CLINTON AIDE ICKES WARNS OF ‘OCTOBER SURPRISE’ FOR OBAMA

A top adviser to Senator Clinton, Harold Ickes, is warning that Democrats would be risking having to deal with a startling last-minute disclosure, sometimes called an October Surprise, if the party gives the presidential nomination to Senator Obama of Illinois.

“We don’t know enough about Senator Obama yet. We don’t need an October Surprise,” Mr. Ickes told Time Magazine’s “The Page” yesterday.

Mr. Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe, responded with a veiled suggestion that it was more likely that something would tumble from the former first lady’s closet. “Suggesting that Hillary Clinton is the best avenue to avoid an October Surprise is a curious strategy, to say the least,” he told Time.

GORE: NOT YET ‘MOVED’ TO ENDORSE IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Vice President Gore is expecting that the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination will be resolved before the convention in Denver in August. “Even though it has gone on much longer than is normal in the age of primaries and caucuses, nevertheless I think the odds are overwhelming that it will tip rather decisively in one way or the other before the convention even meets,” he said in an interview aired yesterday on National Public Radio’s “Fresh Air.”

Mr. Gore was coy when asked about the possibility he might endorse either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama. “I’m simply watching and listening to the campaign. As a delegate to the convention I will cast my vote at the proper time. I haven’t ruled out making an endorsement … but I haven’t been moved to do so,” the former vice president said.

Mr. Gore acknowledged the role that politically popular subsidies for ethanol are playing in exacerbating a global food crisis. “There’s no doubt that, at least on the margins, the amounts of corn being used for ethanol have had some impact,” he told NPR. Mr. Gore said he views corn-based ethanol as a “transitional” energy source until others are developed. “There’s a major debate on how to go about this in an environmentally and economically sensible way and I think that’s a useful debate,” the former vice president said.

LIMBAUGH CLAIMS CREDIT FOR ‘CHAOS’ IN DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES

A popular conservative radio host, Rush Limbaugh, is claiming credit for getting Republican voters in Indiana and North Carolina to vote for Senator Clinton in yesterday’s primary. Speaking from what he called his “heavily fortified and bunkered” studio in Palm Beach, Fla., Mr. Limbaugh said his followers were carrying out “Operation Chaos,” which seemed aimed at damaging Mr. Obama’s candidacy by dragging out the Democratic contest. “Many of them have shown up in tie dyes, flip flops, holding their heads up, looking down at their noses like they’re liberals, effete snobs,” Mr. Limbaugh said.

The Indianapolis Star reported anecdotal evidence of stronger than expected turnout for the Democratic primary in staunchly Republican areas. Indiana permits Republicans and independents to vote in Democratic primaries. North Carolina allows independents to do so, but not registered Republicans.

OBAMA CAMPAIGN CLAIMS 1.5 MILLION DONORS

Senator Obama’s campaign claimed yesterday to have passed a milestone in American political history by receiving gifts from 1.5 million individual donors. As of last month, Mr. Obama had raised $236 million while Senator Clinton brought in $195 million from a smaller base of donors.

CNBC AIRPORT NEWSSTANDS FACE FIRE OVER CLINTON NUTCRACKERS

Liberal Web activists are objecting to the sale of Hillary Clinton figurines designed to crack nuts. “Is America ready for this nutcracker?” the item’s package asks, adding: “Stainless steel thighs! Cracks toughest nuts!”

“Is there some way to apply pressure to CNBC to stop selling this misogynist crap?” a New Hampshire resident, Michael Caulfield, asked on his Web log, Blue Hampshire. While anger over the items was directed at the business news channel, the stores are operated by Paradies Shops of Atlanta under an exclusive license from CNBC.