House Majority Leader Eric Cantor told reporters today that there may be some wiggle room in the debt-ceiling negotiations when it comes to closing tax loopholes. "If the president wants to talk loopholes, we'll be glad to talk loopholes," he explained. "We've said all along that preferences in the code aren't something that helps economic growth."

But he added that any loophole closure must be joined by offsetting tax cuts -- which Democrats could find unacceptable. (The reason: Adding further tax cuts to the mix doesn't end up reducing the deficit.)

"Increasing revenues paid by businesses and families, in this kind of economy especially, is counterintuitive," Cantor said. "Any discussion of loopholes must be accompanied by off-setting tax cuts. We are not for increasing revenue."

Cantor's comments came before Thursday's White House meeting with congressional leaders from both parties. President Obama has continued to call for a deal that includes an increase in revenues, while House Republicans have repeatedly said that new revenues would not pass the House.

Cantor claimed that a "blueprint" achieved during last month’s Biden talks could help guide negotiations in tomorrow's negotiations, claiming that based on the blueprint's framework he could "envision us proposing and accomplishing over $2 trillion dollars in savings." Cantor left those talks after Democrats in both the House and Senate continued to include revenue hikes in a prospective deal.

Cantor also shot back at Obama's claim that tax loopholes for such things as corporate jets were the reason why he left the Biden talks. "To hear the president come forward and indicate that those talks stopped or blew up over loopholes, it's just not the case," Cantor explained. 

According to both Democratic and Republican aides familiar with the Biden talks, closing the corporate jet tax loophole would save about $3 billion dollars over 10 years. "In the context of over $2 trillion dollars in savings that the Biden talks could envision," Cantor said, "it's just not serious to say that we Republicans walked out over corporate jet loopholes."

The $2 trillion dollar number, according to Cantor, breaks down to this: "In the non-health care mandatory area, there is a potential for over $300 billion in savings; in the health care mandatory area, well over $400 billion in savings. The rest would be the discretionary piece plus interest savings," he says. "That is the basis upon which I believe we can build a deal that can deliver on the promise that we are going to finally start to change things around here."

The goal is to find a total of $2.4 trillion dollars in cuts by Aug. 2 to counteract a raise in the debt ceiling that would bring the United States past 2012, something that Cantor says he is doing reluctantly. "None of us feel we were elected to increase the nation's credit limit," he admitted. 

During a town hall where he took questions from the social-networking site Twitter, President Obama today said he could have better informed the public of his efforts to boost the economy, urged against playing politics with the debt ceiling, and agreed with House Speaker John Boehner that job growth has been inadequate.

Sitting in the East Room of the White House in front of a crowd of young people, the president fielded 18 questions read by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey -- the first of which asked Obama to talk about mistakes he thought he made during the recession and what he would have done differently.

Obama prefaced his answer by saying that his actions -- including the stimulus and the auto industry overhaul -- were "absolutely the right thing to do." But he said he could have better warned the American people about the length of the recovery, an oversight that he suggested was due to overly optimistic forecasts.

"Even I did not realize the magnitude, because most economists did not realize the magnitude of the recession until fairly far into it, maybe two or three months into my presidency," he said.

He also said the continuing decline in the housing market surprised him, acknowledging that his administration has revamped its housing program several times.

On another contentious economic issue, Dorsey read a question from New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, who asked why the president hadn't tried to work raising the debt ceiling into negotiations over the Bush tax rates last December.

President Obama said he already had squeezed several of deals -- the New START treaty, the repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” -- into a short amount of time at the end of Congress's post-midterm election lame duck session.

More broadly, though, he pointed out that raising the debt ceiling is a routine, necessary occurrence that is usually not met with so much political resistance.

"The debt ceiling should not be something that is used as a gun against the heads of the American people," the president said.

He was less heated when answering a question from Speaker Boehner, who asked a version of his trademark question, "Where are the jobs?"

Obama said he agreed with Boehner that "we have not seen fast enough job growth relative to the need," but he gently criticized Boehner for digging in his heels on issues like infrastructure initiatives and broadband development.

"I'm going to keep on trying and eventually hopefully Speaker Boehner will see the light," he said.

If you’re watching the trending topic #AskObama, don’t blink – you might miss 20 or so tweets.

Questions from attention-seeking Republican presidential candidates and GOP congressional leaders in the middle of the debt ceiling fight are among those popping up in a steady stream of questions for the White House’s Twitter town hall.

Herman Cain and Mitt Romney both hit President Obama with questions, rhetorical and otherwise, about jobs.

@THEHermanCain As a mathematician, I've got to ask: exactly how did you come up with the jobs "created or saved" number, again? #askObama

@MittRomney @BarackObama Where are the jobs? Use #ObamaIsntWorking to #askObama your questions for his town hall

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley tweeted about her state’s labor fight between Boeing and the National Labor Relations Board, which has become a major issue for candidates jockeying for support in the first-in-the-South caucus state.

@NikkiHaley Why is your administration supporting the NLRB's job killing policies in South Carolina? #AskObama

President Obama did not express an opinion on the NLRB case when he was asked about it during a press conference last week, saying he would leave the final ruling on the case to a judge. He did, however, say a decision on the case should be based on whether or not Boeing was following the law when it relocated a plant from Washington state to South Carolina. 

“What I think defies common sense would be a notion that we would be shutting down a plant or laying off workers because labor and management can't come to a sensible agreement,” Obama said.”

Congressional Republicans, embroiled with their Democratic counterparts and the president over a deal to raise the debt ceiling and cut spending, took advantage of the #AskObama hashtag to criticize the president on budget issues.

@SpeakerBoehner Republicans #askobama to outline plan #4jobs that doesn't involve more spending, taxing, regulating http://j.mp/o1bpzE @townhall  

@RepPaulRyan #AskObama Senate hasn't passed a budget in 798 days. House passed plan 2 lift debt&spur job creation-what is your jobs plan?

@GOPWhip #GOP has a plan #4job growth. What is your economic plan? 798 days & still no budget from Dems. #AskObama #tcot

The AFL-CIO, generally aligned with the president despite occasional criticisms, also tweeted a disapproving message that could have come from Boehner’s office.

@AFLCIO Where are the jobs? #AskObama

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) spoke with reporters today, reiterating that Democrats are going into Thursday's White House debt ceiling talks ready to negotiate. 

"Republicans need to put everything on the table and understand that you cannot get there from here without putting everything on the table, which includes revenues," he said. "And from our perspective, [that] includes entitlements and includes discretionary spending -- both on the defense side and the non-defense side."

Regarding Thursday's planned negotiations with President Obama, Hoyer put pressure on Republicans who have continued to stand firm on claims that they would not support any plan that included tax hikes. "I believe in this next 30 days, we're going to see who are Sunshine Patriots and Summer Soldiers, who are interested in politics more than responsibility -- who are focused on the next election, not the next generation," he stated. "We need to check our rhetoric and our politics at the door on Thursday and everyday after until we get this thing resolved." 

After Obama's statement to reporters yesterday, in which he announced that he is inviting congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle to the White House to discuss a deal, Republicans fired back. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's office claimed "a tax increase simply will not pass the House." House Speaker John Boehner also issued a statement, contending that the talks would be "fruitless until the president recognizes economic and legislative reality."   

No matter what the deal entails, the House will need a number of Democratic votes for it to pass. Earlier this year, when Congress voted to stop a government shutdown, Boehner needed Democratic votes to keep the government afloat, and Hoyer sees that happening again in regards to the debt limit negotiations. 

Hoyer said he would help Boehner to reach a number that could help ensure the deal passed the House, but only if they are willing to negotiate. "I'm not going to help on some draconian, do-it-my-way-or-the-highway vote," he said. "But we Democrats are prepared to cooperate in order to ensure that the credit worthiness of the United States of America is not put at risk and to move towards a fiscally responsible path, in the short term and in the long term."

Going into Thursday's meeting, Hoyer also floated the idea of completing this deal in more than one step, saying that he could be interested in raising the debt limit now, and making the deal on what to cut later.

"I'm prepared for something that can: A) stop us from defaulting, and if that's all I can vote for I'll vote for it. And B) coupled with it, or in short follow-on to it, that gets us on a fiscally responsible path." 

House Republicans have repeatedly said that they do not want to deal with short-term extensions or piecemeal deals.

In an off-camera gaggle with reporters, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney today said that the need to reach a "significant compromise" with Congress over the debt ceiling prevails, as evidenced by meetings among principle members of the talks and their staff over the weekend -- plus tomorrow’s scheduled White House meeting.

But Carney added that he would not be commenting on every meeting that has taken place for fear that it could "sour potential for a compromise."

The participants are still "aiming high" when it comes to a ballpark number for negotiations over how much spending a final deal should cut, and over how much time. He said that the president's April proposal of $4 trillion in cuts over 12 years or less is "something to aspire to."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) both spoke on the Senate floor this morning to tee up their positions ahead of the deficit meetings at the White House Thursday.

Reid said it’s up to the Republican Party to compromise and move away from their position of no tax revenues in a deficit deal. He said these talks will determine the character of the GOP.

"Will they be the party that came to Washington to help govern, to craft solutions to difficult issues facing this nation in cooperation with patriots on both sides of the aisle?” Reid said. “Or will they be the kind of single-issue, ideological party who walks away from reasonable compromise for the sake of politics? That is the question.”

He quoted from New York Times columnist David Brooks yesterday, "The Mother of All No-Brainers," that challenged "responsible Republicans" to step up and make a deal.

"David Brooks, conservative columnist, said this,” Reid said. “The Republican Party has been taken over by ideologues either devoted to or terrified by Grover Norquist and his no-tax pledge."

McConnell defended the Republican position against raising taxes.

"We're eager to meet with the president to see if he's really willing to do something big here for the country,” McConnell said. “We don't think it's absolutist to oppose stimulus spending. We don't think it's maximalist to oppose hundreds of billions of dollars in tax hikes in the middle of a jobs crisis. We'd have a better term for it: common sense."

White House adviser David Plouffe at a Bloomberg News breakfast this morning said that "any significant budget deal has to be revenue-positive."

At least by the time it all kicks in.

Plouffe's comments draw a line against Republican demands most recently made by Sen. John Cornyn that any tax measures in the agreement have to be "revenue neutral."

Six things we’ve learned in the debt talks… Why it’s Obama and Boehner (and not Obama and McConnell) cutting this deal: They share the same re-election goal… Obama holds Twitter town hall at 2:00 pm ET… RNC TV ad hits Obama on the economy… Romney’s second-quarter haul: $18.25 million… Gingrich’s: about $2 million… Pawlenty once again weighs in on Minnesota shutdown… Sarah Huckabee increases Pawlenty’s stakes for next month’s Iowa straw poll… And Romney raises money in London, while Paul, Pawlenty, and Santorum are all in Iowa.

*** Six things we’ve learned in the debt talks: In advance of Thursday’s White House meeting to resolve the stalemate in the debt talks, here’s what we’ve learned in the past 24 hours: The White House and Speaker Boehner appear to have talked quite a bit over the holiday weekend… Both Obama and Boehner share a goal (political need?) to prove they can get a “big” deal done and the president appeared to want to nip in the bud the Reid-McConnell chatter on the Senate side about a short-term deal (and Obama used his briefing-room appearance yesterday to make that position clear)… Define “big” deal: It appears anything over $2 trillion in cuts (+taxes?) over 10 years would fit that definition in the minds of some on one side of Pennsylvania Ave… The White House doesn't appear to buy into the idea that using the 14th Amendment as a basis to ignore the debt ceiling is a viable option… Expect the all-nighters to get a deal done to begin the week after next (so the week of July 18)… And while eight will be in the room with Obama on Thursday (Boehner, Cantor, Pelosi, Hoyer, Reid, Durbin, McConnell, and Kyl), let's be realistic, two are cutting this deal: Obama and Boehner.

*** Obama and Boehner have the same motivation to strike a deal: Why Obama and Boehner? Realize that both sides -- politically -- share the same goals. As we’ve written before, a deal is most likely good for the status quo and thus their re-election chances in 2012. If there’s a deal, the argument goes, economic armageddon is averted and the recovery continues (especially if gas prices continue to fall and as Japan recovers). But if there’s not a deal, the ensuing chaos could be VERY problematic for the Democrat in the White House and the Republicans in charge of the House. On the other hand, does McConnell have a different political goal? The chaos probably helps Senate Republicans gain the majority next year, although they already have -- at the least -- a 50-50 shot of winning control of the chamber in 2012 even in a status-quo political environment.

*** Obama and Twitter: At 2:00 pm ET, President Obama holds yet another social-media town hall -- this one on Twitter. Bloomberg News: “Promoted as a focus on jobs and the economy, the question- and-answer session already has attracted posts on topics as diverse as small-business incentives and tax rates, women working in math and science, marijuana legalization, and Libya. Obama’s 2012 campaign Twitter account encouraged followers to submit questions… Representatives of San Francisco-based Twitter Inc. will determine which questions to pose to the president... Jack Dorsey, Twitter co-founder and executive chairman, will be the moderator.”

*** RNC hits Obama on the economy: The Republican National Committee is up with a new TV ad hitting Obama on the economy. The advertisement, which will air on cable (it’s a light buy), goes: “He promised to change direction. Eight hundred billion in stimulus. Trillions in government health care. Two million jobs gone. Left turn after left turn, America’s headed the wrong way fast. Six million foreclosures. Fourteen trillion in debt. Five hundred billion in higher taxes and the worst long-term unemployment in generations. Don’t let Obama drive us to disaster. Change direction.” Per NBC’s John Bailey, this ad will be the first of four RNC ads -- a new one coming every Wednesday over the next four weeks. (Can anyone say: "fundraising gambit"?)  Tune into MSNBC's "Daily Rundown" for an explanation of the strategy and more from RNC Chair Reince Priebus.

*** Romney brings in $18.25 million: This morning, the Romney campaign announced that it raised $18.25 million for the second fundraising quarter (all primary money) -- more than any other Republican presidential candidate raised (in fact, it appears, barring a surprise number from Michelle Bachmann, to be TWICE of anyone running), BUT it's less than the $20 million-plus he raised in his first full quarter of 2007. The campaign also has $12.6 million in the bank. “Voters are responding to Mitt Romney’s message that President Obama’s policies have failed and that we need new leadership in Washington,” said Spencer Zwick, the campaign’s finance chairman. “Our fundraising for the second quarter represents the strong support Mitt Romney has across the country.” Early goals (that Romney supporters enjoyed leaking out months ago) were $40 or $50 million for this quarter. What happened? Some speculate that all the chatter about Mitch Daniels or Chris Christie or Rick Perry slowed some of the establishment money that's still sitting on the sidelines. So if you’re Rick Perry and his team, this Romney fundraising haul probably doesn’t scare you about getting into the race. Where’s Romney today? He’s raising money in London. (Yes, THAT, London). 

*** Newt’s total: $2 million: Meanwhile, Politico is reporting that Newt Gingrich raked in about $2 million for the quarter and has $225,000 in the bank. But the more troubling news: “[H]is campaign remains about a million dollars in debt. It will be a struggle for Gingrich to put his balance sheet in the black and fund the kind of operation traditionally required to compete in Iowa, where he has indicated he’ll attempt to turn his campaign around.” Of course, that $1 million debt equals another credit line of a million dollars that's become infamous with Gingrich. Newt is desperately trying to make it to the September trio of debates, but there's a straw poll in the way. Can he make it?

*** T-Paw once again weighs in on MN shutdown: In Minnesota, the state government shutdown continues. “Hopes for a deal to end the state budget stalemate dimmed Tuesday, with Republicans saying they have reverted to a $34 billion, no-new-revenue budget proposal,” the Minneapolis Star Tribune says. “DFL Gov. Mark Dayton confirmed that after meeting with GOP leaders, ‘We've got the same gulf between us that we've had all along.’ Dayton has repeatedly said that a $34 billion budget is ‘draconian’ and wants to spend about $2 billion more.” Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty released this statement: "Yesterday, I commend the Republicans in the Legislature for sticking to their guns, even when politicians of the past call for old-fashioned high tax and spend solutions."

*** Sarah Huckabee increases the stakes for Pawlenty’s straw poll effort: In other T-Paw news from yesterday, the campaign announced that Mike Huckabee’s daughter -- Sarah Huckabee Sanders -- is joining their team as a senior adviser, and she’ll be in charge of its Iowa Straw Poll efforts. What this means for Pawlenty: The stakes for the straw poll are even higher. If he's not first or a close second, he's last. You know who finished third in the 2007 straw poll? Sam Brownback. Call it the Glengarry Glen Ross rule: It was the 2^nd-place person who got the set of steak knives…

*** On the 2012 trail: It’s a busy day in Iowa… Ron Paul holds events in Marshalltown and Cedar Falls… Tim Pawlenty hits Clear Lake and Ames… And Rick Santorum’s in Cedar Rapids and Dubuque.

Countdown to Iowa GOP straw poll: 38 days
Countdown to NV-2 special election: 69 days
Countdown to Election Day 2011: 125 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 215 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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The New York Times: “President Obama stepped up pressure on Congressional Republicans on Tuesday to agree to a broad deficit-cutting deal, pledging to put popular entitlement programs like Medicare on the table in return for Republican acquiescence to some higher taxes. Mr. Obama, who met secretly with Speaker John A. Boehner at the White House on Sunday to try to advance the talks, called House and Senate leaders from both parties to the White House for further negotiations on Thursday. And he rejected talk of an interim deal that would get the government past a looming deadline on raising the federal debt limit without settling some of the longer-term issues contributing to the government’s fiscal imbalances.”

“President Obama prodded Congress yesterday to reach a sweeping long-term deal within the next two weeks to raise the nation’s borrowing limit rather than ‘kick the can down the road’ with a makeshift, short-term solution, and he declared it must include the tax hikes Republicans strongly oppose,” the AP adds.

The Washington Post: “The president also struck a more conciliatory tone than he did in a news conference last week, when he ridiculed Republicans’ work ethic and accused them of seeking to prevent the super-rich from making sacrifices alongside those who stand to suffer from unprecedented cuts to federal programs.”

“Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), tapped by President Obama to head the Democratic National Committee, is a hard-liner on Cuba, which means the chairwoman of the organization intent on reelecting the president disagrees with Obama on a foreign policy issue that is electorally sensitive in a swing state,” The Hill writes.

“So much for President Obama's Jewish problem,” the New York Daily News writes. “Obama continues to enjoy a high approval rating from Jewish voters despite attempts by his critics to paint him as anti-Israel, a new Gallup Poll found. Overall, Obama has a 60% approval rating with Jewish voters and among Jewish Democrats that figure climbs to 85%, pollsters found.”

A new University of New Hampshire poll shows Mitt Romney in the lead in the Granite State with 35%. Michele Bachmann is second with 12% -- followed by Ron Paul and Rudy Giuliani 7%, Rick Perry 4%, Tim Pawlenty and Sarah Palin 3%, Herman Cain and Jon Huntsman 2%, and Gingrich, Johnson, and Santorum 1%. Romney is the only candidate to beat President Obama in a head-to-head, 47%-43%, though the gap has narrowed since April, when Romney led 50%-43%. (Obama continues to beat Pawlenty and Bachmann, though Bachmann is more competitive than Pawlenty.)

Romney has the highest favorability rating of the candidates at 68%-24%. Gingrich, by the way, has seen his favorability ratings tank: He went from 42%-44% in April, to 25%-62% now. Huntsman, Palin, and Ron Paul are also net-negatives. (Huntsman is 19%-23% with 46% saying they don’t know.)

GINGRICH: Newt Gingrich raised approximately $2 million in the second fundraising quarter and will end the month with $225,000 in the bank, although his campaign remains about a million dollars in debt, Politico reports.

According to The Atlantic, Gingrich took to Google’s new social network Google+ yesterday, writing that his team is trying to figure out how to use Hangouts, a group video chat program, to discuss policy topics like creating personal Social Security accounts and repealing the Dodd-Frank financial regulation law.

Gingrich wrote a policy paper yesterday urging fellow Republicans to stand firm in their fight with President Obama over the debt ceiling, the Washington Post writes.

PAWLENTY: Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the daughter and top political adviser to former Arkansas governor and 2008 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, has joined the Tim Pawlenty campaign. The New York Times: “The campaign is clearly hoping that the staff-level hire will suggest that Mr. Pawlenty will have the support of Mr. Huckabee, who swept to a victory in Iowa with support from the many evangelical Christians in the Republican primary.”

Pawlenty dismissed the formation of a group, led by former Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson and former Democratic Vice President Walter Mondale, trying to break a budget stalemate in Minnesota, the Des Moines Register writes. “Minnesota government is shutdown because of Democrats’ insistence on Obama-esque solutions to increase spending and raise taxes,” the Pawlenty camp said in a statement.

PERRY: The New York Times writes about tale of two Texans – Rick Perry and George W. Bush -- and the rivalry that exists between them. “The tensions first spilled out publicly in 2007, when a video wound up on YouTube capturing Mr. Perry speaking dismissively of Mr. Bush at a Republican house party in Iowa for former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York. In the video, Mr. Perry said, ‘George Bush was never a fiscal conservative — never was,’ adding, I mean, ’95, ’97, ’99, George Bush was spending money.’”

GOP 12’s Heinze looks at the possibility of Sarah Palin endorsing Perry, and the similarities and friendship between the two.

ROMNEY: The Romney campaign announced that it raised $18.25 million for the second fundraising quarter.

Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz will endorse Mitt Romney for president today, the Huffington Post writes. Chaffetz, a former staffer for former Utah governor and presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, said he thought Romney had the best shot at defeating President Obama, and also borrowed a line from Romney’s health care playbook, saying Romney did the right thing by enacting reform at the state level only.

“Campaigning in New Hampshire on Tuesday, Mitt Romney stood by his charge from earlier this week that President Obama's policies have deepened the recession and that the recovery has been anemic,” the Los Angeles Times writes. “Asked after an event Tuesday whether those statements were contradictory and whether he believed the nation was still engulfed in a recession, Romney noted that the term recession is often used to describe the broader economic downturn, rather than just the narrow definition ‘that economists use, which is a shrinking GDP.’”

“With organized labor at the center of several nasty state budget fights, Mitt Romney spoke warmly of unions at a town hall Tuesday,” Politico writes. “‘Unions have played a very important role historically in balancing in some cases the egregious actions of some employers and have been important to the development of our economy,’ Romney said at a town hall meeting in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, on Tuesday morning.” He went on, however, to criticize the National Labor Relations Board’s ruling against Boeing’s relocation of a plant to South Carolina, a right-to-work state, faulting “union CEOs that are running the unions.”

Politico on the debt-talk politics: "But having run for what is likely his last term, [Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid] is supportive now of Obama’s and Boehner’s desire for a bigger deficit-reduction deal, even if it means taking risks in their own parties over Medicare reforms — in the president’s case — or tax revenues — in the case of the speaker. Indeed, going for the bolder deal could prove smart politics for Boehner, but it is a hugely complicated undertaking, and there is always the risk of he and Obama talking past one another and then tripping up over last details — or disgruntled allies."

“Republican budget negotiators might agree to Medicare drug rebates as their contribution to debt-ceiling negotiations, several sources told The Hill. By demanding that the rebates count as revenue raisers rather than spending cuts, Republicans would be able to say they're meeting Democrats halfway — without actually having to raise taxes, which is anathema to conservatives. The proposal would extend Medicaid drug rebates to the nation's 9 million ‘dual eligibles,’ who are on both Medicaid and Medicare but aren't currently covered by the rebates.

“Democrats’ Senate Budget chairman will present a spending plan to his party leaders Wednesday that seeks to cut the federal deficit through an equal split of tax hikes and spending cuts,” The Hill writes, adding, “At a speech at George Washington University in April, Obama recommended a three-to-one ratio of spending cuts to tax increases, according to a fact sheet released by the White House. The Simpson-Bowles commission recommended a ratio of spending cuts to increased government revenues of roughly 2.2 to 1 to reduce the deficit.” 

“Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad's (D-N.D.) decision to present a budget plan to the public this week — but not vote on it — is fraught with risks for the majority, aides in both parties say,” Roll Call adds. “Another problem that could prove embarrassing for Democrats: Under Senate rules, any Senator can bring a budget resolution to the Senate floor if the majority has failed to do so after May 15. Therefore, Republicans could force Democrats to vote to proceed to their own budget whether the majority wants to or not. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) already used the maneuver when he forced a vote on Obama's budget earlier this year.”

After focusing on entitlements, the DCCC is shifting to ethics on some members: It “will start dialing voters in the districts of six House Republicans who Democrats claim have had ‘ethical failures,’” Roll Call writes. “The modest campaign will target GOP Reps. Charles Bass (N.H.), Vern Buchanan (Fla.), Stephen Fincher (Tenn.), Frank Guinta (N.H.), David Rivera (Fla.) and Scott Tipton (Colo.). Each robocall is tailored to an ethical dust-up reported in the media, and the Members have all denied wrongdoing.”

CALIFORNIA: Also in Roll Call: “Democrat Janice Hahn’s ad strategy in California’s 36th district special election has some political strategists scratching their heads. Not only have her spots focused on her little-known Republican opponent, but in a Democratic-leaning district the Democrat doesn’t mention her party affiliation at all.”

IOWA: What a difference a Tea Party makes. “A recent survey of likely Republican caucus goers shows that support of federal subsidies for the ethanol industry has waned significantly in recent years,” The Iowa Republican Web site writes. By a 47%-24% margin, they said they would have a positive reaction to a candidate who proposes ending ethanol subsidies.

NEVADA: “Republican presidential candidates are facing a quandary on Yucca Mountain: oppose the nuclear waste repository and trigger a Tea Party backlash, or support it and risk alienating Nevada voters,” The Hill writes.

President Obama is not interested in a short-term deal on the debt ceiling, and he wants to include cuts to defense and entitlements, as well as tax deductions for the wealthy, the president said today in an appearance in the briefing room.

He said he had discussions with leaders of both parties over the holiday weekend and that “progress was made.” But he said there are “real differences” to resolve. Because of that, he has invited Congressional leaders to the White House Thursday. (He will not be going to the Hill or holding meetings at the White House tomorrow.)

He said he invited them to the White House “to build on work already done and drive toward a final agreement.” He urged leaders to “leave ultimatums and political rhetoric at the door.”

He called for “a balanced approach,” with “real compromise” that finds “common ground” in a “responsible way.” He wants a big agreement that would be agreed upon in the next couple of weeks. “This should not come down to the last second,” President Obama said, adding that “tough decisions” had to be made, and they needed to be made “sooner rather than later.”

President Obama did not answer any questions, and instead left the podium to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

“The president is committed to getting a big deal,” Carney said. He claimed earlier in the briefing that “there is the will” in Congress to get a deal done. There are “enough members who believe in the necessity of reaching a big deal” and who are willing to make “the compromise necessary to do so.” He said a deal “is worth the potential political difficulty” for all parties.

House Speaker John Boehner’s office says it expects the speaker to attend the meetings at the White House Thursday.

*** UPDATE *** Here's Boehner's statement, per NBC's Frank Thorp:

"The American people are worried about our economy, and our future.  More than two years after the start of Washington Democrats' 'stimulus' spending spree, they're still asking, 'where are the jobs?' 

"We're not dealing just with talking points about corporate jets or other 'loopholes.'  The legislation the President has asked for - which would increase taxes on small businesses and destroy more American jobs - cannot pass the House, as I have stated repeatedly.  The American people simply won't stand for it.  And their elected representatives in Congress won't vote for it.  I'm happy to discuss these issues at the White House, but such discussions will be fruitless until the President recognizes economic and legislative reality.   

"Our focus should be on getting our economy back on track by making the spending reductions and structural reforms necessary to address our nation's out-of-control debt.  We can do so without raising taxes on America's small business job-creators.  I'm pleased the President stated today that we need to address the big, long-term challenges facing our country.  Our nation's long-term future requires presidential leadership to address those challenges."

Though he may have hinted over the weekend that he would consider raising revenue in order to avoid a government shutdown, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) says not so fast.

"We're not for raising taxes through the front door or back door during a fragile economic recovery," the Texas senator said on MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports. "We think that would make unemployment worse, not better"

Why not try to raise some revenue, be it by raising taxes or closing loopholes or ending some subsidies?

"We're for making government smaller not bigger. It seems disingenuous to say we're going to cut spending and raise taxes," the member of both the Senate Budget and Finance Committees said.

With the U.S. unemployment rate at 9.1 percent, raising taxes would "discourage job creation," Cornyn said.

When asked to respond to critics, like center-right New York Times columnist David Brooks, who said Republicans should accept the deal Democrats have offered, which includes trillions of dollars in spending cuts in exchange for millions of dollars in revenue increases, Cornyn said, "It's premature to be declaring who is reasonable and not. Negotiations really didn't start seriously until the president himself got personally engaged."

Cornyn said once Congress completes budget negotiations for the Aug. 2nd deadline to increase the debt ceiling, "the next thing we should turn to should be tax reform."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) pulled the Kerry-McCain Libya resolution, which was being debated today.

"Senator Reid vitiated cloture (ie pulled it), because Republicans said they were all going to vote against it irrespective of national security interests, solely in protest over the budget," Reid spokesman Adam Jentleson told NBC over email.

Senate Democrats had hoped to pass the Libya resolution to show a measure of support for President Obama and the ongoing operation in Libya.

Translation: It wouldn't have passed, Reid's office said. Democrats needed at least seven Republicans to advance and overcome a filibuster.

Mitt Romney told small business owners during a roundtable discussion in Hampton, N.H., that President Obama has made the economic recovery "anemic" and that small businesses have "been very hard hit."

"This recovery has been anemic," Romney told the group of about 15 gathered around the lunch table. "We have not created the jobs we should have. [President Obama] has way underperformed the recovery that was seen under President Reagan. And so the president, I think, has deepened the downturn, has made it last longer. And what should have been a strong and robust recover by now has not occurred."

The comments echo what Romney said while campaigning yesterday in New Hampshire but represent a change from what he told NBC producer Sue Kroll in Allentown, PA, last week.

Romney added that President Obama "owns this economy." He said it's time to stop blaming economic problems on President Bush and his policies.

"There's a move afoot to try and blame, and particularly trying to blame George W. Bush," he said. "It's like, you know what, we're now three years later folks. We're in the third year of this president's term, his four year term. You can't keep blaming President. Bush. This is the Obama economy."

Mirroring calls for civility his GOP opponent Jon Huntsman made during his announcement speech last month, Romney said campaigning and governing has gotten too personal.

"There's been too much personal attack in my opinion," Romney said. "In political campaigns when it gets close, people start going after each other on a personal basis. I think it's fine to debate issues...but as we go to vilify people on the other side of the aisle, I think we make a mistake."

Romney pointed to his time as governor of Massachusetts, a state with "85% of my state legislature...in the Democratic party," as proof of his ability to work with legislators on both sides of the aisle.

"There are a lot of Democrats, just like a lot of Republicans, who really do believe in this country more than anything else. And they love this country, and they'll do what they think is right for America. And if I'm lucky enough to become president of the United States, I'll be working with good Democrats and good Republicans who care about the country more than they care about reelection."

Here's the news that Pawlenty campaign manager Nick Ayers promised via Twitter earlier today: Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the daughter of the 2008 presidential candidate, is joining the Pawlenty campaign as a senior adviser.

She served as national political director for her father -- who won the Iowa GOP caucuses -- during the last presidential cycle. She also worked as the campaign manager for Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) in 2010.

From the release:

Sarah Huckabee Sanders is joining Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s presidential campaign as senior political adviser. She begins her new role in the campaign’s Iowa headquarters today, taking the lead for the campaign on the Iowa Straw Poll effort with a focus on expanding the campaign’s grassroots operations across the first-in-the-nation caucus state.

Back to work … Who has leverage on debt ceiling – and who’s winning? … David Brooks’ Fourth of July gift to the White House … 100,000 jobs expected in Friday’s jobs report … Romney, Huntsman meet in New Hampshire … So do Bachmann, Gingrich … Pawlenty claims victory in Minnesota shutdown fight … Iowans show pragmatic streak … Romney’s full flop … GOP presidential hopefuls won’t get to Obama’s low estimate of $60 million… RGA raises $22.1 million … Romney, Huntsman back in Granite State … Santorum kicks off jobs tour in Iowa.

*** The Hangover: This was supposed to be one of those slow vacation weeks (or in Congress-speak -- "district work period"), but no such luck. The deadlocked debt-ceiling talks have made it important politically for anyone involved in these talks to show up for work. So, no golf for President Obama over the weekend, though he was at Camp David; no recess for the Senate this week, though the first thing it’s taking up is the Kerry-McCain Libya resolution NOT the debt ceiling. So, now what? The "now what" is a question that has haunted many a group of lawmakers. Think back to the founding of the country. It’s a question that took the founding fathers more than a decade to figure out, by the way. (See Confederation, Articles of). But we digress...

*** Who’s got the leverage? So who's got the leverage in the debt-limit talks? Leverage depends on who the negotiators are answering to. For instance, the White House believes it has the most leverage because swing voters and independent voters simply want a deal done. They are exhausted from the Washington political games, the gridlock, the inability to solve problems. (By the way, this Congress is on pace to be one of the least productive in history.) GOP leaders think THEY have the leverage, because there are NO cracks in the base and they have their own polling showing that, while independents are turned off by the process, they do NOT want taxes raised and want to see government cut. Bottom line: Republicans believe that on the SUBSTANCE, the middle is with them (if they sell it properly), even if on PROCESS, the middle might be more on the side of the president. (Of course, there's a reason the president uses the phrase "balanced approach" all the time; it's their argument on substance). President Obama is expected to engage in talks Wednesday either on Capitol Hill or at the White House, but will it be with Republican leaders as well? That's in question.

*** Victory is in the eye of the voter: It also looks like Republicans don’t want to hand President Obama something that looks like a victory, in a presidential election cycle; that would cause the base to erupt even more than a perceived tax hike. The GOP, though, can already be granted a measure of victory for dictating the terms of the debate – all about spending cuts. But will that be enough for the base? Senate Republicans are open to the idea of a short-term deal (something really no one wants) with some revenue raisers, like eliminating ethanol subsidies. But House Republicans don’t want more than one vote before the end of 2012 and know they have dwindling capital with their Tea Party freshmen. 

*** ‘A normal conservative party or an odd protest movement’?: The voice of the center-right, David Brooks, gives the White House some cover today, noting that the GOP should take a deal that is “trillions of dollars in spending cuts in exchange for a few hundred million dollars of revenue increases” or the party risks overplaying its hand. He calls it the “mother of all no brainers.” And he adds, “A normal Republican Party would seize the opportunity….” But: “The Republican Party may no longer be a normal party. … The struggles of the next few weeks are about what sort of party the G.O.P. is -- a normal conservative party or an odd protest movement that has separated itself from normal governance, the normal rules of evidence and the ancient habits of our nation.” Expect the White House to be doing a lot of Brooks-channeling over the next few days. It could be, after months of angst with Brooks, that the president's favorite non-liberal columnist is back on the West Wing's "must read list."

*** Economic hangover? The biggest news that comes out of this week, though, might be Friday’s coming jobs report. Though Wall Street had “its best weekly performance in nearly two years” last week, CNBC’s Domm writes, Friday’s report is “expected to show that just 100,000 new jobs were added for the month.” Mark Zandi of Moody’s says anything under 200,000 would be “subpar,” but he expects hiring to pick up by September or October provided gas prices don’t tick up and the debt-ceiling is raised. And Obama’s summer of discontent continues, as he didn’t get any support from Frank Rich, who wrote, that the economy still haunts him, but mostly because of, he says, “the stunning lack of accountability” for Wall Street. But question: Does anyone seriously think that economics that are even further to the left than Obama’s position will benefit him politically? And, yes, there was ANOTHER oil spill. This one an Exxon spill in Montana in the Yellowstone River.

*** While you were eating burgers and hot dogs… : … Republican presidential hopefuls were campaigning in early states and marching in patriotic parades. Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney were in the same parade in New Hampshire. Romney broke the ice and said hello. Romney, who has a home in the Granite State (and leads in the polls) welcomed Huntsman to the state. He said New Hampshire must be nicer than Beijing. Huntsman responded, “The air is breathable.” Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich were also in the same parade. And the enthusiasm gap was clear between the two candidates. Bachmann was seen sprinting along the route and had a campaign bus with her. Gingrich was there with a smaller “entourage,” as the New York Times put it and a teal Thunderbird convertible with Florida plates. And Tim Pawlenty is up in Iowa with an ad, claiming he “won” because the Minnesota government shut down when he was governor. That government is shut down again because Republicans and Democrats couldn’t agree on a deal to cut spending and raise taxes. Sound familiar?

*** Iowans’ pragmatism over purity: A poll out of Iowa for the IowaRepublican.com finds that Iowa GOP caucusgoers overwhelmingly want someone who can beat Obama (61%) vs. someone is closest to their views (32%). “The survey finds that the desire to beat the president is greater with fiscal conservatives than it is with social conservatives.  However, even among social conservatives, which we defined as being those who mentioned social issues as their top voting issues, 53 percent feel it is more important to beat the president, while 40 percent feel it is more important to support a candidate that they agree with on the issues,” writes Craig Robinson, former political director for the Iowa GOP. And it throws some cold water on the notion that Iowans need candidates to do lots of retail campaigning in order to vote for them. “That finding may seem to indicate that Romney’s decision to down play the Iowa Caucuses could work,” Robinson writes. “The poll clearly indicates that a frontrunner like Romney would appeal to voters in Iowa if electability is the top priority.”

*** Romney’s full flop: Mitt Romney at the most recent GOP debate said President Obama made the economy “worse;” In New Hampshire last week, he said of Obama, “He did not cause this recession, but he made it worse.” But then, answering a question from NBC’s Sue Kroll, who ticked off several positive items about the economy, including expansion of the gross-domestic product and the improved stock market (as well as mentioning the negative news of a lagging unemployment number), Romney said, “I didn't say that things are worse.” And then by the weekend, the GOP presidential front runner reverted back to his original form: “Our president has failed us,” NBC’s Matt Loffman reports. “The recession is deeper because of our president.” Technically, the recession’s been over for a while now.

*** These don’t go to $60 million: If you ADD UP all of what the Republicans will raise in this quarter, it won’t get to the low-ball $60 million estimate that President Obama is expected to raise. To recap what we know so far: Romney will raise $20 million (less than he raised in the first quarter in 2007), Ron Paul $4.5 million, Pawlenty $4.2 million, Huntsman $4.1 million, Herman Cain $2.5 million. That’s just $35.3 million. So unless Bachmann, Gingrich, Santorum, et al, are able to raise $24.7. million between them they won’t get to $60 million. And that’s not going to happen. The GOP total will be far smaller total than the top three were able to raise in 2007, when Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and John McCain, were able to raise $53 million between them. Gingrich, by the way, will be in debt. “Our numbers will not be as good as we would like, and candidly, the consultants left us in debt,” he said in Iowa, per the Los Angeles Times.

*** RGA raises $22.1 million: The Republican Governors Association announced it has raised $22.1 million, more than it raised in all of 2007. After retiring a $3 million debt from 2010, the RGA has $16.2 million cash on hand vs. $8.1 million cash on hand from 2007. The Democratic Governors Association has not put out its numbers yet.

*** On the trail: Huntsman and Romney are in New Hampshire … Santorum appears on several morning shows to kick off his “Courage to Fight for American Jobs” tour, which begins today in Iowa.

Countdown to Iowa GOP straw poll: 39 days
Countdown to NV-2 special election: 70 days
Countdown to Election Day 2011: 126 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 216 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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“Even as President Barack Obama's re-election effort is powering toward an impressive early fundraising haul, campaign officials are trying to reassure donors who have concerns about a range of policy decisions and pace of change during Obama's first term,” AP writes.

“Raising the specter of labor fights picked by Republican governors with public workers unions across the country, Vice President Joe Biden lambasted what he called an increasingly union-hostile ‘new’ Republican Party in remarks delivered to National Education Association representatives today in Chicago,” the Chicago Tribune writes. And this was after Biden’s trip to Las Vegas, where he warned union members against voting Republican.

The Washington Post looked at the mixed feelings for President Obama among the National Education Association, the largest teacher’s union in the country. The NEA voted to endorse Obama, but unhappiness was evident. “Biden drew applause when he briefly acknowledged there's widespread unhappiness among teachers for the Obama administration's education policies,” AP writes.

The White House will pay $37 million in salaries, Reuters reports: “Three policy advisors have a salary of zero, while more than 20 make the highest pay grade: $172,200. More than 30 percent earn between $100,000 and $200,000 a year while 154 take home less than $50,000, according to the 2011 annual report on White House staff.”

The rise of Super PACs: “So begins the shadow campaign of 2012, in which a new breed of ‘super PACs’ and other independent groups are poised to spend more money than ever to sway federal elections,” the Washington Post reports. “The rise of these independent groups, which can raise unlimited amounts of money from corporations, unions and other wealthy donors and spend it to help their favored candidates, could end up defining the 2012 campaign. But some of the groups could also pose a threat to established campaigns, which may find it difficult to stop them from wandering off message or committing strategic blunders.”

Awkward. What happens when two candidates show up at the same July 4^th parade? The New York Times on Mitt Romney greeting Jon Huntmsan: “ ‘Welcome to New Hampshire,’ Mr. Romney said to Mr. Huntsman, shaking his hand and patting him on the back. Mr. Huntsman politely thanked him. Mr. Romney, who has a vacation home in the state, noted that the atmosphere in New Hampshire must be decidedly more pleasurable than that of Beijing, where Mr. Huntsman was until recently the United States ambassador. ‘The air is breathable,’ Mr. Huntsman said in response. And that was the end of that.”

Bachmann and Gingrich also shared a parade in Iowa. And it was a tale of two candidates: “As Ms. Bachmann made her way through the crowded streets of this northern Iowa community, a giant blue tour bus emblazoned with her name tailed her. She was completing a weekend tour of the state just one week after announcing her candidacy. Ms. Bachmann asked voters to support her at the Iowa Straw Poll in August, a Republican event that will be a test of campaign organization,” the New York Times’ Zeleny writes. “Several blocks away, Mr. Gingrich also walked along the route. His entourage was considerably smaller (a teal Thunderbird convertible, with Florida license plates, was his campaign car.) But he and his wife, Callista, shook hands and greeted the voters of Iowa, whose caucuses open the Republican presidential nominating process early next year.”

BACHMANN: “Michele Bachmann kicked off a bus tour of Iowa on Saturday, introducing herself to voters around the state and delivering a forceful critique of the growing deficit and debt under President Obama,” the Los Angeles Times writes.

Politico profiles Bachmann’s husband Marcus, noting that he is not a licensed mental health practitioner, although the state of Minnesota does not require one to have a license to practice mental health. “The licensing is precisely the kind of issue that could dog the Bachmann campaign as she moves from firebrand, little known congresswoman to scrutinized presidential candidate and Iowa frontrunner. He may want to shield his wife, but his negatives provide more doubts to the candidacy of a politician already viewed skeptically by the political establishment.”

Bachmann announced via robocall a campaign stop at The Bluebird Diner in Iowa City, which came as a surprise to the diner’s owner when he heard her announcement, the Quad-City Times writes. 

CAIN: “Last week, the highly anticipated first poll from the Des Moines Register put him in third place, with 10 percent support, ahead of more well-known presidential hopefuls,” Politico writes. “But instead, the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO suffered a wave of resignations from his early-state staff, throwing into question whether Cain will continue to rise - or if this is as good as it gets for the long-shot candidate.”

Herman Cain lost two key staffers from its Iowa team on Friday, two days after two other top aides quit, CNN writes. His Iowa organizational director, Tina Goff, and Straw Poll coordinator Kevin Hart resigned on Friday.

GINGRICH: Newt Gingrich hasn’t put a lot of time and effort into Iowa yet – as evidenced by his relatively insignificant spot in the Clear Lake, IA Fourth of July parade yesterday, where he had the 30^th spot in the parade compared to Michele Bachmann’s 10^th place start, the Boston Globe writes.

HUNTSMAN: Mitt Romney welcomed Jon Huntsman to New Hampshire as the two came face-to-face at a parade in Amherst, NH. He also noted that New Hampshire must be nicer than Beijing, to which Huntsman answered, “The air is breathable.” New York Times: “One can parse these sorts of candidate interactions to ridiculous degrees: Was Mr. Romney subtly digging at Mr. Huntsman for his service to Mr. Obama? (Relaying the Beijing comment later, Mr. Romney told a group of reporters, ‘you all can decipher that.’) What about that whole “Welcome to New Hampshire” thing? Given that the state is a must-win for both men, was it a sort of ‘Welcome to the N.F.L.’ taunt?”

MCCOTTER: Rep. Thaddeus McCotter officially announced that he was running for president on Friday.

PAWLENTY: “Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty begins running a second television advertisement in the make-or-break state of Iowa today,” the Des Moines Register writes. “This one says the former Minnesota governor ‘refused to cave in to government unions’ during a transit strike. The 44-day strike in 2004 centered on scaling back health care benefits for transit system employees after they retired.”

“Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, now running for president, said during a stop Thursday night at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport that both the shutdown he oversaw in 2005 and the one now underway are solely the fault of DFLers,” the Minnesota Star-Tribune wrote Saturday. “Although he blamed DFL Gov. Mark Dayton for the current shutdown, Pawlenty did not take responsibility for the 2005 government closure. ‘The equivalence is this: Both in '05 and now, you had Democrats demanding that we raise taxes and raise spending,’ Pawlenty said.” The paper adds this context: “In 2005, the shutdown ended with Pawlenty inking a budget deal that included what he called a ‘health impact fee,’ but most called it a cigarette tax.” And: “He said he bore no responsibility for the $5 billion deficit economists projected he left behind and the current lawmakers and governor are working to close.”

Politico also picked up on the Pawlenty/shutdown story line Saturday: “The underdog presidential candidate has spent more than a year trying to gin up interest among Republican primary voters, so far with little to show for it. Now, Pawlenty’s home-state budget crisis has won him the kind of national spotlight that he has rarely earned on his own.”

PERRY: The Austin American Statesman asks if Rick Perry could raise as much cash in a presidential bid as he does in his gubernatorial campaigns? Texas fundraising laws put no limits on how much an individual donor can contribute, which helped lead Perry to a $40 million war chest for his 2010 re-election bid. But he’d have to abide by a $2,500 limit in a presidential race.

ROMNEY: Romney told reporters in New Hampshire yesterday that he stands by his comments that the Obama administration made the recession worse, which prompted the DNC to release another web video juxtaposing his comments that Obama made the recession deeper with his assertion last week in Allentown, PA, that he “didn’t say that things were worse.”

SANTORUM: Rick Santorum marched in three Independence Day parades across Iowa, the Des Moines Register writes.

IOWA: “Everybody knows that Iowa is the corn-growing capital of America,” NPR writes. “Agriculture is king. And that means a top item on your campaign itinerary has to be the annual Iowa State Fair.”

SOUTH CAROLINA: Gov. Nikki Haley’s controversial recent votes, including one to veto state funds for election operations (which was overruled) haven’t endeared her to other state legislators, Politico writes. “If Haley’s got her eyes on going straight for the 2016 presidential race, that’s five years for the state legislators to box her in on legislation, budget measures and other issues that will build out precisely the kind of record she’d want to avoid.”

“Supporters of South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint are quietly organizing a Republican presidential forum slated for sometime around Labor Day,” CNN reports. “The event would be more of a question-and-answer session rather than a debate. Candidates will be asked to offer concrete plans for fixing the debt and growing the economy, according to one person involved in the planning.”

Speaking of the debt ceiling, both sides are still about $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion apart to be able to be clear through the 2012 elections. President Obama will either head to Capitol Hill Wednesday or host talks at the White House. And there appeared over the weekend to be some wiggle room from Republicans on accepting new revenues and possibly accepting a short-term deal and then moving on to try and reform the tax code. Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and John McCain (R-AZ) indicated they’re open to some ending of subsidies or closing of loopholes. But Cornyn had this catch – anything would have to be “revenue neutral,” a Grover Norquist term.

Just asking, but what’s the point of trying to increase revenue to close deficits if you’re not actually raising any money that would offset those deficits?

McCain deferred to Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), who McCain said is open to some new revenues but didn’t say specifically what. Kyl told NBC outside his whip office last week that he wants to see ethanol subsidies eliminated, for example. OK… that’s $2 billion to $3 billion.

“Obama administration officials are offering to cut tens of billions of dollars from Medicare and Medicaid in negotiations to reduce the federal budget deficit, but the depth of the cuts depends on whether Republicans are willing to accept any increases in tax revenues,” the New York Times writes.

“Two senior Republicans said Sunday that they might be open to raising new government revenue as part of a deal to resolve the dispute over the federal debt ceiling, but they warned that there was little time to enact a comprehensive deal,” The New York Times writes.

“The 112th Congress is on pace to be one of the least productive in recent memory — as measured by votes taken, bills made into laws, nominees approved,” the Los Angeles Times writes. “By most of those metrics, this crowd is underperforming even the ‘do-nothing Congress’ of 1948, as Harry Truman dubbed it. The hot-temper era of Clinton impeachment in the 1990s saw more bills become law.”

But at least there’s this: “Something is off in the House of Representatives: It’s already July 4, and the House still has not yet registered its opinions on bald eagles, motherhood or the American flag,” the Washington Post writes.

“A week after New York became the biggest state to legalize gay marriage, Capitol Hill is all but silent on the topic,” Politico writes. “Using the power of the federal government to ban gay marriage was all the rage in Republican circles from the mid-1990s right up through the 2006 midterm elections. But Republicans, more focused on spending, taxes and economic issues, are no longer anxious to tangle over spousal rights for same-sex couples.”

Mitt Romney has repeatedly blamed President Obama for making the economy worse despite many indications that it has actually been growing, albeit slowly. But he backtracked on that language yesterday, denying, after making a speech in Allentown, PA, that he ever made that claim, telling NBC’s Sue Kroll, “I didn't say that things are worse.”

That exchange was nowhere to be found in a video released by the Romney campaign today, which featured snippets of the former Massachusetts governor condemning the “failure of Obama economic policies” and images of the now-shuttered factory which President Obama had touted in 2009 as a successful recipient of federal stimulus money, in front of which Romney made his speech yesterday.

In response to the Romney video released this morning, the DNC put together a montage of instances in which Romney did say that President Obama had made the economy worse.

The Romney camp also released a video the day before the President’s visit to Philadelphia which featured a clip from a TV report on the factory’s closing, as well as graphics of statistics on Pennsylvania’s economy including, “Over 100,000 Pennsylvania jobs lost since President Obama took office.”

Tim Pawlenty raised $4.2 million for the second campaign fundraising quarter -- a disappointing haul for a candidate many originally viewed as the top establishment threat to front-runner Mitt Romney.

Pawlenty spokesman Alex Conant said in a statement that Pawlenty "begins the third quarter with more available cash-on-hand than the Republicans who won the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary had in July 2007."

Conant was referring to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee who won the Iowa caucuses and Sen. John McCain who won New Hampshire.

The $4.2 million is a combination of money raised for the primaries and general election. A candidate can't use general-election money if they're not the nominee.