“Barack Obama, who made history when he was elected president four years ago, would make a different kind of history if he wins re-election in November: The first incumbent in at least a generation to claim a second term when most Americans say they aren't better off than they were when he moved into the Oval Office,” USA Today writes. “In USA TODAY/Gallup Poll nationwide and in the 12 top battleground states, most voters say the situation for them and their families hasn't improved over the past four years, the first time that has happened since Ronald Reagan famously posed the question in his debate with President Carter in 1980 — a contest Carter lost. Even so, President Obama, who in 2008 became the first African American elected president, maintains a slight lead over challenger Mitt Romney in the battleground states likely to decide the election, 47%-44%. That's better than his standing in the non-battleground states, where Romney leads 47%-45%.

In a new Monmouth national poll, Obama leads Romney 45-41% among registered voters, but it’s just 46-45% among the voters most likely to vote.

“Mitt Romney’s cash advantage over President Obama and the Democrats more than doubled in July, as intense Republican fund-raising and heavy spending by Mr. Obama and his allies left Mr. Romney and the Republican National Committee with $62 million more in the bank than the Democrats at the end of last month,” the New York Times writes. “Mr. Obama’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee spent $91 million in July, significantly more than the $75 million the Democrats raised, underscoring the investments Mr. Obama made in technology and field staff as well as nearly $40 million his campaign spent on advertising that month. While Mr. Romney continued to husband his resources for the fall — he spent less than half of what Mr. Obama did on advertising — conservative ‘super PACs’ and other outside groups stepped into the breach, spending millions of dollars on ads attacking Mr. Obama.”

Politico: “Romney opens up big cash lead.”

A CEO who backs Obama for president also gave money to Paul Ryan, CNN Money reports. "I'm squarely a supporter of the president, and he is absolutely the right man for the job," Benioff said Monday. He likes Ryan’s focus on the debt and deficit and “has a long-term vision that is admirable.” But: "I don't think his budget is a good idea in today's world. It would put us back into recession. But he is putting the right issues on the table and has a long-term vision that is admirable."

“It's not just Medicare. President Barack Obama plans to start picking apart other sections of Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan's sweeping budget proposals as he tries to paint the GOP ticket as too extreme for the nation. Next up: education,” the AP writes. “On Tuesday, Obama planned to tell voters in sharply contested Ohio that Ryan's budget proposal would cut $115 billion from the Education Department, remove 2 million children from Head Start programs and cost 1 million college students their Pell Grants over the next decade. The line of criticism will be coupled with television ads.”

More: “Students and their parents are the next group Obama hopes to put on notice. The president started radio ads in New Hampshire that claim 21,000 college students in that state would have their Pell Grants cut by $800 each. Another ad tells Ohio voters that 356,000 students would have their Pell Grants cut. Those estimates assume the cuts in Ryan's budget are applied evenly across all programs starting in 2014 — something Ryan aides say would not happen. His budget does not directly address Pell Grant funding, and his aides say the cuts would not take a one-size-fits-all approach.” But: “The Ryan budget, which failed to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate, would cut annual nondefense spending by 5 percent in 2013. The next year, it would be a 19 percent cut. Ryan, who prefers that students take loans instead of receiving grants, would keep the top Pell Grant award in the coming school year at $5,500 but in future years reduce the number of students eligible, not the award sums. In other words, fewer students would receive them but the neediest would not see their awards changed.”

“President Barack Obama has declared the threat of chemical or biological warfare in Syria a ‘red line’ for the United States, outlining for the first time the point at which his administration could feel forced to intervene militarily in the Arab country’s increasingly messy conflict,” the Boston Globe writes.

Likeable enough? “The White House is disputing a new book's claim that President Obama has an intense dislike for Republican opponent Mitt Romney,” USA Today writes. “ ‘I can tell you that I've never heard the President express anything like that,’ said White House press secretary Jay Carney.”

Gov. Deval Patrick will campaign in Wisconsin for Obama today, talking before seniors in Madison on welfare.

Another conservative author trying to paint Obama as weak is out with a book about how it was really Hillary Clinton behind the death of bin Laden. Right. This from an author who wrote a book about Bill Clinton’s failures to capture bin Laden.

“A subcommittee helping to draft the Republican Party platform approved preliminary language Monday that would affirm ‘dignity and respect’ for gay Americans but a definition of marriage as the union of ‘one man and one woman’ is likely to be included, according to the leader of a conservative gay rights group advising the GOP,” the Boston Globe notes, adding, “Earlier this month, the Democratic platform committee endorsed same-sex marriage and approved language calling for repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.”

“The committee drafting the Republican Party’s platform rejected a bid to include a plank calling for preservation of the mortgage interest tax deduction Monday,” the Wall Street Journal writes.

Here’s a headline the Romney campaign probably didn’t think they’d have to deal with: “Romney, Ryan slam GOP rep for nude swim in Israel,” USA Today writes today.

“Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, suffered the loss of a stillborn son — but have never spoken publicly about it,” the New York Daily News writes. “News of the difficulty was buried deep in a lengthy Associated Press profile of the GOP contender’s wife on Saturday that attributed news of the pregnancy loss to ‘a source close to Mrs. Romney.’ The profile said the would-be First Lady lost the baby several months into her pregnancy, which took place after the birth of their son Ben in 1978 and before the birth of their youngest child, Craig, in 1981. Romney campaign officials declined to provide further information.”

Romney told a Yankees fan yesterday at his rally that “We all hate Yankees.” Paul Ryan stepped in for the save, the New York Daily News writes: “But not you, sir. We love you.” The man replied: “I back winners and that’s why I’m backing you.”

Akin is up with an ad asking for forgiveness: “Rape is an evil act. I used the wrong words in the wrong way. And for that I apologize. As the father of two daughters, I want tough justice for predators. I have a compassionate heart for the victims of sexual assault. And I pray for them. Fact is: rape can lead to pregnancy. Truth is: rape has many victims. The mistake I made was in the words I said, not in the heart I hold. I ask for your forgiveness.”

“But with Akin under fire, party stalwarts are increasing pressure to get him to stand aside by 5 p.m. CT today so that another Republican can take his place on the ballot,” USA Today writes. “If he doesn't withdraw by the Tuesday deadline, then Missouri law says Akin would need a court order to be removed from the ballot and he would have to pay for reprinting of ballots.”

“The Romney campaign quickly sought to distance itself from Akin’s remarks,” the Boston Globe writes. But the Globe adds, “Last year, Ryan joined Akin as one of 227 co-sponsors of a bill that narrowed an exemption to the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for abortions. The Hyde Amendment allows federal dollars to be used for abortions in cases of rape and incest, but the proposed bill -- authored by New Jersey Representative Christopher H. Smith -- would have limited the incest exemption to minors and covered only victims of ‘forcible rape.’ House Republicans never defined what constituted ‘forcible rape’ and what did not, but critics of the bill suggested the term could exclude women who are drugged and raped, mentally handicapped women who are coerced, and victims of statutory rape.”

And note this: “On Friday, before the Akin remarks, President Obama’s reelection campaign launched a television ad in six swing states accusing Romney and Ryan of opposing abortion ‘even in cases of rape and incest.’ On Monday, the Obama camp charged Romney and Ryan with “contradicting their own records” as they rejected Akin’s comments. In a statement, Obama spokeswoman Lis Smith referenced Ryan’s co-sponsorship of the ‘forcible rape’ bill and Romney’s stated support of a Human Life Amendment, which she said ‘would ban abortion in all instances, even in the case of rape and incest.’”

Akin is fundraising off this with Google ads popping up that say, “Stand with Todd Takin: Chip-in $3 as a sign of support for Todd Akin’s campaign today.”

The Kansas City Star also makes the point about Ryan’s sponsorship of the bill: “Akin co-sponsored a bill last year limiting federal abortion funding to cases of “forcible” rape, rather than rape generally. The bill — which had more than 200 co-sponsors, including Republican vice presidential hopeful Rep. Paul Ryan — did not become law.”

St. Louis Post-Dispatch front page: “Akin under pressure.” And next to a photo of a grim-looking Romney: “As GOP revolts, Dems pounce.”

President Barack Obama said he would have to rethink his current opposition to U.S. military engagement in Syria if the regime there were to use or move its chemical and biological weapons.

The president told NBC's Chuck Todd that he couldn't be "absolutely confident" that the stockpiles of weapons possessed by Bashar al-Assad's regime were completely secure.

"What I'm saying is we're monitoring that situation very carefully," Obama said in a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room.

But if the Assad regime were to use its weapons stockpiles, or alternatively, move it around, Obama suggested military action could be on the table.

"We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized," the president said. "That would change my calculus. That would change my equation."

Earlier this month, when asked about contingency planning for the Syrian conflict, Secretary Hillary Clinton drew the "red line" at only the use of chemical weapons.

"Both the minister [Turkey Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu] and I saw eye to eye on the many tasks that are ahead of us, and the kinds of contingencies that we have to plan for, including the one you mentioned in the horrible event that chemical weapons were used. And everyone has made it clear to the Syrian regime that is a red line for the world," Clinton said at the time.

But today, he made sure to emphasize that all major players in the region have been informed of where his line falls.

"We have communicated in no uncertain terms with every player in the region that that's a red line for us and that there would be enormous consequences if we start seeing movement on the chemical weapons front or the use of chemical weapons," he said. "That would change my calculations significantly."

Obama also made a point of saying that the issue of chemical weapons doesn’t just concern Syria and the United States, but also allies in the region including Israel.

While the international community would still like to see a political solution to the violence in Syria, Obama said, “at this point the likelihood of a soft landing seems pretty distant."

The U.S. will most likely provide even more monetary humanitarian assistance to help those fleeing the Syrian conflict on top of the $82 million the government has already given. According to USAID, the United Nations “estimates that approximately 2 million people in Syria are in need of humanitarian assistance, approximately 1 million people are internally displaced, and more than 140,000 people have fled to the neighboring countries of Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, and Iraq.”

GOFFSTOWN, NH -- With 10 American troops killed fighting in Afghanistan in the last two weeks alone, America’s decade-long war was front and center Monday morning during Mitt Romney’s 100^th town hall as the GOP ticket was asked to weigh in by a veteran about what they would do with the “damn mess in Afghanistan.”

“I will address the American people about these issues and with regards to Afghanistan," Romney contended before a crowd of about 3,500. "I will do everything in my power to transition from our military to their military as soon as possible, bring our men and women home and do so in a way consistent with our mission which is to keep Afghanistan from being overrun by a new entity that would allow Afghanistan to be a launching point for terror again like it was on 9/11."

Romney has previously criticized Obama setting a timeline, then appeared to shift on that last month. It indicated support for the 2014 timeline, but accused the president of being for it for political reasons. 

Romney said the president should be addressing the nation on a regular basis during war time but failed to mention that the President has, in fact, updated the country on affairs abroad several times, including just this past May on national television from Afghanistan.

“We will work with the Afghans to determine what support they need to accomplish two narrow security missions beyond 2014: counter-terrorism and continued training," the president told troops on May 1. "But we will not build permanent bases in this country, nor will we be patrolling its cities and mountains. That will be the job of the Afghan people."

In his first appearance in the Granite State during the 2012 cycle, presumptive GOP nominee Paul Ryan put his national security knowledge on display, as well.

“And when you give the military a specific mission and the military tells you, here is what we need to complete this mission, to keep our soldiers, sailors, airman, and Marines safe, you give them what they ask for. It is very important,” said Ryan, who went on to criticize Obama’s troop drawdown in the middle of the fighting season.

Many have raised questions around the seven-term Wisconsin congressman’s foreign-policy background since he was selected as Romney’s VP choice just 10 days ago. Although Romney has also said that listening to commanders on the ground is vital, he has also echoed support for the 2014 timeline. Ryan's statement seems at odds with that support of a timeline.

Today, Ryan not only weighed in on Afghanistan, but fielded a question on Israel and Iran too.

“It is very vital and important that the signals we send, that the leadership we provide, that we strengthen our relationship with our allies, that we improve this relationship, which has deteriorated so much under this president, so that our allies in this region are negotiating from a position of strength and not being undercut by the United States of America when they’re trying to arrive at peace,” he said noting Israel is America’s strongest allies.

The turn to foreign policy today comes as violence in Afghanistan has ticked up. The campaign has also recently taken an increasingly negative tone, with both campaigns levying charges of dishonesty in their advertising and on the stump. Today, Romney took a shot at the president for what one questioner said were dishonest attacks against Romney on his tax record.

“It seems that the first victim of an Obama campaign is the truth, and it has been – it has been sad and disappointing,” Romney told the crowd in the quad at St. Anselm’s College. “I will not raise taxes on the American people, I will not raise taxes on middle income Americans, we’re going to make sure that Americans have the money to pay their bills, we’re not going to raise taxes, that slows down growth, it kills jobs, we’re going to get this economy going, and Mr. President, stop saying something that’s not the truth.”

Romney, though, is running an ad accusing the president of wanting to get rid of work requirements in welfare, a charge that has been widely discredited. The Romney campaign has not only created one version of this ad, but three, including one just this morning.

After making this joint appearance to kick off the last full week before the Republican National Committee convention, Romney and Ryan will now campaign separately -- Romney heads to New Orleans, LA, and Ryan to Pittsburgh, PA.

President Barack Obama deflected Republican criticism of his campaign's negativity, challenging general election opponent Mitt Romney: "You can't just make stuff up."

In an impromptu press conference at the White House, the president said his own campaign's television and radio advertisements against the presumptive Republican presidential nominee never crossed the line.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

President Barack Obama speaks in the White House briefing room in Washington Aug. 20.

"If you look at the overall trajectory of the campaign and the ads that I have approved and that are produced by my campaign, you'll see that we point out sharp differences between the candidates, but we don't go out of bounds," Obama said.

Some of the sharpest instances of negativity during the 2012 campaign -- Vice President Joe Biden's comment before a mixed-race audience that Republicans and Wall Street would "put y'all back in chains" -- prompted Romney to condemn Obama for running a "campaign of division and anger and hate."

Campaigning with running mate Paul Ryan on Monday in New Hampshire, Romney accused the Obama campaign of lying by saying his tax plan would result in higher taxes.

"It seems that the first victim of an Obama campaign is the truth, and it has been sad and disappointing," Romney said.

The Obama campaign's assertion was based on a nonpartisan tax group's analysis that middle class families would effectively face a higher tax burden if Romney eliminated many popular deductions as part of his comprehensive tax reform.

The former Massachusetts governor's grievances don't end there, either. The Romney campaign was particularly incensed by an ad produced by Priorities USA, a pro-Obama super PAC, which suggests a man's wife died from cancer because he lost his insurance after was laid off from his job at a company owned by Bain Capital, the private equity firm founded by Romney.

"I don't think that Gov. Romney is somehow responsible for the death of the woman that was portrayed in that ad. But keep in mind: this is an ad that I didn't approve, I did not produce, and, as far as I can tell, has barely run -- I think it ran once," Obama said.

But the president also challenged Romney's own advertising on welfare, which assert that Obama had "gutted" the centerpiece of the 1995 welfare reform law, which tied benefits to seeking work.

"You've got Gov. Romney creating as a centerpiece of his campaign this notion that we're taking [the] work requirement out of welfare, which every single person here who's looked at it says is patently false," Obama said. "They can run the campaign that they want, but the truth of the matter is, you can't just make stuff up."

The president's comments Monday come as POLITICO published a new e-book describing internal tension in the Obama campaign regarding the trajectory of the re-election campaign, and how the sharper edges of Obama's 2012 effort square with the more optimistic banner of "hope and change" in 2008.

Republicans have sought to make an issue of disillusionment with Obama's shift; the Republican National Committee produced an ad last week accusing the president of running a campaign of "anger and division."

But the president said he was satisfied with the manner of his campaign.

"I feel very comfortable with the fact that, when you look at the campaign we're running, we are focused on the issues and differences that matter to middle class families all across America," Obama said. "And that's exactly the kind of debate the American people deserve."

Updated 10:53 a.m. - Mitt Romney called a Missouri Republican's comments this weekend about rape "inexcusable," calling on Rep. Todd Akin to "correct" his remarks.

"Congressman’s Akin comments on rape are insulting, inexcusable, and, frankly, wrong,” Romney told the conservative National Review Online. “Like millions of other Americans, we found them to be offensive.”

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee joined a growing chorus of Republicans in condemning Akin's comments Sunday that "legitimate rape" rarely results in pregnancy for victims.

"I have an entirely different view," Romney told NRO of Akin's remarks. “What he said is entirely without merit and he should correct it."

Akin's comments threaten to shake up his effort to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill this fall. That race is a key stepping stone in Republicans' effort to achieve the net gain of four seats they need to retake control of the Senate.

The controversy has already sparked national reverberations, however. Romney has lagged versus Obama with women voters, according to polls; his comments this morning follow on a spokeswoman's comments on Sunday quickly distancing Romney and presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan from Akin. (Ryan, Democrats note, did co-sponsor with Akin a bill that would have redefined rape under portions of law.)

Evan Vucci / AP

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney arrives at Hyannis-Barnstable Municipal airport on Aug. 18.

Other Republicans have similarly denounced Akin.

Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown (R) called on Akin to resign his Senate nomination.

"While Congressman Akin may have addressed his statement, like many men and women I strongly disapprove of his original comments — and the sentiments behind them," said former Virginia Sen. George Allen (R), who's trying to reclaim his old seat this fall.

Akin it worse… Todd Akin’s remarks not only could hurt the GOP in the MO SEN race; they could further damage the party’s brand with women… CODELS Gone Wild: What some freshmen GOP members were doing just weeks after the debt ceiling debacle and U.S. credit-rating downgrade… So much for that tight, leak-proof Obama campaign organization… Romney camp hits Obama in third TV ad on welfare reform… And Romney and Ryan stump in Manchester, NH at 10:35 am ET.

*** Akin it worse: Missouri Senate GOP nominee Todd Akin’s remarks on rape yesterday not only could endanger the Republicans’ chances in that particular race as well as their chances of taking back the Senate in the fall, they also could further damage the GOP’s brand with women. In an interview with a Missouri TV station, Akin explained his opposition to abortion, even in instances of rape. “First of all, from what I understand from doctors, [pregnancy from rape] is really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down," Akin said, per NBCNews.com’s Mike O’Brien. “But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.” His Democratic opponent, incumbent (and vulnerable) Sen. Claire McCaskill pounced: "I think frankly, like most women, when we heard the statement, it was, ‘Are you kidding?’ It was a stunner, just jaw dropping and hard to comprehend." Akin, a House Republican, later released a statement saying he had misspoken. “In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it's clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year.”  

*** Reemphasizing the gender gap: After the GOP presidential primary season and after social issues jumped into the spotlight earlier this year -- the trans-vaginal ultrasound legislation in Virginia, the dispute over the health-care law’s requirement that religious-affiliated schools and hospitals offer free contraception, Rush Limbaugh calling Sandra Fluke a “slut” -- the Republican Party found itself facing a significant gender gap. According to last month’s NBC/WSJ poll, President Obama was leading Mitt Romney by 15 points among registered female voters, 54%-39%. In addition, the GOP’s fav/unfav with women in the poll was 32%/46% (versus 46%/35% for the Democratic Party). So there’s a reason why the Romney campaign acted so quickly to distance itself from Akin’s remarks. "Gov. Romney and Congressman Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin’s statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape," spokesman Andrea Saul said in a statement last night. (However, Ryan personally opposes all abortions -- even in cases of rape -- except to save the mother’s life.) And all of this comes as the Obama campaign has been targeting female voters in Colorado and Northern Virginia on abortion and women’s issues. By the way, Romney and Ryan have a joint interview with WMUR today, so what they say about Akin could drive this story and actions by the GOP in the next 12 hours.

*** Show Me a controversy: Focusing on that Missouri Senate contest, it’s worth paying attention to see if national Republicans -- in the next 24 hours -- try to force Akin to bow out from the race. On the one hand, what Akin said is incredibly toxic, especially when facing a female opponent. On the other hand, Missouri is still a conservative state. But a source with ties to Akin’s political operation tells First Read that the GOP congressman most likely won’t quit the contest, saying Akin believes this race is “providential” and even if Akin was ready to get out, his wife would never let him quit. The person with knowledge of Akin’s political operation adds: “She makes him seem like the reasonable one.” If you take away Missouri from the GOP’s potential win column, they have a MUCH MORE difficult path to taking back the Senate. How are Akin’s remarks playing in the Show Me State? Here’s the headline from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Akin’s rape comment threatens to alter U.S. Senate race.” And here is the Kansas City Star: “Senate candidate Todd Akin’s remark on rape stirs anger.”

Christian Gooden / AP

Todd Akin, Republican candidate for U.S. Senator from Missouri, speaks at the Missouri Farm Bureau candidate interview and endorsement meeting in Jefferson City, Mo., on Friday, Aug. 10, 2012.

*** Missouri ballot deadlines: There are two chances Republicans would have to replace Akin on the ballot. The cleanest is if Akin decides to withdraw by 5:00 pm tomorrow (which is the 11^th Tuesday before Election Day), and that’s the final time any candidate can withdraw without reason. But as we noted above, that’s not going to happen. But there is a SECOND deadline of Sept. 25 (6^th Tuesday before E-Day) if a nominee asks for a court order to get off the ballot AND agrees to pay for any ballot printing costs, then the GOP could find a last minute candidate. Worth noting, Sarah Steelman, who finished THIRD in the GOP primary to Akin, has already tweeted her outrage AT her former primary foe.

*** CODELS Gone Wild: And Akin isn’t the only House Republican in the news today. Last night, Politico broke the news that House Republicans last year took a dip in the Sea of Galilee -- including one member, Kansas Rep. Kevin Yoder, who was nude -- in an evening involving alcohol. “During a fact-finding congressional trip to the Holy Land last summer, Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.) took off his clothes and jumped into the sea, joining a number of members, their families and GOP staff during a night out in Israel... Other participants, including the daughter of another congressman, swam fully clothed while some lawmakers partially disrobed. More than 20 people took part in the late-night dip in the sea, according to sources who took part in the trip.” Here’s why this story has the potential to outrage voters beyond the personal indiscretion. This episode, on Aug. 18, 2011, happened just weeks after the debt-ceiling debacle and after S&P downgraded the U.S. credit rating. So after helping create the showdown with the president, members of the House Republican freshman class are partying it up on a private junket in Israel? And we wonder why Congress’ job rating is so low… 

*** So much for the tight Obama ship: Four years ago, one secret to the Obama campaign’s success -- during the primaries and then general election -- was that it didn’t air out its dirty laundry to reporters or the public. If there were disagreements, they kept it inside the family. But not this time around. In a new e-book, Politico's Glenn Thrush writes, "Second-guessing about personnel, strategy and tactics has been a dominant theme of the reelection effort, according to numerous current and former Obama advisers who were interviewed for 'Obama’s Last Stand.'" More: The discord, these sources said, has on occasion flowed from Obama himself, who at repeated turns has made vocal his dissatisfaction with decisions made by his campaign team, with its messaging, with Vice President Joe Biden and with what Obama feared was clumsy coordination between his West Wing and reelection headquarters in Chicago.” We know there are PLENTY of Obama aides openly wondering if simply geography has caused most of this discord. The distance between Chicago and the West Wing was supposed to be a good thing; it’s created more problems than they ever imagined.

*** Micro-targeting the Ryan budget: If you want to see how the Obama campaign is micro-targeting its attacks on the Ryan budget plan, look no further than seven new radio ads it’s unveiling today in seven different battleground states. In Florida, the radio ads highlight how the Ryan plan -- which Romney has said he would sign into law -- turns Medicare into a voucher/premium support system; in Iowa, they stress how it would cut clean energy; in Nevada, they emphasize how Ryan voted against legislation protecting active-duty service members from foreclosures; in New Hampshire and Ohio, they argue how the Ryan budget cuts Pell Grants; in North Carolina, they contend that Ryan voted against federal money to help veterans dealing with PTSD; and in Virginia, they point out that the Ryan budget cuts transportation spending.

*** Romney camp again hits Obama on welfare reform: Meanwhile, the Romney campaign is up with its THIRD TV ad hitting Obama on welfare reform. “On July 12th, President Obama quietly ended the work requirement gutting welfare reform,” the ad goes. “One of the most respected newspapers in America called it ‘nuts,’ saying ‘If you want to get more people to work, you don't loosen the requirements — you tighten them.’” But what newspaper was that? It actually was an editorial from the conservative Richmond Times-Dispatch. And here’s some irony – here’s how the Richmond Times-Dispatch news section writes up this latest TV ad: “The 30-second ad doubles down on the Romney campaign’s claim that Obama ended welfare’s work requirement ‘gutting welfare reform,’ a charge that has been debunked by multiple independent fact-checkers.” Just asking, but who would have guessed a month ago that the Romney campaign’s major TV message a week before the GOP convention would be welfare reform?

*** On the trail: Just two days after Obama stumped in New Hampshire, Romney and Ryan hold a joint campaign event in Manchester, NH; NBC’s Garrett Haake says this will be Romney’s 100^th town hall event of the election cycle… Meanwhile, Obama is off the trail… Later this week, the president stumps in Ohio (Tuesday) and Nevada (Tuesday and Wednesday).

Countdown to GOP convention: 7 days
Countdown to Dem convention: 14 days
Countdown to 1^st presidential debate: 44 days
Countdown to VP debate: 52 days
Countdown to 2^nd presidential debate: 57 days
Countdown to 3^rd presidential debate: 63 days
Countdown to Election Day: 78 days

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*** Monday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) in today’s installment of our interviews with retiring senators… Former Reps. Tom Davis (R-VA) and Martin Frost (D-TX) on Akin, night swimming, Medicare and more… NBC’s Peter Alexander on the road with Romney-Ryan in New Hampshire… More 2012 headlines with The Washington Post’s Dan Balz, AP’s Kasie Hunt and Michelle Bernard of the Bernard Center for Women, Politics and Public Policy.

*** Monday’s “Jansing & Co.” line-up: MSNBC’s Chris Jansing interviews Obama Press Secretary Ben LaBolt, Romney Campaign adviser Barbara Comstock, Salon.com reporter Irin Carmon, Washington Post’s Ezra Klein, CNBC’s John Harwood, former Huckabee Campaign Manager Chip Saltsman, and Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis.

*** Monday’s “MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts” line-up: MSNBC’S Thomas Roberts talks with RNC Communications Director Sean Spicer, TheGrio.com’s Perry Bacon, former Santorumpress secretary Alice Stewart, former Clinton aide David Goodfriend, and Niall Ferguson on his Newsweek Cover story.

*** Monday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” line-up: Guests for today’s special on Women in Politics include: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), MA Senate Candidate Elizabeth Warren, Fair Pay Advocate Lilly Ledbetter, The Washington Post’s Sally Quinn, Salon.com Editor-at-Large Joan Walsh, and actress and women’s health advocate Gabrielle Union.

*** Monday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, NBC’s Dr. Nancy Snyderman, USA Today’s Susan Page, Politico’s Glenn Thrush, former RNC Chair Michael Steele, Democratic strategist Steve McMahon, the Washington Post’s Robert Samuelson, and Jonathan Capehart.

USA Today looks at the burden new Voter ID laws are causing for some voters: “Marian Berkley has managed to make it through her first 83 years without a state-issued photo ID. But after last week's ruling in Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court upholding a new law that will require voters to present certain government-approved IDs at the polls in November, Berkley has decided she must get one. Berkley, a retired factory worker, found herself sifting through personal documents with voting rights activist Karen Buck to get in order the vital records she'll need to acquire a state ID so she can vote. Most of Berkley's necessary documents were in place — a birth certificate noting that she was born on a farm in Delaware, a Social Security card and utility bills in her name.

She still needs to track down her marriage certificate to certify that her last name changed. Berkley could run into trouble if someone at the state ID office decides to quibble about her first name being spelled differently on her birth certificate than it is on her Social Security card, said Buck, the executive director of the SeniorLAW Center. ‘Really?’ asked an exasperated Berkley, who has been homebound in recent years after multiple hip operations and other ailments. ‘How much more do I have to do to prove who I am?’”

Just a couple of churchgoing pols… “Mitt Romney gave the public a rare glimpse of himself practicing his Mormon faith Sunday, as he attended church services near his New Hampshire vacation home,” the New York Daily News writes, adding, “President Obama, who was in New Hampshire campaigning on Saturday, was back in Washington, DC Sunday, where the periodic churchgoer and his family attended service at St. John’s Episcopal Church, a one block walk from the White House.”

Obama said this during his event in New Hampshire of Romney: ‘‘They have tried to sell us this trickle-down snake oil before. It didn’t work then and it won’t work now ... it’s not the right direction for America.”

The Miami Herald’s Caputo: “Obamacare’s unpopularity blunts Obama’s attacks on Romney-Ryan Medicare plans.” From the story: Obamacare was supposed to be President Barack Obama’s legacy. But it’s looking like a political millstone. The mammoth and unpopular health insurance overhaul weighed down Democrats in 2010 when Republicans helped turn seniors to their side. And now Democrats have unexpectedly had to play defense over Obamacare’s Medicare cuts even as Mitt Romney picked Congressman Paul Ryan as a vice-presidential running mate and drew attention to unpopular Republican plans that cap future Medicare spending.”

“The Obama campaign offered no apology Sunday for Vice President Joe Biden’s ‘chains’ remark, refusing even to call it a poor choice of words as Republicans accused the president’s reelection campaign of race baiting,” the Boston Globe writes, adding, “A Globe editorial published Saturday called for Biden to apologize.”

Just another page in the “I know you are, but what am I” campaign: “Asked by host Jim Acosta whether the Obama campaign would acknowledge Biden made a poor choice of words, Cutter said it is the Romney campaign that has chosen its words poorly. ‘If we want to talk about words on the campaign trail that are poor choices of words, let’s talk about Mitt Romney’s, when he’s been traveling for the last few years basically calling the president un-American, that the president wanted to make this a less Christian nation,’ Cutter said. ‘Those are poor choices of words, and that’s what we find completely offensive.’”

(For context: The L.A. Times wrote in May that Romney told Sean Hannity of Obama: “I’m not sure which is worse, him listening to Rev. Wright or him saying that we must be a less Christian nation.” Obama said in his book Audacity of Hope, per FactCheck.org: "Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.”)

Yet ANOTHER welfare ad from the Romney campaign hitting Obama.

For all the focus on the Priorities ad and Joe Biden’s “chains” comment, it is remarkable that the Romney campaign has now tripled down on this false line of attack on work in welfare, which harkens back to old resentments and culture wars of the 1990s.

The Tampa Bay Times: The ad “perpetuates a widely discredited claim that the Obama administration "gutted" welfare to work requirements.”

Flashback to Aug. 9, Mitt Romney: “You know, in the past, when people pointed out that something was inaccurate, why, campaigns pulled the ad. They were embarrassed. Today, they just blast ahead.”

Yes, they do, apparently.

The Tampa Bay Times with a long piece on Romney, who it says “is a paradox, a devout and generous family man but also a calculating politician who has shifted positions with blinding ease. The private Romney is said to be warm and giving, while the campaign Romney is shellacked, stiff and detached. The question for voters: Who is the authentic Willard Mitt Romney?” (Romney once moonwalked and sang Billie Jean in church once?)

So much for knocking down personal attacks: “Mitt Romney’s campaign said Sunday that an outside group’s video charging President Obama with taking too much credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden ‘makes an important point,’” The Boston Globe writes. Spokesman Kevin Madden on ABC’s This Week: “I think it makes an important point, actually, about whether or not some of the national security decisions that the president made were actually helped by some of the policies that were put in place before he was there.”

“Although Ryan’s income is larger than what the average person makes, his tax returns are fairly straightforward and would be familiar to most Americans, unlike Romney’s returns, which illustrate the complexities of the US tax system,” the Boston Globe writes, adding, “Janna Ryan inherited a trust, worth between $1 million and $5 million, after her mother’s death in 2010.”

Romney and Ryan will appear together in New Hampshire today: “The joint appearance represents a new strategy for the Romney campaign. After announcing Ryan’s selection last Saturday in Virginia, the campaign said Romney and Ryan would separate,” the Boston Globe writes.

“Paul Ryan brought a secret weapon with him Saturday as he defended his lightning-rod Medicare plan at the nation’s largest senior citizens community - his mother,” the New York Daily News writes, adding context: The transformation of Medicare is the most controversial component of Ryan’s spending-slashing budget plan. It would replace the current system with vouchers, which critics believe will drive up the cost of health care - and leave some seniors without the coverage they need. Realizing they could be vulnerable to Democratic attacks on Medicare, the Republicans have instead tried to strike first on the hot-button issue.”

Politico: “Betty Ryan Douglas, 78, is the newest face of the Medicare wars that have abruptly taken center stage in the 2012 contest, joining her son here Saturday in the town square of a sprawling retirement community as Ryan assured seniors that he and Mitt Romney won’t take away their Medicare and Social Security.”

New York magazine: “Ryan did not, however, talk too much about what the Republican ticket has planned for the under-55 set. (That wasn't a problem for one selfish senior, who told the Washington Post, ‘I personally like [Ryan's] plan, because at 73, it really wouldn't affect me.’)”

The state of our politics: “It was a political spat, literally,” the New York Daily News writes. “An 83-year-old woman is accused of spitting on a supporter of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney during a political event in Wisconsin. The alleged spitter, Mary Hoglund, had attended the Wisconsin Women for Mitt event in Grand Chute and asked the Republican hosts, ‘Why are you against Planned Parenthood?’ Hoglund continued, saying ‘women are in need ... you’re getting rid of an organization ...’ but she was quickly cut off by the event’s leaders, state Sen. Alberta Darling and Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, and the Romney supporters on the floor. One especially vocal Romney supporter, who also appears to be elderly, yells in Hoglund’s face to ‘wait’ and ‘stop.’ ‘Get out of my face,’ Hoglund responds, and then follows up by spitting at the yelling woman. The spit-upon Romney supporter, who was not identified, then smacks Hoglund in the side of the face.” (There’s video.)

The Wall Street Journal tries to swat down the Congressional Budget Office: “One of President Obama's regular attacks on Paul Ryan's Medicare reform is that it would force seniors to pay $6,400 a year more for health care. But merely because he keeps repeating this doesn't mean it's in the same area code of accurate.  The claim is based on a now out-of-date Congressional Budget Office estimate of the gap between the cost of health care a decade from now, in 2022, and the size of the House budget's premium-support subsidy for a typical 65-year-old in 2022. In other words, the $6,400 has no relevance for any senior today. None. But it also is unlikely to have any relevance for any senior ever because CBO concedes that its number is highly uncertain and ‘will depend on the evolution of the health care and health insurance systems over time, which is hard to predict.’”

Updated 8:55 p.m. — A Republican Senate nominee found himself in hot water on Sunday for suggesting that instances of "legitimate rape" rarely results in pregnancy. 

Rep. Todd Akin, a Republican who's locked in a hard-fought campaign in Missouri to unseat Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, was answering a question regarding his position on abortion rights in instances when a woman is a victim of rape. 

"People always want to make it into one of those things — well, how do you slice this particularly tough ethical question," Akin said in an interview on KTVI-TV, video of which was circulated by the Democratic super PAC American Bridge. 

“First of all, from what I understand from doctors, [pregnancy from rape] is really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down," Akin said. 

Regarding his opinion on whether to allow for an abortion in such instances, Akin added: “But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.”

Akin's comments had an almost immediate impact on Missouri's Senate race. McCaskill wrote on Twitter:

In a statement, Akin said that he had misspoken. 

"In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it's clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year," he said.

Akin emerged earlier this month from a tough three-way primary in Missouri, where he rallied social conservatives behind his candidacy. Democrats actually spent during that primary to help Akin win, viewing the six-term congressman as a less formidable challenger in the general election. 

McCaskill, who was first elected in 2006, has become a top target for Republicans this fall, given President Barack Obama's unpopularity in the state and successive statewide victories for the GOP. 

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's campaign issued a statement disagreeing with Akin. 

"Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin’s statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape," said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul.

Republicans need a net gain of four seats this fall in order to take over the Senate in the next Congress, and Democrats must defend 23 seats this fall. But unexpected Republican retirements and races that have become more competitive than expected have boosted Democratic hopes of maintaining their majority. 

Winslow Townson / AP

President Barack Obama shakes hands with supporters during a campaign stop in Windham, N.H., Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Jim Cole / AP

President Barack Obama waves as he leaves a campaign stop Saturday, in Rochester, N.H.

ROCHESTER, N.H. -- On the same day Republican vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan defended his Medicare plan in front of a crowd of senior citizens in Florida, President Barack Obama blasted the GOP ticket for proposing to raise costs for the elderly while slashing taxes for the wealthiest Americans.

"Their plan makes seniors pay more so that they can give another tax cut to rich folks who don't need a tax cut," the president said of Republicans on Saturday in front of a crowd of more than 3,500 supporters here.

Since Ryan was tapped as Mitt Romney's running mate Aug. 10, Medicare has become one of the most contentious issues of the election because of the controversial Ryan budget that proposed dramatic changes to the government program.

Obama blasted Republicans for wanting to turn Medicare into a voucher system.

"Meanwhile Gov. Romney and Congressman Ryan want to give seniors a voucher to buy insurance on their own," the president said, citing an analysis that found the plan could cost seniors $6,400 extra each year.

"How many people think that's a good deal?  That doesn’t strengthen Medicare, it undoes the very guarantee of Medicare," he said.  "But that's the core of the plan written by Congressman Ryan and endorsed by Gov. Romney."

The president's remarks in New Hampshire were largely a response to earlier attacks from the presumptive GOP nominee in his first installment of what will become a weekly podcast.

"I think it’s outrageous that the president took $716 billion out of the Medicare trust fund to pay for Obamacare," Romney said.

And shortly after the podcast was released, Romney quickly got some backup from his newest teammate.  Ryan was joined by his 78-year-old mother at a rally in The Villages, Fla., the world's largest senior citizens community. “Here is what the president won’t tell you about his Medicare plan—about Obamacare," Ryan told the crowd. "The president raids $716 billion from the Medicare program to pay for the Obamacare program.”

And while the president was on the defensive regarding Medicare, he also continued to focus attention on tax rates. Throughout his stops in New Hampshire, he asserted that under Ryan's budget, Romney would pay less than 1 percent in taxes. 

"That's a pretty good deal, just paying 1 precent in taxes -- you're making millions of dollars. Here's the kicker, they expect you to pick up the tab," he told the crowd here.

This week Obama campaign manager Jim Messina sent a letter to his counterpart in the Romney campaign, stating Democrats would drop their calls for the former Massachusetts governor to release more tax returns if he made the past five years public.  Romney campaign manager Matt Rhoades quickly responded, calling the letter another attempt for the Obama campaign to distract from a failed economic record.

The Romney campaign was again quick to respond to the president's attacks Saturday, calling them false and another way for the campaign to avoid talking about the president's record. Romney spokesman Ryan Williams blasted out a response: "Following news that 44 out of 50 states saw their unemployment rates rise, it is not surprising the president is launching yet another false attack."

The Granite State will have more action to look forward to on Monday, when Romney and Ryan will appear together in Manchester for a town hall.

Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

President Barack Obama wipes perspiration from his face as he speaks Saturday in a sweltering gym during a campaign stop at Windham High School in Windham, N.H.

WINDHAM, N.H. – Speaking in a hot, crowded gymnasium here, President Barack Obama kicked off a day of campaigning in this key battleground state where he is running neck-and-neck with his challenger, Mitt Romney.

THE VILLAGES, Fla. -- Campaigning with his retired mother at his side, Congressman Paul Ryan made the Romney-Ryan ticket pitch for fixing Medicare Saturday morning before thousands at the world's largest senior citizens community.

“Like a lot of Americans, when I think about Medicare it's not just a program, it's not just a bunch of numbers, it's what my mom relies on, it's what my grandma had,” Ryan said in his most detailed campaign speech yet. “Medicare was there for our family, for my grandma, when we needed it then; and Medicare is there for my mom while she needs it now, and we have to keep that guarantee.”

In a very personal appeal to the crowd that started with Ryan walking hand-and-hand with his 78-year-old mother, Betty Douglas, he promised to make sure “bureaucrats will not mess with my mom’s healthcare or your mom’s healthcare.”

The presumptive GOP vice presidential nominee also assured the crowd at The Villages the Romney-Ryan plan will not affect those already in retirement.

“Our solution to preserve, protect, and save Medicare does not affect your benefits. Let me repeat that. Our plan does not affect the benefits for people who are in or near retirement. It’s a promise that was made and it’s a promise that must be kept,” he said, with a large “protect & strengthen Medicare” sign behind him. “To save it for this generation, you have to reform it for my generation so it doesn’t go bankrupt when we retire.”

The Chairman of the House Budget Committee, speaking in the state with the highest concentration of voters over 65 in the country, had harsh words for President Barack Obama, as well.

“Here is what the president won’t tell you about his Medicare plan—about Obamacare. The president raids $716 billion from the Medicare program to pay for the Obamacare program,” Ryan told the crowd in the battleground state that went for Obama in the 2008 election. “Medicare should not be used as a piggy bank for Obamacare. Medicare should be used to be the promise that it made to our current seniors. Period. End of Story.”

Saturday’s rally marks Ryan’s first visit to Florida since being tapped as Mitt Romney’s VP exactly a week ago. The presumptive GOP VP’s plan to overhaul Medicare has been the focus of both Democrats' and the Obama campaign's attacks since he was selected.

Several thousand retirees turned out in one of The Villages’ town squares not only to hear the seven-term Wisconsin congressman speak but were also able to enjoy the sounds of Lee Greenwood, who sang “Proud to be an American” on stage just before Ryan and his mom walked up.

While Ryan focused on outlining the Medicare plan under a Romney administration in Florida, Mitt Romney was holding six private fundraisers in New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

ARLINGTON, Va. – Presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan released two years of tax returns late Friday.

They are posted on the Mitt Romney campaign’s website.

Ryan and his wife, Janna, paid an effective tax rate of 15.9 percent in 2010 and 20 percent in 2011, the returns show.

Ryan’s release matches what Romney has pledged to release, not what he’s actually released.

Romney filed for an extension on his 2011 returns, but hasn't yet released them. He has said he would do so before the election. Romney’s estimated 2011 return is posted along with his 2010 return.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel was first with the news that the Ryans’ released the information Friday night, a week after news broke that the Wisconsin congressman would in fact be tapped the next day as Romney’s running mate.

According to his financial disclosure statements, Ryan’s overall net worth is estimated between $2 million and $7.7 million.

In 2010, the couple paid $34,233 in federal taxes on $215,417 of adjusted gross income, the returns show. In 2011, they paid $64,764 in federal taxes on $323,416 of adjusted gross income. Both years include five personal exemptions for the Ryans and their three young children.

No 2012 taxes are ready yet, but Romney and Ryan have vowed to release those returns too. Presumably they would release them if elected.

Romney revived the issue of taxes Thursday when he told reporters at a press conference in South Carolina that he had “never paid less than a 13 percent effective tax rate after reviewing his returns from the past decade.” 

SPRINGFIELD, Va. -- Paul Ryan ventured into the debate surrounding the Middle East on Friday afternoon for the first time since being named the presumptive GOP vice presidential nominee.

“This is the first responsibility of our federal government,” Ryan said about national security. “And one of the critical means and needs for a strong national defense is because the world needs America’s leadership.”

He continued: “In the past day, Iran’s president called our ally Israel, quote, a cancerous tumor that must be excised. Let me be really clear. Under President Romney, our adversaries will think twice about challenging America and our allies because we believe in peace through strength. There will be no daylight between America and our friends around the world. Strong national defense, peace through strength, strong relationship with our allies." 

Ryan, the seven-term Wisconsin congressman who serves as the House Budget Committee chairman, has been criticized for not having enough foreign policy experience to serve on Mitt Romney's ticket because he typically works on domestic issues.

Thursday, Ryan addressed the trade policies with China.

President Barack Obama “said he’d go to the mat with China. Instead they’re treating him like a doormat.  We’re not going to let that happen,” Ryan told the crowd in North Canton, Ohio. “Mitt Romney and I are going to crack down on China cheating. We’re going to make sure that trade works for Americans.”

Friday, while speaking in the battleground state of Virginia, the Wisconsin congressman also weighed in on the pending $500 billion in defense cuts — part of what’s known as “sequestration.”

"Now there’s one thing we’re going to have to deal with to make sure we protect jobs in Virginia and around America. And that is these devastating defense cuts that president Obama is promising. That is the lack of leadership that he is providing. They call it sequester and all of that. Well I tell you what, in the House, we already passed the bill to cut spending in other areas of government to make sure that these devastating cuts to defense never occur so we don’t put Virginians out of work and so we have a strong national defense. That’s extremely important," he said.

As President Obama nears the two-month mark since his last formal press conference, deputy White House press secretary Josh Earnest deflected inquiries about why the White House press corps has not had opportunity since then to question the president.

The Obama administration has come under fire from Republican groups as well as individual journalists for going so long without a full-fledged press conference, in which the president takes questions from journalists assigned specifically to the White House.

Earnest pointed to interviews Obama has conducted with local media outlets and open press events (in which the president does not typically take questions) as examples of when the national media has heard from the president.

He referred specifically to Obama’s three-day Iowa bus trip, during which the president held seven public events, conducted several radio interviews and did two print editorial board roundtables, but took no questions from the national press traveling with him.

“The president spent a lot of time talking publicly about the issues that he thinks are at stake in this election and are worthy of an important political debate about the future of the country,” Earnest said.

Earnest also counted a spontaneous shouted question from a member of the press pool, which provides editorial guidance for the rest of the press corps if an event is too small/difficult to fit everyone, as an example of the president facing the national media.

“The president did a bill signing in the Oval Office at the beginning of last week in which one of your colleagues asked a question, the president answered it,” Earnest said.

Earnest was referring to the president’s ceremony to sign the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 into law. At the end of the signing, he answered a shouted question over whether he would push for further gun control measures in light of the shooting of the Wisconsin Sikh temple.

After Obama answered that question, the pool was ushered out of the Oval Office.

Mary Altaffer / AP

Mitt Romney, right, shakes hands with his newly announced vice presidential running mate, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, after Ryan addressed the crowd Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012 in Norfolk, Va.

This article is based on reporting by NBC’s Carrie Dann, Garrett Haake, Alex Moe, Jamie Novogrod, and Andrew Rafferty. It was written by Dann.

At 11:11 pm on Friday night, political journalists all over America read the subject line of their latest email, blinked, and asked aloud, "Where's Paul Ryan right now?"

There was exactly one person standing on the Republican congressman’s driveway in Janesville, Wisc.

NBC reporter Alex Moe, who had spent 15 days shadowing the onetime dark horse to be Mitt Romney's vice presidential pick, was preparing to leave Ryan's neighborhood for the night when the email blast thundered into her inbox: "MITT ROMNEY ANNOUNCES VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE IN NORFOLK SATURDAY."

The venue for the announcement, according to the press release: the USS Wisconsin. Ryan's home state.

Until a few days prior, speculation for the VP choice had centered around Ohio's Sen. Rob Portman and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. But Portman had just given remarks at the opening ceremony for a charity bicycling tournament,  and NBC reporter Andrew Rafferty had seen him return to his hotel in Columbus less than an hour earlier.

Moments before, Pawlenty had just wrapped up a lengthy fundraiser in Manchester, N.H., and NBC’s Jamie Novogrod was at that moment driving behind the black hatchback whisking the governor and his wife back to the Hilton Garden Inn where they were checked in.

Ryan was the question mark.

So, at 11:15 pm, Moe marched up to the side door of Ryan's Wisconsin home -- where the lights hadn't yet been turned off for the night -- and gave a good hard knock.  And then another one.

No answer.

When Pawlenty got the call he wouldn’t be the pick
Three days earlier, Tim Pawlenty woke up to a beautiful vista, and the memory of some disappointing news from the night before.

In Aspen, Colo., for a closed-door conference of national security luminaries, Pawlenty had spent the better part of a nervous week in the shadow of the Maroon Bells peaks, enduring radio silence from Boston.

It was Monday night when he got the call from Mitt Romney and learned that, for the second time in four years, he'd been passed over for the second-in-command job. When NBC reporter Carrie Dann greeted him on the Aspen Institute campus the following morning, he betrayed no disappointment, but he could no longer afford to be very forthcoming about the details of his schedule during the upcoming week.

Pawlenty's hurried manner on the way into breakfast left the reporter's intuition tingling over his halting answers to questions that had previously been met with teasing and tolerance. "Just... my schedule hasn't changed," he told her.

It hadn't. Which meant that he'd need a poker face to field questions from Dann and other reporters for another grueling four days.

All seemed normal in Norfolk
The story was classic Stu Stevens: too unbelievable to be anything but true.

Top Romney strategist Stuart Stevens was telling reporters in the Norfolk Marriott bar a tale about becoming seriously ill while working in Albania and subsequently having to be airlifted to a hospital in Zurich for treatment. By 11:00 pm Friday night, the press corps had long given up on trying to bait Stevens into giving something away about the vice presidential selection process, and war stories abounded instead. The mood was too casual, it seemed, for anything out of the ordinary to be going on.

After Stevens wrapped up the tale, NBC reporter Garrett Haake decided to call it a night early, ready to rest up for the launch of Romney's bus tour the following day. Teeth brushed, he flipped through his emails one last time before bed.

Then he saw the campaign’s advisory for its vice presidential selection.

An hour later, he would be standing on a pier in the middle of the night, staring in disbelief at the waves below.

Portman wouldn’t be the guy, either
Rob Portman missed the call.

The Ohio senator was giving remarks at Friday night's opening ceremonies for  Pelotonia, a charity bike ride to raise money for cancer research, when the phone rang around 7:30 pm. Mitt Romney was on the line, but Portman couldn't pick up.

Two hours later, Rafferty spotted Portman in the lobby of the Columbus Hyatt, clad in a bright red Ohio State Buckeyes polo.  By then, Portman had spoken with the GOP nominee, and he knew that he would be returning to Capitol Hill instead of the White House after all.

When the 11:00 pm announcement came that Romney would name his running mate the following day, it was clear to Rafferty that Portman couldn't be the guy. Was the charity bike tour an elaborate ruse? Was the senator being whisked to a secret location in an SUV, ushered thru hidden loading docks under the dark of night? 

It couldn't be. But he waited in the lobby until 4:00 am, just to make sure the Ohio pol didn't pull the fast one of a lifetime.

Chasing (and then losing) Pawlenty
Feeling just a few miles per hour short of a car chase, NBC's Jamie Novogrod was following a black Volvo carrying Tim Pawlenty and his wife Mary back to Manchester. The couple had attended two fundraisers on Romney's behalf that Friday evening, and reporters had waited in torrential rain to spot the couple's comings and goings.  The friend driving the former Minnesota governor had a New Englander's lead foot, and the reporter following at a safe distance strained to keep sight of the car.

Pawlenty's star had seemed to be dimming in recent days. So when Jamie got the call from a colleague that the pick was set to be announced the following morning, it seemed obvious that the governor couldn't possibly be “the guy” -- after all, he had a full slate of New Hampshire events the following day, with no hint of an abrupt departure for Norfolk.

At the Manchester exit off the highway, his view of the Volvo obstructed in the wet weather, Novogrod spotted too late the car's tail lights disappearing into the night several hundred yards down the road. 

"I've lost him," Novogrod told Dann, who was awaiting Pawlenty at his hotel. "You're on your own."

Blackberry down
On the air and on the web, NBC's reporting unfolded with few hiccups.

But behind the scenes, there was some sprinting that would have impressed the U.S. Olympic team, and at least one electronic casualty.

In Norfolk, Haake rushed down to the site of the USS Wisconsin, the site of the following morning's event that just so happened to bear the name of Ryan's home state.

Sockless and juggling camera equipment, he  heard the request over his cell phone's speakerphone to set up a liveshot of the event site.

Thud.

He dropped his blackberry, speaker blaring, to the wooden pier where it bounced once, twice, three times, over the edge into the bay.

Splash. It was gone.

By then, though, Haake already had some peace of mind. NBC had confirmed Ryan was the pick.

The pieces fall into place
At 12:01 am Saturday morning, after intense phone collaboration between reporters in the field, top correspondents, and seasoned producers, NBC News reported three Romney sources indicating that Ryan had been selected for the VP slot.

Throughout the network's team, the pieces had fallen into place.

Just after midnight, when he returned to his hotel, Pawlenty confirmed to Dann and other reporters waiting for him there that he wouldn't be traveling to Norfolk the following day. He wouldn't say who the pick was, but it was clear there was no chance he was the one. "I didn't enter this thinking I was going to be the vice presidential candidate," he said. "So I'm not disappointed."

Portman was safely in his hotel room. Shrugging a phone to each shoulder -- one for a network conference call and one for GOP sources -- NBC's reporters ruled out other also-rans: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, and others.

Where was Ryan?
None of them was "the guy."  But then ... where WAS "the guy?"

Moe, now accompanied by an NBC satellite truck and crew, was still at the Wisconsin congressman's house. She'd spoken to Ryan earlier that day and accompanied him home from a memorial service for victims of the Sikh temple shooting in his district. Arriving home at around 2:00 pm ET, Ryan had sheepishly admitted that he'd forgotten his keys and trekked into the backyard to dig around for a spare.

That was the last time anyone in the press saw the Wisconsin congressman until he appeared in Norfolk as a vice presidential nominee.

Because after a week of smoke and mirrors to keep secret the most-sought-after answer in American politics, he did just about the simplest thing in the world.

Paul Ryan walked casually into his backyard -- and kept walking. Out of reporters' sight, navigating through a familiar forest, he emerged to a car waiting to take him to the airport.

And then to Norfolk.