Afternoon Fix: Poll shows Palin in striking distance of Obama

Sarah Palin is close to Obama in new poll, Bill Clinton says we shouldn’t raise taxes, the NRSC outraised the DSCC, and Bachmann has hired an Iowa campaign vet.

Make sure to sign up to get “Afternoon Fix” in your e-mail inbox every day by 5 (ish) p.m.!

EARLIER ON THE FIX:

The long, dark tea time of the American political soul

The Florida P5 weekend (and straw poll) explained

The Tea Party Express has a primary emphasis

Twitter to sell political advertising

Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh to run in primary against fellow Republican

Is Obama an underdog in 2012?

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:

* A new McClatchy-Marist poll finds former Alaska governor Sarah Palin trailing President Obama by just five points, 49 percent to 44 percent. But the same poll has 72 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents saying they don’t want her to run, so this poll is probably bad news for Obama more than good news for Palin. Meanwhile, she’s pushed back her personal decision deadline to November.

* In an interview with the conservative outlet Newsmax former president Bill Clinton said  “I personally don’t believe we ought to be raising taxes .. This has been a dead flat economy.” At the same time, he said spending cuts right now won’t be beneficial, and earlier this week he suggested that the wealthy “don't mind being asked to pay their fair share.”

* Former American Conservative Union President David Keene has endorsed Tommy Thompson for Senate, calling attacks from primary rivals on the ex-Wisconsin governor “just plain dumb.” Thompson, who is aiming to replace retiring Sen. Herb Kohl (D), is under fire from his fellow Republicans for his long public service record and initial support of bipartisan health-care reform. “We’re not questioning Tommy Thompson’s conservative record when he and David Keene were in college together in the early 1960s, we’re questioning his ... support for ObamaCare as recently as last year,” Club for Growth spokesman Barney Keller responded in a statement.

* The National Republican Senatorial Committee outraised the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in August, $3 million to $2.5 million. However, the DSCC has more cash on hand — $9.2 million with $1.9 million in debt to Senate Republicans’ $5.2 million and no debt. So far this year, the DSCC has outraised the NRSC $29 million to $27 million.

WHAT YOU SHOULDN’T MISS:

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) has hired Iowa campaign veteran Eric Woolson to lead her communications team in the state. Woolson was with Tim Pawlenty’s campaign until the former Minnesota governor dropped out; he was at the center of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee’s surprise victory in Iowa in 2008.

* Iowa’s Republican Party will host its annual Ronald Reagan Dinner on Nov. 4th. Most of the presidential candidates have been invited; even Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) is on the list. Former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson is not. Texas Gov. Rick Perry was the first candidate to confirm he will attend.

* The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (better known as AFSCME) is out with a 30-second television spot pushing for President Obama’s American Jobs Act. The ad starts airing tomorrow in Orlando, Florida and on national cable. It echoes Obama’s “it’s math” argument, with the line, “More jobs equal less debt, even our kids can understand that.”

* Twenty-one South Carolina General Assembly members backed Perry today, the same day the Texas governor unveiled his state headquarters in Columbia. With Bachmann fading in the race, Perry is the presumed frontrunner in the first Southern primary.

* Clinton campaign alums can’t even agree on what Obama should do. At the Huffington Post, former Hillary Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee is disputing ex-Clinton pollster Mark Penn’s declaration that raising taxes is risking “class warfare.” Elleithee point to polling showing most Americans support higher taxes on the wealthy, saying “tired old Republican talking points are ... just as misguided when they come from a Democrat.” Penn is a controversial figure among former Clinton staffers.

THE FIX MIX:

R.I.P.

With Rachel Weiner and Aaron Blake