Convention Solution Under Debate

"I am stepping down from the volunteer role I recently agreed to take on with the Obama campaign as Arab-American and Muslim-American coordinator in order to avoid distracting from Barack Obama's message of change," Chicago lawyer Mazen Asbahi wrote in a statement released by the campaign.

The Obama campaign said that Asbahi had worked in his volunteer position since July 26, and that a new person would be appointed to the job.

The Wall Street Journal, which reported late Monday that Asbahi was leaving the campaign, had inquired about his relationship with Jamal Said. In 2000, Asbahi and Said served on the board of trustees of the Dow Jones Islamic Index Fund, a subsidiary of the North American Islamic Trust, which holds titles to mosques, Islamic centers, schools and other real estate around the country. Said had been named in an investigation of alleged Hamas fundraisers, the paper said. The case ended in a mistrial last year.

-- Perry Bacon Jr.

RUNNING-MATE RACE

Bayh Is Backed Into a Corner

ELKHART, Ind. -- Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) seems like a man who would love to see Barack Obama pick a vice presidential nominee soon -- even if it's not him.

Facing a barrage of questions on Tuesday, Bayh was essentially forced to declare on a campaign swing through Indiana the next day that Obama would not be naming him as his vice president. At the end of a town hall meeting Wednesday, reporters asked Bayh about his discussions with Obama, the timetable for a vice presidential pick and a variety of other subjects he did not want to address.

Bayh is no stranger to vice presidential speculation, having been mentioned as a possible pick in 2000 and 2004. The former governor's chances may be stronger this year, given that the Obama campaign is hoping to win steadfastly Republican Indiana.

-- Perry Bacon Jr.