First Read: “The tragic shooting in Colorado means that politics and the Obama-vs.-Romney presidential race will take a back seat today — and probably throughout the weekend… For now, the Romney campaign says the candidate’s schedule will go on. As for the president, his first public event is scheduled for later this morning where he’s likely to speak about the tragedy for the first time on camera.”

Obama statement: “Michelle and I are shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting in Colorado. Federal and local law enforcement are still responding, and my administration will do everything that we can to support the people of Aurora in this extraordinarily difficult time… As we do when confronted by moments of darkness and challenge, we must now come together as one American family.”

Romney statement: “We are praying for the families and loved ones of the victims during this time of deep shock and immense grief. We expect that the person responsible for this terrible crime will be quickly brought to justice.”

Update: Politico reports the Obama campaign has pulled down it’s negative ads through the weekend. The Romney campaign quickly followed.

The Boston Globe takes a good look into Mitt Romney’s departure from Bain Capital.

“Shortly after Mitt Romney took a leave of absence from Bain Capital to run the Olympics in February 1999, he made a trip to Palm Beach, Fla… Romney and his partners had decided that, in his absence, five managing directors would oversee the company. And in Palm Beach it became clearer that Romney was unlikely to return — but would retain his title as chief executive officer and sole shareholder.”

“Interviews with a half-dozen of Romney’s former partners and associates, as well as public records, show that he was not merely an absentee owner during this period. He signed dozens of company documents, including filings with regulators on a vast array of Bain’s investment entities. And he drove the complex negotiations over his own large severance package, a deal that was critical to the firm’s future without him… Indeed, by remaining CEO and sole shareholder, Romney held on to his leverage in the talks that resulted in his generous 10-year retirement package.”

“Mitt Romney has secrets. Lots of them, perhaps. That provocative claim is at the core of President Barack Obama’s latest attacks on his Republican rival, a strategy that is dominating the narrative of the presidential campaign and leading anxious Republicans to question Romney’s tactics,” Reuters reports.

“In ads, interviews and social-media blasts, the Democratic president’s team is casting Romney as a mysterious figure who is guarding important secrets about his wealth and work history.”

“Feeding the Democrats’ storyline: Romney’s refusal to release more than a year or two of his tax returns, questions about whether he is being honest about when he left his job at Bain Capital, and the reams of records that have been kept secret from his years as Massachusetts governor and chief of the Salt Lake City Olympics.”

Peggy Noonan: “The reason Mitt Romney isn’t releasing more tax returns can be reduced to three words: Bill Clinton’s underwear. When he first ran for president, Bill Clinton put out his tax returns. Lisa Schiffren, an enterprising young writer for The American Spectator, went through them and found that the Clintons, when they were in Little Rock, had gone to great lengths to limit their tax bills, to the point of itemizing each contribution to local charities, including Mr. Clinton’s old underwear. Hilarity ensued. This is the kind of thing everyone in national politics fears.”

“But the question remains. Mr. Romney has known at least since 2007 that he would be running for president. He never in that time made sure his taxes from that date would pass rigorous public examination? This is odd, especially since he’s supposed to be so methodical, tidy, organized and prudent. The political answer to the question ‘Should Romney reveal more tax returns?’ is, ‘That depends on what’s in them.’ But the nonpolitical answer is yes, he should.”

The Atlantic has the list.

A new USA Today/Gallup poll finds that Americans, by a 54% to 37% margin, say Mitt Romney should release his tax returns from additional years.

Those calling for more disclosure include 75% of Democrats, 53% of independents and 30% of Republicans.

Also interesting: “While 42% predict the release of additional returns would not reveal anything politically harmful, 44% believe it would include damaging information — including 15% who say they believe the revelations would be so serious that they would ‘show he is unfit to be president.'”

Joe Klein: “The strongest case against Bain capitalism is a metaphor: Mitt Romney made a fortune swapping equity for debt. That’s what we’ve done for the past 30 years in this country, turning a great many of our assets into deficits for short-term gain. We need to do the opposite now.”

“He’s a very generous person. We give 10 percent of our income to our
church every year. Do you think that is the kind of person who is trying
to hide things, or do things?”

— Ann Romney, in an interview on ABC News, defending her husband for not releasing their tax returns but not noting the irony that only their tax returns can prove what they give to charity.

A new We Ask America poll in Wisconsin finds President Obama leading Mitt Romney by seven points, 49% to 42%.

A new We Ask America poll in Nevada shows President Obama leading Mitt Romney by six points, 49% to 43%.

A new Magellan Strategies poll shows Obama leading 50% to 46%.

Mitt Romney “has been determined to resist releasing his tax returns at least since his bid for Massachusetts governor in 2002 and has been confident that he will never be forced to do so,” several current and former Bain executives tell the Huffington Post.

“Had he thought otherwise, say the sources based on their longtime understanding of Romney, he never would have gone forward with his run for president.”

Daily Beast: The emerging theory on Mitt’s taxes: It’s 2009.

President Obama begins a two-day swing through
Florida and First Read reports “he’ll introduce another attack:
hitting Romney on Medicare and the Ryan budget.”

Per the campaign, the
president “will discuss his commitment to strengthening Medicare, and a
new report tomorrow that highlights the devastating impact Mitt Romney’s
Medicare plan could have on the 3.4 million Floridians that rely on
Medicare.”

“Bottom line, per the campaign’s guidance: Obama will argue
that Romney — through his support for the Ryan budget plan — advocates
ending Medicare ‘as we know it.'”

Jonathan Chait: “The Obama campaign’s attacks on Mitt Romney’s business record and
personal finances will probably continue for a long time. But I think
that, when the campaign is remembered in history, they will not be seen
as the central element but rather as a prelude. The main event is going to be a fight over the priorities of the Paul Ryan budget.”

The Romney campaign is out with a tough new video using President Obama’s recent quote about business: “If you’ve got a business-you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen…”

Greg Sargent: “This line is going to be a major target for the Romney campaign — similar to Obama’s 2008 remark about spreading the wealth — but in order to have maximum political value, it needs to be removed from context in a highly misleading way, which the Romney camp is happy to do.”

[Read more…]

The DNC said that they “would refrain from using the Romney’s dressage horse Rafalca in future advertisements after suggestions the ad could be offensive to the Republican challenger’s wife, Ann,” The Hill reports.

“The horse, which will be competing later this month in London’s Summer Olympics, is one of a number of animals that Ann Romney owns and rides as part of her treatment for multiple sclerosis.”

Zeke Miller: “The curveball: Mrs. Romney never even took offense. And the episode was
more a mark of Democrats’ fear of provoking sympathy for the candidate’s
wife than of any move by the Republicans to capitalize on it.”