MIAMI, Fla. -- Rep. Connie Mack (R-FL) walked into a room full of supporters, American flags, and Romney for President placards at this afternoon's grand opening of the GOP's Miami Victory Office.

After pledging allegiance to the flag of the United States, Mack took the floor where he took some swipes at President Obama and the Democratic senator from Florida, Bill Nelson.

"You know, Sen. Nelson is a lockstep liberal with Barack Obama," said Mack, the heavy favorite to win the Aug. 14th GOP Senate primary. He'd face Nelson in a general election. "When Barack Obama needed to pass the health-care law he turned to his friend in the Senate Bill Nelson, and Bill Nelson was there to help him. When he wanted to pass their stimulus bill, he turned to his friend Bill Nelson, and Bill Nelson was there to help him. When he wanted to make sure that the Keystone XL pipeline wasn't built, he got on the phone and called his friend Bill Nelson, and Bill Nelson stood with the president instead of the American people."

He added, "So we're gonna make sure the people in the state of Florida know that with Senator Nelson you have a lockstep liberal who believes in government. With me, with Gov. Romney, you have someone that believes in you. You'll have a government that believes it's the individual that makes this country great not government and not bureaucracies."

Following his speech, Mack had an enthusiastic response for a reporter who asked for his thoughts on the other Florida senator, Marco Rubio, a Republican, possibly being Romney's choice for vice president.

"Are you kidding?" Mack said. "Sen. Rubio would be great! And for all of us in Florida, we recognize that if Sen. Rubio is on the ticket it's good for America it's good for the state of Florida. It almost ensures that Sen. Nelson will be retired after this time. So I'm hopeful."

And in case the press and his supporters hadn't heard him the first time, he added, "I keep saying I think Marco Rubio would be fantastic, and I hope that he's picked."

The last question Mack received was whether he felt Romney's trip abroad was a success.

"It's nice to see such a contrast between the failures of the Obama administration and what Mitt Romney stands for and believes in," Mack said, "the strength of his character, so I'm thankful that Romney is showing America what a true leader looks like."

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The Senate's top Democrat announced Tuesday that he and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) had reached an agreement to keep the government open and funded through early next year.

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that he and Boehner had agreed on a temporary, six-month extension of government funding in order to avert a Sept. 30 government shutdown unless Congress had acted.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announces to reporters on Capitol Hill July 31 that lawmakers have reached an agreement to keep the government running on autopilot for six months when the current budget year ends on Sept. 30.

"This agreement reached between the Senate, the House and the White House provides stability for the coming months, when we will have to resolve critical issues that directly affect middle class families," Reid said on Capitol Hill.

The six-month bill will maintain the topline funding level of $1.047 trillion, Reid said, announcing as well that a vote on the extension is likely for early September.

The agreement allows lawmakers to avoid the specter of a shutdown with just weeks to go until Election Day, a motivating factor that prodded negotiators to reach a deal. A Republican leadership aide told NBC News that the GOP did not want to risk a distraction from its central messaging on President Obama's economic record.

"Taking this issue off the table will keep the larger focus on jobs, the economy, and President Obama's failed economic policies," the aide said. "That's where Republicans win and Democrats lose."

The topline number was taken from the "Budget Control Act" passed last year by Congress to prevent a default on the nation's debt. Both Democrats and Republicans each achieved some of their goals in this deal, too. Conservative Republicans had wanted to cut the toplinenumber -- over the objections of Democrats -- but had agreed to maintain current spending levels in exchange for a six-month extension instead of the yearlong deal Democrats had preferred.

Appropriators will work up the legislation's formal language over the August recess, and its formal passage seems to be more of a formality considering the joint agreement between Reid, Boehner and President Obama. While a GOP operative told NBC News that some “discontent amongst the real conservative rank and file is possible” because the bill won’t cut current spending, it probably would not be enough to jeopardize the bill’s passage in the House.

Not to be lost, because the agreement only lasts six months, the expiration of this deal in early 2013 will add to a large, looming and contentious budget fight set for the beginning of the 113th Congress.

In addition to questioning Britain's readiness for the Olympic games and explaining the difference between Israel's and the Palestinian Authority's economies as a matter of "culture," Mitt Romney seemingly made another diplomatic misstep during his overseas trip.

He stated -- unequivocally -- that Jerusalem is Israel's capital and that the U.S. embassy should eventually be moved there from Tel Aviv.

"A nation has the capacity to choose its own capital city, and Jerusalem is Israel's capital," Romney said in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "I think it's long been the policy to ultimately have our embassy in the nation's capital of Jerusalem."

And the Palestinian Authority howled in objection.

But here's the rub: Barack Obama, when he was running for president in 2008, made a similar comment, from which he later backtracked.

At a speech before AIPAC in June 2008, Obama said: "[A]ny agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel's identity as a Jewish state, with secure, recognized, and defensible borders. Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided."

Obama, as the Washington Post wrote at the time, later reversed course. "Facing criticism from Palestinians, Sen. Barack Obama acknowledged yesterday that the status of Jerusalem will need to be negotiated in future peace talks, amending a statement earlier in the week that the city 'must remain undivided.'"

The AP earlier explained why Jerusalem is such a thorny subject, particularly for candidates running for the White House: "The Palestinians want to establish a capital in east Jerusalem, captured and annexed by Israel in 1967. Most of the world, including the U.S., does not recognize the annexation. The U.S. and others keep their embassies in Tel Aviv."

And as CNN has observed, while presidential candidates might say one thing about Jerusalem, they do another while in office. "In pledging to move the American embassy in Israel, Romney joins presidential candidates in the past that have made the same promise, including former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Neither made the move as commander in chief."

Mitt Romney is betting on having already survived the worst personal scrutiny the Obama campaign has had to offer, leaving him with enough leftover political clout to wage an offensive this fall that would manage to unseat the president.

With 98 days until the election, the Romney campaign believes the dog days of summer are essentially behind them. The campaign views controversies involving his tax returns and work at Bain Capital as having a short shelf life, and the presumptive Republican nominee’s work to capitalize on the president’s “you didn’t build that” gaffe have effectively changed the subject. Romney’s foreign trip had also been built up as an opportunity to pivot away from July’s struggles, though momentum from the trip was more mixed due to stumbles on each of its three legs.

“Our whole goal was to just hold our own over the summer,” said Bay Buchanan, an outside adviser to the Romney campaign. “We've done the warm-up, and we're coming into the convention with a much better position than anticipated.”

But Democrats assert that the Republican shouldn’t be so quick to assume that the attacks based on Romney’s career and personal wealth will disappear.

Recommended: First Thoughts: Judging Romney's overseas trip

The first few weeks of July saw an unrelenting and coordinated offensive against Romney, led by the Obama campaign and a variety of Democratic groups. The former Massachusetts governor weathered weeks of ads accusing his private equity firm of having moved jobs overseas during Romney’s time in charge. To make matters worse, Romney had been somewhat opaque about the exact time of his departure from Bain Capital, and had also refused to release additional years of tax returns – leaving him vulnerable to speculation about what those hidden records contained.

The Romney campaign’s steadfastness in the face of scrutiny prompted semi-public handwringing among GOP poobahs, who wondered whether the GOP candidate was essentially allowing the president to define him.

Obama’s comments at a campaign stop in Roanoke, in which he seemed to suggest that business owners don’t deserve all the credit for their successes, handed the Romney campaign a chance to reverse momentum. Republicans have been hitting it hard since then, and the president even released an ad personally responding to the attack.

“You don't always want your candidate out there responding to everything they're saying,” said Buchanan. “We want him, Barack Obama, responding to us.”

Combined with anemic jobs numbers at the beginning of the month and a somewhat lackluster GDP report last week, Republicans believe their narrative on the economy is hardening and Romney remains strong enough to subsume Obama this fall.

This all sets the stage for a pivotal month of August, in which Romney must introduce himself to voters and begin turning the tide against Obama.

It just might be the case that July’s squabbles, though, will set the parameters for the fall debate.

“It’s wishful thinking on the part of the Romney to think it's behind them. They might survive it, but it's not behind them,” said former Rep. Martin Frost of Texas, a Democrat known for his strategic acumen.

Frost said that if he were Romney, he wouldn’t release additional tax returns beyond what’s already been pledged – for fear that there were years in which the former Bain leader paid little to no taxes.

“The Romney people are whistling in the dark if they think the Bain thing will go away,” Frost added.

Related: Romney says he wasn't talking about Palestinian culture

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean was starker.

“This is going to be the issue that brings him down,” he said, arguing that the attacks on Bain and Romney’s taxes cut to the core of questions about Romney’s character and trustworthiness.

Dean argued that even Romney’s best message on the economy won’t sink in with voters unless they’re willing to put faith in the former Massachusetts governor as Obama’s alternative.

“He could have turned this into something really good. But as long as he’s got his tax returns hidden, it’s going to be fatal,” Dean said, referencing in particular the Republican assault on Obama’s “You didn’t build that” comments. “What Romney is doing is negating his advantage on the economy by not seeming trustworthy.”

But Romney’s team is almost zenlike in its singular focus on the economy. Though much of the past week was dominated by the Republican’s foreign policy tour – for both its embarrassing moments and triumphs – attention will soon turn back to the economy. This Friday’s report on job creation during July could give Romney a cudgel to use against Obama, and the impending selection of a Republican vice presidential candidate and next month’s Republican convention would allow the GOP to drive the campaign narrative into September.

“Once we turn that corner where we can get past the explanations about Bain – and I think we have – then it's a winning campaign,” said Buchanan, who said that the drumbeat for Romney to offer more specific policy alternatives to Obama were “secondary” to convincing voters that his vision on the economy is superior to Obama’s.

“We're going to hit the economy, stay on message the full extent we can. But we're not running in a vacuum. The other guy's going to be going after us personally,” she said. “You get your surrogates to respond to the personal stuff. They've hit us pretty hard, I don't know where else they're going to come.”

That might be music to the ears of the president’s team and most Democrats if their strategy on making the election into a choice – and disqualifying Romney in the process – is to be believed.

“I’ll say one thing about Obama, whatever my differences with him. He’s run the best campaign I’ve ever seen a Democrat run in my lifetime,” Dean said.

“Romney’s tried to keep this thing on the economy since March and he hasn’t succeeded. What makes you think he’s going to succeed the next three months?” he added.

Call it politics as usual.

In April 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama vowed to not run negative ads. He said political times had changed.

“This is a different time. This is an extraordinary time; we’ve got to run a different kind of campaign. So we’re not going to run around doing negative ads,” he said during a rally in Wilson, NC, -- video of which Buzzfeed dredged up yesterday.

But the Obama campaign later proved times really hadn’t changed all that much, airing general-election ads tying Republican nominee John McCain to President George W. Bush’s unpopular policies, at least once accusing McCain and his vice presidential pick Sarah Palin of “lying about their records,” and the list goes on.

Fast forward to the 2012 campaign -- and with Obama locked in a tough re-election bid with Republican Mitt Romney, the president has indicated that not only have times not changed, they have been the same since the nation’s founding.

“When people start saying how terrible it is I just have to remind them that take a look at what Jefferson and Adams had to say about each other, and democracy has always been pretty rough and pretty messy,” he said to a crowd of high-dollar supporters at a New York City hotel Monday night.

That’s not the first time Obama has invoked the Founding Fathers when explaining how rough-and-tumble politics (Obama’s more inclined to use the word “democracy”) have always been.

“Democracy is always a messy business in a big country like this,” he said at an August 2011 town hall in Decorah, IA. “When you listen to what the Federalists said about the anti-Federalists and the names that Jefferson called Hamilton and back and forth -- I mean, those guys were tough. Lincoln, they used to talk about him almost as bad as they talk about me.”

That's not to mention that Aaron Burr shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. PBS's American Experience noted:

"Hamilton was a Federalist. Burr was a Republican. The men clashed repeatedly in the political arena. The first major skirmish was in 1791, when Burr successfully captured a United States Senate seat from Philip Schuyler, Hamilton's powerful father-in-law. Hamilton, then Treasury secretary, would have counted on Schuyler to support his policies. When Burr won the election, Hamilton fumed."

Obama, Romney, and outside groups have run attack ad after attack ad this cycle. In addition to tearing each other down, both candidates have seen their negative ratings increase, according to the latest NBC/WSJ poll.

No matter how much Obama in 2008 may have wanted things to change -- or even thought they would, it’s remarkable how much he now acknowledges they have, in fact, stayed very much the same.

A sampling of attack ads from both sides:

A note to our readers and viewers: The Democratic and Republican polling firms that conduct the NBC/WSJ poll have announced that the survey is expanding the number of cell phone-only respondents.

In February, the percentage of cell phone-only respondents was increased to 25% of the survey (so 250 out of 1,000). Now it will be 30% (300 out of 1,000).

This expansion comes as our pollsters believe that about one third of the 2012 electorate will consist of voters who use only cell phones and don't have landline phones.

Here is a memo from our NBC/WSJ pollsters.

Ohio Rep. Steven LaTourette said Tuesday he would not seek re-election this fall, further shrinking the ranks of moderate Republicans on Capitol Hill.

The nine-term congressman, a close ally of House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), cited the hyperpartisanship in Washington as a contributing factor in making his decision to retire at the end of this term.

“The time has come for not only good politics but good policy,” he said in a press conference this morning, “I have reached the conclusion that the atmosphere today, and the reality that exists in the House of Representatives, no longer encourages the finding of common ground.”

News of LaTourette’s retirement leaked to the press on Monday, which LaTourette said prompted phone calls of both understanding, and urging reconsideration of his decision. He said the current atmosphere on Capitol Hill had taken a personal toll, suggesting that his difficulty in climbing the ranks was a result of him voting “funny” compared to the rest of the GOP conference.

GOP aides also said that the fact that LaTourette would likely not be the next chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee could have contributed to his decision. That seat will likely be given to Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA), who is not only younger than LaTourette, but has also been serving for almost half the time.

"The expectation is if you want to go up in the ranks of either party you gotta give them your wallet and your voting card,” LaTrourette said, “I’m not interested in giving them my wallet or my voting card.”

LaTourette joins a growing group of moderates who are leaving long careers on Capitol Hill because of the changing culture involved in today’s politics. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME), one of the Senate’s most established moderates, announced her retirement in February, citing the inability to compromise as a reason for leaving.

The outgoing Ohio congressman pointed to the House’s failure to produce a long-term transportation bill as a prime example of Congress’s inability to accomplish what he called “no brainer” legislation. LaTourette called the passage of a two year bill that originated in the Senate “an embarrassment to the House of Representatives.”

He also cited the nation’s $15 trillion debt as a reason why he thought compromise was necessary. “We are a hiccup away from being Europe, we are a hiccup away from being Greece,” he said, “Getting it right means on my side of the aisle we have to talk about revenues and on the other side of the isle we have to talk about entitlements.”

LaTourette’s retirement comes as a bold reminder of the power of Tea Party, an ascendant force that has pressured moderates into more loyalty. LaTourette had also publicly criticized the no-new-tax pledge authored by Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, and signed by many GOP lawmakers.

In March of this year, LaTourette was the main Republican backer of a budget based on the bipartisan Bowles-Simpson plan, which uses cuts as well as tax increases to decrease the deficit, a move seen by many as a break from the current Republican agenda  That budget received only 38 votes, the fewest of the seven budgets which were introduced.

LaTourette’s announcement fueled immediate speculation about the competitiveness of his seat in November. Boehner was quick to say in a statement that “Republicans are in good position to hold this seat,” but Democrats argue that it could be a possible pick-up in their drive to win back the majority. 

“This is the second Republican from Speaker Boehner’s own delegation jumping ship on his sinking Tea Party Republican Majority,” DCCC Spokesman, Jesse Ferguson said, “When Speaker Boehner’s own friends don’t want to stay in support of his out-of-touch agenda, there’s no reason independent voters will support protecting millionaires at the expense of the middle class.”

American voters might be frustrated by the negative tone of the presidential campaign. They might not like Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. And they might have little appetite for the two major political parties.
 
But those attitudes aren’t necessarily translating into support for third-party candidates in the upcoming presidential contest.
 
In early July, Gallup released a poll that included third-party candidates in addition to Obama and Romney. Just 3% of registered voters said they backed Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson, the former New Mexico governor; 2% volunteered Ron Paul’s name; 1% supported Green Party nominee Jill Stein; and another 1% offered names that weren’t listed in the poll.
 
In a June NBC/WSJ poll, however, 15% of registered voters said they would support an unnamed “independent” candidate over Obama and Romney.
 
Johnson originally competed for this cycle’s GOP presidential nomination, but he pulled out of the contest in Dec. 2011 after being unable to capture support (and participate in most of the Republican debates).
 
Stein is a physician and environmental-health advocate who ran against Romney in the 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial election as the Green Party's nominee. She won the same party's presidential nomination in June 2012, and named her vice-presidential running mate Cheri Honkala in July 2012.
 
In previous presidential contests, third-party candidates like John Anderson (1980), Ross Perot (1992 and 1996) and Ralph Nader (2000) have garnered some support and gained national attention -- but none has managed to beat the Republican or the Democratic candidate in the general election. Ross Perot was so successful in his presidential run in 1992 that he made it to the national debates with George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, even at one point scoring higher in the polls than the other two.

The July Gallup poll also makes this pretty clear: The inclusion of third-party candidates comes at Romney’s expense. Indeed, with Johnson, Stein, and Paul added in the mix, Obama’s percentage was at 47% while Romney’s was at 40%.
 
By comparison, in the most recent Gallup head-to-head matchup between the two men, Obama and Romney are tied at 46%.

In an interview with FOX's Carl Cameron before he left Poland, Mitt Romney said that he wasn't talking about culture when discussing Israel and the Palestinian Authority during an fundraiser in Israel on Monday.

"I'm not speaking about it, did not speak about the Palestinian culture or the decisions made in their economy," Romney told Cameron. "That's an interesting topic that perhaps can deserve scholarly analysis, but I actually didn't address that. Certainly don't intend to address that in my campaign. Instead, I will point out that the choices a society makes have a profound impact on the economy and the vitality of that society."

Uriel Sinai / Getty Images

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivers a speech outside the Old City on July 29 in Jerusalem, Israel.

But according to even the transcript that the Romney campaign released of the fundraiser, Romney did specifically refer to culture when comparing per-capita GDP between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Here's what Romney said:

“I was thinking this morning as I prepared to come into this room of a discussion I had across the country in the United States about my perceptions about differences between countries. And as you come here and you see the GDP per capita for instance in Israel, which is about 21,000 dollars, and you compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority which is more like 10,000 dollars per capita, you notice a dramatic, stark difference in economic vitality. And that is also between other countries that are near or next to each other. Chile and Ecuador, Mexico and the United States."

Romney added:

"I noted that part of my interest when I used to be in the world of business is I would travel to different countries was to understand why there were such enormous disparities in the economic success of various countries. I read a number of books on the topic. One, that is widely acclaimed, is by someone named Jared Diamond called ‘Guns, Germs and Steel,’ which basically says the physical characteristics of the land account for the differences in the success of the people that live there. There is iron ore on the land and so forth. And you look at Israel and you say you have a hard time suggesting that all of the natural resources on the land could account for all the accomplishment of the people here. And likewise, other nations that are next door to each other have very similar, in some cases, geographic elements."

He concluded: 

"But then there was a book written by a former Harvard professor named ‘The Wealth and Poverty of Nations.’ And in this book Dr. Landes describes differences that have existed -- particularly among the great civilizations that grew and why they grew and why they became great and those that declined and why they declined. And after about 500 pages of this lifelong analysis -- this had been his study for his entire life -- and he’s in his early 70s at this point, he says this, he says, if you could learn anything from the economic history of the world it’s this: Culture makes all the difference. Culture makes all the difference. And as I come here and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things."

Also in the same FOX interview, Romney "accused reporters of trivializing the substance of his trip and trying to divert attention from President Obama’s stewardship of the economy," National Journal reports.

Said Romney: "I realize that there will be some that in the Fourth Estate, or in whatever estate, who are far more interested in finding something to write about that is unrelated to the economy, to geo-politics, to the threat of war, to the reality of conflict in Afghanistan today, to nuclearization of Iran. They'll instead try to find anything else to divert from the fact that these last four years have been tough for our country."

Judging Romney’s overseas performance… If you compare it to a floor exercise in gymnastics, then you’d have to say it was marred by two big unforced errors… The trip ends with a spat with the press corps, as well as a speech in Warsaw… Top Romney aide declares the trip “a great success”… When the context of yesterday’s Israeli-Palestinian comparison only raises more questions… The importance of August for Romney… The new Romney-RNC TV ad… We now know all the major speakers for the Dem convention… What will LaTourette say at his news conference?... And tonight is the Dewhurst vs. Cruz run-off in Texas.

Jason Reed / Reuters

Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivers foreign policy remarks at the University of Warsaw, July 31, 2012.

*** Judging Romney’s overseas performance: So what’s the best way to view Romney’s overseas trip, which just concluded today in Poland? Since we’re in Olympics season, think of it as a floor exercise in gymnastics. Romney picked a routine with a low degree of difficulty -- a cartwheel here (visiting Great Britain), one somersault there (the stop in Israel), and a grand finale featuring a simple back flip (the last leg in Poland). There were some upsides for him: Americans saw him on their TV sets during the opening ceremony at the Olympics; he bonded with Israeli PM Netanyahu; he gave a solid speech in Israel; and got his photo-op with Lech Walesa in Poland. But because the routine was so simple, the mistakes stuck out even more. So as Romney performed his cartwheel in England, he stepped out of bounds when he questioned London’s readiness for the Olympics. He lost additional points for flubbing the end of the somersault in Israel when he tried to explain the economic differences between Israel and the Palestinian Authority through a cultural prism (that may end up offending Mexican Americans as much as he appeared to offend Palestinians). And after sticking his landing in Poland, his campaign got into a spat with the judges -- that is, the reporters following him.

*** Trip ends with a spat with the press corps: NBC’s Garrett Haake reports that at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw, a Romney press secretary told reporters that the GOP candidate would likely not answer questions from the press. That meant on the six-day trip, he would have taken precisely three questions from the traveling press corps. When the pool and traveling reporters were told to return to their busses, Haake adds, a mass of reporters instead headed over to the motorcade area, where Romney was observing another monument. It was there the press started shouting questions. An example: “Gov. Romney, are you concerned about some of the mishaps on your trip?” Another: “Gov. Romney, do you have a statement for the Palestinians?” And: “What about your gaffes?” Another Romney press aide fired back, “Show some respect,” adding: “Kiss my ass. This is a holy site for the Polish people. Show some respect.” That press aide later apologized to some of the reporters, but the damage was done. You’ll recall, this trip got off to a bad start during a joint avail with British Labor leader Ed Miliband when Romney refused to take questions from his own press corps, even as he answered questions from the British press.

*** Romney’s Warsaw speech: Romney’s final big event of his weeklong trip was a speech he delivered a couple of hours ago in Warsaw. Here’s the AP’s take on the speech: “Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Tuesday that Poland's economy is a model of small government and free enterprise that other nations should emulate, an unspoken criticism of President Barack Obama's policies in the wake of the worst recession in decades.” More: “Romney told a Warsaw audience to stay on the path toward a robust capitalist economy and continue the march toward ‘economic liberty and smaller government’ rather than ‘heeding the false promise of a government-dominated economy.’” The speech was designed to be the most “domestic” of the trip. Using the Polish setting to talk about economic expansion and free enterprise. 

*** Top Romney aide declares trip “a great success”: After the mini-press debacle in Warsaw, NBC’s Garrett Haake reports that top Romney strategist Stuart Stevens later held a gaggle with reporters (damage control?) after Romney's speech to push back against the perception the trip hasn’t gone well. The highlights, Haake notes, include Stevens pronouncing the trip a "a great success, generally," and saying that Romney has answered "a lot of questions" on this trip when asked why he hasn't done a press conference. (But is taking three questions outside 10 Downing Street “a lot of questions?) Some of the quotes from Stevens: "[Romney] has a tendency to speak his mind and say what he believes." More: "There is no Electoral College here. You're not trying to win the Electoral College in England, Israel and Poland." And: "He spoke very clearly on big issues… He's saying what he believes."

*** When the context only raises more questions: We want to make a final few points about Romney’s overseas trip, especially regarding what happened yesterday with that Israeli-Palestinian comparison. The campaign released the entire context of Romney’s remarks to explain that his remark about culture also pertained to Chile and Ecuador, as well as Mexico and the United States. But this context only raises more questions. Is Romney also saying that the United States has a superior culture to Mexico? Doesn’t Romney believe, as John McCain tried to say yesterday, that the difference isn’t culture but rather governments and laws? We’ll go back to what we said earlier: Team Romney thought they had picked a routine with a low degree of difficulty. But when is the Middle East ever easy? As National Journal’s James Kitfield writes, “In Israel, Romney ignored the unwritten rule not to become overly embroiled in local controversies and disputes… Interjecting God and cultural superiority into an ethnic-religious conflict is never a good idea.”

*** The importance of August: All of these mistakes put more pressure on Romney to have a successful August. If you’re a challenger, August is typically the month when you want to start pulling ahead. Indeed, it was late July and early August -- after the VP pick and Dem convention -- when John Kerry started to inch in front of George W. Bush in some polls in 2004. (But Kerry found himself trailing Bush after the GOP convention.) And the upcoming month is all set up for Romney to make his move. We’ll get his vice-presidential pick and its likely carefully orchestrated rollout. We’ll also see the four-day GOP convention and its selling of Romney’s personal story. Bottom line: Yes, the race is close. And, yes, it hasn’t moved much (if at all) in the past few months. But if he’s going to win in November, Romney needs a successful August since it’s stacking up to be largely about him; he can’t afford another July.

*** New Romney-RNC ad: Well, here’s what appears to be the first general-election bio spot TV ad by the Romney campaign (in conjunction with the RNC). The ad features Romney talking about his business and Olympics experience.

*** Major speakers for the Dem convention: This morning, Democrats announced that First Lady Michelle Obama and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro (the keynote speaker) will headline the first night of the Democratic convention, on Tuesday Sept. 4. So here’s the line-up:
Tuesday, Sept. 4: Michelle Obama, Julian Castro
Wednesday, Sept. 5: Bill Clinton, Elizabeth Warren
Thursday, Sept. 6: Barack Obama, Joe Biden

*** What will LaTourette say at his press conference today? NBCNews.com’s Mike O’Brien confirmed yesterday that Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH) has decided not to seek re-election, and he’s holding a news conference in Ohio at 10:00 am ET. And things could be VERY interesting. Politico: “LaTourette was one of the last of a dying breed — a moderate, union-friendly Republican who stood up to the right flank of the House Republican Conference. In the 112th Congress, it put him at odds with a good bulk of his GOP colleagues, including, at times, his longtime friend and ally, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). But LaTourette’s political isolation within the party was at odds with his ambition within the House Republican Conference. He wanted to resume his place toward the top of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, according to several GOP aides.” Trust us folks, this press conference has the whiff of “score settling” written all over it.

*** It’s Dewhurst vs. Cruz: Finally, as we noted yesterday, today is the Texas Senate GOP run-off between Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Ted Cruz. Final polls close in Texas at 9:00 pm ET. Here’s something to chew on, especially given the news that San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro is set to deliver the Dem keynote address: If Cruz wins, the three Latinos serving in the U.S. Senate would all be Cuban Americans: Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Bob Menendez (assuming Menendez wins re-election). Not a single Mexican American.

Countdown to GOP convention: 27 days
Countdown to Dem convention: 34 days
Countdown to 1^st presidential debate: 64 days
Countdown to VP debate: 72 days
Countdown to 2^nd presidential debate: 77 days
Countdown to 3^rd presidential debate: 83 days
Countdown to Election Day: 98 days

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AP’s Fouhy picks up on this: “One Republican campaign ad describes the ‘buyer’s remorse’ some voters feel about President Barack Obama. Another ad features a woman saying she had supported Obama because ‘he spoke so beautifully,’ but he’s failed to deliver on his promises. Still another ad woos Obama supporters with a direct but gentle prod: ‘It’s OK to make a change.’ Come on in, the water’s fine. That’s the message from Republicans as they try to persuade voters who supported Obama in 2008, many of them women, to switch to Republican candidate Mitt Romney this time. Nearly all of the $100 million Romney and his allies have spent on TV ads in general election battleground states has been aimed at a single audience: swing voters who say they like Obama personally but are disappointed in his job performance. To reach those voters, Republicans have adopted a political soft sell: Coax them to consider Romney without criticizing the choice they made four years ago.”

Old vs. young: “That much-debated gender gap?” USA Today writes. “The generation gap is wider. In a national USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, most 65-and-older seniors support Romney while young adults under 30 back Obama by almost 2-1. The 18-percentage-point difference in their presidential choices is one of the electorate's biggest demographic divides, and it helps define campaign strategies for both sides. The enthusiasm of the Millennial Generation for Obama, who is now 50, fueled his election victory four years ago. Though still backing him, younger voters have lost some of their ardor while seniors have become significantly more engaged than in 2008 on behalf of the 65-year-old Romney — and they are much more likely to vote. At stake in this divide is not only the presidency but also the country's policy direction — shaping the debate on Social Security and Medicare spending, the need to invest in education and the priority placed on environment.”

Views of guns are the same as they were before Aurora, according to a Pew poll.

OHIO: “Three high-placed Republican sources tell the Columbus Dispatch that Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-OH) ‘has decided not to run for re-election, leaving party members rushing to find a replacement in time for the Nov. 6 election,’” Political Wire writes. “A source said LaTourette is leaving because of a dispute with House leadership about future committee assignments." LaTourette was one of the last remaining House members who votes with labor.

Roll Call asks if LaTourette was “left out in the cold.” “Rep. Steven LaTourette’s sudden decision not to run for re-election in November centers around a reported dispute over future committee assignments, which, if true, shows a breakdown in relations between the nine-term Ohio Republican and House GOP leaders, led by his close ally and fellow Ohioan, Speaker John Boehner,” Roll Call writes, adding, “At Appropriations, where the power rests with the subcommittee chairmen, known as cardinals, the senior GOP post at the Labor-HHS panel will be open after this year’s elections. Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) is running for Senate. LaTourette, who is one of labor’s closest allies in the Republican Conference — and a lawmaker with a long interest in bipartisanship, as well as a loyal lieutenant to Boehner — might have viewed himself as an ideal chairman at Labor-HHS.”

National Journal’s Kitfield: “For any man who would be president there are unwritten rules of foreign diplomacy. Mitt Romney seems to have internalized some, while others apparently slipped out of the briefing book on his flight across the Atlantic to debut as a potential leader of the free world.” More: Romney “added insult to injury by suggesting that the Israeli economy had outpaced the economy of the Palestinian territories because of the power of Israel’s ‘culture’ and the ‘hand of providence.’ Interjecting God and cultural superiority into an ethnic-religious conflict is never a good idea. Doing so while ignoring the obvious fact that one economy in the equation is free, and the other is under military occupation, was baffling.”

And: “Notwithstanding their widespread disappointment in President Obama, Europeans are nervous about Romney precisely because his positions remind them of George W. Bush,” said Simon Serfaty, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund.

Kiss my what?

“Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney says Poland’s economy is a model of small government and free enterprise that other nations should emulate as they struggle with recession. It was an unspoken criticism of President Barack Obama’s policies in the wake of the worst recession in decades,” the AP writes. “The former Massachusetts governor, wrapping up an overseas trip, says that rather than heeding ‘the false promise’ of a government-dominated economy, Poland ‘sought to stimulate innovation, attract investment, expand trade and live within its means’ after the end of the Communist era. He made the observation in remarks as he neared the end of a week-long trip marred by his own stumbles on the world stage.”

More from the AP: “Campaign officials said the visit to Poland came at the invitation of Walesa, but the current leadership of Solidarity distanced itself from the event and issued a statement critical of Romney on Monday. Solidarity characterized Romney as being hostile to unions and against labor rights. It emphasized that it had no role in organizing Romney's visit and expressed support for American labor organizations.”

The New York Daily News’ Joshua Greenman: “Mitt Romney’s trip to the United Kingdom, Israel and Poland was to be his introduction to the world, proof to America that he would be a steady hand on the foreign policy tiller. Instead, all I can say is: Oy, Mitt. Oy. Romney, as always, looked the part of President. But then he ad-libbed his way to insulting the British on the eve of the Olympics and, more seriously, denigrating the Palestinians in prepared remarks while in Israel. Flubbing a question on the London Games? Embarrassing, but no harm, no foul. In the tinderbox that is the Middle East, though, every careless spark runs the risk of doing lasting damage.”

The Daily News in another item: “He's angered the Brits, infuriated the Palestinians, and now he’s going after the Russians. Globe-trotting GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney was expected Tuesday to deliver a Cold War-type smackdown of the Russkies — and, by extension, President Obama — with a ‘value of liberty’ speech at Warsaw University.”

The Guardian headlines that Romney is looking to “rekindle cold war spirit.”

Romney acknowledged that economic sanctions on Iran have had an effect. “[T]here is the suggestion that the economic sanctions, particularly some of those put in place by Europe, where they have really tightened the screws very aggressively, that those economic sanctions are having a significant impact on the economy of Iran,” he said on FOX, per GOP 12. “Has that dissuaded them from their nuclear program? I don’t believe so.”

“President Barack Obama told campaign donors Monday that ‘if the election were held today, I think it'd be close, but I think we'd win,’” AP writes. “He said his opponents were ‘spending like nobody’s business’ and that Democrats need substantial sums to counterpunch.” More: “The president held court in the Parisian-style NoMad hotel in Manhattan’s Flatiron District with 60 people who contributed $40,000 each, raising more than $2 million for the 2012 elections.”

“Elizabeth Warren will not deliver the keynote speech at this year’s Democratic National Convention, but instead will speak immediately before former President Bill Clinton on what party officials hope will be an energetic penultimate night,” the Boston Globe notes. “Warren and Clinton will speak in primetime on Wednesday, Sept. 5, and form a one-two punch aimed at crystallizing the choice between President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney in the general election, the Obama campaign said.”

Political Wire: “A new Gallup poll finds 66% of Americans have a favorable opinion of former President Bill Clinton, tying his record-high favorability rating recorded at the time of his inauguration in January 1993.”

“Democrats’ platform drafting committee … met in Minneapolis over the weekend and agreed on draft language that would put a major political party officially on-board with legal same-sex marriage for the first time in US history,” the Boston Globe writes.

Too cute? “Romney's visit to Poland could have an impact well beyond Eastern Europe because a large portion of the Polish-American community resides in critical swing states — especially Pennsylvania and Michigan, according to a 2010 survey of Polish-Americans by the Piast Institute,” USA Today writes. Thaddeus Radzilowski, president of the Piast Institute, said Polish-Americans will be listening for Romney to pledge his support to help Poland gain access to the visa-waiver program, which allows travelers from 36 countries to fly to the U.S. without applying for a travel documents ahead of time. During his trip to Poland in 2011, Obama expressed his support for legislation to help Poland qualify for the program.”

Romney didn’t mention the waiver program in his speech.

Romney will announce his veep pick on a new app. The campaign has set up a web site for it here. On it, it says, “There’s no telling when Mitt will choose his VP. But when he does, be the first to find out with Mitt’s VP app. Share with friends and earn exclusive campaign gear.”

CHRISTIE: From The Star Ledger: “Gov. Chris Christie today applauded the state Legislature's passage of a measure that lets voters decide whether judges have to contribute more to their pensions.”

MCDONNELL: The Virginia governor of Obama: “That hope and change message is now division and fear and recession. It's blaming other people."

Per The Washington Times: McDonnell “said the rise of the tea party and Rep. Ron Paul’s supporters within the Republican Party will push the GOP platform this year to focus more on matters such as the deficit and constitutional liberties.”

PORTMAN: Politico’s Martin writes that Portman is a Bush man -- a HW Bush man, that is.

RUBIO: “Bill O'Reilly broke down the leading Veep contenders last night and concluded that Marco Rubio would help Mitt Romney the most,” GOP 12 writes. “BUT... Bill-O warned that Democrats would attack him like they did Sarah Palin.”

RYAN: A must-read profile in the New Yorker of Paul Ryan by Ryan Lizza.

NBC’s Alex Moe and Andrew Rafferty contributed to this report.

WARSAW -- Mitt Romney capped his foreign tour with a major speech here in Poland's capital, though the third leg of the presumptive GOP nominee's trip abroad was again beset by an incident that threatened to overshadow the purpose of his visit.

Romney sought to regain his political footing in the final major appearance on his three nation foreign trip, praising the recent economic success here in Poland and hailing several iconic figures in the nation's history who helped advance Poland out of communist control.

"I believe it is critical to stand by those who have stood by America," Romney told his audience in a university atrium, effectively summing up the message he hoped to convey to all three American allies he visited this week, before pivoting to Poland specifically. "Solidarity was a great movement that freed a nation. And it is with solidarity that America and Poland face the future."

In his fifteen minutes of remarks, Romney also heaped praise on the Polish economy, one of the strongest in Europe, as being emblematic of the kind of free market principles the GOP contender regularly espouses on the stump.

"Your nation has moved from a state monopoly over the economy, price controls, and severe trade restrictions to a culture of entrepreneurship, greater fiscal responsibility, and international trade," Romney said. "As a result, your economy has experienced positive growth in each of the last twenty years. In that time, you have doubled the size of your economy."

But it was an interaction before the speech between a Romney campaign aide and the press corps traveling with the candidate that risked throwing the campaign off-message. Tensions flared following a visit by Romney to Warsaw's Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, where the Republican candidate ignored questions shouted to him by the media. During the entirety of Romney's trip, he took only three questions from the press at a single brief availability in London.

As reporters shouted to be heard by Romney across an open plaza a press aide implored them to be respectful, then adding "kiss my ass," and telling one reporter to "shove it." The aide later apologized.

After the speech, Romney's top strategist Stuart Stevens called the trip a "great success, mostly," and defended the press availability of his candidate, which was limited to a handful of television interviews on top of the availability at 10 Downing Street on Thursday.

"I think he has answered a lot of questions," Stevens said, telling reporters he was pleased that Romney spoke from the heart about what he called "big issues."

"He's saying what he believes," Stevens said.

Polish attendees interviewed before the speech here in Warsaw -- several of whom expressed jaded views towards the current U.S. administration -- said they were interested to hear Romney's views on Russia and visa issues (Russia was mentioned once, visas not at all), but that they recognized the real audience for today's speech was thousands of miles away.

"It's just politics," said Joanne Wierbowska, an economics graduate student. "We know that 10 million Polish people live in the United States so it's obvious he should be here."

Romney played the sympathies of Polish-Americans in his remarks by repeatedly praising a favorite Polish son, revered by many in both countries: Pope John Paul II.

"John Paul the Second understood that a nation is not a flag or a plot of land. It is a people -- a community of values," Romney said. "And the highest value Poland honors - to the world's great fortune -- is man's innate desire to be free."

The speech marked Romney's final major stop of his whirlwind trip, in which a series of perceived missteps often overwhelmed the campaign's message: from calling preparations for the 2012 Olympic games "disconcerting" while in Great Britain, to pegging Israeli and Palestinian economic disparities, in part, to cultural differences.

Whether or not the trip would ultimately be considered a success, Stevens said, would be determined back in the United States, not on headlines generated abroad.

"There is no electoral college here," Stevens said. "You're not trying to win the electoral college in England, Israel and Poland."

TAMPA, Fla. -- South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) called on government contractors to put employees on layoff notice before November's election as a way to pressure Congress to address the so-called "fiscal cliff."

Graham, joined by Republican Sens. John McCain (AZ) and Kelly Ayotte (NH), were in Florida for their first stop on a  two-day, four-state tour by these three members of the Senate Armed Services Committee designed to bring attention to the $500 billion in automatic cuts scheduled to begin in January if Congress does not find other ways to cut spending.

“Politicians, you know, quite frankly respond to pressure,” Graham said about the  cuts set to begin in 2013 under the so-called sequestration budget.

“I’m urging every defense industry that could be affected by sequestration to put your employees on notice before November,” he continued. “The more it becomes real to us as to what comes the nation’s way, the more likely we are to solve the problem.”

Graham delivered the remarks inside a University of South Florida auditorium here in Tampa this morning to an audience of military veterans, academics, and defense contractors.

Some in the audience were linked to nearby MacDill Air Force base, a sprawling installation housing the U.S. Central Command, the organization that oversees America’s military activity in the Middle East, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

“There is gridlock in Washington,” McCain said as he warmed the crowd shortly after taking the podium. “I don’t need to tell you that.  It’s hard these days, trying to do the Lord’s work in the city of Satan.”

The line won laughs, but much of the humor today was strictly of the gallows variety.

Before the event began, audience members mingled and expressed satisfaction that South Florida’s defense industry was being recognized.

“I think they’re playing politics with peoples’ lives,” Donna S. Huneycutt, the executive vice president of a small government consulting firm, said of Congress in an interview. 

Huneycutt said she has a staff of 62 people, and nearly had to lay people off last year as a result of earlier budget cuts.

“I’d like to see both sides come to the table and compromise,” she said.

McCain, Graham, and Ayotte called for a bipartisan solution to the crisis.

They signaled they would break with other Republicans and would accept closing loopholes in the tax code in return for concessions from Democrats, including cuts to entitlement programs.

“We shouldn’t put our troops in this position,” Ayotte said. “We shouldn’t put our military feeling like they have the sword of Damocles hanging over their head.”

Ayotte, the wife of a retired Air National Guard pilot who flew combat missions over Iraq, is a buzzed-about prospect for the number-two slot on presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s ticket and is rumored to be on his short list.

The town hall tour was scheduled to make stops later today in Fayetteville, NC and Norfolk, VA – also home to key military communities.

The tour will wrap Tuesday morning in Merrimack, NH at a facility for the defense contractor BAE Systems.

A bill to curb the sale of ammunition over the Internet is set to be introduced in Congress this week, the first piece of gun control-related legislation put forward since the shootings in Aurora, CO, 10 days ago.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) took to City Hall in New York City today to announce their bill that would effectively ban the purchase of ammunition over the Internet for anyone not licensed to do so. But, with little appetite for gun control legislation in the Senate and House, the bill is not likely to advance.

Still, Lautenberg and McCarthy sought to draw attention to the ease with which ammunition can be bought online. The alleged Colorado shooter, James Holmes, reportedly purchased more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition over the Internet in the weeks before the shooting spree that killed 12 in Aurora, CO, a Denver suburb. Holmes was charged today with 24 counts of first-degree murder and 116 counts of attempted murder.

"If someone wants to purchase deadly ammunition, they should have to come face-to-face with the seller," Lautenberg said in a statement. "It's one thing to buy a pair of shoes online, but it should take more than a click of the mouse to amass thousands of rounds of ammunition."

McCarthy said in a statement: "Law-abiding gun owners and shooters should support this legislation, because it hinders criminals from abusing the Second Amendment right that our nation promises and could save innocent lives in the process."

Before being elected in 1996, McCarthy became an advocate for tighter restrictions on guns after her husband was killed and her son was injured in a shooting on the Long Island Rail Road in 1993.

The bill, called the Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act would require anyone selling ammunition to be a licensed dealer. It would require ammunition buyers who are not licensed dealers to present photo identification at the time of purchase. The bill sponsors say this would effectively ban the online or mail order purchase of ammunition by those, like Holmes, without a license.

In addition, the bill would require licensed ammunition dealers to maintain a record of the sale of ammunition and report the sale of more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition to an unlicensed person within any five consecutive business days.

Lautenberg will try to force a vote on the measure this week by offering the bill as an amendment to Cybersecurity legislation. But aides say that even if it made it to the Senate floor for a vote, it would likely not pass.

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) made it clear last week that the Senate will not debate gun control before the election and even beyond that.

As Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) explained to reporters in the wake of the Colorado shootings, the gun lobby is “quite strong.”

"I don't think that there's any appetite for or nothing near a consensus or majority to adopt real gun control, that is to do anything more than is already on the laws with regard to purchasing hand guns and the like," he said.

It is equally unlikely that the Lautenberg-McCarthy bill will see a vote in the House, where Republicans have said they do not intend to consider legislation dealing with gun control.

The Obama White House took a subtle swipe at Mitt Romney on Monday after the Republican Presidential candidate made some controversial comments during a fundraiser in Israel. Romney told a group of supporters, Israel’s GDP is higher than the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority because “culture makes all the difference.” (See earlier First Read post for more context.)

A senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the comments “racist," according to the AP. The Romney campaign pushed back, saying Romney's comments were mischaracterized. One Romney aide also noted that overall, he "got public and strong support while he was [in Israel]."

During the White House daily briefing, Deputy Press Secretary, Josh Earnest was peppered with questions about the incident. 

“One of the challenges of being an actor on the international stage, particularly when you’re traveling to such a sensitive part of the world, is that your comments are very closely scrutinized for meaning, for nuance, for motivation," Earnest said, adding, "and it is clear that there are some people who have taken a look at those comments and are scratching their heads a little bit.”

When pressed, Earnest stopped short of elaborating on the larger implications of Romney’s comments.

“I would leave it to Gov. Romney to explain them, to the extent that there’s some measure of confusion," he said.

This latest incident comes after Romney touched off a firestorm in the U.K. last week when he questioned London’s preparedness for the Olympic Games. In an interview with NBC’s Brian Williams, Romney said, “It’s hard to know just how well it will turn out,” and he called questions about the level of security staffing “disconcerting.” Romney quickly walked back those comments, later telling reporters, “I expect the games to be highly successful.”

In that instance, the White House also seemed armed with a response. Although he did not directly address Romney’s comments about the Olympics, Press Secretary Jay carney attempted to draw a sharp distinction while briefing reporters.

"In keeping with our special relationship, the president also made it clear that he has the utmost confidence in our close friend and ally, the United Kingdom, as they finalize preparations to host the London Olympics,” Carney said then.

Romney is hoping his trip abroad will help him solidify his credentials as a leader who is capable of performing on the world stage.  He wraps up his foreign tour in Poland, where he is today.

Republican outrage continues this week against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which last week encouraged their employees to support a "Meatless Monday" health and environmental initiative.

In response, GOP Sens. John Cornyn (TX) and Charles Grassley (IA) sent around a photo today of a giant Monday order BBQ from Hill Country BBQ in downtown Washington, which included barbecue beef brisket, ribs and sausage.

The USDA first announced the initiative last week, which invited backlash from a number of lawmakers -- mostly Republicans -- whose states thrive on livestock industries.

The USDA did retract its position after coming under that pressure; it said in a tweet on July 25 that the suggestion that was sent around to employees in a July 23 USDA newsletter was not official policy.

Here's their tweet from July 25th:

Grassley had been piling on with these tweets:

"In some of the toughest times they’ve seen in recent memory, Texas cattle ranchers and farmers deserve an Administration who works with them, not one who undermines them with boneheaded decisions from bureaucrats in Washington,” Cornyn said in a paper statement today.

"This is a reminder to USDA that it’s supposed to advocate for American agriculture, not against it," added Grassley.

LANCASTER, PA -- Even though a Republican presidential candidate has not won the Keystone State since 1988, one of Mitt Romney's top surrogates who just happens to be a potential vice presidential pick said he has "a feeling" Pennsylvania will turn red this November.

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) today addressed more than 200 supporters at a rally here, one of 18 similar Romney events taking place throughout 12 states today while the presumptive nominee closes out his overseas trip. Portman's visit here marks the second time the Ohio senator has appeared in the neighboring state of Pennsylvania.

"I got a feeling Pennsylvania is going to be in the red column this year. You're going to paint the whole Commonwealth red starting right here in Lancaster County," Portman told an energized crowd. "I got a feeling about it. And it's going to be because, in 2008, we made a mistake."

Over the past week Romney surrogates have been out in full force in battleground states while the candidate is abroad. Speaking to reporters after the event, Portman defended the former Massachusetts governor trip to the United Kingdom, Israel, and Poland -- a journey that that has had its share of ups and downs.

"I think he's had a very strong trip to Israel," said Portman, later adding that the tour "shows people, one, that he does have a lot of foreign policy interest and background, but also that he's going to stand with our allies, which is incredibly important."

Romney first drew the ire of some in England after voicing concerns that the country was not ready to handle the Olympic games. Then, in Israel, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee was criticized for comments suggesting that the reason why Israel's economy has outpaced its neighbors (including the Palestinian Authority) is due to culture.

The Romney campaign has pushed back that the comments have been mischaracterized and that they were not meant to be a slight against Palestinians.

But the freshman Ohio senator did not focus his message on overseas policy, instead concentrating on an economic message that both Democrats and Republicans acknowledge will be the deciding factor in Rust Belt states. 

"The private sector -- we talked about his successes. The governor of Massachusetts, folks, they don't call it Taxachusetts for nothing," said Portman. "It's got an 85% Democrat legislature, yet he cuts taxes 19 times working with them. He starts out with a budget deficit of $3 billion, he turns it around into a surplus and a rainy day fund of $2 billion. That's the kind of leadership we want, somebody who can bring people together and solve problems."

Portman, who was introduced as "potentially the next vice president of the United States," remained dismissive of the notion when speaking to reporters inquiring about his political future.

"I'm here helping Mitt Romney, I'm not here talking about myself," he said when asked what sets him apart from the other names being talked about as joining the national ticket.

But in terms of most utilized surrogates, Portman is near the top of the list. In addition to the numerous events and fundraisers in which he's participated on Romney's behalf in his home state, the former Office of Management and Budget Director under George W. Bush has also visited North Carolina, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.

And asked whether or not he is ready for a new job, he again sidestepped the question.
  
"I'll let the Romney folks talk about readiness. As I have said before, Romney has plenty of choices -- a lot of people out there who can do the job. And, ultimately, people are voting for the president and not the VP."