memeorandum: Obama wants Mideast peace in second term (Jennifer Epstein/Politico)

7:40 PM ET, July 15, 2012

Top Items:

Keith Laing / The Hill:

Gillespie says Romney ‘retired retroactively’ from Bain Capital — Senior Mitt Romney campaign adviser Ed Gillespie blasted President Obama's attacks on the GOP candidate, saying Romney had been honest about his tenure at the private equity giant Bain Capital.

Discussion: CNN, Politico, msnbc.com, Outside the Beltway, Liberal Values, American Power, The Reaction, The Moderate Voice, The Hinterland Gazette, Mother Jones, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, Little Green Footballs, The Raw Story, The Huffington Post and Boston Globe

Adam Peck / ThinkProgress:

Romney Adviser: Romney Not Responsible For Bain Because He ‘Retired Retroactively’ — Mitt Romney and senior campaign advisor Ed Gillespie — Ed Gillespie, a senior campaign advisor for Mitt Romney, appeared on Meet the Press this morning to answer questions about Romney's tenure at Bain Capital …

Discussion: News Desk, The Raw Story, emptywheel, msnbc.com, The Mahablog, Balloon Juice and The Impolitic

Keith Laing / The Hill:

Sen. Durbin: Romney running away from Bain ‘like a scalded cat’ — Durbin said Romney could clear questions about his tenure at Bain “this afternoon” by releasing more tax records. — Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) Sunday said GOP presidential Mitt Romney candidate is running away …

Discussion: Politico and Booman Tribune

Jonathan Martinand James Hohmann / Politico:

Republican governors want Mitt Romney to hit back — WILLIAMSBURG, Va., — Republican governors gathered here this weekend gently nudged Mitt Romney to wage a more aggressive campaign, urging the GOP standard bearer to share more about his background and draw a sharper contrast between his vision and that of President Barack Obama.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, CNN, Washington Monthly, No More Mister Nice Blog, Riehl World View and BuzzFeed

Elise Foley / The Huffington Post:
Ed Gillespie: Mitt Romney ‘Retired Retroactively’ From Bain Capital

Discussion: New York Magazine and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Jim Kuhnhenn / Associated Press:
Obama Ad ‘Firms’ Slams Romney's Jobs Record, Overseas Accounts

Discussion: The Huffington Post, ThinkProgress, FreakOutNation, Runnin' Scared and The Hill

Annie Karni / New York Post:

Disgraced pol Weiner eyes mayor or public advocate run — Anthony Weiner's not shrinking from elected office. — The disgraced former congressman — who's sitting on a $4.5 million campaign war chest — is mulling a bid for citywide office next year and “seriously considering” a mayoral run, multiple sources told The Post.

Discussion: CBS New York, Mediaite, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hotline On Call, Runnin' Scared, Gothamist, New York Magazine, The Conservatory, Atlas Shrugs, Outside the Beltway, Business Insider, Jammie Wearing Fools and BuzzFeed

Jason DeParle / New York Times:

Two Classes, Divided by ‘I Do’ — ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Jessica Schairer has so much in common with her boss, Chris Faulkner, that a visitor to the day care center they run might get them confused. — They are both friendly white women from modest Midwestern backgrounds who left for college …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Swampland, The Big Picture, Angry Bear and Economix

Jennifer Epstein / Politico:

Obama wants Mideast peace in second term — President Obama's agenda for a second term includes bringing peace to the Middle East. — “I have not been able to move the peace process forward in the Middle East the way I wanted,” he said in an interview with WJLA, the ABC affiliate in Washington …

Scott Wilson / Washington Post:
Where Obama failed on forging peace in the Middle East

Discussion: americanthinker.com, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Power Line, Israel Matzav and Balloon Juice

Manu Raju / Politico:

Kristol: ‘Crazy’ not to show taxes — Bill Kristol and the Obama campaign agree on something: Mitt Romney should immediately release his tax returns. — “He should release the tax returns tomorrow. It's crazy,” Kristol said on “Fox News Sunday.” “You gotta release six, eight, 10 years of back tax returns.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Mediaite and New York Magazine

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:

Obama takes break from campaign to hit the links — After a week spent campaigning in Iowa and Virginia, President Obama took a break from the trail by hitting the links. — Obama headed to Fort Belvoir in Northern Virginia on Sunday for a round of golf.

Discussion: CNN, Scared Monkeys, Weasel Zippers and Jammie Wearing Fools

Charles Mahtesian / Politico:

Ron Paul gets ‘smoked’ in Nebraska — It looks like Ron Paul isn't going to be officially nominated for the presidency in Tampa. — His backers failed to win a plurality of delegate slots at the Nebraska GOP convention Saturday, leaving the Texas congressman short of the support necessary …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, Mediaite, americanthinker.com and The Hill

Michelle Obama / CNN:

First lady: This election closer than 2008 — (CNN) - Speaking to supporters at a farm in New York's Hudson Valley on Sunday, first lady Michelle Obama predicted a tighter result in November than the 7-point margin her husband enjoyed over Sen. John McCain in 2008.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Lindsey Boerma / CBS News: Obama: Not enough change in first term

KCRG-TV:

Search Continues in Black Hawk County for Two Missing Girls — KCRG/Gazette/Waterloo Courier Staff Reports — EVANSDALE, Iowa — Black Hawk County authorities have given an update on the search for the two girls Sunday. — Volunteers searchers will fan out across the Evansdale area …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, ABCNEWS and Riehl World View

Elise Labott / CNN:

Protests as Clinton holds meetings in Egypt — Cairo (CNN) — Egyptian protesters threw tomatoes and shoes at U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's motorcade Sunday and shouted, “Monica, Monica, Monica” as she left the newly reopened U.S. Consulate in Alexandria.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Hillary Rodham Clinton / US Department of State:
Remarks With Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr

Discussion: JOSHUAPUNDIT, Israpundit and Israel Matzav

Daily Mail:

Newborn girl ‘buried alive by her father in Pakistan because she was deformed’ — Pakistani police have arrested a man accused of burying his newborn daughter alive because she was physically deformed. — Mohammed Anwar, a police officer in the city of Khanewal in the eastern Punjab province …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Riehl World View