May 03, 2012
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell writes in his new book,
It Worked for Me, that his "erroneous address to the United Nations about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction provides a lesson to business leaders on the importance of staying skeptical and following their intuition,"
Bloomberg reports.
Writes Powell: "Yes, a blot, a failure will always be attached to me and my UN presentation. I am mad mostly at myself for not having smelled the problem. My instincts failed me."
A new
Reuters/Ipsos poll finds Rick Santorum and Marco Rubio are the top two choices among Republican voters as Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate.
Key findings: 18% picked Santorum out of a list of 19 potential running mates for Romney, 17% chose Rubio, 13% chose Chris Christie and 12% chose Mike Huckabee.
Though several recent polls suggest Arizona might be a competitive state in the presidential election, a new
Magellan Strategies survey finds Mitt Romney with a comfortable nine point lead over President Obama, 52% to 43%.
In the 2008 election, John McCain also beat Obama by nine points, 54% to 45%.
The New York Times
provides an inside look at the
resignation of Richard Grenell, the
openly gay former national security spokesman for Mitt Romney,
attributing it to the "unforgiving churn of election-year politics."
"Mr.
Grenell's short-lived and rocky tenure as Mr. Romney's foreign policy
spokesman is the story of how halting attempts by the campaign to manage
its relationship with the most conservative quarter of the Republican
Party left an aide feeling badly marginalized and ostracized."
Said
one Republican adviser: "It's not that the campaign cared whether Ric
Grenell was gay. They believed this was a nonissue. But they didn't want
to confront the religious right."
Newt Gingrich may have ended his candidacy for president yesterday, but
with $4 million of debt piled up, it is certain that his campaign will
continue for quite a bit longer, according to
ABC News.
"Campaign
watchdogs said the size of Gingrich's debt is extraordinary -- and
could have been avoided if the candidate and his team had been more
disciplined... Romney and the Republican National Committee have offered
to be helpful in retiring Gingrich's debt. Relief can't come soon
enough for the Gingrich campaign's anxious creditors... Campaign debts
can haunt unsuccessful candidates for years, symbols of failure and
futility they are unable to forget. But losing candidates like Gingrich
who hold no office face the biggest challenge in trying to retire their
debts. The reason is simple: They are in no position to help donors or
influence public policy."
"He cannot beat Obama. It's not going to happen."
-- Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN), in an interview with
ABC News, on Mitt Romney's prospects in the presidential race after she dropped out. Bachmann has
now endorsed Romney.
With Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) set to be presumptive Republican presidential
nominee Mitt Romney's last remaining challenger after Newt Gingrich's
expected withdrawal from the race today, the
Washington Times
highlights some of Paul's "organizational victories that could
complicate Mr. Romney's anticipated coronation at the Republican
National Convention in Tampa, Fla., this summer."
Hitting close to
home: "In Massachusetts, the state where Mr. Romney served as governor,
Paul loyalists over the weekend helped block more than half of Mr.
Romney's preferred nominees from being named delegates at state party
caucuses -- even though Mr. Romney won his home state's primary with 72
percent of the vote... the RNC had assigned the Marriott Hotel in Tampa
overlooking the convention center for the delegation representing the
likely nominee's home state. The hotel is considered the nicest in the
vicinity -- and now the Paul delegates will be able to enjoy the
top-floor views."
Mitt Romney has appeared on stage recently with a number of potential running mates, reports the
Los Angeles Times, which many see as a "series of tryouts...as he tests the chemistry and optics of potential vice presidential picks."
"Though
Romney is not expected to make a formal decision anytime soon, the
vetting has clearly begun, with the campaign scrutinizing potential
running mates' electoral experience, geographic desirability and
affinity with GOP constituencies that remain wary of Romney... While
nearly all of the likely prospects have steadfastly denied that they
have any interest in the job because they are committed to their current
jobs as governors and senators, many are also simultaneously burnishing
their resumes."
A new
Magellan Strategies survey in Indiana shows Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) with a slight lead over challenger Richard Mourdock (R) in their U.S. Senate primary, 44% to 42%.
The GOP primary is next week.
Testimony in the John Edwards trial yesterday included the story -- first told in
Game Change -- of Elizabeth Edwards becoming "understandably upset" at her husband in an airport parking lot over his extramarital affair, the
Raleigh News and Observer reports.
Mrs. Edwards, "who had been through extensive treatments for breast cancer, took off her bra, exposed her chest and stormed out in front of her husband and said: 'You don't see me any more.'"
Cate Edwards, "who has sat stoically through her father's trial, became visibly upset during a break in Reynolds' testimony. Her father leaned over and mentioned to her during the break when the jury was out of the room that he did not know what was coming next."
Cate Edwards said something inaudible to her father, then left the courtroom in tears as her father quietly called after her, "Cate, Cate."
The new
Quinnipiac polls find the presidential race is tighter in three important swing states.
Florida: Romney 44%, Obama 43%
Ohio: Obama 44%, Romney 42%
Pennsylvania: Obama 47%, Romney 39%.
Said pollster Peter Brown: "Gov. Mitt Romney has closed President Barack Obama's leads in Ohio and Florida to the point that those two states are now essentially tied, a turnaround from the end of March when the president enjoyed leads in those key states."
McKay Coppins: "A full year after Romney launched his presidential bid, the campaign doesn't have a Spanish version of its website, nor has it hired a Spanish-speaking spokesperson. Romney boycotted a primary debate on Univision, leading to the event's collapse, and, to date, he has only done one sit-down interview on a national Spanish network. The apparent apathy has left Latino advocates -- and more than a few Republicans -- baffled, wondering whether the campaign has already written off one of the fastest-growing demographics in the country."
First Read: "Republicans are not on air on Hispanic media AT ALL so far, according to NBC/Smart Media Delta. President Obama, on the other hand, is going unchecked for two weeks, spending $435,000 - and $730,000 total so far this cycle - through mid-May with Hispanic media buys in Denver, Las Vegas, Orlando, Tampa, and Miami. If the president is wining by huge margins with Hispanics and women (more on that below), the math becomes very precarious for Romney. Look at those states where the president is advertising: Colorado, Nevada and Florida. Can Romney win the White House without winning at least ONE Western state?"
Mitt Romney will meet privately with Rick Santorum on Friday morning in Pittsburgh,
CNN reports.
"The campaigns had refused to discuss details of the get together and were trying to keep the location secret. They have planned no press coverage of the meeting."
CBS News reports that Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) will endorse Mitt Romney today, coming just in time to begin quelling some of the
recent chatter about the lack of unity around the presumptive nominee.
"As
competitors on the stump, Bachmann often contrasted herself to Romney
by saying that she was the only true conservative in the race, as well
as the candidate favored by the tea party. The endorsement from the
House member from Minnesota could help him attract the staunch
conservatives who shunned him during the primaries, preferring Bachmann
and other more ideological candidates."
The RNC warned Nevada Republicans that if Ron Paul delegates "are allowed to take too many slots for the national convention, Nevada's entire contingent may not be seated in Tampa," the
Jon Ralston reports.
The national party apparently "fears that mischief at the Sparks convention this weekend could result in Ron Paul delegates taking Mitt Romney slots and then not abiding by GOP rules to vote for the presumptive nominee on the first ballot in Tampa."
Politico: "The verdict is in: Barack Obama's 2008 victory in Virginia was not a fluke. For the once reliably Republican state, competitive presidential elections are the new normal."
"Just look at the candidates' schedules... Both campaigns are also moving swiftly to build their organizations. Romney recently brought his Iowa state director, Sara Craig, to helm Virginia and his team hopes to open at least a dozen field offices in the next month. Obama has had a Richmond-based staff in place for months and just opened up his 13th field office last month. The action on the ground is mirrored on the air -- Obama's campaign and Romney's super PAC are already broadcasting commercials in the state."
May 02, 2012
Missouri state Rep. Zach Wyatt (R) "announced publicly he is gay today at a news conference opposing a bill that has gained national attention for its proposed restrictions on in-school discussions of sexuality," the
Columbia Daily Tribune reports.
Wyatt said that he could "no longer keep his sexual orientation to himself in the face of what he considers an example of bigoted legislation."
"What I would do? People ask me, `What would you to get the economy
going'? and I say, `well look at what the president's done, and do the
opposite.'"
-- Mitt Romney, quoted by the
Associated Press.
A new
Marquette University Law School poll in Wisconsin finds Gov. Scott Walker (R) and Tom Barrett (D) are locked in a dead-even race for governor.
Among registered voters, Barrett led Walker 47% to 46%. That 1-point lead was reversed when considering only likely voters, with Walker holding 48% and Barrett holding 47%.
The poll also showed Barrett leading his Democratic rivals in Tuesday's primary. The winner of the primary will face Walker in the June 5 recall election.
A new
Public Policy Polling survey in Virginia's U.S. Senate race finds Tim Kaine (D) barely leading George Allen (R), 46% to 45%.
Bottom line: "Different month same story -- this is likely to be one of the closest, if not the closest, Senate races in the country this year."
Lauren Ashburn and Howard Kurtz have a
Daily Download follow up on the
resignation of Mitt Romney spokesman Richard Grenell.
See more...
Comedy Central released a storybook farewell to Newt Gingrich's campaign, "which we'll always remember for its nuanced policy positions and bold vision of... ah, screw it. We'll remember the moon colony thing."
A new
Rasmussen survey in Nevada finds President Obama leading Mitt Romney by eight points, 52% to 44%.
The
Indianapolis Star says next week's Republican U.S. Senate primary is a referendum on Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN).
"On one side, it's about voter fatigue as the former Indianapolis mayor seeks a seventh Senate term. It's about conservatives who are upset with some of Lugar's votes and some of his bipartisan friendships. It's about frustration among many GOP county organizers over Lugar's lack of involvement for many years in local politics..."
"On the other side... it's about people who deeply appreciate Lugar's willingness to consider more views than the one in his head. It's about a hope that Capitol Hill won't remain as gridlocked as it has been these past few years, and that more lawmakers with Lugar's reasonableness will take office, or at least that fewer will be tossed out. It's about a belief that this country needs lawmakers less inclined to explain the country's problems in simplistic political sound bites, and more capable of grasping the global picture -- yes, even if that means missing the Posey County GOP Lincoln Day dinner because it conflicts with a trip to the former Soviet Union."
President Obama and Mitt Romney "are both determined to score the
endorsement of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, whose name is all
but synonymous with Wall Street clout and nonpartisan politics,"
reports the
New York Times.
And with the campaign in full force, "their pursuit of the billionaire
mayor is headed into overdrive, with both campaigns making the kind of
conspicuous ring-kissing gestures that are reserved for their most
sought-after political allies, even though the candidates publicly
disagree with the mayor on a range of issues."
"Mr. Bloomberg, who
has lent his reputation for common-sense government and his prowess for
fund-raising to dozens of candidates from both parties over the past
decade, feared that an endorsement in the 2008 race might have negative
repercussions for the city he oversees. But as his mayoral term winds
down, he has told advisers that he is willing to back a candidate this
time around, touching off an intense competition for his support in the
general election."
Meanwhile, the
New York Daily News
reports that on Tuesday, Romney, "who was in the city to mark the
anniversary of Osama Bin Laden's death, had breakfast with Bloomberg at
the mayor's philanthropic foundation's headquarters," while over the
weekend, Bloomberg played golf "with other members of the President's
administration, including Vice President Biden and Secretary of Defense
Leon Panetta."
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