The lessons we learned this week on four stories -- Bain Capital, Romney’s $40 million, Jeremiah Wright, and the debt ceiling… Romney goes up with his first general-election ad… And it has a (small) Spanish-language component… Listing the 10 hottest ad markets right now… The culture war (abortion) resumes.. Jim DeMint’s rough week… Americans Elect was a bust… And the NC GOV ad war.

*** Four lessons we learned this week… : There were four big political stories this week, and we learned something important from each of them. The first was the introduction of Bain Capital into the general election. While some of the attention focused on former White House adviser Steve Rattner calling the Obama ad unfair and the president’s subsequent fundraising on Wall Street, we learned that Romney still doesn’t have a solid response to this issue that hurt him in 1994 and hurt him in South Carolina 2012. “There's this fiction that some have that somehow you can be successful by stripping assets at enterprise and walking away with lots of money and killing the enterprise,” Romney said yesterday, per NBC’s Matt Loffman. “There may be some people that know how to do that. I sure don't.” But the examples of GTS Steel and especially Ampad tell a different story. That said, the Romney camp’s web video pointing out that the auto bailout ended up hurting Delphi employees is a pretty solid counterattack and a reminder that there are some similarities in what the Obama administration did with GM and Chrysler to what Romney sometimes did at Bain (though Obama never personally profited from the auto bailout).

Mary Altaffer / AP

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, gestures while speaking to reporters on the tarmac after arriving in West Palm Beach, Fla., Thursday, May 17, 2012.

*** … On Bain, Romney’s $40M, Wright, and the debt ceiling: We also learned that with the second story of the week -- the Romney/RNC’s $40 million haul in April -- they’ve caught up to Team Obama VERY quickly in the money chase. Given all the GOP outside money, that has to concern the folks in Chicago, and it puts pressure on the Obama grassroots machine to start pumping out even more money. The fact is: The Obama campaign isn’t going to have the ENORMOUS financial advantage they enjoyed in 2008. A third story of the week was that proposed Jeremiah Wright ad, and the big lesson it taught us is the power that outside money is going to have in this election, even if no one ends up airing such an ad. In addition, we told you that such an ad could consume the Obama-Romney race, and the mere discussion of it consumed an entire day. Considering how toxic the idea was treated by the media and the Romney campaign and many other Republicans, it’s pretty clear Rev. Wright will be confined to the conservative media world. And the fourth big political story was House Speaker John Boehner raising the prospect of another debt-ceiling showdown, which reminded us how potentially important the lame-duck session is going to be after the November election.

*** One more thing we learned this week: What we learned last week and this week is how hard it is for both Obama and Romney to stay on their own messages. Both had their best-laid plans for the week stepped on in various ways. Last week, gay marriage did that to Obama. This week, the debt ceiling and then Ricketts did that for Romney. It’s just never easy to stay on message (and it’s hardest part of a presidential campaign). The good ones figure out what to ignore and what to jump on.

*** Romney’s first general-election ad: Meanwhile, Romney is up with his first TV ad of the general election. And as he suggested yesterday, it’s a positive ad. “What would a Romney Presidency be like?” the narrator asks. “Day One, President Romney immediately approves the Keystone pipeline, creating thousands of jobs that Obama blocked. President Romney introduces tax cuts and reforms that reward job creators, not punish them. President Romney issues order to begin replacing Obamacare with commonsense health care reform. That’s what a Romney Presidency will be like.” What’s particularly interesting are the four states where this ad is airing (at a buy of $1.3 million) -- Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina, and Virginia.

*** And its Spanish-language component -- in North Carolina: We’ve pointed out how the Romney campaign and its allies haven’t responded to the Obama camp’s big push on Spanish-language TV. Well, this new ad has a Spanish-language component. But so far, according to SMG Delta, it’s airing in just one market (Raleigh, NC) at a buy of only $3,000. Interestingly, the campaign has still not countered the Obama Spanish-language advertising in Nevada, Florida, or Colorado. And unlike those Obama ads, it’s not necessarily targeted to the Latino community -- it’s just the new ad translated to Spanish.

*** The 10 hottest ad markets: By the way, here are the 10 hottest ad markets this week (5/14-5/20), in terms of advertising points, for the Obama campaign, the anti-Obama American Future Fund, the anti-Obama Crossroads, the pro-Romney/anti-Obama Restore Our Future, and the anti-Romney/pro-Obama Priorities USA:

1. Greensboro-High Point (Obama/1300, AFF/560, Romney/480, Crossroads/320, ROF/280)
2. Roanoke-Lynchburg (Obama/1600, AFF/400, Romney/311, Crossroads/270, ROF/265)
3. Norfolk-Portsmouth (Obama/1300, AFF/430, Romney/380, Crossroads/240, Priorities USA/200, ROF/165)
4. Colorado Springs (Obama/1250, AFF/475, Priorities USA/350, Crossroads/245, ROF/225)
5. Greenville-Spartanburg-Ashville (AFF/845, Obama/815, Crossroads/525, ROF/350)
6. Raleigh-Durham (Obama/1,000, Romney/485, Crossroads/340, AFF/325, ROF/275)
7. Des Moines (Obama/1,500, Romney/330, AFF/300, ROF/150)
8. Richmond-Petersburg (Obama/1,000, Romney/370, Priorities USA/265, AFF/225, Crossroads/145, ROF/140)
9. Cedar Rapids (Obama/1,200, Romney/350, AFF/250, , Crossroads/165, ROF/165)
10. Toledo (Obama/1,400, AFF/350, Crossroads/185, ROF/170)

*** On the trail: Romney stumps in New Hampshire, holding an event in Hillsborough at 1:30 pm ET… And President Obama goes to Camp David, where he will meet G-8 leaders.

*** Quick G8/NATO preview: This week’s back-to-back summits initially were supposed to be about the announcement of the 2014 combat troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. But that news leaked out MONTHS sooner than the administration planned. Now, about the biggest news that could come from this weekend’s meetings is the G8’s collective decision to release “global” oil reserves: similar to how the Obama administration released the Strategic Petroleum Reserve supply the last time. They did it under the cover of a “global” effort, rather than have it looked totally political and domestic. Given the Iranian sanctions issues, there is a rationale for the G8 countries to want other oil on the market to keep the price down. Bottom line: Don’t be surprised if SPR is done this weekend, which, in turn, could blunt the usual Memorial gas price rise and take that media catnip issue off the tape. The bigger lifts for the president at these summits are twofold : 1) working with Germany’s Angela Merkel on the Eurozone’s issues 2) in this age of austerity, raising money from other countries to help offset the costs of supporting Afghanistan from 2014-2024 as the U.S. has already committed to.

*** The culture war resumes: We’re probably sure that the Romney campaign would rather House Republicans focus on another issue. House GOPers held a hearing yesterday, led by Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), pushing a bill that would limit abortion rights in DC. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton was denied her request to testify. It is a generally accepted courtesy that if a member of Congress wants to testify at a hearing they are granted that. The committee is “considering legislation that would ban abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy in the District,” First Read DMV writes. The Washington Post adds,  “Rep. Trent Franks’ (R-Ariz.) bill, the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, would prohibit all D.C. abortions beyond 20 weeks except to save the life of the mother, based on the much-debated idea that fetuses beyond that point are capable of feeling pain. The measure will be the subject of a 4 p.m. hearing before the House Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution, which Franks chairs.”

*** Jim DeMint’s rough week: Folks, it was a tough week for Jim DeMint, given that the candidate his group sent money on in Nebraska’s Senate GOP contest -- Don Stenberg -- finished third. That result spurred this comment from Nebraska Sen. Mike Johanns, per Politico: “The question I’d get asked as I get around the state: ‘Who is this guy [DeMint] and why he is spending this money to elect people in our state?’ … I just think it was a poor choice of strategy. I don’t think they understood the state. People hate that kind of stuff in our state, and so they recoiled, they looked for an alternative.” Ouch. The lesson here: When you play this game and lose, people are going to gloat.

*** Americans Elect … no one: Yesterday, the third-party group Americans Elect called it quits. What’s interesting: The idea of a third party has never been greater, and there’s never been a better-financed vehicle (in terms of ballot access) than Americans Elect. But it didn’t work. What we’ve always heard: “If you build it, they will come.” Well, guess what: They built it, and the candidates didn’t come. Every recruiting effort we know of started off well enough (insert obvious ex-Democrat or ex-Republican lawmaker here), but then that ex-lawmaker would back away for fear of two things: 1) that they couldn’t win; 2) their candidacy would hurt their former party’s nominee and they’d be blamed forever for it.

*** NC GOV ad war: In North Carolina, the group NC Citizens for Progress – funded by the Democratic Governors Association – is up with a TV ad hitting GOP gubernatorial nominee Pat McCrory. It’s in response to a Republican Governors Association-funded ad hitting Dem nominee Walter Dalton. 

Countdown to WI recall: 18 days
Countdown to GOP convention: 101 days
Countdown to Dem convention: 108 days
Countdown to Election Day: 172 days

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*** Friday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN) on the economy, 2012 and more… NBC’s David Gregory on the latest in Obama vs. Romney… Former five-time Jeopardy champion Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) on Chuck’s performance last night… More 2012 news with Politico’s Joe Williams, Voto Latino’s Maria Teresa Kumar and one of us (!!!).

*** Friday’s “Jansing & Co.” line-up: MSNBC’s Chris Jansing interviews former Bush White House spokesman Tony Fratto, Center for American Progress’ Daniella Gibbs Leger, Politico’s Glenn Thrush, Reason Magazine’s Matt Welch, Grio Managing Editor Joy-Ann Reid, and financial advisor Lynette Khalfani Cox.

*** Friday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” line-up: Alex Wagner’s guests include former State Department spokesman James Rubin, the Business Insider’s Henry Blodget, the AP’s Kasie Hunt, BuzzFeed’s Ben Smith, GOP strategist Robert Traynham, and Dem strategist Karen Finney

*** Friday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, anchoring from the Global Food Summit in DC, interviews Bono, Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, the New York Times’ Elisabeth Bumiller, Time’s Richard Stengel, USA Today’s Susan Page, and NBC’s Mike Viqueira.

*** Friday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: Craig Melvin, filling in for Tamron Hall, interviews the Chicago Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet, Jimmy Williams, and Zachary Karabell.

*** Saturday’s and Sunday’s “Weekends with Alex Witt” line-up: As part of her weekly “Office Politics” series, MSNBC’s Alex Witt interviews NBC’s Dr. Nancy Snyderman. Also, Witt interviews (on Saturday) former Gov. Gray Davis and (on Sunday) Ben Mezrich, who wrote the book on which the film “The Social Network” was based.

*** Saturday’s and Sunday’s “Melissa Harris-Perry” line-up: On Saturday, MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry interviews, among others, Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein, Reason.com’s Nick Gillespie, and The Nation’s Katrina vanden Heuvel. On Sunday, she interviews former Sen. Bill Bradley (D-NJ) and the Boston Globe’s Glen Johnson.  

Romney’s up three points in a Mason-Dixon poll, 47%-44%. Obama has a six-point lead with women and a seven-point lead with those younger than 50. Romney leads big with men and those 50 and older, and has a six-point lead with independents. (The poll was commissioned by Ron Sachs Communications of Tallahassee to focus on social media.)

Charlie Cook says to pay attention to some voices in analyzing the 2012 presidential race, but not the masses.

National Journal compares Obama’s and Romney’s world views: “America’s destiny is to lead the world, Romney said, not be one of several equally balanced global powers, and fulfilling that destiny rests on restoring the United States’ military preeminence and resolutely confronting rivals. … Of course, the danger of such an assertive foreign policy is that it will remind American voters not of Ronald Reagan but of George W. Bush.”

In fact: “Many of the neoconservatives and hawks who held sway in Bush’s first term and championed the Iraq war, and who continue to argue for a more assertive American leadership that confronts adversaries militarily and actively supports democratic revolutions, have signed on to advise the Romney campaign. The election campaign will help determine whether that vision of a more unilateral, values-based foreign policy and a muscular brand of U.S. leadership still sells in a country wearied by a decade of war and years of economic upheaval.”

We hardly knew ye… “Their motto was: ‘Let’s Make History!’ They didn’t. After spending $35 million trying to launch a centrist, third-party presidential candidate, Americans Elect is giving up the quest—without a candidate,” the Wall Street Journal writes, adding, “Thursday, the group said it was throwing in the towel. ‘The primary process for the Americans Elect nomination has come to an end,’ the group said in a statement.

The Boston Globe: “Barack Obama campaign rebuts $25 million attack ad but avoids facts.”

The Youngstown Vindy isn’t pleased that neither Obama nor Biden have sat down with their paper’s ed board, despite Biden being in town once again. “Biden snubs are getting old,” the paper writes.

NPR profiles France’s new first lady, journalist Valerie Trierweiler. She and Michelle Obama are expected to meet at Camp David.

Mitt Romney is on a charm offensive,” the AP’s Elliott writes. “He took reporters' questions after Thursday's campaign rally instead of keeping them at bay. He brought them warm chocolate chip cookies for the flight from Jacksonville to Palm Beach, Fla. After he got off the plane, he walked over to show reporters a picture of his 5-year-old grandson, Parker. It was ‘wild hair day’ at school and the grandfather of 18 had to share what had just come into his iPad.”

And: “Romney, whom critics brand as standoffish and cold, seems to be trying to win over the reporters who will travel with him through Election Day -- and their audiences. On Wednesday, relations had soured to the point of a Romney aide grabbing a reporter's arm while others blocked reporters from the candidate. The campaign issued a statement declaring the incident a mistake. On Thursday, Romney tried to ease the friction.”

“After a proposed advertising campaign linking President Obama to the inflammatory Rev. Jeremiah Wright was leaked and subsequently condemned by Mitt Romney, the super PAC that conceived it decided to spike the idea Thursday,” the Boston Globe notes, but adds, “Appearing to take the high road, the Romney campaign rejected the plan, even though Romney, himself, referred to the controversial pastor in a February interview with Sean Hannity, saying ‘I’m not sure which is worse: him listening to Reverend Wright or him saying that we must be a less Christian nation.’”

After attacking Romney for his time at Bain, Newt Gingrich has now changed his tune. "You want me to be mad because in one company somewhere Romney may have in fact been involved in someone losing their job while you as president have been involved in millions of people losing their jobs?” he said.

“Mitt Romney’s campaign has begun vetting running mates, a process that will narrow his list of possible veep picks,” The Hill writes. “The team for Beth Myers, the Romney adviser leading the search for the GOP’s vice presidential nominee, has already contacted potential running mates, according to a source close to the Romney campaign.” Rubio, Ryan, and Portman all declined to talk about the process, but when Sen. John Thune was asked he said he hadn’t been contacted.

National Journal comes out with its updated veepstakes rankings. No. 1 remains Rob Portman. Moving up the list to No. 2 surprisingly – Bobby Jindal. Down to No. 3, Marco Rubio, No. 4 Ryan, No. 5 Pawlenty, No. 6 “Wildcard,” No. 7 Mitch Daniels, No. 8 Chris Christie, No. 9 Bob McDonnell, No. 10 Kelly Ayotte.

AYOTTE: She voted to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, something some Republicans were against, though it passed 78-20.

JINDAL: Ready, aim… An opinion piece in Daily Caller from the head of communications for the American Tort Reform Association goes after Jindal: “Jindal’s past is full of troubling ties to the parasitic personal injury bar. In fact, it wasn’t until yesterday that the governor’s office finally weighed in, if still unconvincingly, on a long-running statehouse wrangle over tort reform legislation that is key to Louisiana’s future as a major energy producer.” More: Assuming Bobby Jindal may wish to seek a political future on the national stage someday, he’ll eventually be forced to choose between seeking support from pro-growth tort reformers or from the growth-sapping, job-killing litigation industry. What’s he waiting for?

MCDONNELL: “At a time when his vice presidential stock has fallen below other potential picks, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is focusing on one of his policy wheelhouses while trying to appeal to concerns about results-oriented governing,” National Journal writes. “Last week, McDonnell took part in a bill-signing ceremony at the Annandale campus of Northern Virginia Community College in his native Fairfax County during the second day of his statewide ‘Virginia: Growing Strong’ tour. He inked into law eight bills meant to curb both sexual and domestic violence as well as human trafficking. After reading a description of each bill in his signature low-pitched monotone, McDonnell concluded, ‘That's a lot of information but that's also a lot of accomplishments.’”

PAWLENTY: “After telling political observers Monday to “remove my name from the list” of potential Mitt Romney running mates, Tim Pawlenty sounded more open to joining the Republican presidential ticket on Thursday,” the Boston Globe writes. Pawlenty said on Andrea Mitchell Reports: “He’s going to have a lot of great people to pick from. Obviously, anyone would be honored to serve if asked.”

PORTMAN: Maybe Portman’s inability to make news is his biggest asset: “Many in the political world want to play the vice presidential guessing game, but Sen. Rob Portman has been intent on giving them no new material to work with,” the Wall Street Journal’s Seib writes.

RICE: Condoleezza Rice again rules out being Romney’s VP. “Not going to happen,” she said in Chicago yesterday, per NBC Chicago. “I love policy, I don’t really love politics. … One can do a lot with policy not in Washington.”

RUBIO: Lois Romano sits down with the Rubios.

RYAN: He sat down the Washington Examiner’s editorial board yesterday. He wouldn’t talk about veep vetting. "I'm not getting into that, I'm not changing any of my answers," he said. “I get asked this every time I walk down the street, I'm not giving you any answers." Striking a pragmatic streak, Ryan said, “It's no good being a conservative and giving great speeches at AEI, if you can't move the center of gravity in these debates and put these ideas in practice."

And: He said the GOP has a "narrowing window of opportunity" to act on the fiscal issues he’s pushed. He said, "I'm in a good position to make a difference, and I think I've done that, and that's what I'm focused on, so I'm not trying to audition or say this position or that position. I think that we've done a lot right now where we are and I want to see this thing through."

NBC's Alex Moe contributed to this report.

House Republicans are holding a hearing, led by Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), pushing a bill that would limit abortion rights in DC. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton was denied her request to testify. It is a generally accepted courtesy that if a member of Congress wants to testify at a hearing they are granted that. The committee is “considering legislation that would ban abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy in the District,” First Read DMV writes.

The Washington Post: “Rep. Trent Franks’ (R-Ariz.) bill, the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, would prohibit all D.C. abortions beyond 20 weeks except to save the life of the mother, based on the much-debated idea that fetuses beyond that point are capable of feeling pain. The measure will be the subject of a 4 p.m. hearing before the House Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution, which Franks chairs.”

More: “D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray (D) also gave his take, sarcastically suggesting that if Franks ‘feels this strongly’ about how the District runs itself, ‘I would invite him to become a candidate for D.C. Council.’”

And: “Traditionally, the minority party in the House is allowed to invite the testimony of one witness. For this hearing, Democrats have tapped Christy Zink, a D.C. resident who has spoken publicly before of having an abortion at 21 weeks after tests showed her fetus had life-threatening brain anomalies. Republicans have asked three doctors to testify. A Republican Judiciary Committee aide who requested anonymity to discuss the decision said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), the subcommittee’s top Democrats, ‘has complete discretion as to whom the Democrats’ witness is. Nadler chose a D.C. resident, Christy Zink. Nadler could have invited Ms. Norton, but he didn’t.’ But members of Congress are usually allowed to testify at a hearing, separate from any witness quota, if a bill specifically impacts their districts.”

Politico: “Republicans aren't repeating the mistake they made earlier this year, when a male-heavy panel during a hearing on contraception prompted Norton and other Democrats to walk out in protest. Christy Zink, a George Washington University professor who was forced to have an abortion late in her pregnancy due to complications, will testify.”

DCist: “On yesterday's Rachel Maddow Show, Norton called Franks' bill a ‘straight-out cowardly case of bullying’ and said that ‘abundant precedent’ existed for allowing members of Congress to speak during committee hearings—even if they're not a member of that committee.”

A usually mundane congressional proceeding drifted into testy turf when a prominent Republican colleague accused a Democratic colleague of drunkenness during official proceedings. 

A late-night meeting of the House Rules Committee to conduct what's known as a "mark-up" — a prolonged session of technical fixes to a piece of legislation — contained unexpected fireworks on Wednesday evening. Rep. Pete Sessions, a Texas Republican who heads the House GOP's campaign efforts, accused Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern (D) of drinking on the job. 

“I think we've gotten this that Mr. McGovern is not happy,” Sessions said to McGovern, borne of frustration at the repeated amendments offered by McGovern to the National Defense Authorization Act.

“I think this is also behavior, um, that I wonder if people have been out drinking tonight or whether they are mad or angry or incapable of controlling themselves. And I would question that tonight.”

McGovern took issue with the remarks, and hit back at Sessions.  

“I would say to the gentleman that, you know, there are some issues worth fighting over, and for me ending this war is one of them,” McGovern said referring to the war in Afghanistan, “I'm sorry that the gentleman doesn't think that that — take that very seriously.”  Sessions quickly responded, saying, “Simple asking a question, if the shoe fits.”

View video of the hearing here

The interaction came in the seventh hour of a hearing that ended just before midnight,  eight and a half hours after it started. During that hearing, 241 amendments were submitted for the defense bill, 142 of which were approved to move on to a full vote in the House.  Rules Committee Hearings typically showcase frustration from the minority side, as the majority has control over what amendments are subsequently voted on by the full House or Representatives.

According to McGovern’s office, the congressman had not been drinking and Sessions called to apologize the next morning.  Sessions pushed back to reporters late Thursday, saying that he spoke to McGovern that morning, but failed to confirm that he apologized for the remarks.

“I don’t know what there is to apologize about,” Sessions told reporters, “I mean, I’m not trying to say, ‘No, I didn’t apologize to him,’ that was not the discussion.”

Sessions said he hasn’t seen the tape of the late night exchange, but when reminded by reporters that he had intimated that McGovern had been drinking, he denied it. “No I did not [suggest that he was drinking],” Sessions said, “I’m not trying to intimate anything, I’m trying to say Jim was having a tough night and I’m sorry he did.”

The exchange comes as House Democrats are speaking out against the Republican’s exclusion of an amendment McGovern had submitted during the hearing, which was rejected by the Republican majority on the Rules Committee.  Both House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) spoke out on the House floor against the decision, with Hoyer saying the amendment’s exclusion was “unworthy of the Rules Committee.” 

"I’m rarely surprised around here,” Pelosi said on the House floor, “ I was surprised that that discussion could not take place on this floor in the form of approving that amendment.”

Signs of another debt ceiling fight emerged Wednesday as President Obama hosted Congressional leaders at the White House. Press Secretary Jay Carney said the president warned against another last-minute deal to raise the debt limit, even as House Speaker John Boehner insisted this week on spending cuts equal to or higher than the amount the debt ceiling is raised. 

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Mitt Romney convened a rare press conference Thursday to explicitly distance himself from a controversial, racially-charged ad campaign reportedly planned by a Republican super PAC.

His campaign subsumed by a political firestorm first sparked by a New York Times report on a proposed campaign attacking President Obama for his ties to the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Romney appeared on camera to disavow the strategy.

"I want to make it very clear that I repudiate that effort. I think it's the wrong course for a PAC or a campaign," Romney told reporters after his rainy event here today. "I hope that our campaigns can respectively be about the future and about issues and about a vision for America."

First Read: Race front and center in 2012 campaign

The press conference -- a rarity for those following the Romney campaign -- reflected the urgency with which Romney and his advisers felt compelled to distance the candidate from the controversial proposal. Romney had initially passed on commenting this morning, saying he hadn't seen the story, before taping a radio interview this morning condemning the proposal.

Mary Altaffer / AP

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, speaks May 17 at the River City Brewing Company in Jacksonville, Fla.

The plan, which was presented by Strategic Perception and GOP ad man Fred Davis to Joe Ricketts, the owner of the Chicago Cubs, earned heavy backlash from the Obama campaign and many Republicans on Thursday. By mid-afternoon, Ricketts had disavowed the plan, and Strategic Perception had taken sole responsibility for the proposal, on which they said no action was taken.

Ricketts: I'm not going to use Jeremiah Wright

Vice President Joe Biden, campaigning this afternoon in Pennsylvania, condemned the proposed ad campaign, saying its proponents "act like it's 1942."

"I think these guys like that so misunderstand the state of the nation," he told reporters at an unscheduled stop at a Washington, PA BBQ restaurant. "They act like it's 1942. I mean, I think the public is so far beyond that."

Biden said that he'd heard reports that the proposed ad had been rejected by Ricketts.

"I mean look there are certain things that are sorta so morally clear and straight and straight-lined about it," he said. "You almost don't even wanna comment."

Republicans anxiously discourage racially-charged super PAC strategy

But for as much as Romney's press conference served ostensibly defensive purposes, the presumptive Republican nominee used the moment to go on the attack, as well.

Romney said he was "disappointed" in what he claimed was the president's campaign of "character assassination," complaining that ads recently released by the Obama campaign attacking Romney's work at the helm of Bain Capital were inaccurate and unfair.

"There's this fiction that some have that somehow you can be successful by stripping assets at an enterprise and walking away with lots of money and killing the enterprise.  There may be some people that know how to do that. I sure don't," Romney said. "Our approach was always to try and make the enterprise more successful. And the purpose of the president's ads are not to describe success and failure but  to somehow suggest that I'm not a good person or not a good guy."

But the controversy of the day largely overshadowed Romney's bread-and-butter campaign speech about the economy. And for the political class, the Wright controversy also sidelined a more favorable story about the Romney campaign's fundraising success last month.

In Jacksonville, Romney argued the election ought to turn on who has the best plan for "jobs and kids," a catchphrase he was first heard using at a fundraiser last month in Palm Beach, where he will return later this evening for another fundraiser.

The Sunshine State has been good to Romney's campaign financially. Pool reports from his fundraisers show he raised more than $2 million apiece at stops yesterday near Tampa Bay and Miami. Romney declined to say whether Florida was a "must win" for his campaign, but closed his press conference by saying it was a state he was "counting on to be successful in."

Carrie Dann reported from Washington, Pa.

In the presidential contest four years ago, race was always an issue -- either explicitly or implicitly -- due to Barack Obama's candidacy.

But four years later, with the Obama-Romney general election now underway, race largely seemed to be relegated to the periphery, at least when it comes to the media's coverage or when compared with 2008.

Until now.

A New York Times report on a conservative Super PAC proposal to link President Obama to Rev. Jeremiah Wright as part of a $10 million advertising campaign has pushed race to the forefront of today's political news -- perhaps more than at any other time of this fledgling general election.

Even the 54-page proposal referred to the possibility that race would become a topic if the ads aired.

The instant response liberal give to any attack is to deem them attack as racist. In the case involving an African American president, even more so.

We have two ways to help mitigate the potential. First, include an extremely literate, conservative African American in our spokesman group... The second way we will lessen their ability to attack from a racist angle is to carefully utilize a series of focus groups. First on the storyboards, then on a rough cut of the final film, making fine-tuning adjustments in wording and visuals to increase the impact, while lessening any elements that could reasonably be deemed "racist."

The conservative billionaire who received the proposal, Joe Ricketts, today rejected it after the New York Times story appeared.

In recent days. race also has resurfaced in more subtle ways. A few days ago, Congressman Mike Coffman (R-CO) recently questioned whether Obama was born in the United States, and he stated definitively that Obama is "not an American" in his heart. So-called "birther" questions about Obama's citizenship, his supporters have argued, have had a racial subtext.

"I don't know whether Barack Obama was born in the United States or not. I don't know. But I do know this: That in his heart, he's not an American. He's just not an American." His audience applauded after those remarks.

According to NBC's Frank Thorp, Coffman today apologized. "I misspoke and I apologize. I have confidence in President Obama's citizenship and legitimacy as President of the United States. However, I don't believe the President shares my belief in American Exceptionalism."

And yesterday, the American Prospect reported on this movie trailer based on the controversial book by Dinesh D'Souza, "The Roots of Obama's Rage," which concluded that the best way to understand Obama was through his Kenyan father.

As the Prospect's Paul Waldman writes of the trailer:

The images go by pretty fast, but my favorite is the black family playing Monopoly, who suddenly jump up from their chairs and start swinging at each other (it comes at the one-minute mark). Who are they supposed to be? The Obamas? Some of Obama's co-conspirators? People sent into a frenzy by his socialist policies?

Race, of course, has always been an issue in American politics, as well as this country's history. Yet these recent events and stories -- especially today's New York Times article -- are reminders that it's not always on the periphery in this presidential contest.

MARTIN'S FERRY, OH -- Republicans say they understand the middle class. Joe Biden says, "C'mon man!"

On the second day of a two-day tour of eastern Ohio, the vice president -- wearing his characteristic aviator sunglasses -- continued to hit GOP nominee Mitt Romney for his tenure at the helm of an investment group, saying that the former governor's role in creating wealth for investors doesn't qualify him to be the president.

"It's their job to create wealth for the investors," Biden said of investment firms like Bain Capital, which Romney cofounded. "If it creates jobs in the process, good! If it costs all the jobs in the process, okay!"

"But that's not the job of a president of the United States of America," he said. "The job is much bigger than that."

Criticism of big firms like Bain doesn't reflect a disdain for profit, Biden said, but a focus on economic opportunity.

"We're not anti-capitalist, for God's sake, it's the system that built the country!" he said.

Alternatively, Biden painted Romney's philosophy as one with "two sets of rules: one for his wealthy investors and the other for everybody else."

And he differentiated "us" -- meaning the mostly blue-collar Democratic audience of about 450 assembled outside a small town auto dealership -- from Republicans like Romney who only favor "the guys at the top."

"They all think that the guys at the top are the smart guys and if they just get it right everything else will work." he said. "We think this works the other way around. That's the history of the Valley, man."

Reprising his critique yesterday of the GOP's cries of "class warfare," he said he's "tired" of being characterized negatively for his middle class background.

"They call me Middle Class Joe like that's somehow 'oh I'm 'ol Joe and I don't dream,'" he exclaimed, "C'mon man!"

(Biden, who was notably fiery yesterday when making the same argument, acknowledged in his remarks that he would "say it more calmly" to Thursday's audience, but his crescendoing voice offered scant evidence that he followed his own advice.)

Romney spokesman Ryan Williams responded: "President Obama and his campaign can only resort to misleading attacks on Mitt Romney. Americans deserve better than President Obama’s liberal policies that have failed to get America back on track.”

The vice president was met by several dozen pro-coal-industry protestors who stood at a distance outside the event, with chants of "Uncle Joe must go!" sometimes audible during Biden's remarks. He did not mention coal during his speech, and one reporter who attempted to ask him a question on the topic as Biden greeted supporters after the event was asked by staff to return to a designated press area.

Biden's appearance at Staffilino's Chevrolet dealership was intended to underscore the Obama administration's efforts to revive the car industry as it teetered on the verge of bankruptcy.

Speaking in front of three Chevy Cruzes, the jacketless veep praised American ingenuity and mocked Romney for "taking credit" for the revival of the industry because he promoted the idea of "managed bankruptcy."

"Well, I will take an awful lot of credit for a man having landed on the moon," Biden said to laughter. "I was in school. I rooted for it!"

Updated 1:48 p.m. - House Speaker John Boehner refused to comment on whether or not super PACs should use the Reverend Jeremiah Wright in political advertisements, saying instead that the presidential race would be about the economy.

This morning the New York Times broke the story that a conservative super PAC was contemplating -- and even had drawn up storyboards -- of an ad that would link President Obama to his controversial former pastor. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney decried the possible ad saying to Townhall:

"I repudiate the effort by that PAC to promote an ad strategy of the nature they've described. I would like to see this campaign focus on the economy, on getting people back to work, on seeing rising incomes and growing prosperity -- particularly for those in the middle class of America.”

Boehner did not go as far as Romney, refusing to directly renounce the prospective ads.

"Listen, this election is going to be about the economy," he said. "I don't know what the other people do or why they do it, all I know if the American people vote with their wallets."

When reminded by NBC News that four years ago, Arizona Sen. John McCain, who was then the GOP nominee, disallowed his campaign from using Wright in any ads, Boehner responded, “The campaign is going to be about economics, it's going to be about jobs, as it should be.”

Since the outset of the Obama administration, Boehner has shown a reluctance to wade into the culture wars that have grown from some conservatives' intense dislike of the president, preferring instead to focus squarely on the economy. Boehner never outright condemns factions of his party that question the president’s patriotism or birthplace nor does he give them relevance, instead he repeats his mantra: “Where are the jobs?”

Boehner spokesman Michael Steel added: "As Boehner said, this election should be about the economy - not Rev. Wright."

The Super PAC funded by Joe Ricketts has released a statement from the founder of TD Ameritrade that essentially says he won't use Jeremiah Wright as an attack against President Obama.

Joe Ricketts is a registered independent, a fiscal conservative, and an outspoken critic of the Obama Administration, but he is neither the author nor the funder of the so-called “Ricketts Plan” to defeat Mr. Obama that The New York Times wrote about this morning. Not only was this plan merely a proposal - one of several submitted to the Ending Spending Action Fund by third-party vendors - but it reflects an approach to politics that Mr. Ricketts rejects and it was never a plan to be accepted but only a suggestion for a direction to take. Mr. Ricketts intends to work hard to help elect a President this fall who shares his commitment to economic responsibility, but his efforts are and will continue to be focused entirely on questions of fiscal policy, not attacks that seek to divide us socially or culturally.

Although this statement suggests that using Wright "reflects an approach to politics that Mr. Ricketts rejects," it's worth noting that the actual proposal contains this line: "Joe Ricketts said it himself: 'If the nation had seen that [Jeremiah Wright] ad, they'd never have elected Barack Obama.'"

Republicans moved quickly on Thursday in hopes of distancing themselves from a strategy being weighed by a GOP-oriented super PAC, which threatened to inject racial politics into the 2012 presidential campaign.

Mitt Romney’s campaign, joined by a slew of other GOP heavyweights, sought to disavow a strategy that was presented to Joe Ricketts -- the owner of the Chicago Cubs -- that would call for using a super PAC to launch aggressive attack ads against President Barack Obama. The plan, first reported by the New York Times, called for explicitly linking Obama to a former spiritual adviser, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose occasionally angry sermons touched on themes of race.

Mary Altaffer / AP

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks to reporters while boarding a charter flight May 17 in Miami, Fla.

"I repudiate the effort by that PAC to promote an ad strategy of the nature they've described," Romney told the conservative blog Townhall.

An earlier statement by Matt Rhoades, Romney’s campaign manager, said the campaign would repudiate strategies that rely on personal attacks, though Rhoades made no specific reference toward Ricketts. During a gaggle this morning aboard his campaign plane, Romney told reporters that he hadn't seen the story.

Also to Townhall, Romney expressed frustration that no attention is being paid to what he considers a negative campaign by Team Obama.

"It's interesting that we're talking about some Republican PAC that wants to go after the president [on Wright]," he said. "I hope people also are looking at what he's doing, and saying 'why is he running an attack campaign?  Why isn't he talking about his record?'"

First Thoughts: When Willie Horton meets Jeremiah Wright

Romney has only one public campaign appearance today, where he could further address the controversy, but faced immediate blowback from the Obama campaign.

Jim Messina, the manager of the Obama re-election effort, said the report "reflects how far the party has drifted in four short years since John McCain rejected these very tactics," referring to the decision made in the 2008 Republican nominee's high command against attacking Obama along those lines.

"Once again, Gov. Romney has fallen short of the standard that John McCain set, reacting tepidly in a moment that required moral leadership in standing up to the very extreme wing of his own party,” Messina said.

Steve Schmidt, a top aide to McCain’s presidential campaign, said that he was never prouder than when his candidate rejected the tactic. Invoking Wright wasn’t just the wrong thing to do, Schmidt said; it was the wrong strategy.

"Putting aside that this is the totally wrong thing to do for the country, using race as a political wedge releases a poison into the body politic, and it's totally unpredictable how it plays out," he said.

Mark McKinnon, a former aide to President George W. Bush, added of the proposed strategy: "Exhibit A of what is wrong with our politics today."

Romney campaign repudiates -- but punches back, too

The McCain campaign faced pressure to invoke Wright from some of Obama's most vociferous opponents on the right. Reports at the time indicated that, in particular, then-vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin was particularly interested in linking Wright to Obama, who had been forced to address his ties to the controversial pastor during his primary fight against Hillary Clinton.

A spokesman for McCain said Thursday in a statement that the senator stands by his decision at that time.

"Senator McCain is very proud of the campaign he ran in 2008," said Brian Rogers, a spokesman for the Arizona senator. "He stands by the decisions he made during that race and would make them again today if he had it to do over."

Beyond the McCain campaign's judgment that making such an attack -- which would necessarily invoke race into the campaign against America's first black president -- it was judged to be bad politics.

"Would this have been a politically expedient thing for John McCain? No! Everybody knew who Jeremiah Wright was, and people who were deeply troubled by it were not Barack Obama voters," Schmidt said. "It would have been an utterly ineffective political attack."

The quick Republican backlash, though, reflects the extent to which the Obama campaign might gain traction from even the trial balloon associated with the rumored attack. It might mobilize voters, especially African-Americans, who Obama needs to help fuel his re-election, and could boost fundraising from angry supporters.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., even expressed a degree of amusement at the reported attack emanating from Ricketts, who most recently made a splash in politics by spending late in a Nebraska Senate primary on behalf of Deb Fischer, who eventually won.

"I hope they're as successful with this campaign as the Cubs are in baseball," Pelosi said on Capitol Hill, referring to the team's abysmal record.

Her counterpart, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, opted against condemning or even acknowledging the line of attack during his press conference, telling NBC News that "this election is going to be about the economy."

More broadly, the firestorm that erupted Thursday served as a testament to the outsize importance of super PACs in the 2012 campaign.

The Romney campaign had hoped to push a message about its relative fundraising prowess in April after releasing its figures to reporters early this morning. A new poll yesterday had also showed the former Massachusetts governor in a tie against Obama in Wisconsin, suggesting a narrowing battle for the White House.

"This is a function of the brokenness of the campaign finance system," Schmidt said. "One person's bad judgment -- Ricketts' -- has the potential to consume the dialog in the presidential campaign."

NBC’s Chuck Todd, Peter Alexander and Garrett Haake contributed to this report.

Mitt Romney is going up with his first ads of the general election in at least three swing states, according to NBC ad tracking partner SMG Delta.

The Romney campaign is placing broadcast buys in Davenport and Des Moines, Iowa; Cincinnati and Cleveland, Ohio; as well as Norfolk, Richmond and Roanoke, Va.

That's just so far with more expected. The ad time is purchased for Friday through Tuesday. There is no word yet as to the content of the ads that will run.

Romney campaign manager Matt Rhoades released this statement regarding today's New York Times article, which notes that a conservative Super PAC is considering running anti-Obama ads featuring Rev. Jeremiah Wright:

"Unlike the Obama campaign, Gov. Romney is running a campaign based on jobs and the economy, and we encourage everyone else to do the same.  President Obama's team said they would 'kill Romney,' and, just last week, David Axelrod referred to individuals opposing the president as 'contract killers.'  It's clear President Obama's team is running a campaign of character assassination.  We repudiate any efforts on our side to do so."

When Willie Horton meets Jeremiah Wright: NYT reports on conservative group considering launching Wright campaign against Obama… Our five immediate thoughts about this story… Romney closes the gap (in Wisconsin and in fundraising)… The “Mittness Protection Program” returns?... Biden was fired up and ready to go yesterday, and campaigns once again in Ohio today… Romney remains in Florida… Obama camp launches its Veterans & Military Families for Obama… And RNC hits Biden on coal.

Jae C. Hong / AP

In this file photos, President Obama folds his notes after speaking at news conference on Tuesday, April 29, 2008, about the latest assertion by his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, that criticism of his fiery sermons is an attack on the black church. "I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened by the spectacle that we saw yesterday," Obama said and added that Wright's comments do not accurately portray the perspective of the black church.

*** When Willie Horton meets Jeremiah Wright: Here’s today’s political bombshell, courtesy of the New York Times: A GOP-leaning Super PAC funded by the founder of TD Ameritrade and the owner of the Chicago Cubs, Joe Ricketts, is considering a proposal to launch TV ads re-litigating President Obama’s ties to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. And it would be timed to air leading up to the Democratic convention in September. “The $10 million plan, one of several being studied by Mr. Ricketts, includes preparations for how to respond to the charges of race-baiting it envisions if it highlights Mr. Obama’s former ties to Mr. Wright, who espouses what is known as ‘black liberation theology.’ The group suggested hiring as a spokesman an ‘extremely literate conservative African-American’ who can argue that Mr. Obama misled the nation by presenting himself as what the proposal calls a ‘metrosexual, black Abe Lincoln.’” How did the New York Times get its hands on this proposal? “A copy of a detailed advertising plan was obtained … through a person not connected to the proposal who was alarmed by its tone. It is titled ‘The Defeat of Barack Hussein Obama: The Ricketts Plan to End His Spending for Good.’”

*** Five immediate thoughts about this story: One, the advertising campaign -- if it aired -- would consume the Obama-Romney race for a week or more. Forget the economy, the deficit, even gay marriage; this ad would bury everything else. Think Swift Boats on steroids. Two, it’s questionable the campaign would work. While we know that there are conservatives who want to portray Obama as a socialist tied to people who hate America, his actual record over the past four years -- championing legislation that once had GOP support (stimulus, health-care reform, even cap-and-trade) and killing Osama bin Laden – doesn’t back-up the conspiratorial narrative portrayed in this plan. Keep in mind that Rev. Wright is a regular talking point on conservative media outlets (whether on TV or on radio), so this could be the result of a confirmation bias. How this would play with swing voters and how this could fire up a Democratic base that isn’t yet at 2008 levels is higher risk than the folks considering this may realize. Three, it’s clear that Ricketts, who’s fresh off helping Deb Fischer win the Nebraska Senate primary, wants to be a big political players. But question: Does the owner of the Chicago Cubs want to attack the world’s most famous man from Chicago? Four, this story is going to force Romney, the RNC, and others to have to comment. And five, while it might surprise you, this is really the first time the issue of race has been introduced into the 2012 contest. At least for a day or two, we’re going down the race rabbit hole…

*** Romney closes the gap: And now for the news that would have been today’s top political story if not for that New York Times piece above… A new poll out of Wisconsin and fresh fundraising numbers show that Mitt Romney is beginning to close the gap in a hurry after he wrapped up the GOP nomination a month ago. First, a Marquette Law School poll (conducted May 9-12) shows that President Obama and Romney are tied at 46% among likely voters; back in April, Obama led by four points in this survey. (The poll also shows Scott Walker with a six-point lead over Tom Barrett in the June 5 Wisconsin recall.) Romney needs industrial Midwestern states in play. His path to 270 counts on winning one or more of WI/OH/PA/MI. In addition, the Romney camp is announcing that it and the RNC raised $40.1 million in April, almost equaling the $43.6 million Team Obama and the DNC hauled in last month. What’s more, the Romney folks are reporting that they have more than $60 million in the bank. We always assumed this race would tighten after Romney became the presumptive nominee. But how quickly it has occurred -- especially on the fundraising front -- is very good news for the GOP. One thing worth noting: The RNC is refusing to comment until the FEC report is filed whether their $20 million-plus transfer is reflected in the new cash-on-hand number for Romney. That probably means yes.

*** “Mittness Protection Program” returns? So that’s the good news for Team Romney. The bad news is that they received plenty of blowback yesterday after the campaign prevented reporters from asking the candidate questions on the rope line. News outlets have been simmering about this issue behind the scenes for weeks, but it became public yesterday. The campaign later called that restriction “an error,” and Romney himself yesterday visited the back of the plane to briefly chat with the reporters following him -- an effort to calm any tension with the press corps. But the incident does highlight how the campaign is trying to protect him from tough questions (like on Bain Capital), and it harks back to the “Mittness Protection Program” narrative from last summer. Case in point: Romney yesterday answered questions about Bain Capital in an interview with a prominent conservative blogger, not the reporters who are actually covering him. No doubt that Romney has conducted plenty of interviews and town halls since last summer. But you do get the sense that Romney appears to be running out the clock rather than answering tough questions. Hence this quote from a foreign-policy adviser in a Sunday New York Times piece about his undefined foreign-policy views: “Romney doesn’t want to really engage these issues until he is in office.”

*** A fired-up Biden: For the second day in a row, Vice President Biden campaigns in Ohio (at 11:15 am ET in Martin’s Ferry). And yesterday, he was fired up and ready to go. In fact, this was the “fire and brimstone” Biden of 1987. It’s a reminder that when he’s on, he can talk to Joe Sixpack and be a big political asset to Team Obama.

*** Elsewhere on the trail: Also today, Romney remains out in Florida, where he holds an event in Jacksonville at 2:35 pm ET. And the Obama campaign is launching its Veterans & Military Families for Obama today, while the RNC is hitting Biden on coal.

Countdown to WI recall: 19 days
Countdown to GOP convention: 102 days
Countdown to Dem convention: 109 days
Countdown to Election Day: 173 days

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*** Thursday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: DGA Chairman Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-MD) on gay marriage, the Wisconsin recall and much more… A deep dive with former Sen. George LeMieux (R-FL) on how he thinks he can gain ground on Rep. Connie Mack (R-FL) and beat Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) to get his old job back despite praise from President Obama and ties to former Gov. Charlie Crist (I-FL)… More 2012 headlines with TIME’s Michael Crowley, former Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R-MD) and former DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney.

*** Thursday’s “Jansing & Co.” line-up: MSNBC’s Chris Jansing interviews Rep Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), the Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne, USA Today’s Susan Page, GOP strategist Chip Saltsman, Univ. of Texas & NBC Latino’s Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, and Forbes Editor Randall Lane.

*** Thursday’s “MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts” line-up: MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts talks with Alicia Mendendez, Jonathan Capehart, Rich Galen, Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wisconsin), Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Mike Tate, NAACP Senior Vice-Chair Marvin Randolph, and Rock the Vote’s Heather Smith.

*** Thursday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” line-up: Alex Wagner’s guests include Mother Jones' David Corn, NY Daily News Columnist S.E. Cupp, "The Daily Show" co-creator Lizz Winstead, MSNBC Political Analyst Richard Wolffe, and Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI)

*** Thursday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), author John Fox and Qatar Olympic swimmer Nada Arkaji.

*** Thursday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: MSNBC’s Tamron Hall interviews Politico’s Manu Raju, the Washington Post’s Nia Malika Henderson, Michael Smerconish, Rep. Judy Chu on violence against women act, and Rep. Mike Rogers on the TSA.

A Fox poll has Obama up seven points over Romney, 46%-39%. Last month, the two were tied, 46%-46%. Obama’s approval is 49%/47%, his highest number in the poll since May 2011. He only gets a 43% approval rating on the economy (though it’s his highest rating since December 2009), 36% on the federal deficit, and on the key question of who would do a better job creating jobs, voters were split with a narrow edge to Romney, 43%-41%. And for a fun one: More people said they’d rather Romney manage their money but Obama be their life coach.

WISCONSIN: It looks to be back on the presidential map with a Marquette poll showing Romney and Obama tied at 46%.

The New York Times: “A group of high-profile Republican strategists is working with a conservative billionaire on a proposal to mount one of the most provocative campaigns of the ‘super PAC’ era and attack President Obama in ways that Republicans have so far shied away from. Timed to upend the Democratic National Convention in September, the plan would ‘do exactly what John McCain would not let us do,’ the strategists wrote.’”

More: “The plan, which is awaiting approval, calls for running commercials linking Mr. Obama to incendiary comments by his former spiritual adviser, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., whose race-related sermons made him a highly charged figure in the 2008 campaign. ‘The world is about to see Jeremiah Wright and understand his influence on Barack Obama for the first time in a big, attention-arresting way,’ says the proposal, which was overseen by Fred Davis and commissioned by Joe Ricketts, the founder of the brokerage firm TD Ameritrade. Mr. Ricketts is increasingly putting his fortune to work in conservative politics.”

First Lady Michelle Obama will be on the Food Network’s “Restaurant Impossible” in June.

Romney and the RNC raised $40.1 million last month, just shy of the $43.6 million Obama and the DNC raised. The Washington Post: “Romney’s total is significantly higher than it had been in any previous month, in large part because his campaign [hadn’t] been collecting general election funds until it sewed up the GOP nomination (donors can give $2,500 or the primary and $2,500 more for the general). The campaign also began raising money through a joint fundraising committee with the RNC for the first time in April. The fundraising total should serve notice that Romney’s campaign will be much more financially competitive with Obama’s from here on out.”

Stu Rothenberg’s take on whether it matters for Romney to define himself early: “Romney may well have failed to define himself as he would have liked to at this point, and that certainly is something his campaign needs to address. But I’m skeptical that it’s fatal. I’m not even certain the Republican nominee ‘needs to define himself quickly.’ Don’t get me wrong. The “define your opponent before he can define himself” argument is a compelling one when it comes to House races, low-visibility contests or even statewide contests when one of the candidates may not have the cash to compete. … But presidential contests are different. Unlike most elections in this country, by the end of the campaign, most voters are going to have watched Romney and President Barack Obama repeatedly, including in three live presidential debates that will draw tens of millions of viewers. Those viewers will come to know the candidates (or believe that they know the candidates) and draw their own conclusions and assessments.”

More: “For now, the president remains in considerable trouble. And with economic clouds on the horizon here and in Europe, those re-election troubles could grow.”

Political Wire: "Fed up with an inept and self-destructive GOP apparatus in Nevada, the Republican National Committee and the Mitt Romney campaign have decided to erect a 'shadow state party' in this critical swing state," Jon Ralston reports.

Forbes says Romney’s worth $230 million.

Romney sat down with a conservative blogger.

MCDONNELL: “President Obama is not the only politician evolving on gay rights,” the Washington Post writes. “Consider Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R), who issued a statement this week calling for the separation of judiciary and sexuality. It came on the occasion of the General Assembly’s vote Tuesday to block the appointment of a gay Richmond prosecutor, Tracy Thorne-Begland, to the bench in Richmond.”

The Washington Examiner notes how the Republicans in Virginia are complicating McDonnell’s life.

PORTMAN: Aaron Blake in a what-you-need-to-know video about Portman.

RYAN: Ryan speaks at the Reagan Library Tuesday.

WEST: Well, if Herman Cain says to do it, then… Cain wants Rep. Allen West to be VP, he tells National Review. He says no to Rob Portman: “If Romney picks a person who is going to deflate the base, rather than inspire the base, we’ll be in trouble. Most people don’t really know Portman. You’ve got to pick someone exciting, someone with bold ideas.”

GOP 12’s Heinze points out: “Last month, I checked out the Politifact scores for all potential VP candidates. At the top? Rob Portman. At the bottom? Allen West.”