Hurtling Toward 2010, 9/15

The 2010 midterms are just around the corner (sort of). Here's what's happening:

President Obama is attending a fundraiser in Philadelphia for Sen. Arlen Specter (D) tonight; seven weeks out, Bob McDonnell (R) leads Creigh Deeds (D) in cash in Virginia's 2009 gubernatorial race; Illinois Senate candidate Rep. Mark Kirk (R) got booed at a rally; possible California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina (R) is "not going to write big checks for her campaign like Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner," a staffer for her exploratory committee tells the San Francisco Chronicle after RedState claimed Fiorina wouldn't "self-fund" (the exploratory committee says Fiorina has held that position all along); Whitman (R), meanwhile, will help out the state GOP with some money for voter registration; and a Research2000/Daily Kos poll shows Sen. Chris Dodd (D) still trailing challenger Rob Simmons, 42-26, which isn't quite as bad as other polling has suggested.