memeorandum: VP Shortlister Rob Portman Comes Out Swinging in Colorado (Gregory Simmons/ABCNEWS)

6:45 PM ET, August 8, 2012

Top Items:

Kevin Robillard / Politico:

Romney spokesperson cites Massachusetts health law — A Mitt Romney spokesperson offered an unusual counterattack Tuesday to an ad in which a laid-off steelworker blames the presumptive GOP nominee for his family losing health care: If that family had lived in Massachusetts …

Erick Erickson / RedState:

The Moment All the Doubts About Romney Resurfaced on the Right — Priorities USA was damaging itself and Barack Obama over its mind numbingly insane ad painting Mitt Romney as a killer. — Then the Romney campaign decided to sabotage itself with a mind numbingly bit of spin that may mark the day the Romney campaign died.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, USA Today, Washington Post, Smartypants, The PJ Tatler, Erick's blog and Politico

Reid J. Epstein / Politico:

Team Obama denies knowing story of man in its TV ad, call — When President Obama's aides said they weren't familiar with former Missouri steelworker Joe Soptic's life story, all they had to do was check their own campaign archives. — Soptic, laid off from Bain Capital-owned GST Steel …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, The Hill, Washington Free Beacon, National Review and Washington Examiner

Deborah Charles / Reuters:

Obama's lead over Romney grows despite voters' pessimism — (Reuters) - Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the future but voters do not seem to be holding it against Democratic President Barack Obama, who slightly expanded his lead over Republican rival Mitt Romney this month, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll says.

Discussion: Ballot Box, theGrio, Business Insider and The Moderate Voice

Amie Parnes / The Hill:

Obama: Mitt Romney wants to take women back to policies of the '50s — President Obama on Wednesday accused Republicans of wanting to take the nation “back to policies more suited to the 1950s than the 21st century” during a campaign stop aimed at securing support from women.

Discussion: CNN and Politico

Quinnipiac University:

Wisconsin, Virginia, Colorado White House Races Close, Quinnipiac University/New York Times/CBS News Swing State Poll Finds — Watch Video: Assistant Director Tim Malloy discusses poll results — Clip Information and Download: — FLV File -For Website (1920x1080/225MB) Original .MP4 File -For Broadcast (1920x1080/289MB)

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, Guardian, GOP 12, Business Insider, Hotline On Call, Firedoglake, First Read, USA Today and Public Policy Polling

New York Times:

Polls See Sharp Divide in 3 Swing States — For all of the Democratic attacks painting Mitt Romney as an out-of-touch elitist who will help the rich at the expense of the middle class, he is maintaining the traditional — and sizable — Republican advantage among a politically vital constituency …

Discussion: CBS News, The Caucus, Rasmussen Reports, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, CNN, American Prospect, The Confluence, USA Today, The Moderate Voice, Washington Examiner, New York Magazine, Taylor Marsh and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

The 1600 Report:
Ad linking Romney to death of the wife of a laid off steelworker not accurate

Gregory Simmons / ABCNEWS:
VP Shortlister Rob Portman Comes Out Swinging in Colorado

Discussion: ABCNEWS and Washington Post

Olivier Knox / ABCNEWS:
Obama campaign: Don't blame us for ad blaming Romney for cancer death

Discussion: CNN, The Page, Politico and Michelle Malkin

Pema Levy / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPM2012 — Team Romney Scares Conservatives By Touting ‘Romneycare’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Maddow Blog

Sandra Fluke / The Huffington Post:
Why I'm Standing With President Obama Today

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Althouse and The Lonely Conservative

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Report: Rep. Steve King mulling bill to repeal everything Obama has signed — Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), an outspoken critic of just about everything President Obama supports, is considering introducing a bill that would repeal everything Obama has signed into law.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Raw Story

Bill Shea / Messenger News:
King plans immigration order lawsuit

Discussion: ThinkProgress and The PJ Tatler

Amanda Terkel / The Huffington Post:

Ron Haskins, GOP Welfare Reform Architect, Blasts Mitt Romney Ad … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Elections 2012, Mitt Romney, Elections 2012, Video, Election 2012, Romney Campaign, Mitt Romney 2012, Mitt Romney Welfare, Mitt Romney Welfare Reform, Ron Haskins, Ron Haskins Welfare …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, NPR, Associated Press, Hit & Run, The Heritage Foundation, CNN, The New Republic, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Daily Kos

Politifact.com Truth-O-Meter rulings from National:
Mitt Romney: “Under Obama's plan (for welfare) …

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post: Obama's welfare debacle

Reuters:

Paul Ryan veep prospects split GOP — As Mitt Romney's vice presidential selection nears and buzz about Rep. Paul Ryan's prospects builds, a split is emerging among Republicans about whether the choice of the House Budget chairman and architect of the party's controversial tax and spending plan …

Discussion: National Review, Los Angeles Times, PERRspectives, Daily Kos, Politico, Althouse, The Daily Beast, ABCNEWS, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Wire, The Huffington Post and The Other McCain

First Read:
First Thoughts: The final three

Discussion: Politico, Power Line, Kansas City Star, Washington Wire, The Maddow Blog, Outside the Beltway, AEIdeas, GOP 12 and Hot Air

Michael Falcone / ABCNEWS:
New Poll Puts Mitt Romney In The Deep End (The Note)

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Raw Story and Business Insider

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:

Economists to Romney campaign: That's not what our research says — On Tuesday, the Romney campaign responded to the fire it's taking from economic analysts by unleashing some artillery of their own. They released a paper by four decorated economists associated with the campaign …

Discussion: The Maddow Blog and Taking Note

Dylan Matthews / Washington Post:
The Romney campaign says stimulus doesn't work. Here are the studies they left out.

Discussion: Ricochet Conversations Feed and AEIdeas

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

Why the Reaction Is Different When the Terrorist Is White — Atrocities like the attack on the Sikh congregation in Wisconsin introduce terrifying dissonance into America's post-9/11 mindset. — Members of the Sikh congregation mourn their dead. / Reuters

Discussion: The Awl, No More Mister Nice Blog, Booman Tribune, The Daily Dish, Wired, Daily Kos and Mother Jones

Matthew Jaffe / ABCNEWS:
Alleged Wisconsin Gunman Wade Michael Page's Ex-Girlfriend Arrested

Discussion: The Jawa Report, JSOnline, The Hinterland Gazette, The Other McCain, New York Magazine and Newsy

TechPresident:

GAME OVER: WIKIPEDIA LOCKS DOWN POTENTIAL VP PAGES IN RESPONSE TO COLBERT MISCHIEF-MAKING — The act of observing something can sometimes change the thing being observed. Case in point: my observation on Monday that we might be able to get useful clues as to the identity …

Discussion: Mediaite, The Hill, USA Today, Little Green Footballs and New York Magazine

Dylan Byers / Politico:
Wikipedia locks possible VPs' pages

Discussion: New York Magazine, Washington Post, ABCNEWS and BuzzFeed

New York Post:

Jewish gal shows up IOC with a gold salute to Munich 11 — It wasn't a gloved-fist salute from the medal stand, but Jewish-American gymnast Aly Raisman made quite a statement yesterday by winning a gold medal and invoking the memory of the Israeli athletes killed 40 years ago in Munich.

Discussion: JOSHUAPUNDIT, Swampland, Taylor Marsh and Althouse

Hamilton Nolan / Gawker:

Let's Have a Maximum Income — Rich people across the Western world are anxiously watching France, where president Francois Hollande is vowing to raise the top tax rate—on earnings over $1.2 million a year—to 75 percent. Tres bien, Mr. Hollande. The problem with this otherwise fine idea …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and Vodkapundit

Liz Alderman / New York Times:
‘Les Riches’ in France Vow to Leave if 75% Tax Rate Is Passed

Discussion: National Review, CNBC, americanthinker.com, The Lonely Conservative, Via Meadia and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Steve Erickson / American Prospect:

The GOP's Kamikaze Candidate — I spent most of July in the upper Midwest and was reminded that not everyone in America passes the summer fixated on politics. They go to the beach, catch fish, grill burgers, eat ice cream, try to stay cool, see The Dark Knight Rises without recognizing …

Discussion: TBogg and Booman Tribune

NationalJournal.com:

Expect Romney to Surprise With Running Mate Pick — Every month at the Hotline, we publish our veepstakes rankings, the list of the most likely running mates to serve on Republican Mitt Romney's presidential ticket. It's preceded by a vigorous staff-wide debate on the merits of the numerous contenders.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, 2012 Decoded, The Hill and GOP 12

Shushannah Walshe / ABCNEWS:
Pawlenty Says 'We'll Know Soon Enough'

Discussion: ABCNEWS, First Read and CNN

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

How Romney's Pick of a Running Mate Could Sway the Outcome — We haven't had that much to say about Mitt Romney's choice of a vice-presidential nominee — mostly because it just isn't something that lends itself to rigorous analysis. — But let's focus on the part of the problem where our tools …

Discussion: Swampland, Outside the Beltway and Booman Tribune

Chris Moody / Yahoo! News:

One night in Rob Portman's haunted hotel — LEBANON, Ohio—The sun is setting on this small town in southwest Ohio, and when darkness reigns, strange things happen at the Golden Lamb Inn. Or so I'm told. — The Inn, owned by the family of Ohio Sen. Rob Portman for the better part of the last century …

Discussion: FishbowlDC and Mediaite

BuzzFeed:

Romney Chased By Jewish Wedding Party On Harrowing Drive Through New Jersey — Reporters are taken for an exciting ride — including 90+ MPH speeds and an Orthodox Jewish wedding. This bride is pissed. — Image by Charles Dharapak / AP — Mitt Romney's motorcade took a harrowing drive through New Jersey this afternoon.

Discussion: Politicker and Indecision Forever

Alexandra Zawia / Hollywood Reporter:

Harry Belafonte on Capitalism, Media Moguls and His Disappointment With Jay-Z and Beyonce (Q&A) — At the Locarno Film Festival to pick up the Golden Leopard Honor Award, the singer and actor also talks about his fears of a Fourth Reich and why Mitt Romney shouldn't be president.

Discussion: theGrio, Associated Press, Mediaite and The Hinterland Gazette