Michael Crowley: “In an election dominated by the economy, it might not be disqualifying. But in a close race, any disadvantage could spell defeat. Thus, Romney’s trip over the next week to the U.K., Israel and Poland is an effort to build his credibility as a statesman. But the first step was a Tuesday speech in Reno, Nev., to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention designed to draw a contrast with Obama. It was not a promising start. Romney’s main shortcoming is that he has no clear alternative vision on foreign policy. His primary complaint with Obama is both amorphous and unfair: Romney presents himself as a tribune for the ideals of American greatness and exceptionalism.”

On Romney’s indictment of the national security leaks from the White House: “It’s not hard to see why Romney might want to gin up a phony crisis. When it comes to foreign policy, his views turn out to be fairly mundane.”

The Commission on Presidential Debates has proposed three presidential and one vice presidential debate this fall. Each will be 90-minutes.

[Read more…]

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Pennsylvania shows President Obama leading Mitt Romney by six points, 49% to 43%.

That said, Obama’s approval numbers in Pennsylvania continue to be
a little bit worrisome. Only 46% of voters approve of him to 50% who
disapprove.

“Let me say this as emphatically as I can: Who cares about Mitt Romney’s tax returns? Secondly, I love the fact that the guy is rich. You got people who are trying to make it seem like being rich is bad.”

— Herman Cain, quoted by the Sacramento Bee.

The Week: “Team Obama is burning through cash at an unsustainable pace, some Democrats say, that may leave him struggling financially in the final stretch of the campaign.”

Nate Silver: “We’ve now been running our presidential forecast model for almost two months, but very little has changed in our analysis of the race. Each day, we have shown Barack Obama as a modest favorite to win re-election. At no point has projected margin of victory in the popular vote been smaller than 1.7 percentage points, or larger than 2.7 percentage points; it was 2.3 percentage points as of Tuesday evening’s forecast.”

The AP reports nearly $81 million was spent on the failed effort to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R).

The money spent on Walker’s race was more than double the previous record spending of $37.4 million in Walker’s 2010 campaign.

If you wanted clear evidence the Obama campaign is worried about Mitt Romney’s attacks using the president’s “You didn’t build that” line, it’s a new response ad which shows President Obama speaking directly to the camera saying his words were taken out of context.

First Read: “You wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t showing up in some of their data. By the way, there have to be a few in Boston disappointed – strategically – to realize that their most effective hit so far on Obama was starting to stick and now their principal is going away on an overseas trip.”

The ad will air in in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Iowa, and Nevada.

The Atlantic has more on the “spectacular silliness” of the “You Didn’t Build That” debate.

[Read more…]

First Read: “Our new NBC/WSJ poll clearly shows that there are two forces at play in this presidential election: the economy (which is a drag on Obama) vs. likeability/values (which is a drag on Romney). Which force is stronger? The answer to that question will likely decide the election.”

Just before Mitt Romney arrives in London for his international trip, a Romney adviser told the Daily Telegraph that President Obama has not been good friend to Britain because he doesn’t “fully appreciate” America’s “Anglo-Saxon heritage.”

The adviser said Romney would be different: “We are part of an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and he feels that the special relationship is special. The White House didn’t fully appreciate the shared history we have”.

Beth Myers, who is leading Mitt Romney’s search for a running mate, explained the difficulty of leading such a secretive process, ABC News reports.

Said Myers: “Wherever I go, and it’s been very strange, I can’t tell — because I’m a pretty open person — but I can’t tell anybody about this at all. My children and husband are really kind of upset, because they — they’ll start — I can sort of tell they’re plotting against me, and they’ll have like — dinner table — just a casual conversation, ‘Gee, who would be a good VP?’ And I just sit there silently.”

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) urged Mitt Romney’s campaign to take a more aggressive posture, Politico reports.

Said Walker: “I think there’s a lot of caution. I think the mistake that they’ve made is the feeling like it can just be a referendum on the president. It’s certainly a part of it for any incumbent, it’s got to be a referendum on, do you like or dislike, not just the president, but his policies… but there’s got to be something more. People don’t just vote somebody out, they’ve got to vote somebody in.”

Alex Burns: “What’s consistent is that Romney never (or rarely) deviates from the script he’s had since 2011. Walker’s concern is that it’s not enough to close the deal.”

A new Mitchell Research poll in Michigan finds Mitt Romney edging President Obama in Michigan, 45% to 44%.

Said pollster Steve Mitchell: “Romney’s home state continues to look as though it is going to be a battleground state this year.”

Update:  A new Public Policy Polling survey shows Obama leading by 14 points, 53% to 395.

The Democratic super PAC Priorities USA Action uses an Olympics themed ad to continue hitting Mitt Romney on outsourcing and using Swiss bank accounts.

The ad will run during the Olympics in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

[Read more…]

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds President Obama leading Mitt Romney nationally by six points, 49% to 43%.

“The poll also finds a resurgence of anxiety about the economy as job growth has slowed, though Obama maintains his edge on several fronts despite that. Half of registered voters feel less optimistic about the direction of the economy, with just 27% predicting the economy would improve over the next year-a sharp drop in optimism from recent months.”

“One result stands out, though: Both candidates clocked their highest count to date among Americans who now view them ‘very negatively.’ Nearly a third of voters saw Mr. Obama that way, compared with nearly a quarter for Mr. Romney.”

Said pollster Bill McInturff: “We have two candidates who are in deep, double-digit negatives. There is no precedent for that in the modern era.”

A new MassINC poll in Massachusetts finds Elizabeth Warren (D) leading Sen. Scott Brown (R) among registered voters by a two point margin, 40% to 38%, with 16% still undecided.