Joe Klein: “The strongest case against Bain capitalism is a metaphor: Mitt Romney made a fortune swapping equity for debt. That’s what we’ve done for the past 30 years in this country, turning a great many of our assets into deficits for short-term gain. We need to do the opposite now.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“You know, it’s America and I don’t wish him any ill. He’s got to make a living, and he’s got to have a life and whatever he thinks is appropriate.”
— New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, quoted by the New York Observer, on whether disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) should make a political comeback.
Scalia Downplays Reports of Rancor on Court
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia “downplayed reports of personal and ideological rifts stemming from the recent landmark health care reform ruling,” telling CNN that “it offends me” to hear such criticism.
“Some media and blog
reports — citing sources with specific knowledge of the deliberation
process — suggested strong tensions among the court’s conservatives
over Roberts’ vote, which some commentators perceived as political
expediency.”
Suicide Bomber was Gitmo Detainee
The suicide bomber who blew up a bus full of Israeli tourists this week was reportedly a Swedish citizen who had been held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp from 2002 to 2004, the Times of Israel reports.
Quote of the Day
“He’s a very generous person. We give 10 percent of our income to our
church every year. Do you think that is the kind of person who is trying
to hide things, or do things?”
— Ann Romney, in an interview on ABC News, defending her husband for not releasing their tax returns but not noting the irony that only their tax returns can prove what they give to charity.
Obama Leads in Wisconsin
A new We Ask America poll in Wisconsin finds President Obama leading Mitt Romney by seven points, 49% to 42%.
Obama Ahead in Nevada
A new We Ask America poll in Nevada shows President Obama leading Mitt Romney by six points, 49% to 43%.
A new Magellan Strategies poll shows Obama leading 50% to 46%.
Romney Wouldn’t Have Run If He Had to Release Taxes
Mitt Romney “has been determined to resist releasing his tax returns at least since his bid for Massachusetts governor in 2002 and has been confident that he will never be forced to do so,” several current and former Bain executives tell the Huffington Post.
“Had he thought otherwise, say the sources based on their longtime understanding of Romney, he never would have gone forward with his run for president.”
Daily Beast: The emerging theory on Mitt’s taxes: It’s 2009.
Obama Says Romney Will End Medicare
President Obama begins a two-day swing through
Florida and First Read reports “he’ll introduce another attack:
hitting Romney on Medicare and the Ryan budget.”
Per the campaign, the
president “will discuss his commitment to strengthening Medicare, and a
new report tomorrow that highlights the devastating impact Mitt Romney’s
Medicare plan could have on the 3.4 million Floridians that rely on
Medicare.”
“Bottom line, per the campaign’s guidance: Obama will argue
that Romney — through his support for the Ryan budget plan — advocates
ending Medicare ‘as we know it.'”
Jonathan Chait: “The Obama campaign’s attacks on Mitt Romney’s business record and
personal finances will probably continue for a long time. But I think
that, when the campaign is remembered in history, they will not be seen
as the central element but rather as a prelude. The main event is going to be a fight over the priorities of the Paul Ryan budget.”
Romney Hits Obama on Business Remark
The Romney campaign is out with a tough new video using President Obama’s recent quote about business: “If you’ve got a business-you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen…”
Greg Sargent: “This line is going to be a major target for the Romney campaign — similar to Obama’s 2008 remark about spreading the wealth — but in order to have maximum political value, it needs to be removed from context in a highly misleading way, which the Romney camp is happy to do.”
DNC Backs Off Dressage Romney Attack Ads
The DNC said that they “would refrain from using the Romney’s dressage horse Rafalca in future advertisements after suggestions the ad could be offensive to the Republican challenger’s wife, Ann,” The Hill reports.
“The horse, which will be competing later this month in London’s Summer Olympics, is one of a number of animals that Ann Romney owns and rides as part of her treatment for multiple sclerosis.”
Zeke Miller: “The curveball: Mrs. Romney never even took offense. And the episode was
more a mark of Democrats’ fear of provoking sympathy for the candidate’s
wife than of any move by the Republicans to capitalize on it.”
Why Romney Can’t Wait Out the Tax Storm
Frank Rich: “What Mitt doesn’t seem to realize is that whatever embarrassments are in his tax returns, the bigger problem is that his secrecy keeps accentuating all the mysteries in his resume: the erased hard drives he left behind when leaving office as Massachusetts governor; what exactly he did as a longtime lay official in the Mormon church; and, of course, what exactly he did and didn’t do at Bain and, for that matter, when he was there and not there. If he keeps trying to wait out the tax storm, it will keep growing — hitting a new peak when he finally releases the one additional year of tax returns he has agreed to disclose, and another when his veep pick is asked to release his or her tax returns.”
Steve Kornacki: “Maybe the calendar offers a clue about Romney’s thinking. In just over a
week, the London Olympics will kick off. If you’re going to release
more embarrassing tax returns, maybe that would be the ideal time?”
Deadlocked in the Battleground States
A new NPR poll in 12 battleground states — Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin — finds President Obama and Mitt Romney tied at 46% each.
Virginia is Dead Even
A new Quinnipiac poll in Virginia finds Mitt Romney now in a dead heat with President Obama at 44% each.
Obama held an 8 point lead in March and a 5 point lead in June.
Said pollster Peter Brown: “Virginia voters are sharply split along gender and political lines about the presidential race. The two candidates equally hold their own political bases and are splitting the key independent vote down the middle. One small edge that President Obama has is likability. Voters have a slightly more favorable opinion of the president than they do Mitt Romney.”
Majority of D.C. Residents Think Gray Should Resign
A new Washington Post poll finds 57% of District of Columbia residents think Mayor Vincent Gray (D) should resign, revealing “how deeply the continuing campaign corruption scandal has eroded the city’s support for its mayor.”
Gray’s support is dwindling even among his political base, with 48% of African Americans saying he should resign.
Heller Holds Small Lead in Nevada
A new Magellan Strategies poll in Nevada finds Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) with a narrow lead over challenger Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV), 45% to 42%.
Skipping Work to Hang Out at the Horny Toad?
A new ad in Missouri’s race for lieutenant governor makes the presidential race look tame in comparison.
Still Close Nationally
A new Fox News poll finds President Obama leading Mitt Romney nationally by four points, 45% to 41%.
A new CBS/NYT poll finds Romney ahead by one point, 47% to 46%.
A new NPR poll shows Obama leading by two points, 47% to 45%.
