Mashable talks to @InvisibleObama, the Twitter handle born during Clint Eastwood’s bizarre convention appearance last night.

“I remain very, very skeptical of hearing anything that will change the course of history. We have a debt problem. We have a spending problem, but how many things did he list to cut?”

— Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), in an interview with Bloomberg TV, on Romney’s speech to the Republican convention.

In an Obama campaign conference call with reporters, senior adviser David Axelrod said that former President George W. Bush’s policies and legacy — but not Bush himself — will be key to the Obama campaign’s effort to draw a sharp contrast with Mitt Romney, Greg Sargent reports.

“Axelrod joked that Bush the man would get about as much of a mention at the DNC as he did at the RNC — which is to say, almost none at all — but said Bush economics would be very much on the agenda.”

Said Axelrod: “We are going to take issue with the policies that were in place in the last decade, because this is where they want to go back to. These are the policies that they want to embrace once again.”

Alex Castellanos, a former political adviser to Mitt Romney:

“At some point in a debate, Obama is going to turn and challenge Romney, saying, ‘Mitt, you have nothing new to offer. In fact, on social issues, foreign policy, taxes, spending, Medicare and everything else, you have nothing different to offer than taking us back to what George Bush proposed. That’s what got us into this mess.’ Romney has yet to answer that question. He has until the first presidential debate Oct. 3, in Denver, to find a response.”

“Republican voters, if you ask them about my particular policy positions, often agree with me. So there’s a difference between Republicans in Washington and Republican and Republican-leaning voters around the country. I think that after this election, we’ll be in a position to once again reach out to Republicans and say that the American people have rendered a judgment, and the positions we’re taking are well within what used to be considered bipartisan centrist approaches.”

— President Obama, in an interview with Parade, on how he’ll be able to work with Republicans after the election.

Runner’s World is investigating claims by Rep. Paul Ryan that he ran a marathon in under three hours but “has been unable to find any marathon results by Ryan.”

“Requests for more information from Ryan’s Washington and Wisconsin offices, and from the Romney-Paul campaign, have so far gone unanswered.”

A federal judge in Ohio “is giving all voters in the swing state the option of casting their ballot in person during the three days before Election Day,” the AP reports.

The judge issued a preliminary injunction granting the request from President Obama’s campaign that targets a state law that cuts off early voting for most residents on the Friday evening before a Tuesday election.

Rick Hasen: “This could get very ugly very quickly. This is certainly not the last word, unless SOS Husted chooses not to appeal.”

A new West Virginia Poll shows Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) crushing challenger John Raese (R), 66% to 27%.

In the presidential race, Mitt Romney has a solid lead over President Obama, 52% to 38%.

Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele, ousted as party chief in 2010, told Jon Stewart he was now “all by myself” in the Republican party.

Said Steele: “Yeah, I had no invitation, no credentials. I had to crash the joint, that’s what happens.”

[Read more…]

William Kristol: “Mitt Romney said not a word about the war in Afghanistan. Nor did he utter a word of appreciation to the troops fighting there, or to those who have fought there. Nor for that matter were there thanks for those who fought in Iraq, another conflict that went unmentioned.”

“Leave aside the question of the political wisdom of Romney’s silence, and the opportunities it opens up for President Obama next week. What about the civic propriety of a presidential nominee failing even to mention, in his acceptance speech, a war we’re fighting and our young men and women who are fighting it?”

Mark Halperin: “Convention planners had assumed the Hollywood legend would reprise the powerful and typically gruff/charming performance he delivered at the beginning of August when he showed up out of the blue at a Romney fundraiser in Idaho and said he was backing the Republican.”

“Romney aides played down the impact Eastwood’s odd turn might have on Tampa’s positive impact, but they acknowledge that the empty-chair monologue came as a complete surprise to them. They simply turned the podium over to an iconic superstar and expected him to stand and deliver.”

First Read: “Unfortunately for the Romney campaign, Eastwood was yet another unforced
error. Of course, all campaigns make them… But
Romney and his campaign stumble on the EASIEST of situations.”

“We should sink Todd Akin. If he’s found mysteriously murdered, don’t look for my whereabouts!”

— Karl Rove, quoted by Businessweek at a fundraiser, on the unwanted Republican Missouri U.S. Senate candidate.

A new ABC News-Washington Post poll finds one in four registered voters may be persuadable in the 2012 presidential election.

Key findings: “One element of persuadability, anxiety, is significant: In the new ABC/Post poll, 53 percent of Obama’s backers say that regardless of their supporting him, they’re anxious about how he’d perform in a second term as president – and even more of Romney’s supporters, 62 percent, are anxious about their man. Four in 10 overall also say they’re interested in more information about the candidates. And 25 percent meet both those conditions: anxious about their candidate, and looking for more information.”