Day's End Round-Up

FROM THE BLOGS:

GOP shouldn’t waste time on Biden
Jonathan S. Tobin says it's "not likely" Vice President Biden will cost the president votes in November, at Commentary.

Mayor Cory Booker goes on awesome anti-drug-war rant on Twitter
Andrew Kirell writes at Mediaite that it is "nice to see a popular Democrat take a strong stance against the drug war."

Obama claims more time in ‘real world’ than Romney
Keith Koffler argues back at the president on White House Dossier.

Nancy Pelosi slammed by Washington Post over tax-cut proposal
Jennifer Bendery writes for Huffington Post that the Post's argument seems based on politics, not policy.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

How Mitt's mom shaped him
Time magazine's June cover story is on Mitt Romney and his mother, Lenore.

Obama taps George Mason professor to head nuclear agency
President Obama nominated George Mason University Professor Allison Macfarlane to head the nuclear agency, Andrew Restuccia reports for The Hill.

FROM THE BLOGS:

How empiricism could swing the 2012 ad wars
Slate's Sasha Issenberg offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the president's reelection team is launching controlled experiments to hone political advertising and better target voters.

The debate of the 'social market'
National Review's Jonah Goldberg says it's fair to examine Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital within a broader discussion of whether European-style socialism works better than American markets and their ability to create jobs.

Is Obama fiscally responsible?
Salon's Joan Walsh accuses the media of "parroting the GOP" while noting that spending has grown more slowly under Obama than either Reagan or Bush.

Why Obama will lose Florida
Plum Line's Jamelle Bouie says that given Florida's demographics and economic struggle, the pivotal swing state should be considered a reach for President Obama in 2012.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Romney vows jobless rate below six percent
Democrats are noting projections already show the rate falling below those levels by the end of the next presidential term, The Hill's Jonathan Easley reports.

Pelosi asks for middle-class tax cut vote
The minority leader is pushing Republicans on the legislation, which would extend portions of the Bush-era tax cuts, saying they would resolve market anxiety, The Hill's Mike Lillis reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Where the swing voters are
Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight ranks the states where voters are least committed to a major party.

The Obama campaign’s scientific approach to advertising
Sasha Issenberg at Slate writes on the Obama campaign’s analytical approach to targeted ad buys.

Why Obama won’t dump Biden
Jeff Greenfield at Yahoo puts the rumors to bed.

Timing may be key in Romney’s V.P. announcement
Scott Conroy at Real Clear Politics writes that picking the right running mate isn’t the Romney campaign’s only critical decision.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Obama raised the most from private equity in 2008
Jonathan Easley at The Hill reports that President Obama has a fine line to walk when dealing with hedge funds and private equity.

Dem-backed law could be the downfall of Obama’s birth-control mandate
Elise Viebeck at The Hill reports that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, mentioned in nearly all of the more than 30 lawsuits pending against the administration's mandate, could threaten the White House's defense.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Following Booker criticisms, a struggle to define what’s fair game
Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker set off a controversy in the campaign, suggests Michael D. Shear at The Caucus.

Losing the world to win reelection
President Obama is not winning on foreign policy, argues Jed Babbin at Loose Canons.

The commander in chief is tired of commanding
Jennifer Rubin rounds up what she calls "stunning" revelations on Afghanistan for Right Turn.

Does President Obama know how to throw a football?
Charlie Spiering has a photo compare-and-contrast for President Obama's football pose at Beltway Confidential.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Nuclear agency chief Jaczko to step down
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Gregory Jaczko announced his resignation on Monday, Andrew Restuccia and Ben Geman report for The Hill.

Notre Dame, Catholics sue Obama over contraception mandate
The University of Notre Dame is suing the Obama administration over its contraception mandate, Elise Viebeck reports for The Hill.

FROM THE BLOGS:

How I answered Michele Bachmann’s questionnaire
Andrew Rosenthal at Taking Note responds to the Minnesota congresswoman.

The real Mitt Romney, Inside the Actor’s Studio
Erik Kain thinks James Lipton's advice to Mitt Romney is "good, thought likely impossible," he writes at The League of Ordinary Gentlemen.

Wanda Sykes: Mitt Romney is 'the Forrest Gump of candidates'
The comedian made an unusual political comparison, according to Alana Horowitz at the Huffington Post.

Cain to Romney: Pick West, not Portman
Herman Cain had his say on who Mitt Romney's vice presidential choice should be, speaking to Robert Costa at The Corner.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Obama, Boehner clash at White House over debt-ceiling hike
Russell Berman and Alicia M. Cohn report on the president's meeting with congressional leaders for The Hill.

GOP hints it’ll part with Keystone XL pipeline to finish highway bill
Republicans might not draw a line in the oil sands when it comes to transportation legislation, Ben Geman reports for The Hill.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Obama could win Arizona
Ruy Teixeira at The New Republic says the Obama campaign’s focus on long-shot Arizona might pay off.

Susanna Martinez is Romney’s best VP option
Andrew Romano at The Daily Beast details how the New Mexico governor would help the Romney ticket.

Obama is pandering to female voters
Dana Milbank at The Washington Post says the president is going overboard in his pursuit of female voters.

Obama hasn’t lost the South
Jon Meacham at Time says it will be a challenge, but Obama can still connect with voters in some of the Southern states he won in 2008.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Boehner and Obama to go another round on the debt ceiling
Molly K. Hooper at The Hill reports that the House Speaker has taken tax increases off the table and the debt ceiling will only be raised by matching cuts in spending.

Harry Reid slams Boehner debt speech
Erik Wasson at The Hill has the Senate majority leader’s response to John Boehner’s tough debt-ceiling talk.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Newsweek — you shouldn’t have!
Jennifer Rubin at Right Turn writes a hypothetical "thank you" note from Mitt Romney to Newsweek.

Romney campaign: Mitt destroying GST Steel was just like Obama saving the American auto industry
At The Daily Kos, Jed Lewison rounds up the latest presidential campaign attack.

Pentagon wants Web apps to stop piracy, for some reason
Spencer Ackerman commences the "face-palming" over the latest Navy news at Danger Room.

Behind the lower unemployment rates
Farai Chideya at The Root explores what the unemployment numbers mean for the African-American community, and others.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Obama seeks women and young voters with commencement address at Barnard
Amie Parnes reports on President Obama's strategic commencement speech at Barnard College Monday for The Hill.

Paul won't campaign in any more states
Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) will not compete in any more primaries during the Republican presidential race, Cameron Joseph reports for The Hill.

FROM THE BLOGS:

The budget can be balanced without tax hikes
Veronique de Rugy at the Washington Examiner says the “balanced approach” to balancing the budget would be devastating for the United States.

Mitt Romney is a bully
Paul Begala at the Daily Beast says Mitt Romney is a serial abuser of power.

For how long can Obama avoid his record?
Neal Boortz writes that the president is trolling for dirt on Romney to avoid his disastrous record.

Karl Rove’s playbook
Thomas Schaller at Salon writes that the Obama campaign will take a page from George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection efforts.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Obama returns to his liberal base
Jonathan Easley at The Hill writes on the Obama campaign’s attempt to re-energize his base.

Romney makes play for North Carolina
Justin Sink at The Hill reports on the Romney campaign’s opening in the key swing state.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Lugar loss proves GOP is the problem
Ezra Klein at Bloomberg writes that Dick Lugar’s primary loss is the latest evidence of GOP extremism.

Tea Party sends Lugar, status quo, packing
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R) in The Washington Times applauds the Tea Party uprising that unseated Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.).

Dems have real chance to hold the Senate
Paul Kane at The Washington Post writes about the events that have turned the tide in the battle for power in the upper chamber.

Mitt Romney saved Detroit only in his dreams
The editorial board at the Detroit Free Press says Romney has a real argument to make about the auto industry, but instead he’s making one up.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Reid says Dem platform will include gay marriage
Alexander Bolton at The Hill reports on the latest development since President Obama came out in support of same-sex marriage.

Romney says he did 'some dumb things' in high school
Justin Sink at The Hill reports on the Romney response to The Washington Post story that he
took part in a prank that involved pinning down and cutting the hair of a new student.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Huckabee for Veep?
Robert Costa adds to speculation that Mike Huckabee could be a sleeper candidate for Mitt Romney's running mate at National Review Online.

Good for Obama, bad for gay marriage
A Democracy in America blogger thinks President Obama's support for gay marriage will turn it into a more partisan issue.

Chris Smith: Administration silent on Chen's cause
Rep. Chris Smith (D-N.J.) criticized the administration for failing Chen Guangcheng, reports Josh Rogin for The Cable.

Gay for pay
The Washington Free Beacon concludes that President Obama decided to support same-sex marriage because many of his donors are gay.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Obama endorses gay marriage
Amie Parnes reports for The Hill on President Obama's public announcement of his support for same-sex marriage.

Romney avoids questions on Obama's gay-marriage stance
Mitt Romney did not want to weigh in on Wednesday, Justin Sink reports for The Hill.