“I wish this president would learn how to be an American.”

— Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu (R), quoted by BuzzFeed, on a conference call organized by Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.

First Read: “While we’re bracing for Mitt Romney to make his VP pick as soon as this week, here is something to consider: If history is any guide, Romney won’t announce his selection until next month. Indeed, in modern times, the earliest a pick was made — John Kerry tapping John Edwards in 2004 — was less than three weeks before the Democratic convention began. Outside of that, every other running mate since 1980 has been selected NO EARLIER than a week before the convention began, if not afterward. And right now we are out six weeks until the Republican convention in Tampa. So Romney could very well go this week, but he’d be making an earlier pick than any other presumptive presidential nominee in modern times.”

President Obama “is weaning himself off his teleprompter,” The Hill observes.

“At recent campaign events in Pennsylvania, Virginia and again Monday in Ohio, Obama spoke to crowds in high school gymnasiums and at crowded outdoor events without his teleprompter, instead using written notes. The difference is dramatic. Instead of turning in his characteristic manner from right to left and back again, reading from the two sloping, clear-plastic planes of his teleprompter, Obama has glanced down at pages in a binder on his podium.”

A senior Obama official said the lack of teleprompters has “less to do with
image and more to do with upping the tempo” at campaign events.

President Obama’s re-election campaign has a new video compiling clips of Republicans suggesting that Mitt Romney is hiding something by not releasing his tax returns.

[Read more…]

“It’s a clown story, bro.”

— Former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), quoted by the New York Observer, on speculation that he might return to politics.

Emails from the DNC host committee refer to the Charlotte venue where President Obama will accept the Democratic party presidential nomination as “Panthers Stadium.”

Of course, as Maggie Haberman notes, “It’s the place where the Panthers play, but it’s actually called Bank of America stadium.”

Mitt Romney “appears to be in the final stages of deciding who to pick as his vice presidential running mate, with speculation growing that he has narrowed his choice down to a short-list of three,” Reuters reports.

The names given: Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R).

The Obama campaign released a new ad hammering Mitt Romney for not releasing his tax returns asking whether he’s “paid any taxes at all” in some years.

The ad is running only in Pennsylvania.

[Read more…]

Nate Silver argues that because there are relatively few voters that are “persuadable” it would be “an upset” if the Obama campaign attacks on Mitt Romney’s ties to Bain Capital caused a huge swing in the polls.

That said, Romney’s campaign “has begun to behave like Bain Capital is more of a negative factor than a positive or even neutral one… Instead of being more forthright in his defense of Bain’s activities — a strategy that seemed to be roughly achieving a draw in the public’s eyes — he has been in damage-control mode, and has not necessarily been adroit at it.”

“That means it’s at least worth watching the polls over the next couple of weeks to see whether the attacks become more damaging going forward.”

Charlie Cook: “The strategic decision by the Romney campaign not to define him personally — not to inoculate him from inevitable attacks — seems a perverse one. Given his campaign’s ample financial resources, the decision not to run biographical or testimonial ads, in effect to do nothing to establish him as a three-dimensional person, has left him open to the inevitable attacks for his work at Bain Capital, on outsourcing, and on his investments. It’s all rather inexplicable.”

“Aside from a single spot aired in the spring by the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future, not one personal positive ad has been aired on Romney’s behalf. The view that any day or dollar spent on talking about anything other than the economy is a waste has been taken to such an extreme that Romney has no positive definition other than that of being a rich, successful, and presumably smart businessman. People see and feel the reasons for firing Obama every day in the economic statistics and the struggle that so many Americans face daily. The Romney campaign seems focused on reinforcing a message that hardly needs reinforcing, while ignoring a clear and immediate danger to its own candidate’s electability.”

BusinessWeek: Mitt Romney’s wimp factor.

Mark Halperin: “Pause for two beats and pay Prizzi’s Honor-style homage to the ruthless killing machine that is the combined White House-Chicago operation.”

“They have parceled out their opposition research in a manner both strategic and tactical, selecting specific news organizations at times of their choosing to maximize the drip-drip-drip of the twin stories. They have used left-leaning Web outfits as recipients of over-the-transom gifts as effectively (cumulatively) as the Romney campaign uses Drudge. And they have seen the Boston Globe use its credibility to drive a ton of news.”

“The Obamans have dominated numerous consecutive news cycles since the last unemployment numbers came out. And there is more to come for sure. The Gang of 500 is confident it is just a matter of time before Romney relents and puts out additional years of tax returns, an eventuality that the Obama campaign will drag out for days. When some said that the Bain issue was burning out through its use by Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, and others in the nomination fight, Chicago was quietly confident the matter could be easily revived with new information and heavy advertising — and Chicago was right. And, make no mistake, the Obamans are sitting on even more research that they will unfurl down the road.”

A new Quinnipiac poll in New Jersey finds Gov. Chris Christie (R) with a healthy 54% to 39% job approval.

However, New Jersey voters say by 53% to 40% that Christie would be a bad choice as the vice presidential candidate for Mitt Romney.

“I think it can now be said, without equivocation — without equivocation — that this man hates this country. He is trying, Barack Obama is trying, to dismantle, brick-by-brick, the
American dream. There’s no other way to put this. There’s no other way
to explain this.”

— Radio host Rush Limbaugh, quoted by Politico, about President Obama.