For the Record: Trump brings up ‘pervert Anthony Weiner’ as race tightens in N.H.

Donald Trump dropped a spooky and ominous TV ad for the race’s final days tying Hillary Clinton to “pervert Anthony Weiner.” The ad, titled “Unfit,” attempts to undercut Clinton’s credibility by connecting her with Weiner, the estranged husband of a top Clinton aide accused of sexting a 15-year-old girl.

“Hillary Clinton is Under FBI investigation again after her emails were found on pervert Anthony Weiner’s laptop,” a voiceover says in the ad, as shadowy images of Clinton and Weiner appear over a black background and eerie music.

“Think about that.”

We’d rather not think about Anthony Weiner, ever, if at all possible. Instead, let’s ponder the tightening race in New Hampshire, just whether Clinton’s email case could end soon and Melania Trump’s new anti-bullying push.

It’s For the Record, the unpeverted politics newsletter from USA TODAY.

Take it for granite: Clinton loses lead in New Hampshire polls

Throughout the seeming eons that have made up this election, New Hampshire’s never really come into question. Clinton’s always led there,  RealClearPolitics polling averages show. At times, big league.

That changed Thursday, when a smattering of Granite State polls showed the two neck-and-neck, with one even giving Trump the lead. A WBUR-FM/Mass Inc. poll shows Trump up 40%-39% and a Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll put Trump up 42.2%-41.8%—both virtual ties.

A third, from the  American Research Group, showed Trump ahead of Clinton by 5 points at 48%-43%. That lead pushes Trump past the 4-point margin of error, barely.

The polls help buoy Trump’s claims of momentum in his campaign’s final days. How worried is Team Clinton about it? Not very, a spokeswoman said.

"Polls always tighten in New Hampshire around election day,"said Julie McClain, Clinton’s New Hampshire communications director. "I think we’re all feeling like this is what we knew would happen."

A conclusion on Clinton’s email review by election day? Don’t hold your vote

Yes, the FBI’s still looking into those emails it found last week on a laptop used by Anthony Weiner and Clinton aide Huma Abedin. No, they’re not likely to wrap up the review before Election Day.

Authorities said they want to know whether the emails could change findings on the previously closed case around how Clinton’s handled of classified information.

Finishing before Tuesday was always a tall task, and there still isn’t much confidence that the matter will be settled before ballots are cast, one in-the-know official said.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch wasn’t receiving regular updates, officials said, and there’s no plan for how the announcement would be made or who would make it -- both signs that the review remains in the early goings.

Obama campaigns like it’s 2008, fights with Trump like it’s 2011

Hillary Clinton supporters experienced the Barack Obama of yesteryear during campaign stops in Miami and North Carolina this week. Not gray-haired Obama. Not “forward” Obama. We’re talking full-on hopey, changey Barack Obama.

"This isn't a joke. This isn't 'Survivor.' This isn't 'The Bachelorette',” Obama said on the election, riffing on Donald Trump’s reality show. “This counts.”

And make no mistake: Obama has aimed squarely at Trump, the sometimes fly in his ointment since the Great Birth Certificate Bickering of 2011. Trump, for his part, runs a campaign largely built around loathing Obama.

It was probably a bit awkward, then, that Trump’s plane and Air Force Once both sat parked at the Miami airport Thursday.

“This guy ought to be back in the office working," Trump said of Obama after both found themselves speaking in Jacksonville Thursday. "He’s not going to be there very long, thank goodness."

Around the campaign trail

• It’s getting chilly in hell: Ted Cruz will campaign for Donald Trump (USA TODAY)
• Trump campaign says small donors gave $100 million in October (USA TODAY)
• House Republicans aren’t worried about any ‘Trump effect’ (USA TODAY)

Melania Trump, husband of Donald Trump: I think bullies are bad

In her first solo speech since the Republican convention, Melania Trump called for an end to child cyber-bullying on Thursday.

“Children and teenagers can be fragile. They hurt when they are made fun of or made to feel less in looks or intelligence,” said Melania Trump, who clarified that many adults are “able to handle mean words — even lies.”

Many detected a hint of irony.

“If Melania Trump wants to combat cyber bullying on social media, she should start by changing the password to her husband’s Twitter account,” @seanrsimons tweeted.