Thursday Must-Reads: CampAIGning

The newest conservative fault line is emerging between its media personalities, many of whom support the AIG bonuses, and its politicians. Few politicians are supporting the controversial pay-outs, and Republicans and Democrats are pointing fingers over who’s to blame for the bonuses—nowhere more so than NY-20, where they’ve become the focus of press releases and TV ads.While TV viewers may be tired of all those ads, the seemingly endless election season in that district has been a boon for television stations.Obama’s appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”—the first-ever by a sitting president—may be his own boon as he seeks support for his budget. Or it may not be. Cillizza talks to a handful of consultants to analyze the strategy. The president will follow up the appearance with a more typical prime-time news conference on Tuesday. The kind of TV-ready charisma that makes the “Tonight Show” appearance a promising strategy may have edged Washington closer to Hollywood; celebrity-gossip chronicler TMZ is now aiming its paparazzi on politicians.The RNC announced that it took in $5.1 million in February; what that number means to embattled chair Michael Steele will become clearer once the DNC reports their haul.Finally, a look at some upcoming campaign issues: many freshmen Democratic house members are co-sponsoring the Employee Free Choice Act, suggesting they aren’t worried about its impact in even right-leaning districts. And while satisfaction with our job in Iraq is on the rise, polling shows increased disapproval on Afghanistan, perhaps setting it up as the next foreign-policy issue.