Frank Rich made an attempt “to put myself in the Republican brain by spending a solid week listening to, watching, reading, surfing, and otherwise gorging on conservative media.”

“I came away with empathy for those in the right’s base, who are often sold out by the GOP Establishment, and admiration for a number of writers, particularly the youngish conservative commentators at sites like the American Conservative and National Review Online whose writing is as sharp as any on the left (and sometimes as unforgiving of Republican follies) but who are mostly unknown beyond their own ideological circles. What many of the right’s foot soldiers and pundits have in common is their keen awareness that they got a bum deal in Tampa, a convention that didn’t much represent either their fiercely held ideology or their contempt for the incumbent.”

Nate Cohn: “If Obama’s four point lead persists through the week, Obama should be considered a very strong favorite for reelection. While it might seem that the heart of the campaign is still to come, the candidate leading two weeks after the in-party convention has gone onto win the popular vote in every presidential election since Truman’s come from behind victory in 1948. And the only other comebacks were also staged by candidates or incumbents who ascended to the presidency or the nomination following resignation, assassination, or a late decision not to seek reelection.”

Reuters reports President Obama is “cramming” for the upcoming debates.

“Forced to juggle his governing and campaigning responsibilities, Obama is squeezing in debate prep when he can… Obama uses flights to Nevada, Colorado and other election swing
states on Air Force One to read up on Romney’s positions, or studies in
the evenings at the White House when he’s in town.”

Said David Axelrod: “We don’t have the same luxury that Romney does in terms of time.”

Jennifer Rubin says Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign has at least five problems “that dull and dampen its message and drive conservatives nuts”: 1) poor surrogates, 2) too slow to respond to events, 3) too little explanation, 4) not enough leadership talk, 5) and not enough context.

Erick Erickson: “It would be easy to dismiss me by saying I never cared for Romney or I’m somehow actually rooting against him. So let me put it to you this way: Jenn Rubin and I are on the same page. That’s either a sign of the apocalypse or there is something really dysfunctional happening within the Romney campaign.”

New York Times: “Talk of infighting within the Romney headquarters in Boston has been percolating for months, but the report in Politico drew new attention to it and raised questions about Mr. Romney’s management of the campaign, which includes advisers who have been with him since his first run for Massachusetts governor, since he entered presidential politics, and others like Stuart Stevens and his partner Russ Schriefer, who have become still more prominent this campaign season. Republicans close to the operation say it is not Mr. Romney’s style to dismiss any of his advisers.”

First Read notes the story is infighting “isn’t surprising in a presidential campaign. After all, when the going gets tough, campaign advisers and consultants start pointing fingers. But what is surprising is that such an article is coming so soon, before the debates and before this race is truly decided.”

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) tells David Brody why Mitt Romney won’t detail the tax loopholes he says they will eliminate if elected.

Said Ryan: “We have to be able to work with Congress on those details, on how to fill it in and more to the point we don’t want to cut some backroom deal that they did with Obamacare where we hatched some plan behind the scenes and they spring it on the country. We want to do this in front, in the public, through congressional hearings with Congress so that we can get to the best conclusion with a public participation. That’s the process that works the best to ultimate success gets this done. That’s why we’re doing it this way.”

“Because he is being graded on a curve with a bunch of guys who jump into the Sea of Galilee because they want to be closer to God.”

— Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), quoted by The New Republic, on why Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) has developed a “big thinker reputation.”

Mitt Romney’s campaign “has concluded that the 2012 election will not be decided by elusive, much-targeted undecided voters — but by the motivated partisans of the Republican base,” BuzzFeed reports.

“This shifting campaign calculus has produced a split in Romney’s message. His talk show interviews and big ad buys continue to offer a straightforward economic focus aimed at traditional undecided voters. But out stumping day to day is a candidate who wants to talk about patriotism and God, and who is increasingly looking to connect with the right’s intense, personal dislike for President Barack Obama.”

Meanwhile, Politico reports Romney is rolling out a new and broader strategy to make the election a referendum on “status quo versus change.”

“The shift, which is to include much more emphasis on Romney’s policy prescriptions, means he is scrapping the most basic precept of his campaign. From the time he began contemplating running again after his loss in the 2008 primaries, Romney’s theory of the case has been a relentless and nearly exclusive focus on the listless economy.”

Mitt Romney unveiled a strong new ad that features him talking directly to the camera about what he would do as president.

Jon Karl reports the ad is part of “a new advertising offensive that will focus more on the GOP candidate’s plans to turn the country around.  Sources say several new ads have been cut that feature Romney speaking directly to camera. Romney’s aides are describing the retooling as ‘More Mitt.’ It’s an acknowledgement that attacking President Obama is not enough — Romney still has to make the case that he is a credible alternative.”

[Read more…]

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Massachusetts finds Elizabeth Warren (D) surging in her challenge to Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) in the U.S. Senate race.

Warren now holds a two point lead, 48% to 46%, after trailing by five points in the firm’s poll last month.

Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein said that he had personally heard British Prime Minister David Cameron make disparaging remarks about Mitt Romney, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Said Weinstein: “I witnessed Prime Minister saying to a group of people, myself included, that Mitt Romney had that unique distinction of uniting all of England against him with his various remarks. On behalf of my love of England, I have to support the President who is anything but making faux-pas.”

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Virginia finds President Obama leading Mitt Romney by five points, 51% to 46%.

When third party candidates are included, Obama leads Romney 49% to 45% with Gary Johnson at 2% and Virgil Goode and Jill Stein both at just 1%.

Key findings: “Virginia continues to look like it may be something of a firewall state for Obama. PPP has now polled it 9 times this cycle, and President Obama has led by at least 4 points on all 9 of the polls. He’s been ahead by 5 points, 5 points, 8 points, and 8 points over the course of the four surveys we’ve conducted in 2012.”

The Week notes Mitt Romney and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu are old friends while Netanyahu and President Obama are frenemies, at best.

TPM: “Netanyahu vigorously disputed such charges Sunday. He said he believes Obama and Romney are both committed to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and that support for Israel in the U.S. is bipartisan.”

Politico: “Stuart Stevens, Mitt Romney’s top strategist, knew his candidate’s convention speech needed a memorable mix of loft and grace if he was going to bound out of Tampa with an authentic chance to win the presidency. So Stevens, bypassing the speechwriting staff at the campaign’s Boston headquarters, assigned the sensitive task of drafting it to Peter Wehner, a veteran of the last three Republican White Houses and one of the party’s smarter wordsmiths.”

“Not a word Wehner wrote was ever spoken.”

“Stevens junked the entire thing, setting off a chaotic, eight-day scramble that would produce an hour of prime-time problems for Romney, including Clint Eastwood’s meandering monologue to an empty chair… The hasty process resulted in a colossal oversight: Romney did not include a salute to troops serving in war zones, and did not mention Al Qaeda or Afghanistan, putting him on the defensive on national security just as the Middle East was about to erupt.”

“No one in Boston thinks this can only be about the economy anymore.”

— A Romney campaign adviser, quoted by BuzzFeed.

Failed U.S. Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell (R) told the Wilmington News-Journal that she’s considering another bid in 2014.

Said O’Donnell: “I think I owe that to my supporters, to at least consider a run. People sacrificed. Not only came out of their comfort zone — sacrificed to work hard in order to win the primary. And I think that I owe it to them to give it every consideration.”