The AP profiles Mark Block, Herman Cain’s unorthodox campaign manager made famous in the viral ad that shows him smoking a cigarette. He’s “left a trail of questionable campaign work behind him.”

“Block has been accused of voter suppression and was banned from running Wisconsin political campaigns for three years to settle accusations he coordinated a judge’s re-election campaign with a special interest group. Records show Block has faced foreclosure on his home, a tax warrant by the Internal Revenue Service and a lawsuit for an unpaid bill. He also acknowledges he was arrested twice for drunken driving.”

If you want to see next month’s “modified Lincoln-Douglas debate” between Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich — not carried on television — it will cost you, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Bleacher seating at the Gingrich/Cain debate, hosted by the Texas Tea Party Patriots at the Woodlands Resort in Houston, costs a cool $200. The next step up, the $500 ticket, gets you ‘prime seating’ and a ticket to the ‘Nite Cap party after the Debate,’ … And for the really high rollers, $1,000 will get you ‘the best seating in the house for the debate’ and ‘a professional picture taken with the candidates.'”

There’s no word if the candidates are getting paid for their appearance, but Dave Weigel, who first broke the story, reports proceeds will go to the Tea Party Patriots group.

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Florida finds Charlie Crist remains a popular figure in the state with a 51% to 34% favorability rating and if he were to run as a Democrat to reclaim his old office against Gov. Rick Scott (R) he would lead by 13 points at 51% to 38%.

In a hypothetical rematch of last year’s race, Alex Sink (D) would lead Scott 52% to 41%.

This is the first in a guest series from Inkwell Strategies analyzing the 2012 campaign ad war.

In the coming weeks and months, the Republican primary campaign will shift from debating and handshaking to the far more expensive – and often uglier – realm of paid media.

While we haven’t yet seen many candidates go up on the airwaves, we are seeing an uptick in the number of web ads – commercials designed not for a television audience, but for online viewers.

Web ads are a great way to tinker with the candidate’s message while earning free (or very inexpensive) coverage. Think of them as spring training for media consultants.

Last week, Texas Gov. Rick Perry released a powerful ad that almost surely previews his traditional television advertising campaign to come. Politics aside, the ad is not only a master stroke by his campaign team, but required viewing for anyone interested in the art of candidate marketing.

[Read more…]

The FBI alleges a Florida man “attempted an extortion plot that threatened to smear acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D) in West Virginia’s upcoming special election for governor,” the AP reports.

The threat involved a video allegedly showing inhumane practices at an Oklahoma greyhound kennel. In the emails, the man says the campaign of Bill Maloney (R), wanted the video. Maloney has attacked Tomblin over his mother’s greyhound breeding business.

The special election is on Tuesday.

Mike Huckabee “has been approached by Republican and conservative activists unhappy with the current crop of presidential hopefuls and he is considering entering the fray,” Reuters reports.

Update: A source close to Huckabee tells CBS News that “there are
certainly people that have asked him to reconsider his decision, even
more so lately, but at this point that is not something he is doing.”

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Connecticut finds President Obama barely leading Mitt Romney in a general election match up, 47% to 45%.

Key findings: “Obama’s poor showing in Connecticut is mostly a function of his own unpopularity. Despite having won it by 23 points in 2008 his approval numbers are now under water at 48/49. That represents a 17 point net shift in the wrong direction since PPP last polled the state in March.”

However, Obama leads the rest of the Republican field by double digits.

“I believe that marriage is between a man and woman. It has been for all of recorded history and I think this is a temporary aberration that will dissipate.”

— Newt Gingrich, quoted by the Des Moines Register, on gay marriage.

Sarah Palin told Fox News she would be making any decisions on a presidential run by her own self-imposed deadline by the end of September.

Said Palin: “I hold my political cards close to my chest. I’ve certainly learned lessons along those lines, and I’m going to continue to do that until I’m ready to make an announcement. This is a serious decision, and I’m engaged in serious deliberations and within the next 24 hours, don’t look for me to make a decision.”

Just in case, Red State is giving hourly updates.

The Florida Republican presidential primary will now be on January 31, instead of March 6, the St. Petersburg Times reports.

The action will almost certainly set off a chain reaction as Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada move their contests to the front of the line.

“The scale of change I am suggesting is so enormous that I couldn’t possibly show you as a single leader all I am going to do. This is a beginning of a conversation.”

— Newt Gingrich, quoted by the Des Moines Register, unveiling his latest “Contract with America.”

Helped once again by his money bomb strategy, Rep. Ron Paul’s (R-TX) presidential campaign raised at least $5 million during the past three months, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The third quarter total is up from $4.5 million in the second quarter.

The New York Times reports President Obama’s re-election campaign “is charting an alternative course to re-election should he be unable to win Ohio and other industrial states traditionally essential to Democratic presidential victories.”

“Without conceding ground anywhere, Mr. Obama is fighting hard for Southern and Rocky Mountain states he won in 2008, and some he did not, in calculating how to assemble the necessary 270 electoral votes. He is seeking to prove that those victories on formerly Republican turf were not flukes but the start of a trend that will make Democrats competitive there for years.”

Said strategist David Axelrod: “There are a lot of ways for us to get to 270, and it’s not just the traditional map. That’s why we’re laying the groundwork across the country to compete on the widest possible playing field next year.”

The Daily Beast compiles the top eight highlights from Herman Cain’s forthcoming book, This is Herman Cain!, in case you weren’t going to read it.