Chris Cillizza thinks the fact that GOP insiders back Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) as Mitt Romney’s running mate may actually doom his chances.

The reason: “People really, really dislike politicians. They hate Washington. They think politics is broken — maybe irreparably. Congress’s approval rating in the latest Gallup poll was at 17 percent — and that was an improvement (!) from where it’s stood for most of the past few years… Choosing someone who is seen as the favorite of party insiders then could erode rather than bolster the contrast Romney is trying to drive against the incumbent.”

An improving economy is “swinging the pendulum” in President Obama’s favor “in the 14 states where the presidential election will likely be decided,” the AP reports.

“What’s made the difference is that unemployment has dropped more sharply in several swing states than in the nation as a whole. A resurgence in manufacturing is helping the economy — and Obama’s chances — in the industrial Midwestern states of Ohio and Michigan. And Arizona, Nevada and Florida, where unemployment remains high, are getting some relief from an uptick in tourism.”

For the last six months, Bill Clinton has argued that the Obama re-election campaign should stop attacking Mitt Romney as a flip-flopper, Politico reports.

“A more effective strategy, Clinton has told anyone who would listen, would be to focus almost exclusively on Romney’s description of himself as a ‘severe conservative,’ to deny him any chance to tack back to the center.”

Mitt Romney’s effort to increase the amount of money wealthy backers can give to his campaign — by encouraging donations to state parties — “has hit a hurdle: new Securities and Exchange Commission rules that are making some Wall Street donors skittish about writing checks,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

At issue: “Presidential candidates in the past have asked donors to give money to state parties to help fund their election effort. But Mr. Romney’s inclusion of state campaigns has raised a red flag with some Wall Street firms because of new SEC rules enacted after ‘pay to play’ scandals.”

Jon Huntsman “took a battle axe to his own party, comparing it to China’s Communist Party and criticizing it’s standard bearer in a wide-ranging interview,” BuzzFeed reports.

He also “jokingly blamed his failed candidacy in part on his wife, Mary Kaye, who told him she’d leave him if he abandoned his principles.”

Said Huntsman: “She said if you pandered, if you sign any of those damn pledges, I’ll leave you. So I had to say I believe in science — and people on stage look at you quizzically as though you’re was an oddball.”

Huntsman added that Ronald Reagan would “likely not” be able to win the GOP nomination in this environment.

George Will says there’s no way Mitt Romney will pick former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) as his running mate:
 
“If Jeb Bush is to be Romney’s running mate, it would mean that in seven of nine presidential elections there would be a Bush on the Republican ticket. And it gets hard to argue that we’re not a tribal society at that point.”

Despite millions of dollars embezzled from her campaign and 21 challengers in a June primary, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) “isn’t a bit worried. Her campaign is on cruise control, her re-election all but certain — yet again,” the San Jose Mercury News reports.

“After holding elected office for all but five of the last 42 years, Feinstein is the doyenne of California Democrats. She’s so politically bulletproof that no A-list candidates are wasting their time and money trying to dethrone her.”

Katy Steinmetz:
“Romney’s speaking style, try as he might, often seems forced and
rather wooden… But if the economy gets worse, more Americans may be
drawn to a dry Mr. Fix-It, someone better suited to budgets than
banquets. Rousing oratorical skill is not something people require in a
good plumber or mechanic… Of course, Romney still needs to make his
audiences feel as well as think. He can achieve that by capitalizing on
frustrations that voters have about Obama.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) told CNN he’s not going to comment on Mitt Romney’s running mate selection process anymore.

Said Rubio: “Up to now it’s all been theoretical, we have a nominee now, and our nominee, Mitt Romney, the leader of the Republican Party, has a vice presidential process in place. And I think from this point moving forward, I think it’d be wise for all Republicans to kind of respect that process, myself included, and say moving forward, we’re going to let his process play itself out.”

However, he then suggested Jeb Bush would be a great pick.