memeorandum: Dewhurst Holds Late, Modest Lead in Internal Poll (Kevin Brennan/Hotline On Call)

8:05 AM ET, July 30, 2012

Top Items:

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

Romney: You bet Jerusalem is the capital — Without specifically criticizing President Obama in his speech in Jerusalem, Mitt Romney delivered a blow to the Obama campaign's frantic efforts to defend the president's hostile stance toward the Jewish state simply by saying …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Taylor Marsh, The Gateway Pundit and Algemeiner.com

Eli Lake / The Daily Beast:

Exclusive: Key Pro-Israel Obama Ally Splits — Dennis Ross, who had worked with the Obama team since 2008, had the ear of the pro-Israel lobby. Now he's bowing out of politics, Eli Lake reports, just when Obama needs him most. — As Republican donors are financing multimillion-dollar campaigns …

Discussion: Datechguy's Blog, Via Meadia and JOSHUAPUNDIT

Daniel Pipes:
Romney's Remarkable Speech in Jerusalem

Discussion: Israpundit, JOSHUAPUNDIT, The Caucus, Power Line, The Right Scoop and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Fox News Insider:
Mitt Romney Delivers Foreign Policy Speech From Israel

Discussion: PJ Media, The Times of Israel, BuzzFeed, Hot Air and Seeing the Forest

Gopal Ratnam / Bloomberg:
Panetta Heads to Middle East as Iran Dominates Israel Talks

Discussion: The Times of Israel

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:

Upset brewing in Texas runoff? PPP says Cruz up big — The Dewhurst campaign released an internal poll earlier today showing Dewhurst up: … But the only independent poll, from PPP, shows Cruz up by 10, with full results to be released soon: … While not a perfect analogy …

Discussion: Power Line and Politico

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Cruz leads going into Tuesday — PPP's final poll of the Republican Senate runoff in Texas finds Ted Cruz opening up a 52-42 lead, an increase from our survey two weeks ago that found him ahead 49-44. — Cruz's victory is driven by 4 things: the Tea Party, the enthusiasm of his supporters …

Discussion: National Review

Kevin Brennan / Hotline On Call:
Dewhurst Holds Late, Modest Lead in Internal Poll

Discussion: RedState

Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:

Mitt Romney: A Candidate With a Serious Wimp Problem — Dodging reporters, fearing his base, hiding his taxes—is Mitt Romney just too insecure to be president? In Newsweek, Michael Tomasky surveys a history of presidential manliness and asks just where Mitt would fit amid the studly swagger of Dubya and Reagan.

Discussion: Washington Post, NewsBusters.org blogs, Rumproast, The Political Carnival, The Impolitic, American Power, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Mediaite, The Other McCain, Balloon Juice, CNN, Business Insider, PUNDITGUY, The Hinterland Gazette, Liberal Values, The Mahablog and Taylor Marsh

BuzzFeed:
Newsweek Calls Romney A “Wimp”

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Ed Driscoll, The PJ Tatler and Lean Forward

Anthony Watts / Watts Up With That?:

New study shows half of the global warming in the USA is artificial — PRESS RELEASE - U.S. Temperature trends show a spurious doubling due to NOAA station siting problems and post measurement adjustments. — Chico, CA July 29th, 2012 - 12 PM PDT - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Climate Etc., VICTORIA TAFT, The PJ Tatler, Power Line, Dot Earth, JustOneMinute, Instapundit, Hit & Run and New York Times

David Martosko / The Daily Caller:

Book bombshell: Obama canceled Bin Laden ‘kill’ raid three times at Jarrett's urging — At the urging of Valerie Jarrett, President Barack Obama canceled the operation to kill Osama bin Laden on three separate occasions before finally approving the May 2, 2011 Navy SEAL mission …

Discussion: Doug Ross and The Lonely Conservative

Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:

Bill Clinton to Have Key Convention Role — WASHINGTON — Former President Bill Clinton is set to play a central part in the Democratic convention, aides said, and will formally place President Obama's name into nomination by delivering a prime-time speech designed to present …

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots, Towleroad News #gay, USA Today, Taegan Goddard's …, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine and The Caucus

Yossi Verter / Haaretz:

Minutes before Netanyahu meeting, Romney cancels on Yacimovich — Circles close to former opposition leader Yacimovich say meeting cancelled over disagreements surrounding the economic measures the Netanyahu government is about to adopt. — U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Reuters, NO QUARTER, Firedoglake, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Hinterland Gazette

Jonathan Martin / Politico:
Mitt Romney: No more ‘diplomatic distance’ from Israel

Discussion: CBS News, Hot Air, Wall Street Journal and New York Magazine

Associated Press: In Israel, Romney Declares Jerusalem to Be Capital

Niall Stanage / The Hill:

Swing states give Obama the edge — President Obama has an overall edge in the 12 decisive battleground states that is measurably greater than his advantage in national polling. — The dynamic, which may reflect a combination of lower swing-state unemployment rates and demographic advantages …

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner / Politico:

Politicizing Voting Rights Act dims luster — The fundamental goals and bipartisan legacy of the Voting Rights Act are imperiled by Attorney General Eric Holder's Justice Department and the administration he serves. — The beleaguered attorney general recently asserted that common-sense efforts …

Discussion: Whiskey Fire

Emily Friedman / ABCNEWS:

Romney Not Sure If He's Paid Less Than 13.9% in Taxes — JERUSALEM - Mitt Romney could not say today whether he had ever paid a tax rate lower than 13.9 percent, saying he would have to “go back and check.” — In an exclusive interview with ABC News' David Muir to air tonight on World News …

Discussion: New York Magazine and ABCNEWS

Zack Ford / ThinkProgress:

Scalia Suggests ‘Hand-Held Rocket Launchers’ Are Protected Under Second Amendment — This morning on Fox News Sunday, Justice Antonin Scalia reiterated just how extremely his Constitutional originalism can be applied. Referring to the recent shooting in Aurora, CO, host Chris Wallace asked …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Reaction, Bark Bark Woof Woof, The Political Carnival, Firedoglake, PoliticusUSA and DownWithTyranny!

John Aloysius Farrell / NationalJournal.com: Scalia: Guns May be Regulated

Chris Wallace / Fox News:
Justice Antonin Scalia on issues facing SCOTUS and the country

Discussion: Althouse and Outside the Beltway

Mindy Schauer / Orange County Register:

Anaheim protests: 2 arrested; route to Disneyland cut off — Anaheim police take a man into custody in front of the police department after a day of protests alternating between peaceful and unruly. — Text: Next Article » — By ERIC CARPENTER, ANDREW GALVIN, SCOTT MARTINDALE and SONYA SMITH

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, ABCNEWS, Firedoglake and San Francisco Bay View

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

Defining Religious Liberty Down — THE words “freedom of belief” do not appear in the First Amendment. Nor do the words “freedom of worship.” Instead, the Bill of Rights guarantees Americans something that its authors called “the free exercise” of religion.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and American Spectator