A new Gallup survey finds that U.S. veterans, about 13% of the adult population and consisting mostly of older men, support Mitt Romney over President Obama for president by a whopping 58% to 34%, while nonveterans give Obama a four point edge, 48% to 44%.

“This is going to be a very close race, but I’d rather be us than them.”

— Obama strategist David Plouffe, quoted by New York magazine.

Associated Press: “Online searches offer campaigns the simplest form of targeted advertising. When a voter searches on a candidate’s name or a keyword that indicates interest in that candidate, campaigns will place ads next to the search. The ads offer a great return on investment because the campaign only has to pay for the ad if the voter actually clicks on it. By layering additional data about the person who clicked on the ad, such as their gender or geographic location, the campaign can tailor a very specific message to get that person’s attention.”

“People who have visited a candidate’s website but left the site without signing up or making a contribution might start seeing display ads from the campaign urging them to do so. Campaigns will also place display ads on websites targeting a voter’s interests unrelated to politics, such as nature or sports or cooking… A voter who has indicated an interest in a candidate and then views a video on YouTube is likely to see a 15- or 30-second ad, called a pre-roll… A box will appear after 5 seconds asking if the person wants to continue viewing the ad. Campaigns only pay for ads the viewer watches through to completion.”

John Heilemann: “Thus, to a very real degree, 2008’s candidate of hope stands poised to become 2012’s candidate of fear. For many Democrats, this is just fine and dandy, for they believe that in the Romney-Republican agenda there is plenty to be scared of. For others in the party in both politics and business, however, the new Obama posture is cause for concern. From the gay-­marriage decision to the onslaught on Bain, they see the president and his team as coming across as too divisive, too conventional, and too nakedly political, putting at risk Obama’s greatest asset — his likability — with the voters in the middle of the electorate who will ultimately decide his fate.”

“Whichever side is right, one thing is undeniable. For anyone still starry-eyed about Obama, the months ahead will provide a bracing revelation about what he truly is: not a savior, not a saint, not a man above the fray, but a brass-knuckled, pipe-hitting, red-in-tooth-and-claw brawler determined to do what is necessary to stay in power — in other words, a politician.”

An Associated Press analysis concludes that if the presidential election were today, President Obama would likely win 247 electoral votes to Romney’s 206 — both short of the 270 electoral votes needed to win.

Seven states, offering a combined 85 electoral votes, are viewed as too close to give either candidate a meaningful advantage: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia.

Billionaire investor Joe Ricketts, who dropped plans for a $10 million advertising blitz linking President Obama with the fiery race-based rhetoric of the Rev. Jeremia Wright, “is involved in another effort slated for this summer, a documentary film based on a widely criticized book, The Roots of Obama’s Rage by Dinesh D’Souza, which asserts that Mr. Obama is carrying out the ‘anticolonial’ agenda of his Kenyan father,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Ricketts’s aides said he was one of roughly two dozen investors, providing only 5 percent of the film’s budget. But his involvement shows how the more strident attacks against Mr. Obama, which Mr. Romney’s aides view as counterproductive, continue to find backing even as the Republican Party and the Romney campaign seek to keep the focus on the economy.”

A new Rasmussen survey in Indiana shows Joe Donnelly (D) and Richard Mourdock (R) locked in a dead heat in their U.S. Senate race, 42% to 42%.

Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) said that he “may not have turned in enough valid signatures to qualify for the Aug. 7 Republican primary in his suburban Detroit district,” the Detroit News reports.

Said McCotter: “Fully respecting the accuracy and integrity of the Secretary of State’s Office, we will thoroughly review our petition signatures for their sufficiency or insufficiency. Out of respect for Memorial Day, an announcement of our findings will be made public on Tuesday.”

“If his signatures are ruled insufficient, McCotter would still have options. He could run as a write-in Republican candidate or as an independent.”

A new Wisconsin poll commissioned by the Democratic Governors Association finds Gov. Scott Walker (R) with a narrow lead over challenger Tom Barrett (D) in the recall election, 49% to 46%.

Donald Trump told Lloyd Grove that President Obama was born in Kenya, not the United States.

Said Trump: “That’s the way life works… He didn’t know he was running for president, so he told the truth. The literary agent wrote down what he said… He said he was born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia… Now they’re saying it was a mistake. Just like his Kenyan grandmother said he was born in Kenya, and she pointed down the road to the hospital, and after people started screaming at her she said, ‘Oh, I mean Hawaii.’ Give me a break.”