memeorandum: Poll: Majority of Floridians would vote for Obama-Biden (Daniel Strauss/The Hill)

4:10 PM ET, August 27, 2012

Top Items:

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:

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Washington Monthly and Taylor Marsh

Glen Johnson / Boston Globe:

While Romney campaign talks of forging ahead, Isaac may prompt convention cancellation — TAMPA - There is a distinct possibility that the 2012 Republican National Convention will be cancelled. — The decision may come not so much because the Tampa-St. Petersburg area will suffer a direct hit from Isaac …

Discussion: CNN, NationalJournal.com, Hit & Run and Outside the Beltway

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:

Poll: Majority of Floridians would vote for Obama-Biden — A majority of voters in Florida, the location of the 2012 Republican National Convention, say if the election was held today they would vote for President Obama and Joe Biden over Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.

Discussion: CNN and Politico

Kevin Robillard / Politico:

Rush Limbaugh: Hurricane Center is ‘Obama’ — Rush Limbaugh, while repeatedly insisting he is “not alleging a conspiracy,” suggested Monday that the National Hurricane Center's forecast models for Tropical Storm Isaac were altered to help President Barack Obama and “cast a pall” over the Republican National Convention.

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Business Insider

Associated Press:

1 Arrest During GOP Protests in Tampa — Rain and wind from Tropical Storm Isaac and a massive police presence kept the protest crowds smaller than expected on the first day of the Republican National Convention on Monday, organizers say. — One protester was arrested following a march through …

CNN:
Isaac eerily follows Katrina's track

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, This Just In, SciGuy and American Prospect

Brian Tashman / rightwingwatch.org:
Christian Broadcasting Network Wonders if Prayer Moved Storm Away From Tampa to Protect the RNC

Discussion: The Raw Story, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The PJ Tatler

Josh Rojas / Bay News 9:
Deputies: RNC protestor arrested with machete strapped to his leg

Discussion: American Spectator, ABCNEWS, The Raw Story, CANNONFIRE, The Daily Caller, The Hinterland Gazette, Scared Monkeys, Pirate's Cove, Roger L. Simon, The Lonely Conservative, Patterico's Pontifications, The Other McCain and Tampa Bay Times

Marc A. Thiessen / Washington Post:
Romney's play for Michigan

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and NewsBusters.org

Mario Trujillo / The Hill:
FEMA: GOP convention, Katrina overshadow storm's threat to Gulf Coast

Discussion: CNN

David Taintor / Talking Points Memo:
Jindal Cancels Plans To Attend GOP Convention

Discussion: The BRAD BLOG

Mark Schleifstein / New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Isaac on track to hit New Orleans area, but as Category 1 hurricane

Discussion: Poynter, A Blog For All and Colorlines, more at Mediagazer »

Dylan Byers / Politico:
CNN moves O'Brien, Cooper to NOLA

Discussion: Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:
Storm Rewrites G.O.P.'s Script for Convention

Discussion: Politico, Reuters, Mediaite, Daily Kos, The Maddow Blog, Media Decoder and First Read

Pema Levy / Talking Points Memo:

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.’

Discussion: Balloon Juice, No More Mister Nice Blog and The Hinterland Gazette

Thomas B. Edsall / Campaign Stops:
Making the Election About Race

Discussion: Washington Post, The Huffington Post, The Reality-Based Community, Washington Monthly, The Maddow Blog, Balloon Juice, The Daily Beast and emptywheel

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Chris Matthews: RNC chairman, Romney playing ‘the race card’

Discussion: Pundits Blog

Elspeth Reeve / The Atlantic Wire:
Race Takes Over the Race — Mitt Romney says that Obama allowed …

Discussion: The Maddow Blog, Brad DeLong, The Reality-Based Community, Hot Air and Jammie Wearing Fools

Politico:

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.”

Discussion: theGrio, The Lonely Conservative, bustardblog, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Right Wing News, The Hinterland Gazette, CNN, TheBlaze.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Saint Petersblog

Michael Warren / Weekly Standard:

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:

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Washington Free Beacon, The Right Scoop and Jammie Wearing Fools

Jim Treacher / The Daily Caller:

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:

Discussion: Wizbang, Ed Driscoll, The Lonely Conservative, Ricochet Conversations Feed, small dead animals and Outside the Beltway

SOOPERMEXICAN:
Obama Remembers Neil Armstrong with a Big Picture of... Himself

Discussion: BREITBART.COM, The Jawa Report, TheBlaze.com, Nice Deb, Obama for America, Atlas Shrugs, The Other McCain and Doug Ross

Paul Ryan / The Daily Beast:

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.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and The Daily Dish

Karl Rove / CNN:

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.

Discussion: Politico

Jennifer Haberkorn / Politico: Rove compares Biden, Obama charity to $2 underwear

BuzzFeed:

Trial Judge Orders Prop 8 Case Closed — Judge James Ware issues an order under which same-sex couples should be allowed to marry immediately in California. Supporters of the initiative could ask the Supreme Court to stop weddings. — The trial court judge in California who has taken …

Discussion: Joe. My. God.

Dylan Byers / Politico:

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:

Discussion: Riehl World News and Mediaite

Erik Maza / WWD:
Glamour Gets Time With President Obama

Discussion: Jammie Wearing Fools

www2.tbo.com:

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.

Discussion: Power Line, Hot Air, Political Insider, Outside the Beltway, Politico, National Review and Naked Politics

Kim Parker / Pew Social & Demographic Trends:

Yes, the Rich Are Different — As Republicans gather for their national convention in Tampa to nominate a presidential candidate known, in part, as a wealthy businessman, a new nationwide Pew Research Center survey finds that many Americans believe the rich are different than other people.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Economix and Politico

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

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 …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Guardian, Wonkette, Outside the Beltway, Talking Points Memo, The Mahablog, The Caucus, Washington Wire, Taylor Marsh, American Power, TheBlaze.com and Connecting.the.Dots

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:

RNC swag bag has Romney book with unaltered health care section … TAMPA — All credentialed media checking into the Republican National Convention are being given a swag bag featuring brochures and items from various sponsors such as sunglasses and a pocket fan.

Discussion: The Buzz Florida Politics Feed, The Raw Story and Daily Kos

Washington Post:

Poll: Obama, Romney neck-and-neck ahead of party conventions — A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows Romney at 47 percent among registered voters and Obama at 46 percent — barely changed from the deadlocked contest in early July. — The findings continue a months-long pattern …