TRAILMIX for Wednesday: The 2008 Election Campaign, Via Newspaper Blogs

By: Kathryn Blaze Carlson Another installment in our newly revived daily feature.

John McCain vs. Baby in Anti-War Ad
The Swamp
Chicago Tribune
By Katie Fretland

As part of a new video campaign, MoveOn.org launched an ad called "Not Alex," says Katie Fretland at the Chicago Tribune's The Swamp. At one point during the ad, a woman holds her "cooing baby boy" and says, "So, John McCain, when you said you would stay in Iraq for 100 years, were you counting on Alex? Because if you were, you can't have him." The ad is running in Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin and on national cable, says Fretland.

Obama's Chat with Reporter Sparks Media Swarm
Washington Wire
Wall Street Journal
By Amy Chozick

It was an eight-year-old that broke Obama's silence yesterday. The young Scholastic reporter was the only member of the press to crack the Illinois Senator and grab a quick interview after an event in Michigan on Tuesday, says Amy Chozick at the Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire. According to Chozick's post, the "cub reporter" asked Obama if he had thought about making Al Gore -- who threw his support behind the Senator on Monday -- the vice president. To which Obama replied: "I'm not sure if Al Gore would want to be vice president again."

Hillary Has Rooms for You
Top of the Ticket
Los Angeles Times
By Andrew Malcolm

Anyone need a hotel room in Denver at the end of August? That's what Hillary's group is asking her supporters, other campaigns, and miscellaneous organizations, says Andrew Malcolm at the L.A. Times' Top of the Ticket. Apparently Hillary's people booked hundreds of Denver hotel rooms in anticipation of August's Democratic National Convention, and now find themselves with a few extra suites on their hands. "Alas, there won't be hundreds of Clinton campaign workers needing rooms because there's no longer a Clinton campaign and they're all fired. And, anyway, her campaign is more than $20 million in debt," says Malcolm in his post.

Giuliani Chimes in, Bashing Obama on Sept. 11
The Trail
Washington Post
By Michael D. Shear

Another ex-frontrunner, Rudy Giuliani, is attempting to "lend his Sept. 11 credentials" to the campaign, says Michael D. Shear at the Washington Post's The Trail. In a conference call with reporters, the former mayor "reiterated the McCain campaign's claim that Obama has a 'September 10' mentality and said he was puzzled by what he said was the Democrat's 'softer' approach to terrorism," says Shear in today's post. Obama and rival McCain's sparring over terrorism has grown increasingly heated over the past couple days.

Obama Meets With New Security Advisory Group
Political Intelligence
Boston Globe
By Foon Rhee

Obama is meeting today with a newly formed collection of national security advisers -- a group which includes former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Warren Christopher, says Foon Rhee at the Boston Globe's Political Intelligence. This comes as Obama and McCain continue to engage in sharp exchanges over terrorism. Rhee cites Obama's recent statement that, "The stakes in this election could not be higher. John McCain wants to continue George Bush' foreign policy which has made us less safe?" Check out Rhee's post here.