In an MSNBC interview Tuesday morning touting the release of his campaign's new TV ad, Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.) didn't sound like a candidate holding onto the possibility of a campaign visit from President Obama before November.

Meek, who is locked in a three-way Senate contest with Republican Marco Rubio and Gov. Charlie Crist (I), said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that it's important for the next senator from the state to "have a working relationship with the president." 

But as for a potential campaign visit from Obama, Meek said, "If the president wants to come to Florida, he's welcome to come to Florida." 

In his first TV ad of the general election, Meek takes some shots at his two opponents without mentioning either by name. The congressman runs through a litany of policy positions that he says make him "different" from Rubio and Crist, claiming, "with three of us running, you should know what makes me different." 

The ad, produced by the Democratic firm Murphy Putnam, features Meek in half a dozen different locales, from riding a boat in the Everglades to sitting on a bus with senior citizens. In the 30-second spot, Meek calls himself "the only one who's against privatizing Social Security," and the "only one who took on George Bush."

Meek's ad comes as Crist also launches his first TV ad of the general election, trying to paint himself as being above party politics.  

"How do we get results for Florida?" Crist asks in the ad, flanked by letters spelling out the words "Democrats" and "Republicans." 

"By putting aside our differences and putting people ahead of politics," he concludes as he rearranges the letters to spell the word "Americans."

Freshman Rep. Travis Childers has a 5-point lead on his Republican challenger going into the pivotal post-Labor Day stretch of the campaign, according to an internal poll done for the Mississippi Democrat.

Childers led state Sen. Alan Nunnelee (R) 46 to 41 percent in the Anzalone Liszt Research poll obtained by The Ballot Box. The Democratic firm surveyed 400 likely voters in the district Aug. 30 to Sept. 1. The poll has a margin of error of 4.9 percent, which means Childers' lead could be razor thin.

A recent poll for Nunnelee's campaign had the Republican ahead 50 to 42 percent.

Overall, Childers remains well liked by his constituents, according to the new poll, which had him higher than 50 percent in two key categories. The Democrat had a 57 percent favorable rating and a 54 percent job approval rating.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has reserved airtime in Mississippi's first district, but those resources could be directed elsewhere. Party strategists are giving vulnerable incumbents two weeks to prove they're worth the investment, according to The New York Times.

"Every campaign cycle the DCCC and other campaign committees face difficult resource allocation decisions and this election cycle is no different," Chris Van Hollen, the committee's chairman, said in a recent statement. 

A Democrat emphasizing the importance of federal government spending faces a Republican who has taken a pledge to abandon earmarks.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) is declining, at least so far, to endorse Republican incumbent Sen. David Vitter in November.

Vice President Joe Biden spent Labor Day in Toledo, Ohio, campaigning with Gov. Ted Strickland, who's trailing in polls.

Experts say incumbency has become enough of a liability this year to trump the conventional advantage of money in the bank.

DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) rebutted the story that said party leaders were planning a "brutal triage of members."

The candidate had pulled out of a planned Sunday debate on "Meet the Press" to be with his ailing father.