memeorandum: Dullest Campaign Ever (David Brooks/New York Times)

3:10 PM ET, July 31, 2012

Top Items:

CNN:

Romney aide loses cool, curses at press in Poland — Warsaw, Poland (CNN) - The traveling press secretary for Mitt Romney lost his cool and cursed at reporters who attempted to ask questions of the Republican presidential candidate in a public plaza near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw Tuesday.

Jonathan Martin / Reuters:

Romney aide to reporters: ‘Shove it!’ — WARSAW—A Mitt Romney aide told reporters to “shove it” Tuesday morning after the American press corps here shouted questions at the presidential candidate. — As Romney was walking away from Pilsudski Square toward his vehicle …

Lucy Madison / CBS News:

Romney: I “did not speak about” Palestinian culture — (CBS News) Under fire from Palestinian leaders for recent comments suggesting that Israel's economic success is borne out of its “culture,” Mitt Romney on Tuesday attempted to clarify his remarks, telling Fox News in an interview …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Little Green Footballs, The Spectacle Blog, blog.sfgate.com, Washington Examiner, Telegraph, National Review and Washington Post

Matthew Shelley / NationalJournal.com:

Romney on Gaffes: It's the Media's Fault — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney earlier this month. — In his first comments addressing multiple gaffes during his overseas trip, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Tuesday fell back on a staple of troubled political campaigns: Blame the media.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Indecision Forever, Washington Post, msnbc.com and 2012 Decoded

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

Romney's Warsaw Speech — Mitt Romney's stop in Jerusalem will probably remain the highlight of his foreign trip, but his eloquent and powerful speech today in Warsaw deserves more notice than it will probably get. In his remarks, Romney suggests a theme for his trip as a whole and a rationale …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and GOP 12

John Nolte / BREITBART.COM:

NPR'S COKIE ROBERTS: ROMNEY POLAND TRIP RACIALLY MOTIVATED — What's important about the NPR excerpt below, which broadcast this morning, is that this is everything NPR's Cokie Roberts has to say about Romney's motives for going to Poland. This is the entirety of it.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Washington Post:

Mitt Romney's foreign trip didn't go well. Does it matter? — Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney later today wraps up his foreign tour, a trip that drew a series of negative headlines and has left many Republicans wondering what exactly the GOP presidential nominee was hoping to accomplish.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Times of Israel, Outside the Beltway, Applesauce, Daily Kos, New York Magazine, Politico, nation.foxnews.com, Political Capital, CNN, The Hill and Gallup

David Brooks / New York Times:
Dullest Campaign Ever

Discussion: Wonkette

Roger Simon / Politico:
Mitt Romney should have stayed home from Europe

Discussion: CNN, ABCNEWS and The Moderate Voice

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:
Go Gorka! — Listen to the audio of the media horde screaming …

Discussion: Politico

Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:
Romney Aide Tells Reporters To Stop Asking Questions: ‘Kiss My Ass’

Discussion: Reuters, Mediaite, Politico and Dependable Renegade

Gideon Rachman / Financial Times:
If you liked George W. Bush, you'll love Mitt Romney

Discussion: Politico, The Hinterland Gazette, CNN and ThinkProgress

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
The Most Striking Thing About Mitt Romney's Overseas Trip...

Discussion: The Caucus, Associated Press, Washington Post, Hot Air, Wall Street Journal, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Booman Tribune and Whiskey Fire

Rachel Rose Hartman / ABCNEWS:
Elizabeth Warren to open for Bill Clinton at Democratic convention

Discussion: CNN, The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers, The Daily Caller and Vodkapundit

Glen Johnson / Boston Globe:
Elizabeth Warren to speak before Bill Clinton at Democratic convention, but will not deliver keynote

Discussion: iOwnTheWorld.com, The Lonely Conservative, Hotline On Call, msnbc.com and TheBlaze.com

First Read / msnbc.com:
Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivers foreign policy remarks at the University …

Discussion: Politico, NationalJournal.com and Liberal Values

Knoxville News-Sentinel:

Report: Mitt Romney photo on Facebook sets off man, who assaults girlfriend — CLINTON — He suspected his live-in girlfriend of planning an affair, and when he saw a picture of a man he didn't recognize on her Facebook page, it set him off, according to reports.

Discussion: Mediaite, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Daily Caller, The Other McCain and Riehl World View

Wbastone / The Smoking Gun:

Romney Photo Spurs Domestic Abuse Incident — Suspect mistook Republican pol for live-in girlfriend's sidepiece — Suspicious that his live-in girlfriend was planning an affair, a Tennessee man confronted the woman after spotting a photo of an unknown guy on her Facebook page, according to a police report.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Wonkette and The Raw Story

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Obama Campaign Brings Up ‘Felons’ in Latest Ad — The latest web ad from Barack Obama's campaign goes after Mitt Romney for not releasing more tax returns than he already has. The ad, titled “Mitt Romney's Tax Returns: When Will He Come Clean?,” at one point flashes two words onscreen, “FELONS” and “TAX RECORDS.”

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and American Power

Justin Sink / Ballot Box:
Romney campaign to announce VP selection via smartphone app

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, Washington Post, Politics Extra, Political Capital, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, The Verge, GigaOM, USA Today and Washington Monthly

BuzzFeed:
Obama Adviser Calls Romney's Foreign Trip An “Embarrassing Disaster”

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette

Ed Anderson / New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Bobby Jindal won't be Mitt Romney's running mate, Buddy Roemer predicts

Discussion: Politico, Slate, Philly.com, GOP 12 and Univision News Tumblr

Amy Willis / Telegraph:

London Olympics 2012: Twitter 'alerted NBC to British journalist's critical tweets' — Twitter employees alerted NBC staff to a British journalist's tweets and showed them how to file a complaint against him, the television network has revealed. — Gary Zenkel and Matt Lauer …

Discussion: Guardian, Mashable!, The Verge, Deadspin, The Awl, The Raw Story, National Review, skippy the bush kangaroo, GigaOM, New York Magazine, William K. Wolfrum Chronicles and The Independent, more at Mediagazer »

Guy Adams / The Independent:
I thought the internet age had ended this kind of censorship

Discussion: GigaOM, TechCrunch, DCist, The Daily Caller, Guardian, American Power and Deadspin, more at Mediagazer »

Guy Adams / The Independent:
NBCFail: NBC blames Twitter for complaint that led to journalist Guy Adams having Twitter account …

Discussion: GigaOM, New York Magazine, BuzzMachine, Poynter, Media Decoder and Deadspin, more at Mediagazer »

Stephen Moore / Wall Street Journal:

The Man Who Saved Capitalism — Milton Friedman, who would have turned 100 on Tuesday, helped to make free markets popular again in the 20th century. His ideas are even more important today. — It's a tragedy that Milton Friedman—born 100 years ago on July 31—did not live long enough …

Discussion: Power Line, Conservatives4Palin, Maggie's Farm, Hot Air, Cold Fury, National Review, Betsy's Page, americanthinker.com, Chicago Boyz and Hit & Run

Lawrence Norden / Brennan Center for Justice:

Better Design, Better Elections — PUBLICATIONS — Design defects in ballots, voter instructions, and voting machines contributed to the loss of several hundred thousand votes in the most recent national elections. In addition, in the 2008 and 2010 general elections combined …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Ethan Bronner / New York Times:
Voting Systems' Plagues Go Far Beyond Identification

Discussion: Cincinnati.com

BuzzFeed:

Proposition 8 Supporters Ask Supreme Court To Keep Marriage Ban — At issue: Whether amendment banning same-sex couples from marrying is constitutional. Appeals court had struck down the amendment. — Another hot issue could be headed for the Supreme Court. — Image by Mark Wilson / Getty Images

Discussion: Advocate, The New Civil Rights Movement and Joe. My. God.

Byron Tau / Politico:

Obama donates to himself — President Obama has given $5,000 to his own reelection campaign, an official confirms to POLITICO. — In an email to supporters this morning, Obama said that he had given to his own reelection campaign for the first time as a symbolic gesture.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The PJ Tatler

Susie Madrak / Crooks and Liars:

Bill Keller has a sad over Social Security, Medicare — Here's Bill Keller with Judith Miller, his favorite fabulist and war-mongering protege. Jeeves, where is my car? — Bill Keller is such a punk-ass, social-climbing member of the elite that he has NO IDEA AT ALL what he's really talking about.

Discussion: Power Line, Suburban Guerrilla and Discourse.net

Charles Lane / Washington Post:
Social Security Disability Insurance's incentive not to work

Discussion: Eschaton

Richard A. Serrano / Los Angeles Times:

Exclusive: Five ATF officials found responsible for Fast and Furious — Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, co-authored a report finding that five senior ATF officials were responsible for the Fast and Furious operation.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Heritage Foundation, The PJ Tatler, Nice Deb and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Jordy Yager / The Hill:
Scathing GOP report on ‘Fast and Furious’ blames five ATF officials

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Scared Monkeys

Manu Raju / Politico:

Government funding deal reached — House and Senate leaders have reached a deal to keep federal agencies running into next year, sources say, a move that would avoid a partisan government shutdown fight before the November elections. — The agreement in principle by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid …

Discussion: CNN

The Atlantic Online:

Statistical Probability That Mitt Romney's New Twitter Followers Are Just Normal Users: 0% — It is virtually impossible that the former governor's recent spike in Twitter followers resulted from normal activity on the social network. — Reuters. — Last week Zach Green of 140Elect …

Discussion: TechCrunch and Prairie Weather