We told you earlier this week of a poll commissioned last month by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed to gauge popular support for a new Falcons stadium.

The survey by Anzalone, Liszt, Grove Research was also a campaign document, and so measured the favorability rankings of Reed – who is up for re-election this year – and many other figures. To wit:

Barack Obama: 79 percent

Nathan Deal: 44 percent

Kasim Reed: 83 percent

Shirley Franklin: 69 percent

Mary Norwood: 64 percent

Lisa Borders: 55 percent

Cathy Woolard: 32 percent

Ceasar Mitchell: 36 percent

Kwanza Hall: 38 percent

Keisha lance Bottoms: 26 percent

Erroll Davis: 28 percent

The Atlanta Falcons: 80 percent

Arthur Blank: 72 percent

But the real eye-popping figure was the racial make-up of the 802 voters polled. The survey presumed a city without a racial majority: 48 percent African-American, 47 percent white, 1 percent Hispanic, and 4 percent other.

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President Barack Obama will give the commencement address at Morehouse College in Atlanta on May 19 – but apparently will manage a little politicking, too.

Click here, and you’ll see the notice from U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., reserving time for an Obama fundraiser in Atlanta on that same Sunday. Given that Bennet is chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, one wonders whether this is just an ATM stop – or if Georgia Democrats will by then have settled on a 2014 candidate to compete for Saxby Chambliss’ seat.

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On that same topic, Tim Bryant of WGAU (1340AM) in Athens sent a sound clip of U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Marietta, who said he would be making his decision on whether to enter the U.S. Senate race “within a matter of weeks rather than months.”

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Georgia’s sole white Democrat in Congress must feel like Gumby in a tug-of-war. From the Washington Post:

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel of New York told reporters Wednesday that he is confident that conservative Democratic Reps. John Barrow of Georgia and Nick Rahall of West Virginia will run for reelection next year, even as they have been mentioned as attractive candidates for open Senate seats….

“I’m confident not only because I believe their path to victory in the House is secure, but also based on my own personal experience,” Israel said. “I too believed that I would be a senator for a short period of time. And then the deeper I got, the more I fell back in love with the House of Representatives. So I can speak from personal perspective here. I’m pretty comfortable they’ll continue to offer solutions in the House of Representatives.”

Barrow, by the way, has a press conference about Keystone XL bills today with Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, and Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb.

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Today is the Ides of March. Which is why CPAC’s dress code includes a ban on togas.

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U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney almost chose as his running mate, says he’s changed his mind on gay marriage. From his op-ed in today’s Columbus Dispatch:

Two years ago, my son Will, then a college freshman, told my wife, Jane, and me that he is gay. He said he’d known for some time, and that his sexual orientation wasn’t something he chose; it was simply a part of who he is. Jane and I were proud of him for his honesty and courage. We were surprised to learn he is gay but knew he was still the same person he’d always been. The only difference was that now we had a more complete picture of the son we love.

At the time, my position on marriage for same-sex couples was rooted in my faith tradition that marriage is a sacred bond between a man and a woman. Knowing that my son is gay prompted me to consider the issue from another perspective: that of a dad who wants all three of his kids to lead happy, meaningful lives with the people they love, a blessing Jane and I have shared for 26 years.

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The AJC’s Politifact Georgia today takes a look at the claim by Cobb County E-SPLOST supporters that the penny tax has helped the local school system avoid debt.