Al Kamen reports former President Bill Clinton praised Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent by E.J. Dionne at an appearance in London earlier this week.
Clinton said, “This is the best thing E.J. has written in 20 years — since Why Americans Hate Politics.”
Despite suggestions Mitt Romney might pick a running mate this week, sources close to the Romney campaign tell the New York Daily News the working plan “has been to announce the pick after the Olympic Games, which begin next week and conclude Aug. 12 — two weeks before the Republican convention in Tampa.”
“The running mate choice — a high-stakes pick often described as the first presidential-caliber decision a candidate makes — will dominate the news cycle for days, temporarily changing the subject from Romney’s financial baggage. But some top advisers believe popping the name now would be seen as a panicky overreaction to Romney’s bad press and should be saved for better ‘bounce’ closer to the convention. As a practical matter, moreover, a GOP veteran of vice presidential rollouts said it takes at least a month for a support staff to be up and running before a nominee is named.”
Rick Klein: “An early VP pick would be out of character for Mitt Romney and a campaign team that has made few panic moves in this long campaign. Yes, it would change the storyline in a big way — but it would also acknowledge that the current story needs desperate changing. The one big chip Romney can play that President Obama can’t is his choice for vice president, and even holding onto that chip gives him leverage over the campaign.”
The conservative National Review calls on Mitt Romney to release tax returns prior to 2010:
“He’s a politician running for the highest office in the land, and his current posture is probably unsustainable. In all likelihood, he won’t be able to maintain a position that looks secretive and is a departure from campaign conventions. The only question is whether he releases more returns now, or later — after playing more defense on the issue and sustaining more hits. There will surely be a press feeding frenzy over new returns, but better to weather it in the middle of July.”
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Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) — and expert at scandal pushing a politician from office — discussed recent rumors that former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D) might seek public office again next year, the New York Observer reports.
Said Spitzer: “I think we can all agree that a year is not a terribly lengthy period of time. Obviously I’m in a sort of difficult position to talk about this. It’s been five years since I left office. Five years is more than one. You can see people’s sensibilities change as they see you, talk to you, as you’ve done more things.”
He added: “I think next year is maybe a little short. But the public’s tolerance for this is something that he will only determine by whether he floated this intentionally a not, who knows? I kind of doubt it. I mean, probably a little too short but the public will have to make that decision.”
Byron York: “Now, the general election campaign is here, and the talk is of the Obama
killing machine, not the Romney death star. By most accounts, the
Romney campaign is not displaying the super-aggressive effectiveness it
showed in the primaries.”
“Newt Gingrich complained loudly — some called it whining — when
Romney first hit him with a negative ad barrage in Iowa. Then, when
Romney attacked on a far bigger scale in Florida, Gingrich reacted badly
again. Privately, the Romney campaign, which at times seemed to
delight at kicking the hell out of a Republican opponent, had no respect
for Gingrich’s tendency to complain when attacked. Just take it and
hit back harder — that was the way they saw it. Now, however, Romney is
complaining about Obama’s attacks. Romney is far more self-controlled
than Gingrich, but the effect is the same; he’s whining about the other
guy treating him badly. It’s the same thing that happened in the
primary campaign, only with Romney on the hurting end.”
Matt Bai: “The reason for this exponential leap in political spending, if you talk
to most Democrats or read most news reports, comes down to two words:
Citizens United. The term is shorthand for a Supreme Court decision that
gave corporations much of the same right to political speech as
individuals have, thus removing virtually any restriction on corporate
money in politics. The oft-repeated narrative of 2012 goes like this: Citizens United unleashed a torrent of money from businesses and the multimillionaires who run them, and as a result we are now seeing the corporate takeover of American politics.”
“As a matter of political strategy, this is a useful story to tell, appealing to liberals and independent voters who aren’t necessarily enthusiastic about the administration but who are concerned about societal inequality, which is why President Obama has made it a rallying cry almost from the moment the Citizens United ruling was made. But if you’re trying to understand what’s really going on with politics and money, the accepted narrative around Citizens United is, at best, overly simplistic. And in some respects, it’s just plain wrong.”
“The word is going out quietly to Republican activists across New Jersey: If you’re going to the GOP convention in Tampa next month, be sure to be there by Tuesday night, Aug. 28, because Gov. Chris Christie is going to be giving the keynote speech that night,” the New York Post reports.
Said one party activist: “We’ve been told that’s the night to be there, that’s when the governor is going to speak. They’re saying he’s the keynoter.”
The DNC released a new video hitting Mitt Romney, “the first in a series of digital products highlighting Rafalca, Romney’s very own Olympic dancing horse.”
Mitt Romney “has always been careful to hedge his tough digs at Obama with a civil nod toward the president’s moral character,” BuzzFeed notes. But that ended yesterday.
Said an adviser: “Romney has said Obama’s a nice fellow, he’s just in over his head. But I think the governor himself believes this latest round of attacks that have impugned his integrity and accused him of being a felon go so far beyond that pale that he’s really disappointed. He believes it’s time to vet the president. He really hasn’t been vetted; McCain didn’t do it.”
The adviser added: “I mean, this is a guy who admitted to cocaine use, had a sweetheart deal
with his house in Chicago, and was associated and worked with Rod
Blagojevich to get Valerie Jarrett appointed to the Senate. The bottom line is there’ll be counterattacks.”
Meanwhile, a new Romney ad continues the “crony capitalism” attack and asks, “Where did the stimulus go?”
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds 66% of Republicans viewed the way Mitt Romney is running his campaign in a favorable light, while 24% viewed it unfavorably. In contrast, 75% of Democrats view President Obama’s bid favorably.
There’s also an enthusiasm gap: While 51% of liberal Democrats feel strongly favorably toward Obama’s campaign, just 31% of conservative Republicans feel the same about Romney’s bid.
Amid rumors he was gearing up for a mayoral run, former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), who resigned last year amid scandal, told People that he had no immediate plans to run for office.
Said Weiner: “I can’t say absolutely that I will never run for public office again, but I’m very happy in my present life. I’m not doing anything to plan a campaign.”
A new Quinnipiac poll in New Jersey finds Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) leads challenger Joe Kyrillos (R) by 13 points, 47% to 34%.
“Eight years was awesome and I was famous and I was powerful. But I have no desire for fame and power anymore… I crawled out of the swamp and I’m not crawling back in.”
— George W. Bush, in an interview at the Bush Institute.
New York Times: “Senate Democrats — holding firm against extending tax cuts for the rich — are proposing a novel way to circumvent the Republican pledge not to vote for any tax increase: Allow all the tax cuts to expire Jan. 1, then vote on a tax cut for the middle class shortly thereafter.”
“The proposal illustrates the lengths lawmakers are going to in an effort to include new federal revenues in a fix for the ‘fiscal cliff,’ the reckoning in January that would come when all Bush-era tax cuts expire and automatic spending cuts to military and domestic programs kick in.”
Bloomberg: The perils of the coming U.S. fiscal cliff.
A new WMUR Granite State Poll shows President Obama leading Mitt Romney among New Hampshire likely voters, 49% to 45%.
In April, Obama held a 9-point lead over Romney.
New book: The FBI’s Obscene File: J. Edgar Hoover and the Bureau’s Crusade against Smut by Douglas M. Charles.
A fascinating look at the FBI’s crusade against pornography.
Former Erie County auditor Tom Paul called the Sandusky Register to complain about a story and left a nasty voice mail message to the reporter.
The newspaper put the audio recording online.
“In the political environment that exists today, the opposition research of the Obama campaign is looking for anything they can use to distract from the failure of the president to reignite our economy. And I’m simply not enthusiastic about giving them hundreds or thousands of more pages to pick through, distort, and lie about.”
— Mitt Romney, in an interview with National Review, reiterating that he won’t release tax returns for years beyond 2010 and 2011.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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