Mitt Romney’s five sons — Tagg, Matt, Josh, Ben and Craig — talked with Conan O’Brien last night about some of their father’s more memorable pranks.
Obama Ground Game to Counter Romney Money
President Obama’s campaign officials say “they are braced for an election decided by a razor-thin margin and are counting on their political organization in key states to overcome what they expect will be Mitt Romney’s money advantage,” Bloomberg reports.
“The president’s political advisers said that outside political action committees supporting Romney are likely to pour as much as $1 billion into the race, outspending Obama and the Democrats.”
Obama advisers “said their advantage will be their extensive operation to identify and turn out Obama voters. The campaign, for example, has 35 offices in Ohio and 40 in Florida, two crucial swing states in November.”
Most Don’t Want Health Care Law Repealed
A new Bloomberg poll finds a plurality of Americans, 43%, say they want to retain President Obama’s health care law with only small modifications, while 15% say the measure should be left alone and 33% say it should be repealed.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule in the next week “on the constitutionality of the law, the centerpiece of which is the mandate that most Americans buy insurance or pay a fine.”
Obama Ahead in Florida
A new Quinnipiac poll finds President Obama has retaken the lead in Florida from Mitt Romney, 46% to 42%.
Said pollster Peter Brown: “The president is doing better among independent voters. It also is worth noting that the last Quinnipiac University Florida poll was on the heels of the president’s backing of gay marriage, which might have hurt him at that time.”
Romney Asked Scott to Downplay Job Gains
Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign asked Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) “to tone down his statements heralding improvements in the state’s economy because they clash with the presumptive Republican nominee’s message that the nation is suffering under President Obama,” Bloomberg reports.
“What’s unfolding in Florida highlights a dilemma for the Romney campaign: how to allow Republican governors to take credit for economic improvements in their states while faulting Obama’s stewardship of the national economy. Republican governors in Ohio, Virginia, Michigan and Wisconsin also have highlighted improving economies.”
Obama Just Ahead Nationally
A new Associated Press/GfK poll finds President Obama slightly ahead of Mitt Romney in the presidential race, 47% to 44%.
Key finding: “About half — 49% — approve of how Obama is handling his job as president, dropping him below the 50% mark he was above in May. Disapproval of Obama is highest — 55% — for his handling of the economy. Still, registered voters are split virtually evenly on whether Romney or Obama would do a better job improving it.”
Meanwhile, a new Public Policy Polling survey shows Obama leading 49% to 45%.
The Obama Dashboard
President Obama’s re-election campaign has unveiled a new campaign organizing tool called Dashboard, where you can get the latest campaign news and connect with local supporters.
Romney Super PAC Raises $5 Million
Restore Our Future, the super PAC supporting Mitt Romney’s presidential bid, raised nearly $5 million last month, and roughly 20% came from three Ohio companies that share an address, USA Today reports.
“The $1 million in contributions from the connected Ohio firms were disclosed in filings today with the Federal Election Commission and underscore the ability of wealthy donors to contribute large sums to influence the election.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“It wasn’t about body parts. It wasn’t about dissent. It wasn’t about anyone’s religious beliefs. It was that last comment that took it a step too far, and that’s what crossed the line about … The ‘no means no’ comment. That went a step too far. As I said to someone up north here, it’s like giving a kid a time out for a day, you know. Hey, time out.”
— Michigan state Rep. Wayne Schmidt (R), explaining why state Rep. Lisa Brown (D) was barred from speaking on the House floor for saying the word “vagina.”
Obama Ahead in Wisconsin
A new Marquette Law School poll in Wisconsin shows President Obama leading Mitt Romney, 49% to 43%.
The Reason for Cities
London Mayor Boris Johnson tells New York magazine that cities are all about prestige, which is the central thesis of his new book.
Said Johnson: “We seek cities because there are a greater range of girls at the bar, of
reproductive choice. Number one. Number two is there are better
outcomes for health and wealth. And now we care more about the
environment, and cities are better for the environment. But above all, talented people seek cities for fame. They can’t get famous in the fucking village.”
A New Birther Twist
Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett (R), who once flirted with the idea President Obama wasn’t born in the United States, now says he thinks the president lied about being born in Kenya in order to get into college.
Said Bennett: “Now, I know there’s a lot of people that are very skeptical as to whether he was born in Hawaii. Personally I believe that he was. I actually believe he was fibbing about being born in Kenya when he was trying to get into college and doing things like writing a book and on and on and on.”
Bennett also said he thinks Obama has spent as much as two million of dollars to cover it up.
“Joe the Plumber” Blames Gun Control for Holocaust
Samuel “Joe The Plumber” Wurzelbacher (R), made famous during the 2008 presidential campaign by John McCain and now running for Congress in Ohio, says in a new campaign video that gun control led to the Holocaust and Armenian genocide.
Wurzelbacher, who is featured in the video blasting tomatoes with a shotgun, proclaims at the end, “I love America.”
The New York Observer followed up with a campaign spokesman who not only stood by the video but suggested gun control may have also helped cause slavery in the United States.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“We thought we’d taken a wooden stake and put it through this type of Democrat’s heart.”
— New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), quoted by the Newark Star Ledger, saying that “Corzine Democrats” are back.
White House Asserts Executive Privilege
President Obama “invoked executive privilege to withhold from a Congressional oversight committee some documents and communications among his advisers regarding the failed gun enforcement operation known as ‘Fast and Furious,’ in which weapons purchased in the United States were allowed to cross into Mexico,” the New York Times reports.
It was the first time since Obama took office that he has asserted the privilege.
Washington Post: “The president’s decision to withhold the documents and the House
panel’s anticipated contempt citation quickly intensified a
long-simmering feud between the White House and Republican lawmakers and
set up a clash between over the extent of presidential power that may
take months to resolve.”
Huntsman Joins Brookings
The Brookings Institution announced that Jon Huntsman will join the think tank as a distinguished fellow, according to the Washington Post.
Fischer Way Ahead in Nebraska
A new Public Opinion Strategies (R) poll in Nebraska finds Deb Fischer (R) absolutely crushing former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 58% top 33%.
A new Garin Hart Yang (D) poll also shows Fischer way ahead, 52% to 38%.
Thank the Liberals
Coming later this summer: Thank The Liberals For Saving America by Alan Colmes.
