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The first sentence of CNN’s just-released press release for convention coverage reads like this: CNN will offer viewers nonstop, unbiased programming across on-air and digital platforms at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions beginning later this month. It’s as if CNN is saying, if you watch Fox News or MSNBC during the conventions, those networks will lean right, or left, or forward (never backward), so watch us if you want it down the middle. Our TVNewsers Alex Weprin and Merrill Knox will be at the conventions — ahem — keeping them honest. Anyway, CNN has big plans. Read about them...

Mitt Romney continued his surge on President Barack Obama in New Hampshire over the past month and now trails the president by just 3 points in a new WMUR Granite State poll released Monday. The poll finds that Obama leads Romney, 49 percent to 46 percent. That's a point closer than last month and 6 points closer since April, when Romney basically locked up the nomination. And it's clear Romney has some advantages deeper into the poll. Three key stats should worry Obama heading into the final three months of the campaign. First, Obama's favorability ratings have plunged in the...

There are many bad things that you can say about Mitt Romney’s decision to choose Paul Ryan as his running mate – and I’ve written about a few of them here at the Rumble. But perhaps one of most under-appreciated problems with the pick is the extent to which it imperils Romney’s chances of getting to 270 electoral votes and winning the White House. Right now, President Obama has a rather striking advantage in the Electoral College. Based on the most conservative read of the electoral map, Obama is starting with about 243 electoral votes – that’s not including Wisconsin,...

On "Situation Room" DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz has no answers to Wolf Blitzer's questions on Medicare attacks (August 13, 2012).

DENVER—The rigors of the campaign trail have not kept Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan from his intense workout regimen, a daily tradition he observes religiously in the wee hours of the morning. Ryan was spotted Tuesday in the gym of the Renaissance Denver Hotel working out to a P90X video on his iPad.

President Barack Obama assailed rival Mitt Romney's opposition to tax supports for wind power, delivering an Iowa-specific critique Tuesday on the Republican challenger in that crucial Midwestern state. Obama's deputy criticized GOP budget plans to overhaul Medicare, cut trillions of dollars from social programs and lower taxes on high-income taxpayers. Iowa is a center of wind energy production in the United States and the Obama administration credits tax breaks for helping build that industry. Obama has called on Congress to extend the breaks. Romney opposes it. Obama, on the second of a three-day Iowa bus tour, noted that Romney once...

Former Arkansas Governor and Fox News host, Mike Huckabee, spoke at The FAMiLY Leader’s Leadership Summit in Waukee, IA. He said that one of the greatest fears that someone could have is to be alone. He believes that traditional values voters often feel alone. He said that with Chick-fil-A appreciation day while people stood and waited in those long lines people realized they were not alone. He said the purpose of Chick-fil-A day wasn’t about chicken sandwiches or even Chick-fil-A, it was about standing up to governmental abuse of power and free speech. This wasn’t about Dan Cathy or something...

“I think it’s a very bold choice. And an exciting and interesting pick. It’s going to elevate the campaign into a debate over big ideas. It means Romney-Ryan can run on principles and provide some real direction and vision for the Republican Party. And probably lose. Maybe big,” said former President George W. Bush senior adviser Mark McKinnon. Joked another: “The most popular phrase in Washington right now is: ‘I love Paul Ryan, but …’” And the more pessimistic strategists don’t even feign good cheer: They think the Ryan pick is a disaster for the GOP. Many of these people...

In the afterglow of Mitt Romney’s announcement that House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan -- a strong fiscal conservative with a 100% pro-life voting record -- would be his running mate, conservatives were excited to think that this might mean a shift to the right by the Romney campaign. We want Romney to win, so we hope that is true. However, such assumptions discount the influence of Mitt Romney’s liberal campaign staff on both the direction of the campaign and Paul Ryan’s fortunes on the ticket. Governor Romney has no longtime movement conservatives in his inner circle and who you...

Speech in progress.

Romney 47, Obama 45

“I’m sure there are places that my budget is different than his, but we’re on the same page,” Romney told reporters at a press conference at an airport in Miami… Asked about how his plan differs from that of his running mate, Romney could not name specific differences on Monday. “Well, the items that we agree on I think outweigh any differences there may be. We haven’t gone through piece by piece and said, ‘Oh here’s a place where there’s a difference,’” Romney said. “I can’t imagine any two people even in the same party who have exactly the same...

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 50% of Likely U.S. Voters now have a favorable opinion of Ryan, while 32% view him unfavorably. This includes 29% with a Very Favorable view of Romney’s vice presidential pick and 13% with a Very Unfavorable one. Only 13% are now unfamiliar with Ryan, and five percent (5%) are not sure about him.

There is no more misleading imagery than the ad run by Democrats in which a Paul Ryan-looking figure throws Granny off a cliff due to Medicare cuts: (Ad at link) The ad has it exactly opposite to reality. Republican proposals would keep Medicare the same for people already in the system or 10 years away from entering the system. Nothing would affect Granny, but restructuring would save Medicare for future generations while easing the national debt burden. **snip**Mediscare is an age-old Democratic tactic, but this time it’s different because left as is Medicare goes bankrupt in Granny’s lifetime and bursts...

Where, exactly, were our stylists? What do they think they’re on the Big Black Bus for, if not to avoid unfortunate photo ops like this one of Big Guy out standing in his field? You sure don’t need me to point out the failed optics of this unfortunate metaphor: Four More years? Of this?As our War Planner succinctly put it “How utterly metaphoric is this shot of our clueless POTUS standing in a drought-stricken Iowa corn field trying to ignite the magic of four years ago.” And speaking of stylists…and unfortunate photo ops: Which one of the ladies-in-waiting thought that...

The economy is expected to play a big part in the coming election. But how might the Romney-Ryan ticket frame the debate over the fiscal cliff? Janet Hook discusses on Markets Hub. Photo: AP.

Barack Obama is asserting that most Americans pay a higher federal tax rate than Mitt Romney, a claim that has been backed by FactCheck.org. In reality, when one accounts for all federal taxes and all sources of income, Romney—like the vast majority of financially successful individuals—pays a markedly higher federal tax rate than most Americans. The Obama campaign is airing a new commercial that declares: “You work hard—stretch every penny—but chances are you pay a higher tax rate than him. Mitt Romney made 20 million dollars in 2010 but paid only 14 percent in taxes—probably less than you.” These figures...

Paul Ryan Will Not Be Mitt Romney’s Running Mate By BRUCE BARTLETT, The Fiscal Times August 10, 2012 This week, conservatives launched a concerted effort to get Mitt Romney to choose Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee. I do not believe this will happen. Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal’s lead editorial strongly endorsed Ryan. Simultaneously, the right-wing Weekly Standard did so as well, emphasizing precisely the same points. Their argument basically boils down to the need for Romney to emphasize “big issues” in his campaign. First among these is slashing entitlement programs, especially Medicare. Ryan...

BHO has made more liberal (no pun intended) use of executive orders than any president in my memory, perhaps in history. He has, self-admittedly, done things that are not even within the powers of the executive branch to push through regulations that have crippled industries if not destroyed them outright. Here's the easy part: reverse all of them. Every one. Of course the pundits will scream their heads off in way they did not when Obama was making his illegal power grab. Even the conservative-leaning politicians and talking heads will whine about 'throwing the baby out with the bathwater'. Romney...

http://bangordailynews.com/2012/08/13/politics/gallup-poll-shows-tepid-response-to-ryan-as-vp-pick-on-gop-ticket/?ref=regionstate Do you favor Romney's pick of Paul Ryan as his VP running mate?