Mitt Romney outlines his governing plan to POLITICO  —  POWELL, Ohio — Mitt Romney conceded President Barack Obama has succeeded in making him a less likable person, but he offered a defiant retort to those hoping he will open up this week: “I am who I am.”

Republican Talking Points  —  Here are the official Republican talking points, being circulated to surrogates speaking on behalf of the party here:  —  Surrogate Message Points:  —  2012 Republican National Convention - A Better Future  —  Top Line Message Points:

Chris Matthews Calls Out GOP: You Are Playing The ‘Race Card’  —  Political observers have noted for a while that Mitt Romney's claim that President Obama gutted the work requirement in the 1996 welfare reform law is false.  But few in the mainstream media have have gone so far as to accuse Republicans of playing the ‘race card.’

Crist to speak at Democratic National Convention  —  Florida's former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist will be a speaker at the Democratic National Convention.  —  An official with President Barack Obama's campaign said Sunday that Crist will speak at next week's convention in Charlotte, N.C., but the day hasn't been worked out.

We all know the world revolves around The Greatest President in the History of Everything.  So it makes sense that all the other celestial bodies were placed in the sky to shine down upon him.  —  This is not a Photoshop.  This was actually posted on Obama's official Tumblr page:

Deputies: RNC protestor arrested with machete strapped to his leg  —  TAMPA —  A Republican National Convention protestor was arrested while he allegedly carried a machete strapped to his leg, according to deputies.  —  According to Hillsborough County Sheriff's officials, Jason T. Wilson …

Obama gives one-on-one to Glamour  —  Yet another push in President Barack Obama's soft-media strategy, unearthed this morning by WWD's Erik Maza:

What the *#@% Is Wrong With Republicans?!  —  It's not just Akin.  By pushing some of the most invasive state policies in modern history, the men of the GOP are driving their party off a cliff.  —  Blame it on the “idea cloud”—that cumulus cartoon bubble that dumps the same idea on diverse populations at once.

Rove unloads on Todd Akin on eve of GOP convention  —  Tampa, Florida (CNN) - Republican strategist Karl Rove ramped up his criticism of Missouri candidate Todd Akin on Monday, calling his recent remarks about rape and abortion “morally incomprehensible” and insisting that he drop out of the race.

Christie chose NJ over Mitt's VP role due to fears that they'd lose: sources  —  Gov. Chris Christie wasn't willing to give up the New Jersey statehouse to be Mitt Romney's running mate because he doubted they'd win, The Post has learned.  —  Romney's top aides had demanded Christie step …

Elizabeth Warren Aide Knocks Around Republican Cameraman  —  An aide to Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, appears to have knocked the video camera of a Republican tracker after an event this weekend in Martha's Vineyard.  Watch the video below:

Making the Election About Race  —  The Republican ticket is flooding the airwaves with commercials that develop two themes designed to turn the presidential contest into a racially freighted resource competition pitting middle class white voters against the minority poor.

Romney crushing Obama with married women  —  According to a new Washington Post/ABC's new survey, married women are strongly backing Mitt Romney, 55%-40%, over Barack Obama.  —  Compare that with 2008 exit polls when Obama won married women with children, 51%-47%, while McCain won married women with no kids 53%-44%.

Republicans Worry About Keeping Factions Reined In  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Mitt Romney arrives here this week to accept his nomination from the increasingly disparate coalition of factions known as the Republican Party, confronting the challenge of unifying them behind him and — should he win …

From Antislavery Lawyer to Chief Justice: The Remarkable But Forgotten Career of Salmon P. Chase  —  Abstract:  —  Salmon P. Chase was as responsible as any single person for the abolition of chattel slavery in the United States.  Yet his name is barely known and his career is largely forgotten.