Thursday Night Quick Hits

In a generic Congressional ballot, Rasmussen finds that 50% of voters back the Democrat while only 32% back the Republican. The 18-point lead almost doubles last month's 10-point lead in the same poll.

Idaho: Sour grapes or perverse serendipity? Advisers say that Larry Craig had already made up his mind to retire at the end of his current term before his scandal broke. Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Mike Simpson says that he does not want to be appointed to replace Craig in the Senate, in part because he does not want to cede his House seniority and in part because of a personal distaste for Mitch McConnell. Mitch is a charmer. I'd put it at 50-50 between Governor Butch Otter appointing Lt. Gov. Jim Risch vs. appointing a placeholder who will not run for the Senate seat in 2008.

Nebraska: It's beginning to leak out that Chuck Hagel may be preparing a retirement announcement and that Hagel may make his intentions known in the coming days.

Virginia: Numerous Virginia political insiders unanimously expect popular former Governor Mark Warner to enter the 2008 Senate race, including his 2001 gubernatorial campaign manager who advised him as such.

North Carolina: Reports The Independent Weekly's Bob Geary of a possible 2008 Senate campaign by State Representative Grier Martin: "There was no mistaking the new bounce in his tone: He wants to run. And he's much closer to doing it." I'm all for that! Also, 73-year-old North Carolina Board of Education Chair Howard Lee is also considering a bid.

South Carolina: It has not escaped the eye of the Associated Press that Lindsey Graham is still without a Democratic challenger. Columbia lawyer and former State Senator Tom Turnipseed is reportedly considering a bid. (I'll repeat that I hope Robert Barber Jr. considers a bid.)

Kentucky: DMKY offers choice snippets from an interview with potential 2008 Senate candidate Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Horne, including his thoughts on the impact of bloggers.

Some enterprising individual turned my post cataloging the Republican Culture of Corruption in 2007 into a YouTube video. I really don't know who is responsible for it, but it is the Citizen Kane of YouTube videos, if I do say so myself: