Despite reports to the contrary, Mitt Romney told the media that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is being “thoroughly vetted as part of our process” to select a vice presidential running mate.
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Bonus Quote of the Day
“Elephants are among my favorites, partly because I’m Republican and partly because I’m big. Elephants make me feel like I’m the right size.”
— Newt Gingrich, quoted by ABC News, in an interview at the National Zoo. He added, “They’re very smart animals.”
McConnell Defers to Romney on Immigration
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said he’s waiting for Mitt Romney “to announce a position on whether he supports deporting young illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children,” Roll Call reports.
Said McConnell: “He is the leader of our party from now until November.”
Romney has repeatedly avoided taking a position on the issue.
Siegelman Backers Seek Presidential Pardon
Backers of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman (D) want President Obama “to grant a pardon that would prevent the ex-Democratic officeholder from returning to prison for his 2006 bribery conviction,” the AP reports.
“Indicted in 2005 and tried the next year, Siegelman was convicted of selling a seat on a hospital regulatory board to former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy in exchange for $500,000 in donations… Sentenced to more than seven years in prison, Siegelman served about nine months, mostly in a Louisiana federal prison, before being released in 2008 on an appeal bond.”
Response of the Day
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was asked whether he plans to bring the Dream Act to a vote in an effort to get Republican senators on record on the immigration issue.
His response: “I don’t want to answer that question. That’s a clown question, bro.”
Reid, of course, was repackaging a comment made last week by Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper that quickly went viral.
Quote of the Day
“I get a kick out of some of the speculation that goes on. I’m not going to comment on the process of course, but I can tell you this: only Beth Myers and I know who is being vetted.”
— Mitt Romney, quoted by NBC News, on his search for a vice presidential running mate.
Romney Has Small Lead in Arizona
A Project New America/Public Policy Polling survey in Arizona finds Mitt Romney just ahead of President Obama in the presidential race, 49% to 46%.
Six Sordid Details on John Edwards from Rielle Hunter’s Book
The Week: “It appears the disgraced two-time presidential candidate still has a little farther to fall before he reaches rock bottom — and Hunter is helping him get there.”
Swings States 2012
Just out: Swing States 2012: The American Presidential Election, a solitaire board game simulating the U.S. presidential election.
Romney Won’t Condemn Hecklers at Obama Speeches
Mitt Romney has declined to call on his supporters to stop heckling President Obama’s campaign, the AP reports.
Romney said that he doesn’t believe in “unilateral disarmament,” but said it would “be a nice thing” if both sides would stop yelling at each other during campaign events. However, he noted that American politics has a “long history of heckling and free speech.”
Montana GOP Ends Effort to Make Homosexuality Illegal
The Montana Republican Party “is ending its call to make homosexuality acts illegal, but reinforcing its opposition to gay marriage,” the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports.
“The GOP had held the position seeking to criminalize homosexuality since a 1997 Montana Supreme Court case striking down similar state laws. The party had been criticized in recent years for continuing its request to criminalize homosexuality.”
Daniels Will Be Next Purdue President
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) will become the next president of Purdue University, WISH-TV reports.
Daniels’ office had no comment.
Dog Gets Voter Registration Form
WSLS-TV: “When Tim Morris got his mail last week he found a pretty big surprise, a document asking his dog Mozart to register to vote. Not only is Mozart a dog but he’s been dead for two years.”
Is the White House Too Politicized?
Coming soon: The Rise of the President’s Permanent Campaign by Brendan J. Doherty.
Daily Beast: “The book covers in nitty-gritty detail the particulars of how presidents raise money, how the White House has been used as a political organ (both officially and unofficially), and how the marriage of policy and politics in the Oval Office affects our democracy.”
How the ObamaCare Ruling Will Affect the 2012 Race
The Week has four theories.
Will Leak Force Rubio Vetting?
“An ill-timed leak to ABC News that Marco Rubio isn’t being vetted for the vice presidency has prompted head-scratching among the Florida Senator’s allies, coming as it does on the day his autobiography is released,” BuzzFeed reports.
Said Republican consultant Ana Navarro: “You better believe if he wasn’t already being vetted he’s going to get a call this week.”
John Avlon: “So why not include him on a short list? Perhaps the answer lies in Stuart Stevens, the Romney campaign’s epically interesting chief strategist. Stevens is a Mississippi maverick — a sometime author, libertine and extreme athlete. Most relevant to this instance, he also served as strategist for former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who Rubio trounced in a hotly contested 2010 election. Bad blood between warring camps doesn’t just fade away overnight, and in some cases it grows more malignant with time.”
Obama Still Leads in Colorado
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Colorado finds President Obama leading Mitt Romney by seven points in the presidential race, 49% to 42%.
“When you look at all of our Colorado polling this cycle here’s the big picture: Obama’s a definite favorite to win the state again this year, but it will probably be by a more moderate margin than in 2008.”
Few Want Bush Tax Cuts Extended
A new United Technologies/National Journal Poll shows that only 26% of the public wants to see all of the Bush tax breaks extended for at least another year. And only 18% want the tax breaks across all income levels made permanent, the position taken by Mitt Romney.
