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| Democrats to target Mitt Romney's conservative ties - US politics live | Democrats to target Mitt Romney's conservative ties - US politics live |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 12.30pm: My excellent colleague Tom McCarthy watches ABC News's "exclusive inside look at the Republicans' anti-Obama war room": | |
| Opposition research fills the arsenals of any political campaign. In a presidential race, whole factories spring up to produce crate after crate of material to use against the other side, from smart-quote bombs to video ammo clips. In politics, the dirtiest strikes win: just ask John Kerry about his Swift Boat experience. | |
| Now we have a peek inside the 2012 Republican oppo factory, thanks to ABC News White House correspondent Jake Tapper. He visited the bunkered (windowless at least) facility where Republican National Committee staffers surf the internet and study the Obama campaign in hopes of turning up useful tidbits. They are also constructing a comprehensive database of what the president has said on every issue. | |
| "Everything he has ever said, done, written, we have captured, catalogued," says RNC communications director Sean Spicer. | |
| From Tapper's report we learn a few things. One, RNC chair Reince Priebus keeps a huge gold WWE (that's World Wrestling Entertainment) title belt in his oppo research office. "It goes with everything," he quips. | |
| Two, the RNC already is working 24 hours a day to defeat the president, employing young staffers around the clock in staggered shifts. | |
| And three, those young staffers really are young. Apart from Priebus and Spicer, virtually none of them looks old enough to rent a car, license a gun or remember Ronald Reagan. | |
| 12pm: Speculative Romney vice presidential speculation, Republican National Committee edititon. | |
| The National Journal says everyone at the RNC meeting really wants Condi Rice as Romney's VP pick: | |
| At the annual meeting of state Republican Party chairmen in Arizona last week, more members told me they wanted to see Romney pick Rice than any other candidate – both for her foreign policy experience and for the message she would send as a member of the ticket. | |
| Meanwhile, BuzzFeed Politics says everyone at the RNC meeting last weekend really wants Rob Portman as Romney's VP pick: | |
| In an informal survey of more than half of the Republican State Chairmen and national committee people at this weekend's State Chairman meeting at a resort here, two-thirds said they believe Portman is the most-likely and best-qualified running-mate for Mitt Romney. The committee members spoke to BuzzFeed only on the condition of anonymity. | |
| In conclusion: Marco Rubio. | |
| 11.34am: Speaking of things in US politics that may or may not be funny – last night I wrote this on first impressions of Veep, Armando Iannucci's re-creation of British politics-and-swearing comedy The Thick Of It set in Washington DC. | |
| Spoiler warning: it contains more spoilers than a Formula One starting grid, including the entire plot and funniest lines. So if you want to utterly kill any chance that you would enjoy watching Veep, go ahead. Also, the chick in the Crying Game is really a man. | |
| 11.10am: Two alternative views of Mitt Romney. According to BuzzFeed Politics – "Bottom-feeder, Buzzsaw, Buzzfeed, whatever they are," cf Jon Huntsman – Romney is "actually a pretty funny guy" based on six things, two of them being David Letterman Top 10 appearances. | 11.10am: Two alternative views of Mitt Romney. According to BuzzFeed Politics – "Bottom-feeder, Buzzsaw, Buzzfeed, whatever they are," cf Jon Huntsman – Romney is "actually a pretty funny guy" based on six things, two of them being David Letterman Top 10 appearances. |
| The other, more acerbic view is from Salon's Alex Pareene, who has a new ebook entitled The Rude Guide To Mitt – a snip at $2.99 for your Kindle: | The other, more acerbic view is from Salon's Alex Pareene, who has a new ebook entitled The Rude Guide To Mitt – a snip at $2.99 for your Kindle: |
| Mitt Romney is very weird. He seems incapable of natural conversation and frequently uncomfortable in his own skin. He's simultaneously dorkily earnest and ingratiatingly insincere. He suggests a brilliantly designed politician/android with an operating system still clearly in beta. All video of him attempting to interact with normal humans is cringe-inducing... He seems to have been told that "small talk" is mostly made up of cheerfully delivered non sequiturs. | Mitt Romney is very weird. He seems incapable of natural conversation and frequently uncomfortable in his own skin. He's simultaneously dorkily earnest and ingratiatingly insincere. He suggests a brilliantly designed politician/android with an operating system still clearly in beta. All video of him attempting to interact with normal humans is cringe-inducing... He seems to have been told that "small talk" is mostly made up of cheerfully delivered non sequiturs. |
| Those of you without a Kindle or $2.99 can read an extract here. | Those of you without a Kindle or $2.99 can read an extract here. |
| Of course Romney can both be weird and funny. In reality, the idea that a starchy political figure is also non-stop giggles in private is a well-worn one. For previous examples see John Major, Al Gore, and so on. Maybe it's true. Or maybe when you ascend the upper echelons of politics and tell a knock, knock joke, everyone falls about in hysterics – in the same way that they all nod gravely when you just repeat something about China from last week's Economist. | Of course Romney can both be weird and funny. In reality, the idea that a starchy political figure is also non-stop giggles in private is a well-worn one. For previous examples see John Major, Al Gore, and so on. Maybe it's true. Or maybe when you ascend the upper echelons of politics and tell a knock, knock joke, everyone falls about in hysterics – in the same way that they all nod gravely when you just repeat something about China from last week's Economist. |
| 10.52am: Meanwhile, the US Treasury announced new sanctions on six Iranian and Syrian organisations, as well as the head of Syria's intelligence directorate, after President Obama signed an executive order this morning allowing their assets to be frozen and barring Americans from doing business with them. AP reports: | 10.52am: Meanwhile, the US Treasury announced new sanctions on six Iranian and Syrian organisations, as well as the head of Syria's intelligence directorate, after President Obama signed an executive order this morning allowing their assets to be frozen and barring Americans from doing business with them. AP reports: |
| Six of the seven – Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, national police, and intelligence ministry as well as the Syrian intelligence chief and his agency and the state-controlled cell phone company – were already subject to US sanctions. The new addition is Iran's Datak Telecom Internet provider. | Six of the seven – Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, national police, and intelligence ministry as well as the Syrian intelligence chief and his agency and the state-controlled cell phone company – were already subject to US sanctions. The new addition is Iran's Datak Telecom Internet provider. |
| 10.35am: The purpose of today's event at the Holocaust Memorial Museum is – according to the White House – to discuss "how the US is honoring the pledge of 'never again' by developing a comprehensive strategy to prevent and respond to mass atrocities". | 10.35am: The purpose of today's event at the Holocaust Memorial Museum is – according to the White House – to discuss "how the US is honoring the pledge of 'never again' by developing a comprehensive strategy to prevent and respond to mass atrocities". |
| Obama mentions an earlier visit, when he vowed to "prevent and end atrocities," and reports back on the administration's plans: | Obama mentions an earlier visit, when he vowed to "prevent and end atrocities," and reports back on the administration's plans: |
| We're making sure that the United States government has the structures, the mechanisms to better prevent and respond to mass atrocities. So I created the first-ever White House position dedicated to this task. It's why I created a new Atrocities Prevention Board, to bring together senior officials from across our government to focus on this critical mission. | We're making sure that the United States government has the structures, the mechanisms to better prevent and respond to mass atrocities. So I created the first-ever White House position dedicated to this task. It's why I created a new Atrocities Prevention Board, to bring together senior officials from across our government to focus on this critical mission. |
| This is not an afterthought. This is not a sidelight in our foreign policy. The board will convene for the first time today at the White House. And I'm pleased that one of its first acts will be to meet with some of your organizations, citizens and activists who are partners in this work, who have been carrying this torch. | This is not an afterthought. This is not a sidelight in our foreign policy. The board will convene for the first time today at the White House. And I'm pleased that one of its first acts will be to meet with some of your organizations, citizens and activists who are partners in this work, who have been carrying this torch. |
| As part of this effort, Obama says that USAID will "invite people and high-tech companies to help create new technologies to quickly expose violations of human rights". | As part of this effort, Obama says that USAID will "invite people and high-tech companies to help create new technologies to quickly expose violations of human rights". |
| 10.27am: Speaking outside the Holocaust Memorial Museum, President Obama mentions Israel and Iran: | 10.27am: Speaking outside the Holocaust Memorial Museum, President Obama mentions Israel and Iran: |
| On my visit to the old Warsaw ghetto a woman looked me in the eye and she wanted to make sure America stood with Israel. She said, "It's the only Jewish state we have." And I made her a promise in that solemn place. I said, "I will always be there for Israel." | On my visit to the old Warsaw ghetto a woman looked me in the eye and she wanted to make sure America stood with Israel. She said, "It's the only Jewish state we have." And I made her a promise in that solemn place. I said, "I will always be there for Israel." |
| So when efforts are made to equate Zionism to racism, we reject them. When international fora single out Israel with unfair resolutions, we vote against them. When attempts are made to delegitimize the state of Israel, we oppose them. When faced with a regime that threatens global security and denies the Holocaust and threatens to destroy Israel, the United States will do everything in our power to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. | So when efforts are made to equate Zionism to racism, we reject them. When international fora single out Israel with unfair resolutions, we vote against them. When attempts are made to delegitimize the state of Israel, we oppose them. When faced with a regime that threatens global security and denies the Holocaust and threatens to destroy Israel, the United States will do everything in our power to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. |
| 10.21am: President Obama is speaking this morning at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC, where he was introduced by Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. It's a sombre moment: | 10.21am: President Obama is speaking this morning at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC, where he was introduced by Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. It's a sombre moment: |
| We must tell our children about a crime unique in human history, the one and only Holocaust, six million innocent people, men, women, children, babies sent to their deaths just for being different, just for being Jewish. | We must tell our children about a crime unique in human history, the one and only Holocaust, six million innocent people, men, women, children, babies sent to their deaths just for being different, just for being Jewish. |
| We tell them, our children, about the millions of Poles and Catholics and Roma and gay people and so many others who also must never be forgotten. | We tell them, our children, about the millions of Poles and Catholics and Roma and gay people and so many others who also must never be forgotten. |
| Let us tell our children not only how they died, but also how they lived, as fathers and mothers, and sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters who loved and hoped and dreamed just like us. | Let us tell our children not only how they died, but also how they lived, as fathers and mothers, and sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters who loved and hoped and dreamed just like us. |
| 10.09am: With the John Edwards case kicking off today, Politico has the top lines to watch – including this teaser: | 10.09am: With the John Edwards case kicking off today, Politico has the top lines to watch – including this teaser: |
| At least five current Obama administration or campaign officials are on the prosecution or defense witness lists for the trial, and Obama's 2008 campaign is expected to be drawn into the trial's storyline, as prosecutors argue that Edwards's political ambitions were very much alive even after he dropped out of the race in January 2008. | At least five current Obama administration or campaign officials are on the prosecution or defense witness lists for the trial, and Obama's 2008 campaign is expected to be drawn into the trial's storyline, as prosecutors argue that Edwards's political ambitions were very much alive even after he dropped out of the race in January 2008. |
| 9.45am: The Democratic party is still figuring out the best way to take on Mitt Romney – and the advice from Bill Clinton is to forget the flip-flopping line and highlight his embrace of the Republican right during the primary campaign. | 9.45am: The Democratic party is still figuring out the best way to take on Mitt Romney – and the advice from Bill Clinton is to forget the flip-flopping line and highlight his embrace of the Republican right during the primary campaign. |
| That comes on the eve of Romney's assured victory in five primaries tomorrow – Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island – although there's some question that Newt Gingrich's campaign is still showing a faint pulse in tiny Delaware. | That comes on the eve of Romney's assured victory in five primaries tomorrow – Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island – although there's some question that Newt Gingrich's campaign is still showing a faint pulse in tiny Delaware. |
| Romney himself is going through the routine with some campaigning in Pennsylvania, but the more exciting political news goes back a few years with the trial of former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards, who is alleged to have transferred nearly $1m from his campaign donors to his mistress. | Romney himself is going through the routine with some campaigning in Pennsylvania, but the more exciting political news goes back a few years with the trial of former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards, who is alleged to have transferred nearly $1m from his campaign donors to his mistress. |
| Here's a round-up of the latest news from Ryan Devereaux: | Here's a round-up of the latest news from Ryan Devereaux: |
| • The Obama campaign has adjusted its strategy for attacking Romney by taking advice from former president Bill Clinton, according to Politico. Rather than target Romney as a flip-flopper for making a stark leap to the right in his bid for the presidency, Clinton has reportedly suggested the president's team target him for him embracing a Tea Party brand of conservatism that potentially alienates Hispanics, women and moderate independents. The strategy would theoretically block Romney from moving back to the center and ideologically corner him. | • The Obama campaign has adjusted its strategy for attacking Romney by taking advice from former president Bill Clinton, according to Politico. Rather than target Romney as a flip-flopper for making a stark leap to the right in his bid for the presidency, Clinton has reportedly suggested the president's team target him for him embracing a Tea Party brand of conservatism that potentially alienates Hispanics, women and moderate independents. The strategy would theoretically block Romney from moving back to the center and ideologically corner him. |
| • The Associated Press is out with a new article on Mitt Romney's approach to government spending. The presidential hopeful's plan is rife with programmes and efforts to be cut, including health care for the poor and the disabled, food inspection, border security and education. In true Republican fashion, however, there will still be plenty of money set aside for the nation's war-making apparatus, with Romney promising budget increases for the Pentagon. As the AP points out, this is an area of starkest contrast between President Obama and Romney. | • The Associated Press is out with a new article on Mitt Romney's approach to government spending. The presidential hopeful's plan is rife with programmes and efforts to be cut, including health care for the poor and the disabled, food inspection, border security and education. In true Republican fashion, however, there will still be plenty of money set aside for the nation's war-making apparatus, with Romney promising budget increases for the Pentagon. As the AP points out, this is an area of starkest contrast between President Obama and Romney. |
| • Weekly Standard editor and Republican cheerleader Bill Kristol has called on Mitt Romney to act like a president. "Romney has to behave presidentially — more like a leader than a campaigner," Kristol writes. He calls on the former Massachusetts governor to "lay out his governing agenda to restore our solvency, put us on a path to prosperity, attend to our security, and safeguard our liberty...instead of giving rebuttals and prebuttals to Obama's speeches". | • Weekly Standard editor and Republican cheerleader Bill Kristol has called on Mitt Romney to act like a president. "Romney has to behave presidentially — more like a leader than a campaigner," Kristol writes. He calls on the former Massachusetts governor to "lay out his governing agenda to restore our solvency, put us on a path to prosperity, attend to our security, and safeguard our liberty...instead of giving rebuttals and prebuttals to Obama's speeches". |
| • Former candidate John Huntsman has attempted to walk back a comment he made comparing the Republican party to China's Communist party. On Sunday night, Huntsman appeared at the 92nd Street Y in New York City where he expressed disappointment that the GOP disinvited him to a Florida fundraiser after he publicly called for a third party. ""This is what they do in China on party matters if you talk off script," Huntsman, formerly Obama's ambassador to China, said. On Monday, Hunstman appeared on MSNBC, where he blamed blogs for taking his comment out of context: "You get these blogs out there, you know, Bottom-feeder, Buzzsaw, Buzzfeed, whatever they are, and they take a sentence out of context and it becomes a headline and pretty soon mainstream newspapers pick up on that." | • Former candidate John Huntsman has attempted to walk back a comment he made comparing the Republican party to China's Communist party. On Sunday night, Huntsman appeared at the 92nd Street Y in New York City where he expressed disappointment that the GOP disinvited him to a Florida fundraiser after he publicly called for a third party. ""This is what they do in China on party matters if you talk off script," Huntsman, formerly Obama's ambassador to China, said. On Monday, Hunstman appeared on MSNBC, where he blamed blogs for taking his comment out of context: "You get these blogs out there, you know, Bottom-feeder, Buzzsaw, Buzzfeed, whatever they are, and they take a sentence out of context and it becomes a headline and pretty soon mainstream newspapers pick up on that." |