A new book, Leading From Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisors Who Decide for Him by Richard Miniter, claims that President Obama canceled missions to kill Osama bin Laden three time and says it was adviser Valerie Jarrett who persuaded him to hold off each time.
The charge would be much more explosive, of course, if President Obama hadn’t issued the orders that ultimately did kill the al Qaeda leader.
A new Democracy Corps (D) survey shows President Obama leading Mitt Romney nationally by four points, 50% to 46%.
Even more interesting: The poll finds President Obama’s approval rating at 50%.
Nevada Democrats are registering voters at a much faster clip than Republicans, the Las Vegas Sun reports.
“New numbers released this week show Democrats have increased their advantage over Republicans to 47,500 voters. Since April, Democratic voter registration has increased by 20,500. Republican registration in that time has increased by 9,700.”
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“I obviously am not a big fan of President Obama. I think he’s been one of our weakest presidents… I’d be hard put to find any Democratic president that I’ve disagreed with more.”
— Dick Cheney, in an interview with ABC News.
Dave Weigel notes The Amateur by Ed Klein — a controversial, anonymously-sourced attack on President Obama — has sold 137,000 copies, while Barack Obama: The Story by David Maraniss — which “cracked sources who’d never before talked about the president — ex-girlfriends, pot-smoking buddies, roommates” — has sold only 19,000.
Businessweek says it’s not about Bain Capital or offshore tax havens. It’s an ad about bullying being run in Michigan by attorney Geoffrey Fieger.
Howard Kurtz reports on Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) failed efforts to advise Mitt Romney and his frustration at a behind-the-scenes role in the campaign.
“When Mitt Romney declared, during a Republican primary debate in Tampa, that he would pressure illegal immigrants to ‘self-deport’ back to their home countries, John McCain was downright disturbed. Worried that his former rival was grievously wounding himself with Hispanic voters, the Arizona senator staged an intervention. He and fellow senator Lindsey Graham placed a joint call to Romney in January, urging him to tone down his rhetoric. Romney listened politely, sources say, and did not use the phrase again.”
“It was a rare instance of Romney taking counsel from the man who beat him in the last campaign — and who has been relegated to a behind-the-scenes role in this one. Four years after his own presidential bid, McCain’s luster as a Republican Party spokesman appears to have dimmed: a number of proposed campaign trips on Romney’s behalf have quietly evaporated, and there has been no offer of a speaking slot at the GOP convention.”
Politico: “At least 5 million voters, predominantly young and from minority groups sympathetic to President Barack Obama, could be affected by an unprecedented flurry of new legislation by Republican governors and GOP-led legislatures to change or restrict voting rights by Election Day 2012.”
“Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Virginia and Wisconsin, all viewed as important states this fall, each have enacted stricter ID laws. Florida and Ohio have cut back on early voting. And a whole host of other states have passed new ID laws as well.”
First Read has the backstory behind giving Bill Clinton a prime speaking slot at the Democratic convention:
“But what shouldn’t be ignored about this decision is that Wednesday Sept. 5 is the NFL’s first game of the regular season, which will air on NBC. (It’s Giants-Cowboys; not exactly a matchup of teams that have small fan bases.) The Obama camp realized that it needed a big draw to compete with the NFL game and to convince the other networks to cover (NBC will NOT be airing any of the convention on the NFL night). In addition, moving Biden to Thursday isn’t a snub at all; in fact, it means that more male eyeballs will be on him than would have been the case if he went on Wednesday. Per NBC’s Dann, sources say the decision to bump Biden to the final night of the convention was made jointly by the VP and the president. Both Biden and Obama will speak at the football stadium.”
Former Vice President Dick Cheney told ABC News that he will not attend the Republican convention next month because he’d rather go fishing.
Former President George W. Bush will also not attend the convention.
Ryan Lizza has a fantastic profile of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI).
“Ryan’s long-range plan was straightforward: to create a detailed alternative to Obama’s budget and persuade his party to embrace it. He would start in 2009 and 2010 with House Republicans, the most conservative bloc in the Party. Then, in the months before the Presidential primaries, he would focus on the G.O.P. candidates. If the plan worked, by the fall of 2012 Obama’s opponent would be running on Paul Ryan’s ideas, and in 2013 a new Republican President would be signing them into law.”
“Sitting in his office more than three years ago, Ryan could not have foreseen how successful his crusade to reinvent the Republican Party would be… To envisage what Republicans would do if they win in November, the person to understand is not necessarily Romney, who has been a policy cipher all his public life. The person to understand is Paul Ryan.”
A new Gallup survey finds that creating good jobs, reducing corruption in the federal government, and reducing the federal budget deficit score highest among 12 issues as priorities for the next president. In contrast, Americans “assign much less importance to increasing taxes on wealthy Americans and dealing with environmental concerns.”
Byron York: “The point is not that any of the goals listed by Gallup is
insignificant. The point is that Americans prioritize what they want
their political leaders to do, and right now, the things that are on top
of the voters’ list — creating jobs, reducing corruption, and cutting
the deficit — are issues that Mitt Romney and Republicans in Congress
have been stressing every day. And the goals the president has been
stressing are simply not at the top of voters’ concerns.”
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Texas finds Ted Cruz (R) leading David Dewhurst (R) in for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination, 52% to 42%.
Key findings: “Cruz is ahead by a whooping 75-22 margin with Tea Party voters, more than making up for a 56-39 deficit to Dewhurst with voters who don’t consider themselves members of that movement. There has been too much of a tendency to ascribe any Republican primary upset over the last few years to Tea Party voters, but this is one case where it’s well justified.”
Politico: “Despite being outspent more than 3-to-1, having never run for office and being tasked with penetrating the Lone Star State’s 20 media markets with virtually zero name recognition, Cruz is well positioned to upset Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst Tuesday. It’s a scenario that would send shockwaves through the political elite and embolden the thousands of conservatives from across the country who have descended here to help push him over the finish line.”
The runoff is on Tuesday.
President Obama “has an overall edge in the 12 decisive battleground states that is measurably greater than his advantage in national polling,” The Hill reports.
“The dynamic, which may reflect a combination of lower swing-state unemployment rates and demographic advantages for the president, is causing stirrings of unease among Republicans, even as they emphasize that it is important not to read too much into the state of the race right now.”
Bill Clinton is “set to play a central part in the Democratic convention, aides said, and will formally place President Obama’s name into nomination by delivering a prime-time speech designed to present a forceful economic argument for why Mr. Obama deserves to win a second term,” the New York Times reports.
Said David Axelrod: “There isn’t anybody on the planet who has a greater perspective on not just the last four years, but the last two decades, than Bill Clinton. He can really articulate the choice that is before people.”
Vice President Joe Biden and Obama “will appear together on stage before they accept the party’s nomination for a second term in the White House. It is unusual in recent election cycles, although not without precedent, for the vice president not to get the stage to himself during a night at the convention.”
USA Today:
“The prominent role for Clinton reflects the latest truce between the
two presidents, who first clashed during the 2008 Democratic primaries
when Obama defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton. More recently, the Obama
team has been frustrated by Clinton comments complimenting Romney’s
business career and endorsing a different strategy on tax cuts.”
CNN says using the song Stupid Girls “to introduce a segment
on Sarah Palin was unintentional and not meant as a commentary on the
former Republican vice presidential candidate,” The Wrap reports.
Mitt Romney was asked by ABC News if there was ever any year when he paid lower than a 13.9% effective tax rate as his 2010 tax returns show.
Said Romney: “I haven’t calculated that. I’m happy to go back and look but my view is I’ve paid all the taxes required by law. From time to time I’ve been audited as happens I think to other citizens as well and the accounting firm which prepares my taxes has done a very thorough and complete job pay taxes as legally due. I don’t pay more than are legally due and frankly if I had paid more than are legally due I don’t think I’d be qualified to become president. I’d think people would want me to follow the law and pay only what the tax code requires.”
However, when pressed if he would get back to the interviewer, Romney wouldn’t directly answer the question.
The Huffington Post reports that “dark money” has made up at least half of all spending this election cycle by outside groups.
“Through July 26, politically involved groups that do not disclose their donors have spent at least $172 million on campaigns that include television, radio and Internet advertising… Total spending by these groups is likely far greater, since they are required to report only a fraction of their spending to the FEC. Politically involved independent groups that publicly disclose their donors, including super PACs, have spent $174 million so far this election cycle.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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