A Ford Recall

You gotta give Harold Ford Jr. props for his PR prowess. Even in the midst of the Paterson meltdown and growing calls for Rangel to give up his gavel, the ex-TN Dem still found a way to make himself a top NY story today.

-- Ford's NYT op-ed and "Morning Joe" appearance this a.m. focused mostly on his disagreements with Gillibrand. Never once did he broach the topic of her potential challenger - Mort Zuckerman. If he really wanted to help his party, we ask, wouldn't Ford take more than just a passing shot at someone who still poses a threat?

-- In other intra-party news, a new PA SEN Q poll shows Specter continuing to hold a big lead over Sestak. And w/just over 2 mos. until the 5/18 primary, Sestak doesn't have much time left to catch fire. To be sure, his lack of name ID is a big factor in his low showing (73% of Dems haven't even heard of him). But Specter's lead is also due to his strong support among the Dem faithful. Among that group, 75% approve of the job he's doing as sen. Just 44% of indies do so.

-- But perhaps the poll's best news for Specter was that for the first time since May he's built a decent lead over Pat Toomey. (Of course, neither Sestak nor Toomey has spent a dime yet).

-- Finally, AR polling suggests Dems might be better off with Lincoln out of the race. But is Halter really a better alternative? Sure, he doesn't have the DC "taint," but being ID'd as a poster child for MoveOn.org isn't exactly the kind of profile that wins elections in AR.