"Yes on 7", the organization working to pass Proposition 7 which would require utility companies to produce half of their energy from renewable resources, has a series of ads on the air.

Below is one of them. Here is another. And yet another.

The California Nurses Association's anti-McCain/Palin ad.

Google took the uncharacteristic step of chiming in on a social issue when they announced on their blog that they are against Proposition 8, which would eliminate the right of gay couples to marry:

As an Internet company, Google is an active participant in policy debates surrounding information access, technology and energy. Because our company has a great diversity of people and opinions -- Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals, all religions and no religion, straight and gay -- we do not generally take a position on issues outside of our field, especially not social issues. So when Proposition 8 appeared on the California ballot, it was an unlikely question for Google to take an official company position on.

However, while there are many objections to this proposition -- further government encroachment on personal lives, ambiguously written text -- it is the chilling and discriminatory effect of the proposition on many of our employees that brings Google to publicly oppose Proposition 8. While we respect the strongly-held beliefs that people have on both sides of this argument, we see this fundamentally as an issue of equality. We hope that California voters will vote no on Proposition 8 -- we should not eliminate anyone's fundamental rights, whatever their sexuality, to marry the person they love.

A poll conducted by Survey USA shows that the Fresno mayoral runoff election between Fresno State Director of Community and Economic Development Ashley Swearengin and City Councilman Henry Perea is statistically tied. Swearengin leads Perea by 48 to 45 percent. Survey USA writes that the "ratio of white voters to Hispanic voters on Election Day will determine who wins the election":

On the surface, the contest is static, but underneath, there is offsetting movement. Swearengin has gained ground among men, lost ground among women. Perea has gained ground among older voters, lost ground among younger voters. Perea has gained ground among voters focused on economic development and crime, but has lost ground among voters focused on gangs.

Among white voters, Swearengin leads by 26 points; among Hispanics, Perea leads by 42; both numbers are largely unchanged from those six weeks ago. The ratio of white voters to Hispanic voters on Election Day will determine who wins the election. In today’s SurveyUSA poll results, 59% of voters are white, 25% of voters are Hispanic. Swearengin gets 73% of Republican voters; Perea gets 64% of Democratic voters; Independents are split.

Just for fun...

So much for the legacy of Herbert Lehman, one of the first Wall Street millionaires to run for public office and the son of the man who founded the now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers. Lehman served as Finance Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and was elected Lieutenant Governor of New York in 1928 running on a ticket with gubernatorial candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt.

When Roosevelt ran for President in 1932, Lehman ran for Governor and beat U.S. Attorney Wild Bill Donovan, who would later become the top American spymaster during World War II, by a 57%-39% margin. Lehman was re-elected in 1934, defeating New York City master builder Robert Moses (58%-37%), and again in 1936 and 1938. In his last run for Governor, he narrowly won re-election, 50%-49%, over U.S. Attorney Thomas Dewey.

Timing is everything in politics, and American political history might have changed dramatically if the Lieutenant Governor of New York had not suffered from diabetes.

There might not be a U.S. Senate race here to focus on this year, but there's still plenty of action to follow in the rest of the country. For those interested, here's a brief roundup of some of the most competitive races.

In Minnesota, the latest polling give U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (R) a slight advantage over Democratic challenger Al Franken. The Star Tribune has Coleman up by 4 while Survey USA gives him a 1 point edge.

This one is from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), talking to German magazine Der Spiegel about his skipping the Republican National Convention:

There’s no celebration in any convention of bipartisanship because you have the most hard-core individuals. Think about the Republicans from California that are running the party. I have almost no contact with them. None -- because they’re just so out there.

U.S. Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Alamo) has loaned her communications director to the campaign of Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) in Maryland's 1st Congressional District.

Kevin Lawlor assumed the role of press secretary for Kratovil this week.