John DiStaso, the New Hampshire Union Leader's senior political writer, began writing "Granite Status" in 1982. His influential reports on behind-the-scenes politics in the first-primary state are must reading every Thursday for insiders from Concord to Washington, D.C. Watch for "Granite Status" updates on UnionLeader.com whenever New Hampshire political news breaks.

TUESDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE #2: John McCain’s campaign says Democrats who are telling bloggers that the campaign is scaling back in New Hampshire are engaging in “wishful thinking.”

ABC News correspondent George Stephanopoulos reported on his blog this afternoon that “Democratic sources” told him the McCain camp “may be giving up on New Hampshire and Wisconsin.”

Stephanopoulos reported that the Democratic sources said that the McCain campaign is “stretching out previous ad buys over more days rather than devote new money.”

McCain New Hampshire spokesman Jeff Grappone responded, “Each campaign is constantly moving strategically, but the Democratic assertions are wishful thinking. We’re committed to New Hampshire, as evidenced by John McCain’s Wednesday visit to the state.”

McCain will campaign at St. Anselm College in Manchester on Wednesday.

McCain senior advisor Steve Duprey also denied the ABC report.

“We make adjustments to our ad buy every day,” he said. “There’s no big change or anything else going on.”

WMUR-TV general manager Jeff Bartlett said he cannot yet determine if McCain’s campaign has decided not to add more money to existing buys at his station.

“It’s hard to say this early,” Bartlett said. “McCain has a buy in until Election Day, but the way they add to it and subtract from it every week, I won’t know for sure what he’s doing until a week or so down the road.”

Bartlett said McCain “may have one buy in now and add to it tomorrow or subtract from it. These guys do that all the time.”

Bartlett said that Barack Obama’s campaign “mostly adds” to its buys, but “they do go up and down week to week with what they are buying.

TUESDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: Sen. Hillary Clinton has just announced that she will be in New Hampshire next week to campaign for Barack Obama. The details of the visit, which according to the Obama campaign are "to be determined," are expected later in the week.

She said on a conference call that “New Hampshire will be critical to our victory.”

Clinton, who defeated Obama in the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 8, was critical of McCain for what she called a “negative campaign.”

The McCain campaign announced that on Thursday of this week, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman and former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman will campaign for the Republican.Lieberman will be in Concord, Hanover and Keene, while Whitman will be in Merrimack and Portsmouth.

McCain himself will hold a rally at St. Anselm College in Manchester tomorrow.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: New Hampshire is among the swing states where automated calls are being played by John McCain’s campaign and the Republican National Committee that try to link Barack Obama to former domestic terrorist Bill Ayers.

The McCain campaign confirmed this afternoon that New Hampshire residents are receiving the calls.

The tactic was criticized this afternoon by McCain's state campaign chairman.

The calls say:

“Hello. I’m calling for John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. capitol, the Pentagon, a judge’s home and killed Americans. And Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington. Barack Obama and his Democratic allies lack the judgment to lead our country. This call was paid for by McCain-Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee at 202-863-8500.”

Obama's local spokesperson decried the calls as "misinformation" and "incredibly offensive." The campaign will bring Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry to the state tomorrow to criticize them further.

The calls are also reportedly being played in Wisconsin, New Mexico, Virginia, Maine, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Indiana.

“I don't think it’s very effective,” said McCain state chairman Peter Spaulding. “I wouldn’t do it, but I don’t think it’s inaccurate, either.

“I think robo-calls are a nuisance and annoying,” he said. “I think it’s a waste of money to send robo-calls no matter what the message is.”

Spaulding said that while “Obama did do those things,” he also said, “I don’t think it’s a particularly salient issue. But I don’t make those decisions, unfortunately.”

But RNC spokesman Blair Latoff said, “Barack Obama found it appropriate to start his political career in the living room of unrepentant domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, and their relationship continued through their work together on boards and within the Chicago political system. Barack Obama’s befriending of an unrepentant domestic terrorist, and his unwillingness to acknowledge the extent of their relationship, shows an incredibly troubling lack of judgment on Obama’s part.”

THE LINEUP. With both presidential candidates and both vice presidential candidates in New Hampshire over this week and next (John McCain will return Wednesday, according to his campaign), could it be that the race here is closer than expected?

Why should McCain and Barack Obama worry about New Hampshire's four electoral votes when there are much bigger prizes still in "toss-up" status?'

University of New Hampshire Survey Center director Andrew Smith says he still believes "it's going to be a very close state.

"The fundamental dynamics are leaning Democratic at this time, but it's going to be close," he said, "and if you're John McCain, you're looking for any place you have a chance of picking up votes. And if you're Barack Obama, you want to go places to where it's close and make sure John McCain has no chance anywhere."

McCain "has to win here to have any chance of winning," Smith said.

"I'm sure everyone remembers Al Gore," who would have won the election had he not lost New Hampshire by only 7,000 votes to George W. Bush in 2000.

REMEMBER NEW HAMPSHIRE. Obama sounded like a front-runner in his speech at Mack's Apples yesterday, focusing on the economy and continuing to liken McCain to President Bush.

But earlier yesterday in New York City and again in Londonderry, Obama warned supporters not to get too cozy with his leads in polls in various swing states.

Speaking to about 120 supporters at a breakfast fund-raiser in Manhattan, Obama warned, "For those of you who are feeling giddy or cocky and think this is all set, I just say one word "" I guess it's two "" New Hampshire."

"I've been in these positions before where we were favored and the press starts getting carried away and we end up getting spanked," he said.

Obama lost the New Hampshire primary to Hillary Clinton despite polls showing him with a substantial lead here following his victory in the Iowa caucus.

"And so that's another good lesson that Hillary Clinton taught me. So we want to make sure that we are closing strong, running through the tape," Obama said.

PLOUFFE'S TAKE. Obama national campaign manager David Plouffe, speaking to the Status by telephone from Chicago after yesterday's Londonderry event, said, "The point is we learned from the primary not to pay too much attention to polls, and it has infiltrated through our organization. But we do like where we are today."

He said that "McCain has performed well in two elections in New Hampshire," but said his campaign's analysis shows Obama strong among New Hampshire independents.

"There is also no doubt that what we saw in 2006 in the state turning Democratic has not abated," Plouffe said. He said the overall climate in the state is "very positive, but we also know that John McCain has pulled a rabbit out of a hat before."

Plouffe also hit back at Sarah Palin for her comments in yesterday's New Hampshire Union Leader about Obama and former domestic terrorist Bill Ayers.

Palin said she would not hesitate to say again that Obama is "palling around with terrorists."

"I'd use that term again in a heartbeat," she said.

Plouffe said, "The McCain-Palin attack strategy is backfiring in a major way. That's one of the reasons Obama won the debate so convincingly (Wednesday) night based on voter surveys, because Obama was offering ideas and McCain was attacking."

Plouffe also said he did not believe Palin was "the best messenger" for the McCain campaign to send to New Hampshire.

He said his campaign's internal polling shows that Palin is viewed favorably by only 36 percent of New Hampshire independents, while 56 percent view her unfavorably.

"It's puzzling that she'd go to New Hampshire and more puzzling that she'd be launching these attacks," Plouffe said.

WHAT ABOUT JOE? We all know about "Joe the Plumber" from Ohio after Wednesday night's presidential debate.

But what about "Joe the Candidate?" For governor, that is.

Yes, Joe Kenney is an underdog, to put it mildly, to Democratic incumbent John Lynch.

But he is, after all, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, part of the GOP team, right?

To borrow a phrase from Palin, the McCain campaign "ruffled feathers" in the Kenney camp during the Palin tour on Wednesday. Staffers refused to allow Kenney to speak at any of her three events.

If it weren't for Jeb Bradley, Joe Kenney wouldn't have received a mention at two of the three venues.

"I think Joe should have been allowed to speak," said his campaign manager, Rep. Casey Crane. She said Kenney, a Marine who served two tours in Iraq, "would have motivated the crowd." Not to mention get some badly needed exposure.

Kenney was officially introduced in Dover, but only Bradley and John Sununu warmed up the crowd.

Casey said that when Palin was late arriving at Laconia, after Sununu and Bradley had spoken, there was plenty of down time and an empty microphone on stage.

Kenney asked the staff for permission to speak to the crowd, but according to Crane, was told "he wasn't listed in the original program to speak, which was sent to Washington to be approved. They said that it couldn't be changed at that point."

She said the McCain campaign never offered originally to have Kenney in the official script.

"The senator is a big supporter of John McCain and he still is," said Crane. "But it made sense to me that with the down time available, he wasn't allowed to rev up the crowd."

Crowd estimates in Laconia ranged from 3,500 to 4,000. There were 1,300 in Dover and a few thousand more in Salem. Kenney could have used the face time.

"But they felt as though they wanted to stick to the script they had," Crane said. "We were just looking for an opportunity to get the senator up there and we felt as though he, as a Marine Corps vet who served in Iraq twice, would have been a good crowd 'warmer-upper.'"

Many of Kenney's friends in the crowd, seeing the microphone sitting there unattended for more than a half-an-hour, urged Kenney to get up and speak.

Still, Crane said, the McCain campaign does allow Kenney's campaign to use a "back room" at McCain headquarters, which she and Kenney appreciate.

For his part, Kenney said only, "I'm just happy to know that there were a lot of New Hampshire people who wanted to hear me speak."

McCain-Palin spokesman Jeff Grappone commented in a statement, "Wednesday was all about Governor Palin delivering our party's hopeful message of reform, which will bolster the ticket from top to bottom."

NEW FUND-RAISING FIGURES. The latest campaign finance totals are in for the six major candidates for the three federal offices up for grabs.

In the U.S. Senate race, Jeanne Shaheen out-raised John Sununu by nearly $1 million between July 1 and Sept. 30.

Shaheen's campaign announced she raised $2.2 million, a record for a candidate for federal office in New Hampshire, between July 1 and Sept. 30. Her campaign did not announce how much money she has on hand and her finance report was not posted on the Federal Election Commission Web site yesterday.

The latest available "on hand" figure for Shaheen is from June 30 "" $2.15 million.

The Sununu report summary sheet, provided to the Granite Status, shows he raised $1.29 million during the quarter.

Since the last report on Aug. 21, Sununu raised $918,000, including $589,000 from individuals and $619,000 from political action committees.

So far in the election, Sununu has raised a total of $8 million and entered October with $3.6 million on hand.

In the 1st District U.S. House race, Carol Shea-Porter raised $320,000 in the third quarter, according to her campaign, and $242,000 since Aug. 21, including $93,745 from PACs and $148,000 from individuals. So far in the campaign, she's raised $1.25 million and had $507,000 on hand as of Sept. 30.

Shea-Porter's challenger, Jeb Bradley, raised $203,000 since Aug. 21 and $1 million so far during the campaign, including $200,000 in loans he personally made to his campaign.

Bradley entered October with $166,000 on hand.

In the 2nd District, Paul Hodes raised $188,000 during the Aug. 21-Sept. 30 period, including $104,000 from individuals and $84,750 from PACs. He $1.8 million so far in the campaign and had $563,000 on hand as of Sept. 30.

His challenger, Jennifer Horn, raised $107,0000 from Aug. 21 to Sept. 30, including $64,000 from individuals and $40,800 from PACs.

Horn's campaign has raised $226,000 so far in the campaign. Horn has loaned her campaign $194,600.

She had $109,600 on hand as of Sept. 30.

These figures do not account for the millions of dollars being spent in advertising by the political parties and special interest groups on behalf of all the candidates.

TOUGH STUFF. The National Republican Congressional Committee has launched a new ad, maybe it's toughest yet, against Shea-Porter.

It accuses her of voting "to allow sex offenders and drug dealers to buy homes made available with taxpayer money."

How so?

The Shea-Porter campaign calls it an "outrageous and unbelievable attack" and says the NRCC is picking out a procedural vote taken in May.

According to the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, the bill established a $15 billion loan and grant program to help states buy and rehabilitate owner-occupied foreclosed properties.

The House adopted a Democratic amendment barring illegal immigrants from any financial assistance under the bill.

The vote being targeted was a motion by Republican Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona to recommit the bill to committee. It also would have added language barring sex offender, drug dealers and perpetrators of mortgage fraud from buying homes made available under the program.

The motion to recommit failed, 216-210, after House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said recommitting the bill would stall its passage. Shea-Porter voted with the majority to keep the bill alive.

But NRCC spokesman Ken Spain said the vote showed Shea-Porter "seems to be more interested in representing the interests of criminals who have been convicted for infringing upon the laws and freedoms that New Hampshire voters value."

Shea-Porter spokesman Pia Carusone said the "GOP spin machine" and "Bradley and his henchmen are distorting a procedural vote and the public will see right through it."

ORGANIZERS ON THE WAY. A national self-described non-profit called Progressive Future is setting up shop in New Hampshire to work on Obama's behalf.

Activists in the state have been emailed asking if they can "host an organizer" in their homes.

QUICK TAKES:

-- A few tickets are still available for the state Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner at the Center of New Hampshire Radisson Hotel in Manchester on Saturday night. Barney Frank is the featured speaker. The party says the dinner will attract about 1,000 people.

-- Temple Adath Yesurun Brotherhood Candidates Form is slated for Oct. 26, featuring Sununu, Shaheen, Shea-Porter, Bradley and Kenney.

-- Shaheen received the endorsement of the New Hampshire Troopers Association this week.

-- Shea-Porter's staff campaign blogger Susan Bruce resigned this week after posting on PolitickerNH.com that Palin was "using (her) special needs baby as a prop on late night TV appearances." Bruce apologized for embarrassing Shea-Porter.

-- Esquire magazine got into the endorsement act this week, backing state Democrats Lynch, Shaheen, Hodes and Shea-Porter. They went GOP in Maine, however, backing Sen. Susan Collins.

-- Horn was this week endorsed by Mitt Romney.

John DiStaso is senior political reporter of the New Hampshire Union Leader.