As President Barack Obama considered adding as many as 40,000 U.S. forces to a backsliding war in Afghanistan in 2009, Vice President Joe Biden warned him that the military rationale for doing so was flawed, a new book about Obama's expansion of the conflict says,” per the AP. “The book, ‘Little America: The War Within the War for Afghanistan,’ also says that in planning the drawdown of troops two years later, the White House intentionally sidelined the CIA. Obama purposely did not read a grim CIA assessment of Afghanistan that found little measurable benefit from the 30,000 ‘surge’ forces Obama eventually approved, the book quotes a U.S. official as saying… A previously undisclosed Biden memo to Obama in November 2009 reflects his view that military commanders were asking Obama to take a leap by adding tens of thousands of forces whose role was poorly defined.”

Tapping the ex-pats: “The all-consuming hunt for donors has led President Barack Obama’s campaign to England. And France. And China,” Politico writes. “Obama is tapping the network of American citizens living outside the 50 states more than any other presidential campaign has before, with more than a dozen bundlers who have pledged to raise as much as $4.5 million. The president’s overseas power centers include London, where high-powered execs like Warner Bros. UK chief Josh Berger and Anthony Gardner of Palamon Capital Partners have promised to deliver as much as $500,000 each to the campaign, and Shanghai, where businessman and Technology for Obama co-chairman Robert Roche has committed to bringing in more than $500,000.”

“President Obama today makes his case against Mitt Romney in his GOP rival's backyard, as he heads to New Hampshire and Boston to start a two-day campaign swing,” Tribune’s Memoli notes, adding: “Obama is to focus on the dueling visions for the economy at stake in the November election against Romney during a campaign event in Durham, N.H., a state where the former governor of Massachusetts also has a home. According to a campaign spokesman, Obama ‘will offer Granite State voters the choice to break the stalemate between two economic visions on how to grow to the economy -- one that builds the economy from the middle class out, and the other from the top down.’ The speech will include more of a focus on the deficit, an issue of particular concern to voters in a state where fiscal conservatism is strong, and where the unemployment rate is among the lowest in the nation.”

PAWLENTY: “Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty says he's told Mitt Romney's presidential campaign to look elsewhere for a running mate,” the AP writes. Huffington Post with the quote: “I indicated that I think I can best serve Gov. Romney in other ways, in particular as a volunteer and surrogate speaker in places where he can't go,” Pawlenty said. "I've encouraged people who've asked this question to, in the campaign, to look at other prospects.”

Of course, we recall Joe Biden saying something similar in 2008…

MASSACHUSETTS: “Remember Scott Brown’s gaffe on Thursday? The one about meeting with kings and queens?” the Boston Globe writes. “His staff was quick to say the comment was a flub, acknowledging that the senator has not actually met with royalty… But the Massachusetts Democratic Party today released a video showing four prior examples when Brown used the same phrasing about meeting with “kings and queens” while speaking to audiences as part of his reelection bid.”

NEW YORK: “Three candidates will square off for the chance to face U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand as the Republican candidate in November’s general election,” Patch.com writes. “Wendy Long; U.S. Rep. Bob Turner, R-Queens; and Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos are the candidates in Tuesday’s Republican primary. Long, a Manhattan-based attorney, has already received the endorsement of the state’s Conservative Committee. She has also received endorsements from a number of people including former U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, television personality John Bolton and state lawmakers Annie Rabbitt, Nancy Calhoun, Steve Katz, and William Larkin.”

“The FBI has questioned at least four people who worked on Congressman Michael Grimm’s 2010 campaign as part of its on-going probe into allegations the Tea Party favorite took illegal election donations,” the New York Daily News writes.

UTAH: The AP notes that Orrin Hatch seems to have weathered the GOP storm ahead of tomorrow’s GOP Senate primary and, “If there's one political endorsement that matters in Utah, it's Romney's.” Romney endorsed Hatch. “Sensing he's far ahead in a state where the Republican primary winner is the heavy favorite in November, Hatch has bobbed, weaved and carefully avoided any mistakes that could lead to a surprise loss. Hatch's strategy underscores the diminished threat to his 36-year tenure in Washington. … After watching then-Sen. Robert Bennett go down to defeat at the Utah GOP convention two years ago, Hatch was concerned enough that he spent most of April in the state and skipped two weeks of votes in Washington.”

VIRGINIA: Americans for Prosperity is up with a tough new ad against Tim Kaine, hitting him for his time as governor and his handling of the budget.

The Virginian-Pilot notes that the Koch-backed AFP is also sponsoring a bus tour with Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and other conservatives to campaign against Kaine.

“Republican Presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney, is set to make a campaign stop in Virginia,” WCYB writes. “According to Romney's campaign website, he is scheduled to speak at Carter Machinery in Salem Tuesday afternoon.”

TAMPA, FL -- Not only did President Obama today take a jab at Mitt Romney in his speech before the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials in Orlando, FL.

He took another here at a later campaign event in Tampa, hitting the former Massachusetts governor for today's Washington Post article, which reported that Bain Capital -- under Romney's leadership -- invested in companies that outsourced jobs to India and China.

"Today, it was reported in the Washington Post that the companies his firm owned were pioneers in outsourcing jobs to China and India," Obama said. "We do not need an outsourcing pioneer in the Oval Office. We need a president that will fight for American jobs, for American manufacturing."

"That’s what my plan will do. That’s why I’m running for a second term as president of the United States,” he finished to thunderous applause.

The weather cooperated with that storyline. A large thunderclap dramatically shook the building as the president said of Republicans, “They figure that if we simply eliminate regulations and cut taxes by trillions of dollars then the market will solve all of our problems.”

The Romney camp responded to Obama's attack with this statement: “President Obama continues to use false and discredited attacks to divert attention from his abysmal economic record... He has a decades-long record of job creation, both in the private sector and as governor, when the unemployment rate in Massachusetts fell to 4.7% on his watch. If President Obama had even half of Mitt Romney’s record on jobs, he’d be running on it."

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL -- A day after Mitt Romney spoke before Latino political leaders here and criticized President Obama on the economy and for not achieving comprehensive immigration reform, the president today took his turn on the stage, touting his recent executive action help young illegal immigrants.

And he gladly returned the fire, arguing that Romney's positions were out of step with the Latino community.

"In his speech [yesterday] he said that when he makes a promise to you he'll keep it," Obama told the 1,300 attendees at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference. "Well, he has promised to veto the DREAM Act, and we should take him at his word."

The president received applause when he talked about his executive action -- announced last Friday -- that would temporarily lift deportation threats from qualified young illegal immigrants.

While he said the action fell short of granting these young illegal immigrants a path to citizenship, he added that he believed it was still the right thing to do.

"Was providing these young people with the opportunity for a temporary measure of relief the right thing to do? I think it was. It's long past time that we gave them a sense of hope."

Rebutting Romney's charge from yesterday at the same conference, the president noted that he would have enacted further reforms if congressional Republicans were willing to work with their Democratic counterparts, as they did when 23 Senate Republicans -- including Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) joined former President George W. Bush to champion comprehensive immigration reform.

"Today those same Republicans have been driven away from the table by a small faction of their own party," he said.

He added that Congress could have passed the DREAM Act -- essentially a permanent version of the presidents stopgap measure, but with a pathway for citizenship -- when it came up for a vote a year and a half ago. But the measure fell five votes short of getting the 60 needed to clear a filibuster.

"The bill hadn't changed. The need hadn't changed. The only thing that had changed was politics," he said.

The president also seemed to take a jab at Sen. Marco Rubio, a Latino Republican political hero widely considered a vice presidential contender, who recently criticized the president for not reaching out to him on immigration reform since he was elected.

"My door has been open for three and a half years. They know where to find me," he said.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL -- Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on Friday critiqued President Obama and Congress for using the issue of immigration for their own political gain -- and for putting politics ahead of true efforts for reform.

But while doing so, he also showed that he was not above using the hot button issue as an opportunity to take some political jabs himself.

Speaking at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference here, Rubio told the crowd, "I was tempted to come here today and rip open the policies of the administration."

He added, "I was tempted to come here and tell you 'Hey, [Obama] hasn't been here in three years, what a coincidence it's an election year....but that's not the direction I want to go with my speech. Because if I did, if that's what I came here to talk to you about, then I would be doing the exact same thing that I just criticized."

Rubio spoke to the conference just hours before the president -- exactly one week since he announced an executive action that granted some young undocumented immigrants the ability to gain legal status. It is a concept similar to what Rubio was proposing but had never drafted into legislation.

"Of course, a few months later, a president takes a similar idea and implements it through executive action and now its the greatest idea in the world," Rubio said of last week's announcement. "I don't care who gets the credit; I don't. But it exposes the fact that this issue is all about politics for some people," said Rubio.

A day earlier in front of this same conference, Republican nominee Mitt Romney outlined his most specific immigration policy to date. But it still left major questions, like whether or not Romney would repeal the Obama order that gave refuge to some children brought to the United States illegally. Rubio has said he is in favor of such a measure, but the president's actions have made it more difficult to form a lasting long term solution.

Both Rubio and Romney received polite applause from the crowd of nearly 1,000, but neither generated a noticeable amount of excitement. The main draw for this crowd, comprised of many Latino legislators from around the country, is the president.

In his address, the Florida senator expressed optimism for achieving lasting immigration reform. "Perhaps we are as close as we've ever been to a critical turning point in the debate about immigration," he said at the top of his speech.

Yet while Rubio expressed optimism about the prospect of achieving a long-term solution to immigration, he warned that there are still major questions that remain unsolved.

"It's complicated. If we are able to reform and modernize our legal immigration system, if we can win the confidence of the American people back, were left with the issue of millions of people that are still undocumented and then the great answer, the quick question then is: What do you do about them?" Rubio asked. "I've talked about what you do about the kids. What about everybody else?"

"Here's the truth, if were honest with ourselves: We don't know yet."

Rubio, of course, is a rising star in the Republican Party and considered a VP possibility for Romney.

Even some Democrats at the conference said they could understand Rubio's appeal. "Very impressive individual," said Utah state senate Democratic leader Ross Romero. "I think he recognized that immigration has been used as a political football, which is unfortunate. But ultimately, it's a tough issue and you're trying to accommodate many different views on immigration."

Despite his announcement a week ago, Obama has his own immigration challenge when he addresses NALEO at 1:40 pm ET… Can he run up the score with Latinos?... Recapping Romney’s own speech: It was strong (given the high degree of difficulty), but it side-stepped a big question… Romney’s newest TV ads… The Bain story isn’t going away… Romney’s donor-maintenance event in Utah begins… Charlie Cook: Don’t bet on another wave election for House races… And “Meet the Press” has Rubio and Richardson.

Carolyn Kaster / AP

President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, June 21, 2012, in Washington, to call on Congress to stop interest rates on student loans from doubling on July 1.

*** Obama's own immigration challenge: Yesterday, we wrote about Mitt Romney's immigration challenge in advance of his speech Thursday to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) in Orlando, FL. And today, with his own address to the group at 1:40 pm ET, we look at President Obama's challenge, too. For starters, despite last week's big immigration announcement, Obama wasn't able to achieve comprehensive immigration reform when Democrats held a majority in 2009-2010. Romney hammered home this very point yesterday: “For two years, this president had huge majorities in the House and Senate… But he did nothing to advance a permanent fix for our broken immigration system." (Of course, the chief reason why was opposition from GOP senators, especially those who had supported reform in the past.) The other challenge for Obama is all the deportations that have taken place during his administration. As the Tampa Bay Times has written, “Obama has been tougher on deportations than any modern president — expelling nearly 1.5 million people so far. Many have been criminals, but the effort has also torn apart families and hurt some of the young people Obama now wants to help.”

*** And can he run up the score? But make no mistake: Obama is going to win the Latino vote, and he'll likely receive a much more enthusiastic response from the NALEO crowd than Romney did yesterday. But the questions for the president are: How much he can run up the score with this demographic group, and will they turn out? (Do Latinos go from representing 9% of all voters in '08 to 11% or 12% in '12? If so, that could be the difference between Obama winning and losing. And as was evident in the NBC/WSJ poll last month, their intensity is down.) And that's why it will be interesting to see how he responds to these shortcomings in his record. After his NALEO speech, Obama holds a campaign event in Tampa, FL at 4:15 pm ET.

*** Recapping Romney’s speech: As for Romney's own speech yesterday, it was pretty strong -- especially considering the high degree of difficulty (a polite but not enthusiastic crowd, issue terrain that's rocky for him). What's more, he put some meat on the bones of his immigration policy (for example, reallocate green cards to ensure that spouses and children of legal permanent residents get to stay with their families, grant green cards to those who get advanced degrees in the U.S). But where he wasn't strong was in answering what he would do to Obama's executive action to no longer deporting qualified young illegal immigrants. Bottom line: He really didn’t answer the question. "Some people have asked if I will let stand the president's executive action," he said. "The answer is that I will put in place my own long-term solution that will replace and supersede the president's temporary measure." But what would he do BEFORE the legislation was passed? And what would he do if Congress DOESN'T PASS IT? There's a reason why both Obama and Bush have been unable to get this through -- it's very hard, especially when "amnesty" has become a four-letter word on the right. As if on cue, the Obama campaign has a new web video noting all the ways Romney has side-stepped questions about Obama’s immigration action.

*** New Latino polls: Ahead of Obama’s speech, there’s a new Latino Decicisions poll of Latinos in the swing states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Virginia that was partially conducted after Obama’s immigration announcement last week. “In Florida, the poll found Obama leading Romney by a margin of 53% to 37%, a slight increase from a 50% to 40% lead Obama held over Romney in a January 2012 Latino Decisions/Univision News poll in Florida. In the five states combined Obama lead Romney 63% to 27%, however in southwestern battlegrounds of Arizona, Colorado and Nevada Obama performed even better.  In Arizona Obama received 74% to 18% for Romney, in Colorado he was favored by 70% to 22% and in Nevada 69% to 20%.  In Virginia, Obama lead 59% to 28% over Romney among Latino registered voters.”

Slideshow: As it happens: Obama's fourth year in office

Jewel Samad / AFP - Getty Images

The president's fourth year at the White House in pictures — follow along as it happens.

Launch slideshow

*** Romney’s newest TV ads: Meanwhile, the Romney campaign is up with TV ads targeted to individual battleground states (Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia) about what he’d do in his first 100 days as president. Here’s the one from Iowa: “President Romney’s first 100 days -- what will they mean for Iowa?” the narrator asks. “Day One, President Romney moves to repeal Obamacare and attacks the deficit, starting with $20 billion in savings. By Day 100, President Romney is working toward a balanced budget, making sure the government lives within its means.” But these ads also raise some questions: How will he repeal the health-care law, if the Supreme Court doesn’t already do it for him? How will he work toward balancing the budget, especially with the tax cuts he wants to pursue (and the offsets he hasn’t yet identified)?

*** The Bain story isn’t going away: A day after the Obama campaign seized on a Bloomberg article noting that Romney officials had told Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) to stop touting positive economic news in his state, Chicago is pouncing on a new story: Bain Capital, under Romney’s direction, invested in firms that outsourced jobs to China and India. The Washington Post: “During the nearly 15 years that Romney was actively involved in running Bain, a private equity firm that he founded, it owned companies that were pioneers in the practice of shipping work from the United States to overseas call centers and factories making computer components, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.” More: “Bain played several roles in helping these outsourcing companies, such as investing venture capital so they could grow and providing management and strategic business advice as they navigated this rapidly developing field.” Folks, this story is a reminder that the Bain story isn’t going away…

*** My Own Private Utah: NBC’s Garrett Haake reports on Romney’s big donor-maintenance weekend in Utah: “Romney's top aides and donors have begun to trickle in to the posh Deer Valley resort area, spreading out across several hotels.  Pollster Neil Newhouse, Romney consiglieres Bob White and former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey and advisers Katie Gage, Ron Kaufman and Eric Fehrnstrom are all here. Finance Chairman Spencer Zwick arrived last night. On the donor/finance side -- Karl Rove is here, and Bill Bain has been spotted at one of the hotels housing the donor class.” As Haake mentioned yesterday, potential Romney VPs Tim Pawlenty, Bobby Jindal, Paul Ryan, Rob Portman, and Bob McDonnell will also be in attendance.

*** Cook: Don’t bet on another wave election for the House: Turning to the outlook for this year’s House races, National Journal’s Charlie Cook doesn’t see a fourth-consecutive wave election -- at least so far. “[A] little more than four months out from the election, the tides seem about as neutral as they can be. Both parties have surprisingly comparable levels of exposure, largely because of redistricting. The relatively calm surface of this year’s waters belies a lot of offsetting tumult and change underneath. But for House Republicans, who hold a 25-seat majority, a status quo election producing minimal net change would be good news.” Cook concludes in his column, “Republicans would need to mess up pretty badly to lose their House majority in the near future.”

*** “Meet” has Rubio, Richardson: On “Meet the Press” this Sunday, NBC’s David Gregory interviews Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) and former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D).

Countdown to GOP convention: 66 days
Countdown to Dem convention: 73 days
Countdown to Election Day: 137 days

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*** Friday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up with guest host Luke Russert: One of us (!!!) with today’s First Reads of the morning…Brad Dayspring, Senior Advisor to the Young Guns Action Fund, and Democratic strategist Doug Thornell on hot button issues facing the 2012 campaigns…Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tn.) and Rep. Reid Ribble (R-WI) on the bipartisan No Budget, No Pay Bill…and more of the latest 2012 news with National Review and Bloomberg’s Ramesh Ponnuru, Roll Call’s David Drucker and Jill Zuckman, former spokesperson for Sec. Ray LaHood

*** Friday’s “Jansing & Co.” line-up: MSNBC’s Chris Jansing interviews former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Dan Rather, Olympic champion & law prof Nancy Hogshead-Makar, Time magazine’s Michael Scherer, Republican strategist Susan Del Percio, Democratic strategist Keith Boykin, and advertising executive Howard Bragman. 

*** Friday’s “MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts” line-up: MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts interviews Democratic strategist Karen Finney, Republican strategist Danny Vargas, Melissa Harris-Perry, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Debo Adegbile.

*** Friday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” line-up: Alex Wagner’s guests include the New York Times’ Jodi Kantor, BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith, Rolling Stone Executive Editor Eric Bates, Politico’s Ben White, and MSNBC’s Martin Bashir.

*** Friday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews the Washington Post’s Dan Balz, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, the Washington Post’s David Maraniss on his book “Barack Obama: The Story”, and the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart. The show also will carry President Obama’s speech to NALEO in Orlando, FL.

*** Friday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: MSNBC’s Tamron Hall interviews Jimmy Williams and Voto Latino’s Maria Teresa Kumar on Obama speaking before NALEO, as well as Florida State Attorney Kendall Coffey on Sandusky.

A Pew poll shows Obama ahead 50-46%. Obama was up seven points in May, 49-42%. Obama is seen more favorably than Romney. Obama’s a slight net-positive 50/48 fav/unfav. Romney, on the other hand, is a net-negative, 38/45.

But once again it’s pessimism about the state of the country that is holding Obama back. Just look at the 40-point gulf among those saying they are satisfied versus those who say they are dissatisfied about “the way things are going in this country today.” Just 28% say they’re satisfied versus a whopping 68% who say they are not. That dissatisfied number has dropped below 60% just once in Obama’s presidency in the poll – back in May 2009.

MSNBC.com’s Tom Curry: “The Supreme Court on Thursday dealt an election-year blow to public-sector unions with a ruling that limits their ability to collect money for use in political campaigns from non-union employees at workplaces where a union is the bargaining agent.”

The Obama campaign has been trying to hit Mitt Romney for outsourcing jobs at Bain and as governor of Massachusetts. The Washington Post gives it some fodder today: “Mitt Romney’s financial company, Bain Capital, invested in a series of firms that specialized in relocating jobs done by American workers to new facilities in low-wage countries like China and India. During the nearly 15 years that Romney was actively involved in running Bain, a private equity firm that he founded, it owned companies that were pioneers in the practice of shipping work from the United States to overseas call centers and factories making computer components, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.”

Romney has ads out in at least four states – Virginia, Iowa, Ohio, and North Carolina – showing what his first 100 days as president would mean in those states.

And with the context of that Washington Post story about Bain’s investments in companies that outsourced, here’s the opening line of the Ohio ad: “President Romney’s first 100 days. What will they mean for Ohio? Day 1, President Romney stands up to China, demands a level playing field for our businesses and workers.”

The Boston Globe on Romney’s immigration speech yesterday: “Mitt Romney sought to broaden his appeal among Hispanic voters Thursday afternoon, recasting some of the hard-line positions he took during the heated Republican primary race on the divisive topic of immigration.”

And: “The speech was a significant departure from the blunt rhetoric Romney adopted during the Republican primary race, when he said illegal immigrants should go through “self-deportation” and leave the United States. At the time, he also criticized rivals Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich for policies seen as friendly to immigrants, and he said he would veto the Dream Act, which would create a path to citizenship for young illegal immigrants.”

The Washington Post: “Romney NALEO speech gets mixed reaction from attendees.”

GOP 12: Romney “didn't endorse Barack Obama's sweeping immigration plan or offer a specific replacement… It was another reminder that Mitt doesn't seem inclined to dip too deeply into immigration-related issues and is making the calculation that Hispanic voters will be much more moved by unemployment and the economy.”

The New York Times: “Mr. Romney dropped the confrontational tone he took on immigration during the Republican primary. Instead, he promised to work in a series of areas to help immigrants and their families while discouraging people from coming to the country illegally."

Dario Moreno, a professor at Florida International University, was at the speech and told NBC’s Andrew Rafferty, “I thought he showed some movement in immigration. I was pleasantly surprised how far he went with family unification and green cards and path to citizenship.”

But he said Romney was “vague” when talking about elements of the DREAM Act and that the speech wasn’t about winning over Latinos but about making him “more acceptable,” not “scare Latinos” and drive up turnout for Democrats. “I don't think he changed many minds,” Moreno said, “but at least he came here and addressed audience and presented his policies in best way.”

USA Today’s Kucinich: Such proposals lacked detail and failed to address the real problems with immigration, said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which backs stronger immigration laws. ‘On legal immigration he mentioned the obvious: that the system is broken, but his vision seems to be more add-ons and not going back and fixing the underlying problems,’ Mehlman said. Romney's comments on Obama's executive order were ‘cryptic,’ Mehlman said, particularly since Romney said during the Republican primaries that he would veto the DREAM Act.”

More: “Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice, an immigrant advocacy group, was more blunt in his assessment. ‘Today's speech did nothing to boost his credibility — or his chances — in November,’ Sharry said in a statement Thursday.”

The Tampa Bay Times’ Smith: “Hispanic leaders gathered at a national conference in Orlando may have given Mitt Romney a lukewarm reception Thursday, but they rose to their feet and cheered former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.”

Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s team says it’s not true that Romney told them to tone down anything.

As First Read has noted, the New York Times writes, “Mitt Romney is on a collision course — not just with President Obama, but also with Republican governors in several important swing states. Mr. Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee, repeatedly highlights the grim economic situation in places like Virginia, Ohio and Iowa. … But the political imperative is very different for the governors in those states, whose improving economies are a source of pride and offer valuable talking points to help build lasting legacies.”

The Tampa Bay Times’ Smith previews Obama’s speech: “Obama will have some explaining to do, even with the heavily Democratic crowd at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) conference in central Florida. He last addressed the group in 2008, vowing that comprehensive immigration reform ‘is a priority I will pursue from my very first day.’ It never happened.”

Ahead of Obama’s speech, there’s a new Latino Decicisions poll of Latinos in the swing states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Virginia. “In Florida, the poll found Obama leading Romney by a margin of 53% to 37%, a slight increase from a 50% to 40% lead Obama held over Romney in a January 2012 Latino Decisions/Univision News poll in Florida.  In the five states combined Obama lead Romney 63% to 27%, however in southwestern battlegrounds of Arizona, Colorado and Nevada Obama performed even better.  In Arizona Obama received 74% to 18% for Romney, in Colorado he was favored by 70% to 22% and in Nevada 69% to 20%.  In Virginia, Obama lead 59% to 28% over Romney among Latino registered voters.”

USA Today: “The darkening clouds of the slowing economy could provide a bright spot for consumers: gasoline at $3 a gallon — or less — by autumn.”

The Tampa Bay Times editorial page calls House Republicans’ contempt effort “hyperpartisan grandstanding. But President Barack Obama's response — to shield Justice Department records from the public's view — is not defensible and undermines the rule of law. The administration should turn over the documents in question or provide further justification for withholding them. The president is not above the law, and his claims of executive privilege will not, and should not, suffice.”

It concludes: “House Republicans should drop the political theater and resume negotiations with the Justice Department. The Obama administration should make good on its promise of transparency, or better explain itself to the American people.”

The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent interviewed Obama’s pollster, who cautioned against obsessing over every horserace poll. “The only thing that’s bouncing around are the public polls,” pollster Joel Benenson told Sargent. “The electorate doesn’t bounce around like that. It’s more static than the noise in all these polls. If you watch the electorate over time, they don’t jump up and down. This is a process.”

OHIO: “According to Joe the Plumber, gun control is to blame for the Holocaust,” the New York Daily News writes. “Ohio Congressional hopeful Samuel Wurzelbacher's latest campaign ad features a short narrative over footage of him shooting fruit and vegetables off a fence, while explaining how Germany's 1939 gun control laws paved the way for Germany's worst atrocities. Wurzelbacher starts the ad off innocently enough, loading a shotgun while saying ‘In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were exterminated.’ Locked and loaded, Senator John McCain's former BFF turned his focus to Germany, while also focusing on some unlucky tomatoes and apples: ‘In 1939, Germany established gun control,’ Wurzelbacher says while unloading shot after shot, ‘from 1939 to 1945, six million Jews and seven million others, unable to defend themselves, were exterminated.’ The gun controls in Germany referred to by Wurzelbacher actually went into place in 1938 and forbade only Jewish people from owning guns.”

Press Secretary Jay Carney felt the heat in Thursday’s White House press briefing as he addressed questions over President Obama’s decision to block subpoenaed Justice Department documents related to the Fast and Furious gun-walking operation.

Speaking with NBC’s Andrea Mitchell today, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) expressed concern over the Obama administration’s handling of immigration reform, claiming that President Obama’s executive action halting deportation of some young illegal immigrants makes it “harder to find a long-term solution to a long-term problem.” 

Rubio, in an interview on MSNBC’s "Andrea Mitchell Reports," acknowledged that Obama's surprise move last week made it harder politically to pass any sort of immigration reform on Capitol Hill. Among the proposals, Rubio had until Monday been promoting a narrower version of the Democrats' DREAM Act that would have provided essentially the same benefits to young illegal immigrants. 

That said, before Obama's announcement last Friday, Rubio had not yet drafted any legislation on this issue.

The Florida senator said he would “continue to formulate the idea,” but “the fact that it’s gotten all mixed up in this election year and now being used to attack Republicans has only made it harder.” Rubio's comments were in line with remarks Mitt Romney gave earlier in the day to a leading group of Latino elected officials in Florida, tying the need for immigration reforms to the lagging economy and prospects for future economic growth.

Rubio’s suggestion for finding a way forward? De-politicize the immigration debate, saying: “We have to elevate this issue. We have to say this is a humanitarian issue. We’re going to deal with this without it becoming a political ping-pong back and forth.” 

Ron Paul’s third campaign for president may not lead to the Texas Congressman being nominated at the Republican Convention in Tampa this August -- notwithstanding a lawsuit filed by supporters in attempt to make that happen -- but, from Maine to Alaska, the “Paul Revolution” has swept state Republican parties.

Out of the national spotlight, Paul activists have mastered obscure local party rules to win key positions of power at state conventions, infiltrating the Republican establishment across the country, including in the key swing states of Iowa and Nevada.

In Massachusetts, they even beat out many prominent pro-Mitt Romney supporters to win spots as Romney delegates. They are informally bound by party rules to vote for Romney still, but the open secret in both parties, is no one is really bound – one of the issues at the heart of the Paul supporters’ lawsuit against the national party.

Ben Margot / AP

Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, cheer as Paul speaks at the University of California at Berkeley, Calif.

Paul’s strategy has always been to motivate “the remnant” to gain influence by getting involved in party politics, and described how that would happen to a small group of reporters in Columbia, S.C., in mid-January.

“We don't win over the insiders by becoming like an insider,” Paul said. “We win the inside over by making the outsiders become more appropriate.”

But what Paul activists have done in many places is learn the rules of the insiders and use them against them.

After being described as “an outlier for the Republican Party,” Paul Wednesday morning on MSNBC, explained how supporters will achieve his long-term goal of bringing the GOP around to accepting his political philosophy.

“I want to work on the platform,” Paul said, “but we know platforms don't change people's attitudes. That's what we want to do -- get attention to changing the attitude, so that we, who are perceived as outliers, become the insiders. And that's what's happening. … We're winning state delegations, state chairmen and small offices, anywhere from city councils to county commissioners.”

Paul supporters are winning elections and becoming party insiders: chairmen, national committeemen, executive board members, elected officials, candidates and delegates.

- In Iowa, four of Paul’s former aides hold leadership positions at the state party, including chairman A.J. Spiker – who was Paul’s state co-chair. At least six members of the Iowa State Central Committee are Paul supporters.

- In Alaska, Republicans voted Russ Millette as the party’s new chairman and Debra Holle Brown as co-chair, both Paul supporters. Local reports call this a sea change in state politics, after “at least 12 years of the Alaska GOP being run by what those party newcomers call ‘establishment Republicans.’”

- In Nevada, Paul supporters won 13 of 14 new elected executive board spots at the Clark County GOP. Four years after having the lights turned out on them at the state convention in 2008, Paul supporters now hold positions at local and county GOP offices across the Silver State.

- In Minnesota, the state Republican Party endorsed Paul supporter and economics teacher Kurt Bills for the GOP Senate nomination. He will face incumbent Democrat Amy Klobuchar in November.

- And in Maine, 21-year-old Paul supporter Ashley Ryan was elected as the state’s new Republican national committeewoman. The Paul campaign claims she is likely the youngest national committeewoman.

“Look at the next generation,” Paul said on MSNBC. “I mean, there is so much excitement out there. The big deal is that the next generation are sick and tired of what they're getting and they're looking for something.  And what we're offering seems to appeal to the young people.”

Paul also explained that the goal of his movement “is to show that there's a political benefit toward accepting some of the views that we have.”

“I believe we're actually doing a favor for the Republican Party. If they would look to us for guidance and to realize that if they would accept some of these things, they might have an easier time winning.”

That said, not everyone's sold on just how lasting the impact of the "revolution" will be, considering Paul wasn't able to win a state in the GOP primary and didn't stop Romney, the most establishment of all the candidates, from becoming the nominee.

Asked which mattered more -- influence over party platform or being a state party chairman, Steve Schmidt, John McCain's 2008 campaign manager, dismissed either and said Paul supporters would be little more than a "hassle we'll have to deal with."

"I'm not sure that either have a particularly big influence on the direction of the party," Schmidt said on MSNBC. "When you have a state chairman who takes over a state party and the state party's dysfunctional, it's no longer relevant to the political goals of electing a majority, whether that's on the Democratic side or Republican side. Typically you see something that is taking place in California, for example, where you know the Republican parties become a small ideological clubhouse, totally faded to irrelevance where they-- factions gather twice every year to pass resolutions, denouncing the other faction, and it's a small clubhouse where people are relevant in the sphere of that small clubhouse, but no longer relevant in terms of being able to shape the outcome of an election -- to recruit candidates, to raise money, to register voters. And that's the direction these dysfunctional parties will go."

Jeff Johnson, a Republican National Committeeman from Minnesota, though, addressed the anxiety some in the establishment have over this increased participation by Paul’s followers.

“Ron Paul haters, get over it,” Johnson said. “If we don’t grow, we die as a party.”

Nearing the end of his career, Paul, 76, calls his movement an “ideological revolution,” one he says is “alive and well.”  

And this year, as Paul disciples become more involved and win elections, it’s a movement the Republican Party is being forced to deal with. 

With less than two weeks to go before student-loan interest rates are slated to double, President Obama urged his frequent foil, the “do-nothing Congress,” to extend the low rates before the July 1^st deadline.

Addressing a group of college students in the East Room of the White House, the president said despite his efforts, Congress has remained obstinate on the issue.

“We've been stuck watching Congress play chicken with another deadline,” he said. 

Susan Walsh / AP

President Barack Obama greets students after he called on Congress to stop interest rates on student loans from doubling next month during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington.

But earlier, during Thursday’s daily briefing, press secretary Jay Carney suggested the administration is bridging the gap with Republicans over how to pay for the extension. While Democrats want to cut subsidies for oil-and-gas companies, Republicans have suggested raising the amount federal employees contribute to their retirement accounts or adjusting state Medicaid payments.

“We’re getting to a point where we can hopefully reach an agreement that everybody can sign onto,” he said during the daily White House briefing.

But Carney refused to specify the congressional Republicans with whom the administration is working, even as one reporter noted that House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) say the White House hasn’t reached out to them.

“I don't have specific names for you to provide," Carney said. "It is irrelevant whether or not I have a roster of names.”

But, he continued, a deal would, in fact, be the result of bipartisan -- if nameless at first -- work.  

“It will not be a miraculous conception," Carney said. "It will be the result of negotiations between this administration and Congress."

ORLANDO, FL -- Speaking to a crowd of hundreds at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference here, Mitt Romney criticized President Obama for putting immigration reform on the backburner and for taking the Latino vote "for granted."

Obama addresses the conference tomorrow.

"For two years, this president had huge majorities in the House and Senate -- he was free to pursue any policy he pleased," Romney said. "But he did nothing to advance a permanent fix for our broken immigration system. Instead, he failed to act until facing a tough re-election and trying to secure your vote."

What Romney didn't say is that a Republican filibuster, in late 2010, stopped Democratic efforts to pass a DREAM Act -- previously supported by some GOP senators -- granting a path to citizenship to young illegal immigrants pursuing a college degree or serving in the U.S. military. The measure received 55 Senate votes, short of the 60 needed to clear the filibuster.

Also left unsaid is that, due to congressional opposition, both George W. Bush and Barack Obama have been unable to achieve comprehensive immigration reform.

In his remarks today, Romney also argued that Obama is taking the Latino vote for granted. (In the May NBC/WSJ/Telemundo oversample of Latino voters, Obama led Romney among this demographic, 61%-27%.)

"Tomorrow, President Obama will speak here. Of course, that's the first time he's spoken here since his last campaign. He may admit that he hasn't kept every promise. And he'll probably say that, even though you aren't better off today than you were four years ago, things could be worse. He'll imply that you really don't have an alternative."

Romney added, "I believe he's taking your vote for granted."

Furthermore, the former Massachusetts governor added more details to his immigration plans, saying that he would work to reallocate green cards to ensure that spouses and children of legal permanent residents get to stay with their families, and that he would grant green cards to those who get advanced degrees in the U.S.

"We can find common ground here, and we must," Romney said. "We owe it to ourselves as Americans to ensure that our country remains a land of opportunity –- both for those who were born here and for those who share our values, respect our laws, and want to come to our shores. 

This tone was a striking departure from the rhetoric that Romney has used in the Republican primaries -- in both 2007-2008 and 2011-2012.

Indeed, the issue was a clear way for the former Massachusetts governor to prove his conservative credentials. And it was a weapon he used -- often with success -- against John McCain, Rick Perry, and Newt Gingrich, all of whom had supported some liberal policies toward illegal immigrants.

For instance, before the New Hampshire primary in Jan. 2008, Romney's campaign blasted McCain on immigration. "McCain pushed to let every illegal immigrant stay here permanently -- even voted to allow illegals to collect Social Security," went one Romney TV ad. "And Mitt Romney?... He opposes amnesty for illegals."

Charles Dharapak / AP

Mitt Romney, holds a baby as he greets attendees at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference in Orlando, Fla., Thursday, June 21, 2012.

Is it possible that Mitt Romney, in his campaign for the presidency, has been too focused on the economy?

The presumptive GOP presidential nominee has focused intently on turning the election into a referendum on President Barack Obama, rarely veering from making the case that the Democratic incumbent has failed to manage the economy.

Most every issue but the economy is viewed as a distraction by Romney’s high-command in Boston; it dismisses hand-wringing over issues like Donald Trump, Democrats’ claims of a “war on women,” or the president’s recent order on young illegal immigrants as a distraction. When Romney reacts to those topics, he quickly works to reframe them in terms of jobs and the economy.

But the “economy-colored” prism through which every issue is refocused by the Romney campaign could risk votes at the margins of some key constituencies. Moreover, by leaving questions about his approach to other issues unanswered, Romney gives Democrats an opening to fill the void in describing his alternatives.

Romney supporters praise the campaign’s focus as the mark of a discipline that’s characteristic of a winning campaign.

“When you ask voters what the most important issue is they say the economy and jobs, and you've got a president who is very vulnerable on that number one issue,” said Charlie Black, an outside adviser to the Romney campaign. “Why would you ever talk about anything else?”

Detractors, though, worry whether Romney has let some issues linger at his own expense.

“The campaign basically looks at anything that distracts from the economy as unfortunate,” said another outside Romney adviser, who requested anonymity so as to avoid offending the campaign’s leadership. “That's not a sustainable position -- you have to be prepared to discuss all issues.”

Romney still doesn't answer if he'd overturn Obama's immigration action

Conservative pundit Ramesh Ponnuru also wrote Wednesday that Romney should broaden his scope. “I think this way of thinking about the campaign is mistaken. Yes, the economy is the top concern of voters and should be the main focus of the campaign. But I think voters expect presidents to be able to deal with a wide range of issues,” Ponnuru wrote on National Review’s “The Corner” blog.

A prime example comes as Romney wrestles with responding to the Obama administration’s order last week halting deportations of illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children,  allowing them instead to apply for work permits.

At a speech on Thursday before elected Latino officials, Romney again sidestepped open questions about whether he would reverse the president’s order. He repeated his preference for a “long-term” plan that would “supersede” Obama’s order, and laid out several other piecemeal solutions.

But Romney declined to delve into how he would address the 12 million immigrants living in the United States unlawfully, and he didn’t describe his vision for his long-term reform.

He instead --  true to form -- reframed his pitch to Latinos in terms of the economy.

“Is the America of 11 percent Hispanic unemployment the America of our dreams? We can do better,” Romney told the NALEO conference.

Romney’s been loath to provide specifics even for some of his more comfortable policy areas. In his interview with CBS last weekend, the former Massachusetts governor refused to specify the tax loopholes he would eliminate to finance his tax or entitlement reform plans.

Romney had avoided giving the Obama campaign any length of rope they could use to hang him, either on immigration or the budget.

“Give the president credit on immigration: It was a great trick play,” said Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, a veteran Republican campaigner.

Cole said that Romney would be well-advised to avoid entanglements on extraneous issues, and focus instead on hammering away his message about the economy.

“The president is an extremely gifted politician with a very fine political team. Playing politics against him is probably not the way to beat him,” Cole said.

Slideshow: Mitt Romney's life in politics

Jonathan Ernst / Getty Images

From governor's son to presidential contender, a look at the life of Republican Mitt Romney.

Launch slideshow

But Romney is facing mounting pressure from the Obama campaign, which is conscious of its opponent’s evasiveness, to specify his positions.

The Romney Team, though, maintains tight control over the candidate and the message. It tends to opt for interviews with friendly media, and Romney himself can be a portrait of discipline on the trail; he’s scarcely made any of the missteps he had in the primary that threw his campaign off-message.

But with months still until the election, any number of issues and incidents could creep into the campaign narrative. The presidency, if nothing else, is about managing the matrix of unexpected crises that cross the Resolute Desk.

“On balance, I don't have any complaints. This is a good campaign,” said the outside Romney adviser. “But there is concern about lack of agility in message.”

In many ways, Romney as a candidate hearkens back to the statuesque, pocket passers in football. He’s good at delivering a crisp economic message downfield, though Romney can sometimes struggle as a freelancer, or when the pocket is collapsing.

Not all teams favor the pocket passer in contemporary football, which has shifted in favor of scrambling quarterbacks who are adept at freelancing.

Which do Republicans prefer? Do they want Romney, a proverbial political pocket passer?

“If the other side's biggest weakness is the secondary, you might,” said Black.

In remarks he delivered in Florida before Latino political leaders, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney once again declined to answer if he would overturn President Obama's executive action to no longer deport qualified young illegal immigrants.

Instead, Romney explained that he would work to craft a long-term solution dealing with illegal immigration.

"Some people have asked if I will let stand the president's executive action," Romney said at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials' conference. "The answer is that I will put in place my own long-term solution that will replace and supersede the president's temporary measure."

Left unsaid, of course, is what Romney -- if elected president -- would do before signing long-term legislation into law, or if the legislation couldn't be passed. Remember: Due to congressional opposition, both George W. Bush and Barack Obama have been unable to pass comprehensive legislation dealing with illegal immigration.

Today wasn't the first time Romney has declined to say if he would overturn Obama's policy to no longer deport young illegal immigrants who have graduated from high school, who are serving in the military, and who have a clean criminal record.

Mitt Romney criticized the action after the president announced it last Friday. The reason: because it is temporary.

“I think the action that the president took today makes it more difficult to reach that long-term solution, because an executive order is, of course, just a short-term matter.”

He added that Obama's executive action can be “reversed by subsequent presidents.”

But that begged the question: Would a President Romney reverse it? 

It was exactly the question CBS' Bob Schieffer asked him last weekend.

BOB SCHIEFFER: Sure, but would you repeal this?

MITT ROMNEY: Well, it would be overtaken by events, if you will, by virtue of my putting in place a long-term solution with-- with legislation which creates law that relates to these individuals, such that they know what their-- their stat-- setting is going to be

BOB SCHIEFFER: I-- I won't keep on about this but just to-- to make sure I understand, would you leave this in place while you worked out a long-term solution or would you just repeal it?

MITT ROMNEY: We'll-- we'll look at that-- we'll look at that setting as we-- as we reach that. But my anticipation is, I'd come into office and say we need to get this done on a long-term basis, not this kind of a stopgap measure. What-- what the president did, he-- he should have worked on this years ago. If he felt seriously about this, he should have taken action when he had a Democrat House and Senate, but he didn't. He saves these sort of things until four and a half months before the general election.

The Obama campaign issued this response to Romney's speech: “Today, Mitt Romney told the largest national gathering of Hispanic elected officials: ‘When I make a promise to you - I will keep it.’ But in front of an audience of Republican primary voters, he called the DREAM Act a ‘handout’ and promised to veto it. Now, after seven days of refusing to say whether or not he’d repeal the Obama administration’s immigration action that prevents young people who were brought here through no fault of their own as children from being deported, we should take him at his word that he will veto the DREAM Act as president.”

Commerce Secretary John Bryson resigned from his position on Thursday in the wake of a health scare that prompted media scrutiny.

In a letter to department colleagues, Bryson said that he had informed President Barack Obama of his resignation, and said that Rebecca Blank, who's been serving as acting secretary since he began a medical leave of absence on June 11, would continue to serve in that role.

"The work that you do to help America's entrepreneurs and businesses build our economy and create jobs is more important now than ever and I have come to the conclusion that I need to step down to prevent distractions from this critical mission," Bryson said.

Federal officials say the 68-year-old secretary suffered several seizures while driving back home in California on the weekend of June 8-10. Those seizures reportedly contributed to two automobile accidents, and he allegedly fled the scene of one.

"I want to extend my deepest thanks and appreciation to John for his service over the past months, and wish him and his family the very best," the president said in a statement, in which he noted he accepted Bryson's resignation on Wednesday evening.

"As Secretary, John fought tirelessly for our nation’s businesses and workers, helping to bolster our exports and promote American manufacturing and products at home and abroad.  John has proven himself an effective and distinguished leader throughout his career in both the public and private sectors, from his success in the business world to his work leading on issues in the renewable energy industry."

News of the accidents wasn't made known until the following Monday, and the president reportedly hadn't been briefed about the incidents for some time after they occurred.

Bryson took a leave of absence after the accidents; he first became commerce secretary in October of 2011.

Whether Obama will bother to nominate an immediate successor to Bryson is unclear. With the impending election season nearing, it would be tough to steer a nominee through a divided Senate, and a new secretary might be named pending the outcome of November's election.

Obama said we was confident in Blank to continue serving as acting secretary.

Romney’s immigration challenge, which got even tougher after last week… In his speech to NALEO at 1:00 pm ET, Romney will focus on the economy but also address immigration… Evaluating the money race in May: Obama camp actually outraised Romney camp, but the RNC beat the DNC… Previewing Romney’s upcoming donor bash in Utah… Romney camp to Rick Scott: Don’t talk about the economic improvements in your state… Quinnipiac poll shows Obama is back up in Florida… New Obama TV ad targets female voters… Obama to talk about student loans at 1:40 pm ET… And the contretemps over contempt.

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign event in front of the Bavarian Inn Lodge on June 19, 2012 in Frankenmuth, Michigan.

*** Romney's immigration challenge…: When he addresses the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials in Orlando, FL at 1:00 pm ET today, Mitt Romney faces a challenge that could baffle the most talented of politicians: How do you win over Latino voters after using illegal immigration as a weapon over the past five years (first against John McCain in '08 and then Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich in '11 and '12)? And it's not a question for Romney, but also for the entire Republican Party. According to last month's NBC/WSJ/Telemundo oversample of Latinos, this demographic negatively viewed both Romney (26%-35% fav/unfav) and the GOP (22%-40%), while it positively viewed President Obama (58%-23%) and the Democratic Party (51%-19%). What’s more, per this oversample, Obama led Romney by a whopping 34 points in a head-to-head match-up, 61%-27%.

*** … which got even tougher after last week: And Romney's immigration challenge immigration got even tougher after Obama's announcement late last week that his administration wouldn't deport young illegal immigrants who have graduated from high school, are serving in the U.S. military, and have no criminal record. For one thing, Romney still hasn't answered if he would overturn the executive action if he's elected president. The Obama campaign is highlighting this fact. “In the six days since President Obama announced steps to allow young people who were brought here through no fault of their own to avoid deportation in the face of congressional inaction, Mitt Romney has refused, in at least six different interviews, to say where he stands on the issue,” it said in a statement last night. In addition, Obama's announcement blunted this Romney/GOP talking point: that Obama hasn't done anything significant for the Latino community.

*** The expected plan -- focus on the economy: So these are the challenges Romney faces. How he’ll likely respond is with the same playbook he’s been using over the past year: talk about the economy and about how Latinos (and all Americans, for that matter) have suffered since the economic downturn four years ago. Indeed, the guidance we’ve received from the Romney campaign is that he’ll FOCUS on the economy in today’s speech but ADDRESS immigration. But as msnbc.com’s Mike O’Brien will write in a piece to be published later today, is it possible that Romney is too focused on the economy and not on other issues? As we’ve said before, a president’s job typically is about much more than the economy, and there is only so much a president can do -- constitutionally -- when it comes to the economy and domestic policy. Before Romney’s speech, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who has criticized his party on immigration, addresses the confab at noon. And President Obama speaks tomorrow. By the way, the Tampa Bay Times notes that Latinos are “energized” by Obama’s announcement, but that he still faces challenges, especially since deportations have soared under his presidency.

*** Evaluating the money race in May: After all the reporting from a couple of weeks ago that Romney outraised Obama in May, well technically that isn't correct. In the true apples-to-apples comparison for the campaigns, the Obama camp outraised the Romney camp last month, $39.1 million to $23.4 million. What's more, the Obama camp has $109 million in the bank as of May 31, while the Romney camp has $17 million. But where Team Romney outraised Team Obama was with the major party committees (the RNC’s $34.8 million vs. the DNC’s $20 million) and the victory funds. What's going on here: A larger portion of the pro-Obama money is coming in the form of contributions to the campaign (where the maximum donation is $5,000), while a larger portion of the pro-Romney dough is coming from donations to the RNC (max is $30,800) and Romney’s victory fund. A reminder: If a donor cuts a $75,000 check, the first $5,000 goes to the campaign, the next $30,800 goes to the national political party, and the rest goes to the victory fund. So what’s likely happening right now is Romney is racking up lots of $75,000 checks.

*** Romney’s upcoming donor bash in Utah: And speaking of those large contributions… NBC’s Garrett Haake reported yesterday that some of Romney’s top donors “will flock to Utah for an exclusive gathering this weekend featuring top Republican political figures and strategists... The attendees will be treated to presentations, briefing and panel discussions featuring an all-star cast of Republican politicians, including several thought to be among Romney's top vice presidential choices.” The guest list, per Haake: Tim Pawlenty, Bobby Jindal, Paul Ryan, Rob Portman, Bob McDonnell, Karl Rove (who helped found the powerful outside group American Crossroads), John McCain, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz. By the way, folks: We still don’t know who Romney’s bundlers are (outside the lobbyists who are required by law to disclose their bundling).

*** Romney campaign to Gov. Scott: Don’t talk about the economic improvements in your state: The Obama campaign today is seizing on this Bloomberg article: “Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign asked Florida Governor Rick Scott to tone down his statements heralding improvements in the state’s economy because they clash with the presumptive Republican nominee’s message that the nation is suffering under President Barack Obama, according to two people familiar with the matter. Scott, a Republican, was asked to say that the state’s jobless rate could improve faster under a Romney presidency, according to the people, who asked not to be named.” 

*** Poll: Obama’s ahead in Florida: Speaking of Florida… A new Quinnipiac poll shows Obama leading Romney in Florida by four percentage points among registered voters, 46%-42%. That’s a reversal from Quinnipiac’s survey in May, when Romney was up on Obama by six points, 47%-41%. In this current poll, Obama leads among independents (46%-37%), women (49%-39%), and Latinos (49%-39%), while Romney’s ahead with whites (50%-37%) and men (45%-44%). The good news for Obama in this survey: He’s ahead, unlike last month. The bad news: He’s below that safe zone of 50%.

*** Hey, ladies: After a slew of negative TV ads hitting Romney, the Obama campaign is up with a new positive spot targeting women. It will air in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia. “The son of a single mom, proud father of two daughters,” says a female narrator. “President Obama knows that women being paid 77 cents on the dollar for doing the same work as men isn’t just unfair; it hurts families. So the first law he signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. To help ensure that women are paid the same as men for doing the exact same work. Because President Obama knows that fairness for women means a stronger middle class for America.”

*** Obama to talk about student loans: At 1:40 pm ET today from the White House, President Obama will deliver remarks calling on Congress not to allow interest rates on student loans to increase. But congressional Republicans are making this point: The White House has ignored the GOP attempts to try to compromise on this issue.

*** Contretemps over contempt: Yesterday on Capitol Hill, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted -- by party lines -- to recommend that Attorney General Eric Holder be held in contempt for not turning over more documents in the so-called “Fast and Furious” investigation. That came as President Obama invoked executive privilege to shield the release of those documents. We have two points on this whole story. One, this has the two parties assuming the absolute worst about the other, which is why we are where we are. Chairman Issa and the GOP House really believe there’s some grand cover-up, while the Obama White House believes the GOP is simply on a political witch hunt. Two, the GOP initially jumped all over this “Fast and Furious” story because the NRA crowd loves to embarrass the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). In fact, the NRA scored yesterday’s contempt vote. This should not be lost on the story.

Countdown to GOP convention: 67 days
Countdown to Dem convention: 74 days
Countdown to Election Day: 138 days

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