm elections.


WRAPPING UP AUGUST - THE MISSING LINK: The RNC raised $8 million in August and ended the month with $4.7 million on hand. That brings the total monthly receipts for all three Republican federal committees to $20.7 million, with a cash-on-hand total of $54.8 million. Democrats brought in $26.6 million last month and started September with $75.4 million in the bank. Both the RNC and the DNC took out substantial lines of credit.


NEXT WAVE - TODAY - From the White House guidance: "In the evening, the President will deliver remarks at an event for the DSCC/DCCC at the Roosevelt Hotel. ... Later, the President will deliver remarks at a dinner for the DSCC/DCCC at the Roosevelt Hotel." And: "In the morning, the Vice President will travel to Boston, Massachusetts. At 12:00 PM, he will attend an event for Senator Blanche Lincoln."


AND - JUDGMENT FOR MURKOWSKI: Senate Republicans are likely to boot rogue Sen. Lisa Murkowski from the top GOP job on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, thanks to her write-in bid for reelection. The Anchorage Daily News: "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said fellow Republican senators will decide Wednesday afternoon in a closed-door meeting 'whether or not it's appropriate' for the Alaskan to continue to lead the committee for Republicans. ...Murkowski's Energy committee post is one that's of vital interest to Alaskans and among the leading achievements of what had been her swift ascent the past two years within the GOP leadership ranks. ... McConnell brought the issue up with fellow Republicans at their weekly luncheon Tuesday afternoon. He was seconded by Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, who, like Murkowski, was ousted in a primary by a fellow Republican with tea party backing." http://bit.ly/bDpUwl


LOOKING AHEAD - THE CLOSER: Michelle Obama has sketched out her October campaign schedule, planning nine events over a two-week period starting in the middle of the month, the AP reports. The first lady's hitting the trail for Alexi Giannoulias in the Illinois Senate race, plus Colorado Sen. Michael Bennett, Washington Sen. Patty Murray, Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold and California Sen. Barbara Boxer. She'll headline DNC fundraisers in New York and Los Angeles, an event for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and another for three Illinois Democrats: Reps. Debbie Halvorson Dan Seals and Bill Foster. http://yhoo.it/9pF6KN SPEAKING OF FOSTER - HOUSE RACE PREVIEW: Republican state Sen. Randy Hultgren is rotating a new spot into his advertising against Foster, delivering a harder-edged version of his message that Foster's mishandled the economy. "Illinois needs jobs, but Bill Foster supported the radical Pelosi agenda," the ad declares. "Look what they've done: A failed stimulus, a trillion-dollar government takeover of health care. And what do we have to show for it? Fewer jobs." Watch the commercial here. http://bit.ly/a5jzh9


HELP WANTED: Russ Feingold is going to need the first lady's assistance and more, if the new Wisconsin Senate numbers from PPP are to be believed. In a poll commissioned by Daily Kos, PPP showed Feingold at an 11-point deficit against Republican challenger Ron Johnson, trailing 41 percent to 52 percent. The Johnson campaign sees these numbers as assign that its Feingold's-out-of-touch message is resonating, and plans to stay focused on taking the sheen off the senator's independent reputation. The same survey showed Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett nine points down in the state's race for governor, taking 41 percent to GOP nominee Scott Walker's 50 percent. http://bit.ly/aF2bTl
SIREN IN WEST VIRGINIA: PPP showed an even more shocking number out of the race for Robert Byrd's Senate seat, giving Republican mining executive a surprising three-point lead over Democratic Gov. and presumed prohibitive favorite Joe Manchin. Raese's up 46 percent to Manchin's 43 percent, in spite of Manchin's 59 percent approval rating. One problem for Manchin: Obama's approval numbers are at a net negative of 34 percent, with just 30 percent of voters giving him a thumbs-up. http://bit.ly/bFngxm


AND - WORSE TO COME? West Virginia's WSAZ reports that more trouble may be a-brewing for Democrats in the state, possibly including the governor: "We now know a major target of the federal probe into Gov. Joe Manchin's administration and the Department of Highways is a multi-million dollar road that runs through Fairmont. ... The $150 million road has been under construction for several years and connects I-79 to Fairmont, which is Manchin's hometown. Larry Puccio, Manchin's former chief of staff and current chair of the Democratic Party in West Virginia, also runs a real estate business in Fairmont. Sources believe Puccio could be part of the probe. The governor says he cannot comment on the investigation and says he doesn't know if Puccio is a target." http://bit.ly/cAscE5


SNAP POLL - FOR DEMOCRATIC READERS: PPP's most recent Senate numbers are alarming for Dems, but if all of the pollster's latest data is dead-on - sending Feingold, Manchin and Barrett to defeat and Jerry Brown, Barbara Boxer and Chris Coons to victory - is that an Election Day you'd take? Reply to this e-mail or message aburns@politico.com with your take. http://bit.ly/aPxNrU


2012 WATCH - T-PAW OPENS THE BANK - The Minnesota governor is dishing out $16,000 to a long list of candidates in New Hampshire, including gubernatorial nominee John Stephen, Senate candidate Kelly Ayotte and House candidates Frank Guinta, the mayor of Manchester, and Charlie Bass, the former congressman. More from Minnesota Public Radio: "[Pawlenty] announced he's giving $250 checks to 34 state and local candidates in New Hamsphire and $500 to five candidates for New Hampshire Executive Council. ... The governor also announced that he'll make his 4th trip to New Hampshire since he announced he wasn't running for a 3rd term as governor. He'll be in New Hampshire on September 30th to campaign for John Stephen ... and Frank Guinta." http://bit.ly/c3pRc3


BLOOMBERG FOR CUOMO: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is taking a break from his busy schedule of endorsing in out-of-state governor's races to endorse Andrew Cuomo for governor of New York, the Daily News reports. Celeste Katz notes - in a carefully hedged scoop - that Bloomberg "stayed out of the 2006 Eliot Spitzer/John Faso contest" and "dodged questions about firebrand GOP gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino, having scoffed back in July that Paladino's opposition to the proposed Park51 mosque and Islamic center wasn't significant because 'He's not going to get elected.'" http://bit.ly/bP8EYz


SNAPSHOT OF THE HOUSE: Idaho Rep. Walt Minnick - the textbook example of a conservative Democrat who's run a strong campaign this cycle against flawed Republican opposition - is maintaining a lead over challenger Raul Labrador. But even Minnick's race has closed to 10 points, according to Mason-Dixon, and Boise Weekly notes: "In northern Idaho, the numbers indicate a statistical dead heat with Minnick's 43 percent compared to Labrador's 40 percent." http://bit.ly/beTACM


AND - THE PEOPLE'S MASSA SEAT: New York Republican Tom Reed, the mayor of Corning, has a strong, 14-point lead in the race for former Rep. Eric Massa's open seat, a Siena College poll shows. Reed is at 44 percent while Democrat Matthew Zeller trails at 30 percent. This is the first New York district where Siena has shown Democrats already behind, after putting Reps. Michael Arcuri and Scott Murphy ahead in their reelection fights. http://bit.ly/b7O6Pi


NOT A GOOD HEADLINE - "Rep. Jackson: I did nothing wrong but 'deeply sorry' over 'social acquaintance'" - From Natasha Korecki and Abdon Pallasch of the Chicago Sun-Times: "[Jesse Jackson Jr.] vowed to stay in office in the wake of a Chicago Sun-Times report that a major political fund-raiser has told federal authorities that Jackson directed him to offer former Gov. Rod Blagojevich millions of dollars in campaign cash in return for an appointment for Jackson to the U.S. Senate, to succeed President Obama. ... Sources said Nayak also told authorities that Jackson asked him to pay to fly a Washington, D.C., restaurant hostess named Giovana Huidobro - described as a 'social acquaintance' of the Democratic congressman - to Chicago to visit him. Nayak did so twice, according to the sources." http://bit.ly/cuOB4T


THE RAHM ANGLE: Jackson has been viewed as a possible opponent for Rahm Emanuel in the Chicago mayor's race. NBC Chicago reported Tuesday that Emanuel's polling has him 14 points up over his nearest rival, making a bid even more appealing. http://bit.ly/cCHMs1


CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Who doesn't regret the 80s, to some extent?" - Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell, to Fox's Sean Hannity. http://bit.ly/9d07um

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