Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) has agreed to play the role of President Obama in debate prep sessions with Mitt Romney, two GOP sources tell CNN.

Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Tom Smith (R) “inadvertently waded into the war of words over rape and abortion on Monday — the very issue his party has been trying to steer clear of these days,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

“Asked about his stance on abortion, Smith said he opposes it, with no exceptions. He then seemed to compare a woman’s decision to have a child outside of marriage to having one from rape.”

Politics PA has audio of the exchange.

Philip Klein: “All credentialed media checking into the Republican National Convention are being given a swag bag featuring brochures and items from various sponsors such as sunglasses and a pocket fan. But the bag also contains a copy of the original hardcover version of Mitt Romney’s book No Apology, in which he suggested his approach to health care in Massachusetts could be accomplished in the rest of the country.”

The paperback version, which came out early last year, completely revised the section on his health care plan.

A new Pew Research survey finds more Americans express interest in learning about what’s in the Republican party platform than in the speeches by either Mitt Romney or his running mate.

About half of the public (52%) is interested in learning about the Republican Party’s platform, while 44% are interested in Romney’s acceptance speech and about the same percentage (46%) in Ryan’s convention speech.

President Obama gave an interview to Glamour magazine that will appear in the November issue, WWD reports.

“A woman’s magazine like Glamour would not traditionally be in play for an interview with the President — first ladies have been more their turf — but agreeing to the interview is a mark of changing media strategies. The Obama campaign has recently been exploring alternative news outlets to press their message — ESPN Magazine, People magazine and Entertainment Tonight have all scored interviews, much to the dismay of the White House press corps, who have not enjoyed the usual privilege of questioning the President since Aug. 19.”

A new Time/CNN/Opinion Research poll in Florida shows President Obama leading Mitt Romney by four points among likely voters, 50% to 46%.

“Obama’s edge in Florida is bolstered by women voters, among whom he’s beating Romney, 54%-42%, and by nonwhite voters, with whom he boasts a 70%-29% advantage. There are signs the incumbent is stitching together the same demographic coalitions that helped him capture Florida’s 29 electoral votes four years ago.”

More details on the poll are available in the CNN/Time Convention Floor Pass app.

A new Time/CNN/Opinion Research poll in North Carolina finds President Obama and Mitt Romney locked in a virtual dead heat with
Romney up 48% to 47% among likely voters.

More details on the poll are available in the CNN/Time Convention Floor Pass app.

Meanwhile, a new SurveyUSA poll finds Obama and Romney tied at 43%.

Democrats bought a digital billboard facing the Tampa Bay Times Forum where Republicans are holding their national convention, BuzzFeed reports.

An image hitting Mitt Romney on outsourcing jobs flashes every 7.5 seconds.

“At this moment in time we’re quite literally looking at a hurricane
here in Florida. We’re looking at a political hurricane in this country.
We are looking at a spiritual hurricane in our land. And it is time for each one of us to show up and suit up and stand up
and realize that in this time and in this day we pour it out for Him.”

— Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), quoted by CNN, who has previously suggested hurricanes are messages from God.

With Isaac headed toward New Orleans, Republican National Convention officials are considering a number of worst-case scenarios including a quick roll call and a truncated speech by Mitt Romney, National Journal reports.

“Officials conceded on the record for the first time Monday that plans for an already shortened three-day convention were in doubt… A senior GOP official said no decision had been made and none was likely Monday, but said the convention conceivably could be as short as a single day.”

Other reports suggested the convention could be cancelled entirely.

Kathleen Parker: “It is noteworthy that so many Republican men are focused on women’s reproduction and issues of the hearth, while veteran Republican women leaders are riveted on the economy and jobs. Could it be that the liberal goal of reversing sex roles finally is manifesting, most vividly within the party least likely to have advanced the cause of evolution? If only men could get pregnant, then we’d really have a rollicking debate. If only…”

“Meanwhile, Romney had better speak often and with conviction about his own disagreement with some of his party’s platform, or the anti-woman narrative will become so entrenched that the 2012 GOP may go down in history as having sacrificed the nation’s economy to protect the rights of human embryos.”

Chris Matthews exploded at RNC Chairman Reince Preibus on Morning Joe and accused the Republican party of playing the race card.

[Read more…]

Florida’s former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist will be a speaker at the Democratic National Convention, the AP reports.

Crist formally endorsed Obama over the weekend.

Mike Murphy: “Political conventions are over. Once, they meant something. I’d leap into the most terrifying of time machines to attend an old school political convention with armies of local pols battling it out under a thick cloud of blue tobacco smoke in a stuffy convention hall, while the string-pulling bosses cut pragmatic deals over whiskey and judicial appointments in lavish hotel suites. Those conventions had drama because outcomes were unknown and stakes were high. Today, delegates are bound through the application of TV ad ratings points, not machine deals. They sit in the convention hall like the background actors in a TV show, milling about to the director’s orders, wearing costumes and denied a single line. It seems a shabby ending to a great tradition. It’s time for a mercy killing.”

A new Mitchell Research poll in Michigan finds President Obama and Mitt Romney tied at 47% each.

Said pollster Steve Mitchell: “There is also reason to believe that theaddition of Paul Ryan to the ticket helps Romney. When the vice presidential candidates areadded to a trial ballot question, Romney/Ryan leads Obama/Biden by 1% (46%-45%). Whenasked if Congressman Ryan’s vice presidential candidacy makes them more or less likely tovote for Romney, 53% say it makes them more likely and 47% less likely.”

A longtime adviser to Vice President Joe Biden “sketched out a surprisingly detailed strategy” to Noam Scheiber for a Biden presidential bid in 2016.

“First, Biden is going to extravagant lengths to ensure his boss’s reelection while putting his own ambitions on hold, in the hope that the Obama brass will reward this selflessness when the time comes… Biden’s inner circle believes the strategy will position him to inherit key players on President Obama’s political team.”

“Step two of the master plan is leveraging Biden’s deep ties to traditional Democratic constituencies, such as labor, trial lawyers, and African American, Jewish, and gay groups and donors, the last of which were thrilled by his plug for same-sex marriage this May.”

Matthew Dowd: “This convention provides an opportunity and a possibility for Romney to grasp this moment. The only way he can do this is improve his personal standing with voters. He needs to get them to see him more positively as a leader and get them to trust that he has the their interests at heart. He needs to connect at a gut level with voters and shift their opinion of him from negative to at least neutral, if not positive. His campaign is making a mistake if they use this convention to primarily attack Obama. They need to make it about Mitt Romney.”