With Commerce Secretary John Bryson’s resignation this week, a Smart Politics review of presidential cabinet data finds that President Obama currently ranks tied for fourth of the 23 administrations since FDR’s first term for the lowest rate of department head departures.
Don’t Expect Another Wave
Charlie Cook: “A little more than four months out from the election, the tides seem about as neutral as they can be. Both parties have surprisingly comparable levels of exposure, largely because of redistricting. The relatively calm surface of this year’s waters belies a lot of offsetting tumult and change underneath. But for House Republicans, who hold a 25-seat majority, a status quo election producing minimal net change would be good news.”
“Republicans would need to mess up pretty badly to lose their House majority in the near future.”
Gas Prices Falling Rapidly
USA Today notes the cost of gasoline could be below $3 a gallon by the November election.
“Nationally, regular gasoline averages $3.47 a gallon, down 47 cents from this year’s high in April and well below the $5-a-gallon fears fanned earlier this year by energy speculators, Middle East tensions and oil refinery glitches that crimped supplies. Those issues appear to be over, at least for now.”
Bain Led Outsourcing Wave
Mitt Romney’s financial company, Bain Capital, “invested in a series of
firms that specialized in relocating jobs done by American workers to
new facilities in low-wage countries like China and India,” the Washington Post reports.
“During the nearly 15 years that Romney was actively involved in
running Bain, a private equity firm that he founded, it owned companies
that were pioneers in the practice of shipping work from the United
States to overseas call centers and factories making computer
components, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.”
More details: “Bain played several roles in helping these
outsourcing companies, such as investing venture capital so they could
grow and providing management and strategic business advice as they
navigated this rapidly developing field.”
Obama Pollster Says Ignore the Polls
Obama pollster Joel Benenson tells Greg Sargent that coverage of “meaningless daily polling” distracts from coverage of the actual policy differences between the two presidential candidates.
Said Benenson: “The only thing that’s bouncing around are the public polls. The electorate doesn’t bounce around like that. It’s more static than the noise in all these polls. If you watch the electorate over time, they don’t jump up and down. This is a process.”
He added: “Movement tends to come in small increments, and people ought to be mindful of that. We had 45 different polls over a 42 day period. It’s an industry unto itself.”
Romney Launches More First Day Ads
Mitt Romney up with state-specific versions of his “First 100 Days” ads in Ohio, Virginia, Iowa, and North Carolina.
They’re all similar in advocating the repeal of President Obama’s health care law, with the exception of the Ohio ad which doesn’t mention ObamaCare at all.
Obama Still Way Ahead Among Young Voters
A new Garfield Institute poll of young voters aged 18-29 finds they prefer President Obama over Mitt Romney, 50% to 37%, but that Obama’s support has slipped significantly from the levels the president enjoyed in the 2008 presidential race.
Obama Has Big Lead Among Latinos in Swing States
A new Latino Decisions poll shows President Obama way ahead of Mitt Romney among Latino voters in the key swing states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Virginia.
“In Florida, the poll found Obama leading Romney by a margin of 53% to 37%, a slight increase from a 50% to 40% lead Obama held over Romney in a January 2012 Latino Decisions/Univision News poll in Florida. In the five states combined Obama lead Romney 63% to 27%, however in southwestern battlegrounds of Arizona, Colorado and Nevada Obama performed even better. In Arizona Obama received 74% to 18% for Romney, in Colorado he was favored by 70% to 22% and in Nevada 69% to 20%. In Virginia, Obama lead 59% to 28% over Romney among Latino registered voters.”
Alex Burns notes Obama “won the Latino vote by 36 points nationally in 2008, which is the
same margin he leads Romney overall across these five swing states.”
Over at Wonk Wire
Check out the latest at our sister site, Wonk Wire:
- QE3 is Next
- FDA Reform Bill Garners Rare Bipartisan Agreement
- Will the Mandate Fail Anyway?
- Cities Can and Should Fix the Mortgage Crisis
- HPV Vaccine Bill Vetoed in South Carolina
- Public Employee Retirement Benefits Face Growing Shortfall
- States Prepare for Health Care Reform Ruling
- Chart of the Day
- Farm Bill Works Its Way Through Senate
- Science Not Conclusive on 9/11 and Cancer
Daniels Swears Off Politics
As reported earlier this week, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) was formally elected the next president of Purdue University.
The Indianapolis Star notes Daniels said that “he would recuse himself of any activities of partisan activity or political commentary. Last January, Daniels gave the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.”
Another Poll Shows Obama Slightly Ahead
A new Pew Research poll mirrors two national polls cited earlier and shows a very close presidential race with President Obama just ahead of Mitt Romney, 50% to 46%.
Key findinds: “The slide in economic optimism points to Romney’s most important advantage in the race. Nearly half of registered voters (49%) say Romney would do the best job of improving economic conditions, compared with 41% who favor Obama. Yet Romney trails Obama by wide margins on connecting well with ordinary people, honesty and truthfulness, consistency, displaying good judgment and several other personal dimensions.”
The Little Blue Book
Just published: The Little Blue Book: The Essential Guide to Thinking and Talking Democratic by George Lakoff and Elisabeth Wehling.
Romney Takes Softer Stand on Immigration
Mitt Romney “offered what he called a strategy for ‘bipartisan and long-term immigration reform’ in an address to a convention of Latino elected officials in Florida,” the New York Times reports.
“In the speech, which also touched on the economy, Mr. Romney dropped the confrontational tone he took on immigration during the Republican primary. Instead, he promised to work in a series of areas to help immigrants and their families while discouraging people from coming to the country illegally.”
Bryson Resigns as Commerce Secretary
John Bryson “announced his resignation as President Obama’s commerce secretary on Thursday following an episode in which he had a seizure and was involved in a sequence of automobile accidents,” the New York Times reports.
“Bryson offered no further information about his health or the status of the legal case following the episode earlier this month.”
Christie and The Boss
The Atlantic: “Chris Christie is, even in moments of tranquility — of which, in his life, there seem to be none — a torqued-up, joyously belligerent, easily baited, and preternaturally exuberant son of New Jersey, so bringing him to a Bruce Springsteen concert is an exercise in volcano management. Christie, in the presence of Springsteen — whom he would marry if he were gay and if gay people were allowed to marry in the state he governs — loses himself. He is, as is well known, a very large man — twice the width of Mitt Romney — but he is a very large man who dances at Springsteen concerts in front of many thousands of people without giving a damn what they think.”
“This concert is the 129th the governor has attended… The depth of Christie’s love is noteworthy in part because most politicians — certainly most politicians of national stature — are either too dull or too monomaniacally careerist to maintain fervent emotional relationships with artists. And when they do, the objects of their affection resemble them ideologically or dispositionally — think of the loyalty that Pat Leahy, the liberal senator from Vermont, has for the Grateful Dead. Christie’s passionate attachment to Bruce Springsteen is something different, and much more complicated.”
Lawmaker Says People are Dumber
Bloomberg Businessweek invited four retiring members of Congress, including Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), to speak candidly about what being a member of a highly partisan Congress is really like.
Said Ackerman: “Society has changed. The public is to blame as well. I think the people have gotten dumber. I don’t know that I would’ve said that out loud pre-my announcement that I was going to be leaving. [Laughter] But I think that’s true.”
Romney Campaign Held Meeting at Racy Nightclub
Campaign finance filings show Mitt Romney’s campaign held a meeting at a racy Arizona nightclub that boasts a “specialty champagne bar in the co-ed bathroom,” according to BuzzFeed.
“The Mint” also specializes in making “all types of events imaginable” which include models, dancers, and showgirls along with body painting in a nightclub that calls itself “half restaurant” and “half ultra-lounge.”
Quote of the Day
“Each and every day that I’ve been a United States senator, I’ve been discussing issues meeting on issues, in secret meetings with kings and queens and prime ministers and business leaders and military leaders talking voting working on issues every single day.”
— Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), quoted by the Boston Globe.
