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US election becomes fundraising battle between Obama and Romney - live US election becomes fundraising battle - the day in politics
(40 minutes later)
10.30am: Money talks – and if it can't sing and dance then both the Romney and Obama campaigns are putting on a show to entertain the deep-pocketed donors they need to equip themselves for the expensive election battle ahead.
Here's a preview of the latest news:
• The Democratic party and the Obama campaign has announced a total of $53m raised in donations during March – a formidable figure that may yet pale into insignificance as this election season goes along. Jim Messina, Obama's campaign manager, said 567,000 people donated to the president's re-election campaign last month, with the average contribution being $50.
• Is the Romney campaign already planning its victory lap before the race has even begun? A fundraising email circulated to Republicans offers major donors access to a special "Presidential Inaugural retreat" and other benefits.
• Donors to the Romney campaign received a special preview of the candidate's policy ideas from Romney himself during a closed-door briefing in Palm Beach, Florida. NBC's Garrett Haake has the scoop on a series of revealing policy prescriptions laid out by Romney, including a threat to abolish the Housing and Urban Development department among others:
Romney went into a level of detail not usually seen by the public in the speech, which was overheard by reporters on a sidewalk below. One possibility floated by Romney included the elimination of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Cabinet-level agency once led by Romney's father, George.
• On Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace – son of the late Mike Wallace – put both Ed Gillespie of the Romney campaign and David Axelrod of the Obama campaign through the wringer. At various points he managed to get both senior advisors to repeat talking points of their opposition, which is quite a feat.
• The Obama White House is no stranger to the attentions of donors and lobbyists, as the New York Times discovers in an investigation. It found that "those who donated the most to Mr Obama and the Democratic Party since he started running for president were far more likely to visit the White House than others".
10.45am: In case you missed it, this article by NBC's Alex Moe should win some sort of prize:
The day after Newt Gingrich was bit by a penguin at a zoo, he acknowledged he is "the underdog"....
And that concludes our coverage of the Newt Gingrich "presidential campaign" for this week.
There is no word on whether the penguin survived. It's in our prayers.
11am: The Atlantic's Molly Ball warns that the 2012 election campaign is "going to be a life-sucking slog – a mirthless, grinding blitzkrieg of unrelenting negativity". So there's that to look forward to.
But it's also going to be an expensive grinding blitzkrieg of unrelenting negativity, as Ball runs through the numbers:
Through the end of February, the Obama campaign had raised $157m, while Romney's had raised $74m. The Democratic Party has another $82m in cash on hand, the GOP $90m. Over the course of the campaign, Romney hopes to raise $600m, Obama $750m or more, according to the New York Times. And then there are the super PACs: They've already spent $86m thus far, mostly on the Republican primary, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
That, she points out, is "enough to buy a whole fleet of $60m fighter jets, or dwarf the GDP of a small nation like Tonga ($816m)."
11.10am: ABC's Diane Sawyer has an exclusive interview with the Romneys – Ann Romney and her husband, Mitt – on World News and Nightline tonight.
The nugget that has emerged so far: Mitt Romney says he has put his adviser Beth Myers in charge of the vice presidential vetting process:
I have selected someone who has been a counselor of mine for a number of years, Beth Myers. She was my chief of staff when I was governor," Romney told ABC News' Diane Sawyer in an exclusive interview.
"I've asked her to be the person who oversees the process of the vice presidential selection and vetting an analysis and so she's begun that process and is putting together the kinds of things you need to do to vet potential candidates," Romney added.
Pressed on when he plans to make an announcement, all Romney would say is: "It would certainly be by the time of the convention."
Ann Romney, meanwhile, says about the vice presidential selection:
This weekend was the first time we seriously really talked about it and there are some wonderful people out there.
11.20am: In case you were wondering: no the penguin was not radioactive, and no Newt Gingrich has not gained special powers as a result of being bitten by it. That we know of.
11.25am: Republican vice presidential hopefuls – this is the Twitter account you should follow, retweet and favourite:
As someone who has worked in partnership with @MittRomney for years, I am honored to lead his search for a VP. #Mitt2012
If Beth doesn't follow you back: forget it, you're off Romney's VP list. Don't bother DMing her either.
11.41am: After being bitten by a penguin, the Newt Gingrich campaign really has moved into its comedy phase. To underline that point, Gingrich's aides angrily brushed aside a journalism student who dared to ask the failed loser an awkward question.
Memet Walker, a reporter for the University of North Carolina's Daily Tar Heel, was given access to Gingrich by an aide after he spoke at an event in Greensboro on Saturday:
That's why I was so surprised when, before I had finished asking my first question, that same aide cut the interview short and prompted Secret Service to grab and briefly detain me as the former speaker was led away.
The unexpected reaction came in response to a question about Fox News chairman Roger Ailes. Last week, in a speech he gave at the University, Ailes had some harsh words for Gingrich, claiming the candidate was "trying to get a job at CNN, because he knows he isn't going to get to come back to Fox."
Charming. But having the Secret Service "briefly detain" the journalist? Insert your own joke here about the Secret Service and hookers. More seriously, US taxpayers are footing the bill for this.
12 noon: After a weekend commemorating the Titanic, here's a reminder of another disaster: Alberto Gonzales, who sank without trace after being a member of the much-loved Bush administration.
Gonzales resurfaced to tell a grateful nation that Florida senator Marco Rubio shouldn't be Mitt Romney's VP pick:
Gonzales, who was the nation's first Latino attorney general in the George W Bush administration and remains one of the highest-ranking Latinos in US history, questioned the staying power of the Florida senator's popularity with Latino voters.
Rubio might generate interest among Latinos "for the first 12 hours if selected for the number two spot, but that won't last," Gonzales said.
The Republican Party should do more to court Latinos, Gonzales said.
12.17pm: The Wall Street Journal was also eavesdropping on Mitt Romney's chat with donors in Palm Beach on Sunday, reporting that during "the backyard event, which could be heard by reporters outside on a public sidewalk, Mr Romney offered policy specifics he has yet to unveil on the campaign trail".
It also included Romney's thoughts on media coverage:
The candidate said he didn't expect a fair fight in the media, saying he believed many commentators on television were liberals. He also said CNN reporter and host Wolf Blitzer was a good interviewer, and said Fox News had been good to him. Fox News is owned by News Corporation, which also owns The Wall Street Journal.
"Fox is watched by the true believers," Mr Romney said. "We need to get the independents and the women."
Speaking of "the women," the reporters also overheard Ann Romney's revealing description of last week's controversy as an "early birthday present":
Ann Romney, the candidate's wife, who turns 63 years old on Monday, attended the event and offered her take on recent criticism she faced for saying she understood women's economic anxieties while staying out of the workforce and being a stay-at-home mom. The resulting media coverage allowed the Romney campaign to put on display what it views as one of its greatest assets – Mrs Romney.
"It was my early birthday present for someone to be critical of me as a mother," she said. "That was a really defining moment, and I loved it.
12.29pm: On top of the 11 Secret Service agents involved in the "Victoria's Secret Service" scandal in Colombia over the weekend, it now emerges that more than five members of the US military may also have been involved, as the AP reports:
Pentagon press secretary George Little said on Monday that he could not provide a specific number but that military members who are being investigated were assigned to support the US Secret Service in preparation for Obama's official visit to Cartagena. He said they were not directly involved in presidential security.
"We believe that there may be more than five involved in this incident," Little said.
The Secret Service sent 11 of its agents home from Colombia amid allegations that they had hired prostitutes at a Cartagena hotel. The military members being investigated were staying at the same hotel, Little said.
Army Colonel Scott Malcom, chief spokesman for US Southern Command, which organized the military team that was assigned to support the Secret Service's mission in Cartagena, declined to say how many additional service members are under investigation. He also would not say which branch of the military they were from.
"We are still putting together all the facts," Malcom said.
12.40pm: More proof – if it was needed – of the "mirthless, grinding blitzkrieg of unrelenting negativity" that the 2012 presidential contest is sure to be:
That's the latest video from Priorities USA, the Obama-supporting Super Pac. And there's more where that came from.
12.55pm: The fundraising battle between Obama and Romney – which Romney is most likely to win, once Super Pac contributions are counted – is well underway.
Here's an extract from a fundraising email sent around to wealthy Republican donors reported earlier – one that offers special treats to those willing to pay $50,000 to become a "founding member":
The campaign is now moving into its next phase with the formation of "Romney Victory." This is a joint fundraising committee established between Romney for President, the RNC and a number of battleground fund states. Romney Victory will make it easy for a donor to make one contribution to fund various committees focused on the election. The legal maximum that an individual can donate to Romney Victory is $75,800. The campaign is asking people who are able to make a $50,000 contribution to do so today and become a "Founding Member" of Romney Victory. These donors will be invited to a special retreat with Governor Romney in late June in California and will have preferred status at the first Presidential Inaugural retreat as well as yet to be determined access at the Republican National Convention in Tampa in August.
How nice that they are already organising "the first Presidential Inaugural retreat" – Mitt Romney is nothing if not well organised. It might be a bit dull if Romney doesn't win, so let's hope there's plenty of free booze.
1.05pm: It's official: Jim Yong Kim, the president of Dartmouth College, has been confirmed as the next president of the World Bank.
You can read my profile of Jim Yong Kim here.
Kim was Obama's surprise nominee – after several other candidates, including Susan Rice and John Kerry, turned the post down.
1.33pm: And here's the first daily tracking poll of the presidential campaign from Gallup:
Mitt Romney is supported by 47% of national registered voters and Barack Obama by 45% in the inaugural Gallup Daily tracking results from April 11-15. Both Obama and Romney are supported by 90% of their respective partisans.
The slight Romney advantage comes from independent voters backing Romney by 45% to 39%.
Still think Obama's got this one in the bag? But don't worry: there will be another one tomorrow.
1.44pm: Confused by the Buffett Rule and what it all means? No, it's not that Warren Buffett will have to pay all of America's taxes – although he probably could. Reuters has an excellent summary of the all-you-can-eat tax policy:
The Democrat-controlled Senate has voted multiple times on measures to raise taxes on the wealthy and each time the legislation has been killed because it lacked the 60 votes needed to overcome procedural hurdles in the 100-member Senate.
So why is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid staging yet another vote, knowing Republicans will again block it?
There are a couple of obvious reasons: with millions of Americans scurrying to file their annual tax forms by the April 17 deadline this year, this is an effective way of again focusing attention on the "fairness" issue that Democrats are emphasizing in the 2012 political campaigns.
More importantly, recent public opinion polls show that a clear majority of Americans favor raising taxes on the rich.
2.18pm: More of the "grinding blitzkrieg of unrelenting negativity" that Molly Ball wrote of earlier, this time from the Republican National Committee:
Personally, I'm not sure this works, because it only serves to remind viewers that there are indeed valid excuses, including the recession.
2.41pm: A very clever article by the very clever (in a good way) Jonathan Chait in New York magazine, which asks the question about hostility towards Barack Obama's administration by conservative Republicans.
Just this weekend we had Dick Cheney telling a GOP meeting: "He has been an unmitigated disaster to the country." So much for the change of heart, as someone joked on Twitter. But really, "unmitigated disaster"?
Chait wonders:
Is there anything Obama could have done, without abandoning all the goals he set out in his campaign, to prevent Republicans from waging war against him? What would be a reasonable set of criteria to define Obama as having reached out to the GOP?
As it happens there is: a list of policies compiled in 2008 by a Weekly Standard writer. And guess what? Read Chait's piece and find out.
3.08pm: The Pulitzer Prize list is published today, and the winners include:
• For local reporting: Sara Ganim and members of the Patriot-News Staff, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, "for courageously revealing and adeptly covering the explosive Penn State sex scandal involving former football coach Jerry Sandusky"
• For national reporting: David Wood of the Huffington Post, "for his riveting exploration of the physical and emotional challenges facing American soldiers severely wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan during a decade of war"
• Investigative reporting: Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eileen Sullivan and Chris Hawley of the Associated Press, "for their spotlighting of the New York Police Department's clandestine spying program that monitored daily life in Muslim communities"
That's quite a coup for the Huffington Post. And Sara Ganim, the reporter who broke Jerry Sandusky's grand jury investigation, is just 24 years old.
Nothing this year (apart from a nomination apiece) for the Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post, while the New York Times won two Pulitzers, for explanatory reporting and for Jeffrey Gettleman's reporting from Africa.
3.53pm: Meanwhile, loser Newt Gingrich's press spokesman RC Hammond isn't impressed by the Daily Tar Heel reporter's account of his treatment at the hands of Gingrich's campaign:
@memetwalker. Shouting questions as someone leaves a press avail is not abruptly leaving a planed interview. Facts not fiction, kid.
Yes, well. Really, when a student journalist is your biggest breaking news of the day – apart from your candidate being bitten by a penguin – then it really is time to call it a day and slink back off into obscurity.
4.22pm: Another presidential opinion poll – and this one from CNN/Orc International shows Barack Obama with a stonking nine-percentage point lead over Mitt Romney.
The reason? In main, the traditional Democratic advantage among women voters, which doesn't seem to have been dented by "mommy-gate" last week:
According to the poll, 52% of registered voters say if the presidential election were held today, they would vote for the president, with 43% saying they would cast a ballot for Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who is making his second bid for the White House. The poll was conducted Friday through Sunday, a few days after former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania suspended his bid for the GOP nomination.
Nearly half of those polled said Romney is more likely to change his position on the issues for political reasons, while just 39% said the same thing about the president.
So there we are: two polls out today (the other being by Gallup), two entirely different results. Only, what, 200 days until the election.
4.49pm: ABC News is already running some highlights of its interview with Mitt and Ann Romney by Diane Sawyer – and there doesn't seem much to get excited about, unless they are holding back a bombshell for later when the network news goes out.
According to the ABC News blog:
Acting very much like the GOP nominee, Mitt Romney sent a curt message to President Obama today: "Start packing."
The message, delivered with a chuckle, came in an exclusive interview with World News anchor Diane Sawyer who asked the presumptive GOP nominee if he had something to say to the president.
Romney did say once again that he'd "love" to see Roe v Wade over-turned:
Dogged through the primary by his conservative challengers about his switch from being a pro-abortion governor to an anti-abortion presidential candidate, Romney honed his pro-life position, telling Sawyer he wanted the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v Wade.
"I would love the Supreme Court to say, 'Let's send this back to the states.' Rather than having a federal mandate through Roe v Wade, let the states again consider this issue state by state," he said, effectively ending the federal ban on abortion.
5.04pm: Mitt Romney also tells ABC News that he'd appear on Saturday Night Live:
In a lighter moment Romney admitted to watching – even setting his DVR to record – Jason Sudeikis' impersonation of him on "Saturday Night Live." Romney said he'd consider appearing on the show, but it would "depend on the nature of the skit."
"I just want it be funny," he said.
For that Mitt you'd have to build a time machine and go back to 1980, the last time SNL was funny.
5.14pm: Finally, the Associated Press gets some more facts on the penguin that – perfectly understandably – bit Newt Gingrich:
The Republican presidential candidate is sporting a small bandage on his finger after getting nipped by a small penguin during his tour of the zoo on Friday. Gingrich was in St Louis to speak during the National Rifle Association's annual meeting.
During his visit to the popular zoo in Forest Park, he was treated to a behind-the-scenes visit with two Magellanic penguins. One of them nipped Gingrich on the finger.
Ha, ha ha, that story is hilarious, especially the part that calls Newt a "Republican presidential candidate". Come on.
5.34pm: And another presidential opinion poll, why not it's only Monday? And more bad news for Mitt Romney:
Mitt Romney has emerged from the Republican primary season with the weakest favorability rating on record for a presumptive presidential nominee in ABC News/Washington Post polls since 1984, trailing a resurgent Barack Obama in personal popularity by 21 percentage points.
Thirty-five percent of Americans see Romney favorably, while 47% have an unfavorable opinion of the former Massachusetts governor. He's the first likely nominee to be underwater – seen more unfavorably than favorably – in ABC/Post polls in eight presidential primary seasons across the past 28 years.
Since 1984 – so that would be Walter Mondale, who of course decisively defeated incumbent president Ronald Reagan thanks to high unemployment and ... wait!
But seriously: Mitt Romney's poll ratings will improve once the primary season has faded from the collective mind. The question is: by how much?
5.42pm: More news! And in the minutes that have passed since that last poll was published, another new poll from Reuters/Ipsos shows Mitt Romney gaining on Barack Obama:
President Barack Obama's lead over Mitt Romney has narrowed to 4 percentage points from 11 points a month ago, now that Romney has established himself as the probable Republican presidential nominee, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday.
Obama was backed by 47% of registered voters in the telephone poll conducted from April 12 to 15, compared with 43% who supported Romney. In the same poll conducted March 8-11, Obama led Romney by 52% to 41%.
Time to sell all that gold and invest it in polling firms, because that's the real growth sector between now and 6 November.
6.26pm: Tom McCarthy here taking it from Richard. ABC News is about to air clips from Diane Sawyer's interview this morning with Mitt and Ann Romney.
The Romneys haven't given a joint TV interview since that interminable back-of-the-bus deal with Wolf Blitzer back in December 2011. It was a whole different race back then. "Would you vote for Ron Paul if he is the Republican nominee?" Blitzer asked.
We're going to see what the Romneys tell Sawyer. The interview took place this morning at Fenway Park before the Red Sox loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, 0-1. ABC has been sharing out bits and pieces over the course of the day.
Those tidbits included Romney naming aide Beth Myers as head of his vice presidential search committee, Romney saying Obama had "better start packing," and Romney saying he was still considering an invite to go on "Saturday Night Live." "I just want it to be funny," Romney said.
Stay tuned. Show starts in five.
6.34pm: We said five minutes, but it's going to be a bit longer before we find out what Mitt and Ann Romney told Diane Sawyer in their exclusive interview this morning. It looks like the interview highlights will air third on World News. Stories about the hooker-loving members of the Secret Service and America's tornadoes come first.
This tornado footage is nuts!
6.41pm: Now the Romneys are on ABC. Diane Sawyer shows a charming picture of the Romneys as a young couple, noting that today is Ann Romney's 63rd birthday.
Sawyer leads with her question about what message the Romneys have for the Obamas.
It's the "start packing" line.
Now on to the question of whether women will vote for Mitt Romney, and Democratic adviser Hilary Rosen's controversial quip that Ann Romney, mother of five, has never worked.
Sawyer brings some sanity to the frazzled whirl of accusations that followed the comment.
"Do you think the president and Mrs. Obama are biased against mothers who work at home?" Sawyer asks.
Ann says no, she doesn't really think that. But she says it's important to talk about how women have fared under the Obama administration.
6.47pm: Sawyer asks Romney whether he has been sufficiently transparent about his wealth and how much he pays in taxes.6.47pm: Sawyer asks Romney whether he has been sufficiently transparent about his wealth and how much he pays in taxes.
Romney says that he has complied with financial diclosure requirements. Then he basically says the question is a distraction from the real issues in the campaign, which have to do with America's ailing economy.Romney says that he has complied with financial diclosure requirements. Then he basically says the question is a distraction from the real issues in the campaign, which have to do with America's ailing economy.
Now the most interesting bit so far. Sawyer points out the elephant in the room in the race: Mitt and Ann Romney are Mormons, and a lot of Americans – not to mention a lot of members of the Republican base – are not. We haven't talked about this much, America.Now the most interesting bit so far. Sawyer points out the elephant in the room in the race: Mitt and Ann Romney are Mormons, and a lot of Americans – not to mention a lot of members of the Republican base – are not. We haven't talked about this much, America.
Romney handles the question with aplomb. He seems almost... relaxed.Romney handles the question with aplomb. He seems almost... relaxed.
"I'm not running for pastor in chief," he says. "I'm running for commander in chief. I'm happy to answer those questions.""I'm not running for pastor in chief," he says. "I'm running for commander in chief. I'm happy to answer those questions."
Sawyer follows up. "There's a lot of curiosity," she says. "Do people think you're reluctant to talk about being a Mormon?"Sawyer follows up. "There's a lot of curiosity," she says. "Do people think you're reluctant to talk about being a Mormon?"
"Of course not," Romney says. "I'm happy to talk about being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.""Of course not," Romney says. "I'm happy to talk about being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."
So far the interview seems to be contributing to the humanizing of MItt.So far the interview seems to be contributing to the humanizing of MItt.
And with that it's over. More later from the fine folks at "Nightline."And with that it's over. More later from the fine folks at "Nightline."
6.41pm: Now the Romneys are on ABC. Diane Sawyer shows a charming picture of the Romneys as a young couple, noting that today is Ann Romney's 63rd birthday. 6.55pm: Our quick take-home from the Romneys' first joint TV interview of the year. First, there wasn't much of it. Five or so quick clips.
Sawyer leads with her question about what message the Romneys have for the Obamas. It was a relief to hear Diane Sawyer ask Ann Romney whether she thinks the Obamas are biased against stay-at-home moms, and to hear Ann Romney say no.
It's the "start packing" line. This interview may have described the general sense, inside the media and among the public, of how extensively the question of Romney's religious identification needs to be treated in the public square. It's weird not to talk about the Romneys' Mormonism at all; it's weird to talk too much of it. Sawyer struck a balance in the interview (in the bits that aired anyway) that may set the tone – or be indicative of the tone – of the rest of the campaign on this issue.
Now on to the question of whether women will vote for Mitt Romney, and Democratic adviser Hilary Rosen's controversial quip that Ann Romney, mother of five, has never worked. The Romneys looked good, haircuts smiles and skin. Overall a positive, gentle moment for them as they float higher into the national consciousness. But not really a memorable one.
Sawyer brings some sanity to the frazzled whirl of accusations that followed the comment. 7.04pm: Well, we'll leave it there. Thanks for joining our live blog politics coverage. Here's a summary what happened:
"Do you think the president and Mrs. Obama are biased against mothers who work at home?" Sawyer asks. • Mitt and Ann Romney appeared on television looking relaxed and ready for a general election. Romney said the Obamas better "start packing," and then he laughed. Romney announced that longtime adviser Beth Myers will head up his search for a vice presidential nominee. (Romney is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. He ain't won yet.)
Ann says no, she doesn't really think that. But she says it's important to talk about how women have fared under the Obama administration. • Three different big-name polling outlets presented wildly different pictures of a general election matchup between Romney and Obama. Depending on whom you believe, either Romney's up by 2 or Obama's up by 9. Don't like what you see in the polls? Look at a different poll.
6.34pm: We said five minutes, but it's going to be a bit longer before we find out what Mitt and Ann Romney told Diane Sawyer in their exclusive interview this morning. It looks like the interview highlights will air third on World News. Stories about the hooker-loving members of the Secret Service and America's tornadoes come first. • The money wars have begun. The Democratic party and the Obama campaign announced a total of $53m raised in donations during March. Through the end of February, the Obama campaign had raised $157m, while Romney's had raised $74m.
This tornado footage is nuts!
6.26pm: Tom McCarthy here taking it from Richard. ABC News is about to air clips from Diane Sawyer's interview this morning with Mitt and Ann Romney.
The Romneys haven't given a joint TV interview since that interminable back-of-the-bus deal with Wolf Blitzer back in December 2011. It was a whole different race back then. "Would you vote for Ron Paul if he is the Republican nominee?" Blitzer asked.
We're going to see what the Romneys tell Sawyer. The interview took place this morning at Fenway Park before the Red Sox loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, 0-1. ABC has been sharing out bits and pieces over the course of the day.
Those tidbits included Romney naming aide Beth Myers as head of his vice presidential search committee, Romney saying Obama had "better start packing," and Romney saying he was still considering an invite to go on "Saturday Night Live." "I just want it to be funny," Romney said.
Stay tuned. Show starts in five.
5.42pm: More news! And in the minutes that have passed since that last poll was published, another new poll from Reuters/Ipsos shows Mitt Romney gaining on Barack Obama:
President Barack Obama's lead over Mitt Romney has narrowed to 4 percentage points from 11 points a month ago, now that Romney has established himself as the probable Republican presidential nominee, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday.
Obama was backed by 47% of registered voters in the telephone poll conducted from April 12 to 15, compared with 43% who supported Romney. In the same poll conducted March 8-11, Obama led Romney by 52% to 41%.
Time to sell all that gold and invest it in polling firms, because that's the real growth sector between now and 6 November.
5.34pm: And another presidential opinion poll, why not it's only Monday? And more bad news for Mitt Romney:
Mitt Romney has emerged from the Republican primary season with the weakest favorability rating on record for a presumptive presidential nominee in ABC News/Washington Post polls since 1984, trailing a resurgent Barack Obama in personal popularity by 21 percentage points.
Thirty-five percent of Americans see Romney favorably, while 47% have an unfavorable opinion of the former Massachusetts governor. He's the first likely nominee to be underwater – seen more unfavorably than favorably – in ABC/Post polls in eight presidential primary seasons across the past 28 years.
Since 1984 – so that would be Walter Mondale, who of course decisively defeated incumbent president Ronald Reagan thanks to high unemployment and ... wait!
But seriously: Mitt Romney's poll ratings will improve once the primary season has faded from the collective mind. The question is: by how much?
5.14pm: Finally, the Associated Press gets some more facts on the penguin that – perfectly understandably – bit Newt Gingrich:
The Republican presidential candidate is sporting a small bandage on his finger after getting nipped by a small penguin during his tour of the zoo on Friday. Gingrich was in St Louis to speak during the National Rifle Association's annual meeting.
During his visit to the popular zoo in Forest Park, he was treated to a behind-the-scenes visit with two Magellanic penguins. One of them nipped Gingrich on the finger.
Ha, ha ha, that story is hilarious, especially the part that calls Newt a "Republican presidential candidate". Come on.
5.04pm: Mitt Romney also tells ABC News that he'd appear on Saturday Night Live:
In a lighter moment Romney admitted to watching – even setting his DVR to record – Jason Sudeikis' impersonation of him on "Saturday Night Live." Romney said he'd consider appearing on the show, but it would "depend on the nature of the skit."
"I just want it be funny," he said.
For that Mitt you'd have to build a time machine and go back to 1980, the last time SNL was funny.
4.49pm: ABC News is already running some highlights of its interview with Mitt and Ann Romney by Diane Sawyer – and there doesn't seem much to get excited about, unless they are holding back a bombshell for later when the network news goes out.
According to the ABC News blog:
Acting very much like the GOP nominee, Mitt Romney sent a curt message to President Obama today: "Start packing."
The message, delivered with a chuckle, came in an exclusive interview with World News anchor Diane Sawyer who asked the presumptive GOP nominee if he had something to say to the president.
Romney did say once again that he'd "love" to see Roe v Wade over-turned:
Dogged through the primary by his conservative challengers about his switch from being a pro-abortion governor to an anti-abortion presidential candidate, Romney honed his pro-life position, telling Sawyer he wanted the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v Wade.
"I would love the Supreme Court to say, 'Let's send this back to the states.' Rather than having a federal mandate through Roe v Wade, let the states again consider this issue state by state," he said, effectively ending the federal ban on abortion.
4.22pm: Another presidential opinion poll – and this one from CNN/Orc International shows Barack Obama with a stonking nine-percentage point lead over Mitt Romney.
The reason? In main, the traditional Democratic advantage among women voters, which doesn't seem to have been dented by "mommy-gate" last week:
According to the poll, 52% of registered voters say if the presidential election were held today, they would vote for the president, with 43% saying they would cast a ballot for Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who is making his second bid for the White House. The poll was conducted Friday through Sunday, a few days after former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania suspended his bid for the GOP nomination.
Nearly half of those polled said Romney is more likely to change his position on the issues for political reasons, while just 39% said the same thing about the president.
So there we are: two polls out today (the other being by Gallup), two entirely different results. Only, what, 200 days until the election.
3.53pm: Meanwhile, loser Newt Gingrich's press spokesman RC Hammond isn't impressed by the Daily Tar Heel reporter's account of his treatment at the hands of Gingrich's campaign:
@memetwalker. Shouting questions as someone leaves a press avail is not abruptly leaving a planed interview. Facts not fiction, kid.
Yes, well. Really, when a student journalist is your biggest breaking news of the day – apart from your candidate being bitten by a penguin – then it really is time to call it a day and slink back off into obscurity.
3.08pm: The Pulitzer Prize list is published today, and the winners include:
• For local reporting: Sara Ganim and members of the Patriot-News Staff, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, "for courageously revealing and adeptly covering the explosive Penn State sex scandal involving former football coach Jerry Sandusky"
• For national reporting: David Wood of the Huffington Post, "for his riveting exploration of the physical and emotional challenges facing American soldiers severely wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan during a decade of war"
• Investigative reporting: Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eileen Sullivan and Chris Hawley of the Associated Press, "for their spotlighting of the New York Police Department's clandestine spying program that monitored daily life in Muslim communities"
That's quite a coup for the Huffington Post. And Sara Ganim, the reporter who broke Jerry Sandusky's grand jury investigation, is just 24 years old.
Nothing this year (apart from a nomination apiece) for the Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post, while the New York Times won two Pulitzers, for explanatory reporting and for Jeffrey Gettleman's reporting from Africa.
2.41pm: A very clever article by the very clever (in a good way) Jonathan Chait in New York magazine, which asks the question about hostility towards Barack Obama's administration by conservative Republicans.
Just this weekend we had Dick Cheney telling a GOP meeting: "He has been an unmitigated disaster to the country." So much for the change of heart, as someone joked on Twitter. But really, "unmitigated disaster"?
Chait wonders:
Is there anything Obama could have done, without abandoning all the goals he set out in his campaign, to prevent Republicans from waging war against him? What would be a reasonable set of criteria to define Obama as having reached out to the GOP?
As it happens there is: a list of policies compiled in 2008 by a Weekly Standard writer. And guess what? Read Chait's piece and find out.
2.18pm: More of the "grinding blitzkrieg of unrelenting negativity" that Molly Ball wrote of earlier, this time from the Republican National Committee:
Personally, I'm not sure this works, because it only serves to remind viewers that there are indeed valid excuses, including the recession.
1.44pm: Confused by the Buffett Rule and what it all means? No, it's not that Warren Buffett will have to pay all of America's taxes – although he probably could. Reuters has an excellent summary of the all-you-can-eat tax policy:
The Democrat-controlled Senate has voted multiple times on measures to raise taxes on the wealthy and each time the legislation has been killed because it lacked the 60 votes needed to overcome procedural hurdles in the 100-member Senate.
So why is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid staging yet another vote, knowing Republicans will again block it?
There are a couple of obvious reasons: with millions of Americans scurrying to file their annual tax forms by the April 17 deadline this year, this is an effective way of again focusing attention on the "fairness" issue that Democrats are emphasizing in the 2012 political campaigns.
More importantly, recent public opinion polls show that a clear majority of Americans favor raising taxes on the rich.
1.33pm: And here's the first daily tracking poll of the presidential campaign from Gallup:
Mitt Romney is supported by 47% of national registered voters and Barack Obama by 45% in the inaugural Gallup Daily tracking results from April 11-15. Both Obama and Romney are supported by 90% of their respective partisans.
The slight Romney advantage comes from independent voters backing Romney by 45% to 39%.
Still think Obama's got this one in the bag? But don't worry: there will be another one tomorrow.
1.05pm: It's official: Jim Yong Kim, the president of Dartmouth College, has been confirmed as the next president of the World Bank.
You can read my profile of Jim Yong Kim here.
Kim was Obama's surprise nominee – after several other candidates, including Susan Rice and John Kerry, turned the post down.
12.55pm: The fundraising battle between Obama and Romney – which Romney is most likely to win, once Super Pac contributions are counted – is well underway.
Here's an extract from a fundraising email sent around to wealthy Republican donors reported earlier – one that offers special treats to those willing to pay $50,000 to become a "founding member":
The campaign is now moving into its next phase with the formation of "Romney Victory." This is a joint fundraising committee established between Romney for President, the RNC and a number of battleground fund states. Romney Victory will make it easy for a donor to make one contribution to fund various committees focused on the election. The legal maximum that an individual can donate to Romney Victory is $75,800. The campaign is asking people who are able to make a $50,000 contribution to do so today and become a "Founding Member" of Romney Victory. These donors will be invited to a special retreat with Governor Romney in late June in California and will have preferred status at the first Presidential Inaugural retreat as well as yet to be determined access at the Republican National Convention in Tampa in August.
How nice that they are already organising "the first Presidential Inaugural retreat" – Mitt Romney is nothing if not well organised. It might be a bit dull if Romney doesn't win, so let's hope there's plenty of free booze.
12.40pm: More proof – if it was needed – of the "mirthless, grinding blitzkrieg of unrelenting negativity" that the 2012 presidential contest is sure to be:
That's the latest video from Priorities USA, the Obama-supporting Super Pac. And there's more where that came from.
12.29pm: On top of the 11 Secret Service agents involved in the "Victoria's Secret Service" scandal in Colombia over the weekend, it now emerges that more than five members of the US military may also have been involved, as the AP reports:
Pentagon press secretary George Little said on Monday that he could not provide a specific number but that military members who are being investigated were assigned to support the US Secret Service in preparation for Obama's official visit to Cartagena. He said they were not directly involved in presidential security.
"We believe that there may be more than five involved in this incident," Little said.
The Secret Service sent 11 of its agents home from Colombia amid allegations that they had hired prostitutes at a Cartagena hotel. The military members being investigated were staying at the same hotel, Little said.
Army Colonel Scott Malcom, chief spokesman for US Southern Command, which organized the military team that was assigned to support the Secret Service's mission in Cartagena, declined to say how many additional service members are under investigation. He also would not say which branch of the military they were from.
"We are still putting together all the facts," Malcom said.
12.17pm: The Wall Street Journal was also eavesdropping on Mitt Romney's chat with donors in Palm Beach on Sunday, reporting that during "the backyard event, which could be heard by reporters outside on a public sidewalk, Mr Romney offered policy specifics he has yet to unveil on the campaign trail".
It also included Romney's thoughts on media coverage:
The candidate said he didn't expect a fair fight in the media, saying he believed many commentators on television were liberals. He also said CNN reporter and host Wolf Blitzer was a good interviewer, and said Fox News had been good to him. Fox News is owned by News Corporation, which also owns The Wall Street Journal.
"Fox is watched by the true believers," Mr Romney said. "We need to get the independents and the women."
Speaking of "the women," the reporters also overheard Ann Romney's revealing description of last week's controversy as an "early birthday present":
Ann Romney, the candidate's wife, who turns 63 years old on Monday, attended the event and offered her take on recent criticism she faced for saying she understood women's economic anxieties while staying out of the workforce and being a stay-at-home mom. The resulting media coverage allowed the Romney campaign to put on display what it views as one of its greatest assets – Mrs Romney.
"It was my early birthday present for someone to be critical of me as a mother," she said. "That was a really defining moment, and I loved it.
12 noon: After a weekend commemorating the Titanic, here's a reminder of another disaster: Alberto Gonzales, who sank without trace after being a member of the much-loved Bush administration.
Gonzales resurfaced to tell a grateful nation that Florida senator Marco Rubio shouldn't be Mitt Romney's VP pick:
Gonzales, who was the nation's first Latino attorney general in the George W Bush administration and remains one of the highest-ranking Latinos in US history, questioned the staying power of the Florida senator's popularity with Latino voters.
Rubio might generate interest among Latinos "for the first 12 hours if selected for the number two spot, but that won't last," Gonzales said.
The Republican Party should do more to court Latinos, Gonzales said.
11.41am: After being bitten by a penguin, the Newt Gingrich campaign really has moved into its comedy phase. To underline that point, Gingrich's aides angrily brushed aside a journalism student who dared to ask the failed loser an awkward question.
Memet Walker, a reporter for the University of North Carolina's Daily Tar Heel, was given access to Gingrich by an aide after he spoke at an event in Greensboro on Saturday:
That's why I was so surprised when, before I had finished asking my first question, that same aide cut the interview short and prompted Secret Service to grab and briefly detain me as the former speaker was led away.
The unexpected reaction came in response to a question about Fox News chairman Roger Ailes. Last week, in a speech he gave at the University, Ailes had some harsh words for Gingrich, claiming the candidate was "trying to get a job at CNN, because he knows he isn't going to get to come back to Fox."
Charming. But having the Secret Service "briefly detain" the journalist? Insert your own joke here about the Secret Service and hookers. More seriously, US taxpayers are footing the bill for this.
11.25am: Republican vice presidential hopefuls – this is the Twitter account you should follow, retweet and favourite:
As someone who has worked in partnership with @MittRomney for years, I am honored to lead his search for a VP. #Mitt2012
If Beth doesn't follow you back: forget it, you're off Romney's VP list. Don't bother DMing her either.
11.20am: In case you were wondering: no the penguin was not radioactive, and no Newt Gingrich has not gained special powers as a result of being bitten by it. That we know of.
11.10am: ABC's Diane Sawyer has an exclusive interview with the Romneys – Ann Romney and her husband, Mitt – on World News and Nightline tonight.
The nugget that has emerged so far: Mitt Romney says he has put his adviser Beth Myers in charge of the vice presidential vetting process:
I have selected someone who has been a counselor of mine for a number of years, Beth Myers. She was my chief of staff when I was governor," Romney told ABC News' Diane Sawyer in an exclusive interview.
"I've asked her to be the person who oversees the process of the vice presidential selection and vetting an analysis and so she's begun that process and is putting together the kinds of things you need to do to vet potential candidates," Romney added.
Pressed on when he plans to make an announcement, all Romney would say is: "It would certainly be by the time of the convention."
Ann Romney, meanwhile, says about the vice presidential selection:
This weekend was the first time we seriously really talked about it and there are some wonderful people out there.
11am: The Atlantic's Molly Ball warns that the 2012 election campaign is "going to be a life-sucking slog – a mirthless, grinding blitzkrieg of unrelenting negativity". So there's that to look forward to.
But it's also going to be an expensive grinding blitzkrieg of unrelenting negativity, as Ball runs through the numbers:
Through the end of February, the Obama campaign had raised $157m, while Romney's had raised $74m. The Democratic Party has another $82m in cash on hand, the GOP $90m. Over the course of the campaign, Romney hopes to raise $600m, Obama $750m or more, according to the New York Times. And then there are the super PACs: They've already spent $86m thus far, mostly on the Republican primary, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
That, she points out, is "enough to buy a whole fleet of $60m fighter jets, or dwarf the GDP of a small nation like Tonga ($816m)."
10.45am: In case you missed it, this article by NBC's Alex Moe should win some sort of prize:
The day after Newt Gingrich was bit by a penguin at a zoo, he acknowledged he is "the underdog"....
And that concludes our coverage of the Newt Gingrich "presidential campaign" for this week.
There is no word on whether the penguin survived. It's in our prayers.
10.30am: Money talks – and if it can't sing and dance then both the Romney and Obama campaigns are putting on a show to entertain the deep-pocketed donors they need to equip themselves for the expensive election battle ahead.
Here's a preview of the latest news:
• The Democratic party and the Obama campaign has announced a total of $53m raised in donations during March – a formidable figure that may yet pale into insignificance as this election season goes along. Jim Messina, Obama's campaign manager, said 567,000 people donated to the president's re-election campaign last month, with the average contribution being $50.
• Is the Romney campaign already planning its victory lap before the race has even begun? A fundraising email circulated to Republicans offers major donors access to a special "Presidential Inaugural retreat" and other benefits.
• Donors to the Romney campaign received a special preview of the candidate's policy ideas from Romney himself during a closed-door briefing in Palm Beach, Florida. NBC's Garrett Haake has the scoop on a series of revealing policy prescriptions laid out by Romney, including a threat to abolish the Housing and Urban Development department among others:
Romney went into a level of detail not usually seen by the public in the speech, which was overheard by reporters on a sidewalk below. One possibility floated by Romney included the elimination of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Cabinet-level agency once led by Romney's father, George.
• On Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace – son of the late Mike Wallace – put both Ed Gillespie of the Romney campaign and David Axelrod of the Obama campaign through the wringer. At various points he managed to get both senior advisors to repeat talking points of their opposition, which is quite a feat.
• The Obama White House is no stranger to the attentions of donors and lobbyists, as the New York Times discovers in an investigation. It found that "those who donated the most to Mr Obama and the Democratic Party since he started running for president were far more likely to visit the White House than others".