TRAIL MIX: Dems Meet Fundraising Goals, Buy Haircuts for Denver's Homeless

By: Kathryn Carlson In Wednesday's edition of Trail Mix: McCain makes gains in a new poll, while Dems hit their fundraising goals and ... buy haircuts for Denver's homeless?

Denver's Homeless Get Free Haircuts to Look Good for Obama and his Democrats
Top of the Ticket
Los Angeles Times
By Andrew Malcolm

It's no secret that Denver has been shaping up to look good for the DNC. As pointed out by the blogosphere, the City has arranged for free movie passes and other activities to get some of the city's 4,000 homeless people off the streets and out of plain sight. And now, get this: "Denver is even spiffing up the coiffures of its homeless. They're giving free haircuts to the homeless this week in preparation for the visiting crowds who'll arrive this weekend," according to Andrew Malcolm at the L.A. Times' Top of the Ticket. Malcolm goes on to say, "According to Rick Sallinger of the CBS TV station, Denver Human Services has been handing out coupons for free homeless haircuts. The idea was to make the homeless feel better about themselves. And maybe then they'd get jobs or something."


McCain Catches Obama in New Poll
Political Intelligence
The Boston Globe
By Foon Rhee

"The director of a new national poll out today says it offers more proof that negative politics works. The Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg survey says that after several weeks of unrelenting attacks in TV ads and stump speech, John McCain has cut a 12-percentage-point gap with Barack Obama to 2. The Democrat leads 45 percent to 43 percent, but that's a statistical tie," said Foon Rhee at The Boston Globe's Political Intelligence. What accounts for McCain's surge in the poll? A number of factors were cited: More than a third of those questioned noted concerns about Obama's patriotism, more voters believe McCain has the experience to be prez, and Obama's favorability rating has dropped 9 points to 48 percent since June. According to Rhee's post, "'All the negative attacks from the McCain campaign seem to have been paying off,' Times poll Director Susan Pinkus said in the newspaper's online story.'"


Dems Hit Target for Convention Cash
Politics West
The Denver Post
By Chuck Plunkett

"Denver's committee hosting the Democratic National Convention has raised the cash expected of it. After struggling for more than a year and a half, and missing its June deadline by $11 million, the committee responsible for raising $40.6 million in private cash that finances the convention has met its goal," reports Chuck Plunkett at The Denver Post's Politics West. According to Pluckett, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said in an interview, "In the last four weeks, our rate of fundraising is between two and three times what it was," adding that "the (Invesco) fundraising will be done by Friday." The mayor said he credits Obama's big move to the 76,000-seat football stadium for generating excitement and shoring up moola.


Political Perceptions: How Obama Can Get the Big Mo Back
The Washington Wire
The Wall Street Journal

This morning, The Wall Street Journal's The Washington Wire points to Slate's John Dickerson's analysis of tactics recently employed by Obama's campaign, noting that the Democratic contender seems "resolved to 'keep it big' -- that is, to remind voters that 'big issues are at stake.'" Dickerson cites examples of how Obama's camp has moved to this big-ticket approach, including touting equal pay for women, emphasizing the "link between McCain and Bush," and portraying McCain as a "poll-driven Washington insider out of touch with regular people."

Trail Mix's Featured Blogs:

Chicago Tribune: The Swamp

Los Angeles Times: Top of the Ticket

The Boston Globe: Political Intelligence

The Denver Post: Politics West

The New York Times: The Caucus

The Wall Street Journal: The Washington Wire

The Washington Post: The Trail and The Fix

USA Today: On Politics