Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
Romney's Tax Confusion — The candidate's response on the ObamaCare mandate reveals larger campaign problems. — If Mitt Romney loses his run for the White House, a turning point will have been his decision Monday to absolve President Obama of raising taxes on the middle class.
RELATED:
First Read / msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: Romney's fatal flaw — Penalty-vs.-tax episode exposes Romney's fatal flaw: Conservatives simply don't trust him... Romney's verbal gymnastics... Will tomorrow finally allow Romney to change the subject to the economy after three weeks when it hasn't been the dominant issue? …
Discussion:
American Prospect, Washington Post and ABCNEWS
William Kristol / Weekly Standard:
Dukakis, Kerry ... Romney? — Remember Michael Dukakis (1988) and John Kerry (2004)? It's possible to lose a winnable presidential election to a vulnerable incumbent in the White House (or in the case of 1988, a sitting vice president). So, speaking of losing candidates from Massachusetts …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Ricochet Conversations Feed and Swampland
Tom Troy / Toledo Blade:
China to face accusation of unfair trade
China to face accusation of unfair trade
Discussion:
Politico and aflcio.org
Jan Crawford / CBS News:
Ann Romney: Obama's whole campaign strategy is “let's kill this guy” — (CBS News) On a mission to shatter the image of her husband as rigid and unrelatable, Ann Romney told CBS News she worries that President Obama's entire campaign strategy is “kill Romney.”
Discussion:
Politico, Wonkette, protein wisdom, Althouse, The Raw Story, Washington Post, Rumproast and Freedom's Lighthouse
RELATED:
Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Ann Romney says woman could be VP — Ann Romney said Thursday that at least one woman is under consideration as Mitt Romney's running mate. — “We've been looking at that. And I'd love that option as well,” Ann told “CBS This Morning” when asked if she'd like to see a female vice presidential nominee.
Jan Crawford / CBS News:
Romney: Roberts' health care ruling “not accurate”
Romney: Roberts' health care ruling “not accurate”
Discussion:
Business Insider
Rose Gordon Sala / msnbc.com:
It's a penalty, it's a tax ... it's more Romney flip-flopping on health care — Just two days after Mitt Romney's top spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, said the former governor agrees with President Obama that the health insurance mandate does not represent a tax, the candidate reversed that positioning.
Discussion:
theGrio and The Agonist
RELATED:
Jan Crawford / CBS News:
Romney clarifies health care mandate position
Romney clarifies health care mandate position
Discussion:
Swampland, Washington Examiner, Scared Monkeys, New York Magazine and Crooks and Liars
Alicia M. Cohn / Ballot Box:
Romney criticizes Chief Justice Roberts on healthcare decision
Romney criticizes Chief Justice Roberts on healthcare decision
Discussion:
CNN
Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Romney Shifts Tone, Saying Health Care Mandate Is a Tax
Romney Shifts Tone, Saying Health Care Mandate Is a Tax
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Maddow Blog, The Caucus, The Daily Dish, BuzzFeed, Prairie Weather and Firedoglake
Lindsey Boerma / CBS News:
Romney: Individual mandate “is a tax”
Lauren Steussy / KNSD-TV:
Fireworks Shot Off Early in Bay — Big Bay Boom fireworks display delayed after sudden burst — Thousands of people who camped out to watch the Big Bay Boom in San Diego's Glorietta Bay Wednesday night got more of a Big Bay Bust. — Port District authorities said a “technical difficulty” …
Discussion:
Ricochet Conversations Feed, msnbc.com, The Atlantic Wire, Gawker, Guardian, L.A. NOW, Stinque and Towleroad News #gay
RELATED:
Rong-Gong Lin II / L.A. NOW:
San Diego fireworks show exploded in 15 seconds, ruining show [Video]
San Diego fireworks show exploded in 15 seconds, ruining show [Video]
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and The Raw Story
Kurt Andersen / New York Times:
The Downside of Liberty — THIS spring I was on a panel at the Woodstock Writers Festival. An audience member asked a question: Why had the revolution dreamed up in the late 1960s mostly been won on the social and cultural fronts — women's rights, gay rights, black president, ecology …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hot Air and Booman Tribune
RELATED:
Timothy Dalrymple / Philosophical Fragments:
Against the Hippies: Or, In Defense of American Individualism
New York Post:
Corzine is having no fun in the shun — How the mighty have fallen. — It seems like only yesterday that Jon Corzine was the life of the party, holding court on the Hamptons political circuit, raising money for Barack Obama. — Now, Corzine — just months removed from a humiliating financial scandal …
Discussion:
Jammie Wearing Fools and DealBook
Marisa Schultz / detroitnews.com:
TV pilot an outlet for Rep. McCotter — Lowbrow project was a way to deal with his failed presidential bid — As U.S. Rep. Thad McCotter's short-lived presidential run fizzled last year, the Livonia Republican turned to another aspiration: writing a TV show.
Discussion:
Politico, Taegan Goddard's …, TheBlaze.com and Hotline On Call
Ian Swanson / The Hill:
Marine Corps band plays Romney song on White House lawn — A subset of the Marine Corps band struck up one of Mitt Romney's walkout songs while President Obama was greeting visitors at the White House Independence Day celebration. — A White House pool report said the band struck up Rodney Atkins's …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and iOwnTheWorld.com
Lucia Mutikani / Reuters:
Hopeful signs emerge for struggling jobs market — (Reuters) - U.S. private employers stepped up hiring in June and the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits last week fell by the most in two months, hopeful signs for the struggling labor market.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway and americanthinker.com
Wall Street Journal:
Why Health-Spending Trend Matters — Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has declared President Barack Obama's health-care initiative constitutional, the next health policy move awaits the outcome of the November elections. — But the U.S. health-care system isn't waiting.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post and The Incidental Economist
RELATED:
Elizabeth Mendes / Gallup:
Adults Aged 26 to 64 Lose Employer Healthcare; Young Gain It — Government-based insurance up among both age groups — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fewer U.S. adults aged 26 to 64 are getting health insurance from an employer in 2012, continuing a downward trend that began in 2008.
Discussion:
Reuters and ThinkProgress
Austan Goolsbee / Wall Street Journal:
The Supreme Court Rules, Markets Yawn — Cash hoarding and slow growth have nothing to do with ObamaCare. — Of all the public reactions to last Thursday's surprise ruling from the Supreme Court on the Affordable Care Act, one of the most interesting came from the markets: Nothing happened.
Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:
Alabama Pastor Holds ‘Whites Only’ Conference — All loving Christians are invited to celebrate the word of God at Rev. William Collier's annual conference — that is, as long and they are white. — Collier's Alabama town is outraged over the flyer for his pastors' conference, which specifies “All White Christians Invited.”
Discussion:
WECT-TV, WSFA-TV and The Raw Story