Not Interested in No. 2?

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Dead Heat

Republican Doug Forrester has all but caught up to Democratic Senator John Corzine (search) in the New Jersey Governor's race, after trailing by 18 points just a month ago. Forty-four percent of likely voters support Corzine, according to a new Marist poll — compared with 43 percent who support Forrester.

Forrester's campaign says he's tapping into anger over recent scandals in Trenton and Corzine is still stinging from criticism over a $470,000 loan he gave a former girlfriend who runs the state's largest worker union.

While momentum may favor Forrester, 57 percent of New Jersey residents still believe Corzine will win the seat in next month's election.

Economics Lesson

The California Teachers' Association has apparently spent itself into debt trying to take down Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's (search) upcoming ballot initiatives. And CTA financial director Carlos Moreno says this summer's $60-a-year dues hike is merely keeping the union afloat.

The group has already spent the $50 million it raised to fight the initiatives — which would make it easier to fire teachers with tenure and increase restrictions on unions using members' dues for political campaigns.

Now, the CTA is asking for an extra $40 million in credit to keep up the fight — on top of $34 million in loans the union is already paying down.

Dan Had Doubts?

Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather (search) continues to stand behind that discredited "60 Minutes" report on President Bush's National Guard service — recently saying that no one has yet determined whether those disputed memos were forgeries.

But according to an updated edition of David Blum's book "Tick... Tick... Tick," Rather confessed to executive producer Josh Howard that he'd had doubts about the documents all along.

Blum recounts that Rather said, "I knew when I did the [document expert Marcel] Matley interview that something wasn't right with all this."

CBS said it could not verify Rather's remark, but noted that it was not included in the 224-page report of the CBS investigation.

Not Interested in No. 2?

Sen. John McCain (search), R-Ariz., says he doesn't think much of the job Vice President Dick Cheney is doing. But it's not the man that McCain is against... it's the job itself.

At a New York fundraiser this weekend, the Arizona Republican said he's considering running for president in 2008. But when asked whether he'd accept the No. 2 spot in any administration, McCain said, "I spent all those years in a North Vietnamese prison camp, kept in the dark, fed scraps, why the hell would I want to do that all over again?"

— FOX News' Aaron Bruns contributed to this report