A new Quinnipiac poll in Connecticut finds Linda McMahon (R) edging Rep. Chris Murphy (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 49% to 46%.

Said pollster Douglas Schwartz: “Her edge is due to her double- digit lead among independent voters and being close among women, a group she struggled with in her 2010 run.”

In the presidential race, President Obama leads Mitt Romney by just seven points, 52% to 45%.

President Obama’s campaign slaps back at the Romney’s campaign use of his “You didn’t build that” line with a new video focused on his time at Bain Capital: “You didn’t build that. You destroyed it.”

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CNN: “In most presidential races this close, it is a battle for the undecideds and independents. Pre-convention interviews with both Republican and Democratic delegates suggest this year might be more like trench warfare — firing up the party faithful, starting in Tampa and Charlotte, to mobilize a high grassroots voter turnout in November.”

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.

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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.”