Team Obama breaks precedent to try to spoil Romney's convention  —  Bucking protocol, President Obama and the Democrats are planning a full-scale assault on Republicans next week during their convention.  —  Bucking protocol, President Obama and the Democrats are planning a full-scale assault …

Ryan Micro-Bump In Florida, Wisconsin, But Not Ohio, Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times Swing State Poll Finds  —  FLORIDA: Obama 49 - Romney 46, compared to Obama 51 - 45 percent August 1  —  OHIO: Obama 50 - Romney 44, unchanged from August 1  —  WISCONSIN: Obama 49 - Romney 47, compared to Obama 51 - 45 August 8

Lubbock Co. Judge warns of potential danger if Obama is re-elected  —  Lubbock County Judge Tom Head and Commissioner Mark Heinrich went into great detail Monday night on FOX 34 News @ Nine about why it is necessary to raise the tax rate by 1.7 cents the next fiscal year.

Sheriff candidate says he wouldn't reject deadly force to stop abortions  —  Candidate says he believes elective, late-term abortions aren't lawful  —  Candidate's abortion comments draw criticism  —  A Republican candidate for Hillsborough County Sheriff said Wednesday …

Michelle Obama: ‘Get to the Polls on November the 2’  —  Michelle Obama, speaking yesterday at a campaign event in Florida: … The presidential election this year is November 6.

Obama: Team Romney coming on strong, playing dirty, time to ‘put them away’  —  President Obama joined a group of former NBA stars at a fundraiser at New York's Lincoln Center Wednesday night.  With Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley and other basketball legends sitting nearby …

AP Exclusive: Energy loan watchdog an Obama donor  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A veteran Wall Street executive who performed an independent review that exonerated the Obama administration's program of loans to energy companies contributed $52,500 to re-elect President Barack Obama in the months since completing …

MITT ROMNEY SETS GOAL OF NORTH AMERICAN ENERGY INDEPENDENCE BY 2020  —  A crucial component of Mitt Romney's Plan for a Stronger Middle Class is a comprehensive energy strategy to achieve North American energy independence by 2020 and establish America as an energy superpower in the 21st century.

The Lost Decade of the Middle Class  —  Fewer, Poorer, Gloomier  —  CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW  —  As the 2012 presidential candidates prepare their closing arguments to America's middle class, they are courting a group that has endured a lost decade for economic well-being.

Cops: Lesbian Fakes Attack In Which She Carved Anti-Gay Slurs Into Skin  —  LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former University of Nebraska women's basketball star faked an attack in which she allegedly carved anti-gay slurs into her skin because she felt it would spark change, police said Tuesday.

Ties to Obama Aided in Access for Big Utility  —  WASHINGTON — Early in the Obama administration, a lobbyist for the Illinois-based energy producer Exelon Corporation proudly called it “the president's utility.”  And it was not just because it delivers power to Barack Obama's Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago.

Fear of a Black President  —  As a candidate, Barack Obama said we needed to reckon with race and with America's original sin, slavery.  But as our first black president, he has avoided mention of race almost entirely.  In having to be “twice as good” and “half as black,” …

Dan Savage and Brian Brown Debate Gay Marriage Over the Dinner Table  —  THE ancient Greek symposium, which combined drinking with elevated discussion, was often held in a private house; at Parisian salons, conversation frequently took place in the bedroom.  Once upon a time …

TRENDING: Clinton stars in new Obama ad  —  (CNN) - Former President Bill Clinton takes center stage in a new ad released by President Barack Obama's re-election campaign on Thursday.  —  The former president, who's been a top surrogate for Obama this year, largely praises Obama in the spot …

‘O-I-H-O’: Barack Obama's Dan Quayle moment  —  President Barack Obama finally found the 57th state, and it's spelled O-I-H-O.  —  To be fair, Obama and his pals finally got it right here: … Some can't believe the President would be so stupid: … Great point!  Except, not really:

Mitt's Moment: TIME Talks to Romney About Business, Budgets and Beliefs  —  Managing Editor Rick Stengel and Senior Correspondent Michael Crowley spoke with the Republican presidential candidate on Tuesday for the latest issue of TIME, now available online to subscribers.  A lightly edited transcript follows.

First Thoughts: Not your ordinary August poll  —  This isn't your ordinary August poll; it looks more like October... The poll's three macro-conclusions: 1) Obama has the advantage heading into the conventions, 2) he's still below 50%, 3) Romney has work to do repairing his image …