Jon Karl: “Mia Love is a Republican Congressional candidate unlike any you have ever seen before — African American, Mormon, conservative and the Republican party has declared her race one of the top 10 House races in the country this year. She is now the mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah (pop. 18,000), but if she wins, Love will be the first African-American woman Republican elected to Congress.”

Jeff Greenfield: “First, when have presidents who are up for re-election dumped their vice-presidents, and why have they done it? The difference between the reality and the Hillary-for-Joe fantasy can be measured in light years.”

“Second, if Obama were to attempt this, how would he explain it? Trying to answer this question with a straight face is the best way to understand why (assuming accident or illness does not intervene) it’s not going to happen.”

A new ad from Larry McCarthy, the producer behind the infamous Willie Horton commercial in 1988, and funded Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS, “is expected to become one of the most heavily broadcast political commercials of this phase of the general election,” the New York Times reports.

It will debut tomorrow in 10 swing states as the centerpiece of a $25 million campaign.

“Yet what Mr. McCarthy and Crossroads have produced is not the kind of searing denunciation of President Obama that their track records would suggest. More soft-pedal than Swift Boat, the 60-second advertisement, complete with special effects, is a deeply researched, delicately worded story of a struggling family; its relatively low-key tone is all the more striking, coming at a point in the campaign when each side is accusing the other of excessive negativity.”

MSNBC: “The most misunderstood voting bloc in the 2012 election is the Catholic vote. Why? Because there isn’t one. The religious assemblage, which has evolved over the past century from a strong Democratic constituency into a national election bellwether, is no longer discernible from most other voter groups. As the community has become less homogenous and more assimilated into mainstream culture, so has its voting habits – sending many politicians on a fool’s errand in pursuit of the ‘Catholic vote.”

“If I thought that call was coming, I would disconnect the phone.”

— Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R), quoted by Yahoo News, on potentially being picked as Mitt Romney’s running mate.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker spoke to Rachel Maddow about being the Romney campaign’s shield for Presdent Obama’s attacks on Bain Capital.

Said Booker: “I am very upset that I am being used by the GOP this way and it’s, uh, while I thought today I was going to be quiet, I’ve been pushed so far that you are going to hear a lot from me to the extent possible and to the extent that President Obama and his campaign want to hear from me.”

First Read notes Booker is “clearly nervous about how this episode is playing with base Democrats.”

Over at Wonk Wire: A critique of private equity firms.

[Read more…]

Democrats are concerned that no-name challenger John Wolfe could embarrass President Obama in today’s Arkansas Democratic presidential primary.

Charlie Mahtesian: “Coming on the heels of Obama’s West Virginia performance — where a convicted felon won 41 percent against him on May 8 — this contest has a similarly high potential embarrassment factor. Arkansas, once the home state to the Clintons, was Obama’s single worst in the 2008 primaries: Hillary Clinton beat him 70 percent to 27 percent. In November, he was shellacked again by John McCain, losing by 20 percentage points.”

The Fix: “Couple Wolfe’s candidacy in Arkansas with the fact that Kentucky —
another place where Obama isn’t popular with many people who call
themselves Democrats — also votes today (Obama faces no opponents in
Kentucky, but voters there can select ‘uncommitted’ as an option) and
you have the potential for a less-than-friendly narrative regarding
Obama come Wednesday.”

The Daily Caller notes President Obama “has become the first political $1 billion man. He’s the first politician to take in that stratospheric number in donations during his political career.”

“His total take reached $1,017,892,305 in April, some nine years after he began his 2004 race for the Senate. Obama is widely expected to raise at least $300 million more before November.”

The Iowa Republican Party is “intentionally questioning” President Obama’s citizenship with wording in their platform document which calls for presidential candidates to “show proof of being a ‘natural born citizen’ of the United States,” Radio Iowa reports.

Said Don Racheter, chairman of the Iowa GOP’s platform committee: “There are many Republicans who feel that Barack Obama is not a ‘natural born citizen’ because his father was not an American when he was born and, therefore, feel that according to the Constitution he’s not qualified to be president, should not have been allowed to be elected by the Electoral College or even nominated by the Democratic Party in 2008, so this is an election year. It’s a shot at him.”

“I’m very surprised that President Obama went down this road.”

— Newt Gingrich, in an interview with CNN, on criticizing Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital.

Gingrich, of course, led the attack during the GOP primary.

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows President Obama and Mitt Romney are locked in a dead heat over who could fix the country’s economic problems, 47% to 47%.

When asked where they stand financially compared with when Obama took office, 30% say they are worse off, and only 16% say they are better off.

“There is not a widespread sense that things would be better had Romney
been president for the past three-plus years, but for the incumbent it
is a critical measure. On this question, Obama’s numbers continue to
resemble those of George H.W. Bush, who lost his bid for reelection in
1992 amid a flagging economy.”

However, in a general election match up, Obama still leads Romney, 49% to 46%.

Amy Walter:
“On the one-hand, the fact that President Obama is statistically tied
with Mitt Romney, even as his approval rating on handling the economy is
a dismal 42 percent suggests a strong Obama brand. Voters are unhappy
with the economy, but haven’t yet given up on the President. On the
other hand, these numbers are like a ticking time bomb. If the economy
doesn’t improve, and if Romney can present himself as a reasonable
alternative, there’s nowhere for Obama’s numbers to go but down.”

A Texas Tribune poll finds Mitt Romney crushing President Obama in the Lone Star state, 55% to 35%.

A Sooner Poll in Oklahoma finds Romney headed for a landslide, 62% to 27%.

President Obama said that attacks on Mitt Romney’s experience at Bain Capital were fair game and that Romney’s years heading the private equity firm were “worthy of serious debate,” the New York Times reports.

Said Obama: “This is not a distraction. This is what this campaign is going to be about.”

“Obama’s comments were his first explicit endorsement of his campaign’s aggressive strategy attacking Bain Capital. The Obama campaign’s full-throated assault, through ads, statements and Web videos, is now in its second week and portrays Mr. Romney in highly personal and unflattering ways.”

A new Texas Tribune poll finds David Dewhurst (R) leading Ted Cruz (R) in the Republican U.S. Senate primary, 40% to 31%, with Tom Leppert running a distant third at 17%.

In the Democratic race, Paul Sadler (D) is ahead of Sean Hubbard (D), 29% to 25%, with Addie Dainell Allen at 19% and Grady Yarbrough at 15%.

“Yes, and some Americans who will remain nameless really extol the virtues of no cooperation. It’s really my way or the highway.”

— Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), quoted by WXIN-TV, when asked if he saw a lack of cooperation amongst Americans and apparently still not over his Senate primary defeat earlier this month.