The Real Romney  —  The purpose of the Republican convention is to introduce America to the real Mitt Romney.  Fortunately, I have spent hours researching this subject.  I can provide you with the definitive biography and a unique look into the Byronic soul of the Republican nominee:

Who Is Thursday's Mystery Convention Speaker?  —  TAMPA, Fla. - Republican convention planners appear to have a surprise planned for those tuning in Thursday night.  —  Buried deep in the convention schedule released Monday is a vague reference to a mystery speaker scheduled for the event's final evening.

Romney Camp Bets On Welfare Attack  —  Their most powerful weapon, a top aide says.  “We're not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers,” says Newhouse.  —  Source: youtube.com  —  Mitt Romney's aides explained with unusual political bluntness today why they are spending heavily …

NYT reporter leaked advance copy of Maureen Dowd column to CIA  —  Newly available CIA records obtained by Judicial Watch, the conservative watchdog group, reveal that New York Times reporter Mark Mazzetti forwarded an advance copy of a Maureen Dowd column to a CIA spokesperson …

GOP Rules Committee Rapidly Moving to Shut Out Grassroots at 2:00 p.m. Today  —  At 2:00 p.m. today in Tampa, the Republican National Committee, led by Team Romney, is moving to shut down conservative grassroots activists.  I've been on the phone with several individuals involved in the fight …

Coal miners lost pay when Mitt Romney visited their mine to promote coal jobs  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — When GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney visited an Ohio coal mine this month to promote jobs in the coal industry, workers who appeared with him at the rally lost pay because their mine was shut down.

Obama Administration Finalizes Historic 54.5 MPG Fuel Efficiency Standards  —  Consumer Savings Comparable to Lowering Price of Gasoline by $1 Per Gallon by 2025  —  WASHINGTON, DC - The Obama Administration today finalized groundbreaking standards that will increase fuel economy to the equivalent …

Obama lead declining in Iowa  —  PPP's newest Iowa poll finds Barack Obama's lead in the state declining all the way to two points.  He's at 47% to 45% for Mitt Romney.  In July we found Obama ahead 48-43 and in May it was 51-41.  —  Iowa makes yet another swing state where voters don't really care for either Obama or Romney.

James O'Keefe not allowed to fly to Tampa  —  Conservative filmmaker and activist James O'Keefe won't be in Tampa, but the show he was supposed to headline will go on.  —  O'Keefe will still speak via Skype on “the role of the citizen journalist” and take audience questions …

Marco Rubio Heckled During Speech, Takes Swipe at Crist  —  More fun and games at the RNC in Tampa as the Republican Party of Florida's Tuesday breakfast was interrupted by liberal hecklers during Senator Marco Rubio keynote address.  Several hecklers stood up and interrupted Rubio during his remarks …

Chinese media slams Romney as convention begins  —  Tampa - China's state-controlled media lashed out at GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney Monday, warning that his policies would poison U.S.-China relations. … “By any standard, the U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's China policy …

PolitiFiction  —  The website PolitiFact is going to be truth-squadding the Republican convention speakers this week, delivering verdicts on which claims are “mostly true” and which deserve a “pants on fire” rating.  Our advice: Pay no attention to those ratings.  PolitiFact can't be trusted to get the story right.

Todd Akin Claims Breastmilk Cures Homosexuality  —  Missouri U.S. senate candidate Todd Akin has stoked more outrage today by claiming that male homosexuality is a disease and that the medical establishment has found the cure.  —  The Republican congressman, already under fire …

Hooters Welcomes Joe Biden to Tampa  —  Vice President Joe Biden cancelled his scheduled trip to the Republican convention in Tampa because of the threat of bad weather, but that has not stopped a local Hooters restaurant (in nearby Clearwater, Florida) from welcoming him to the area anyway.

RNC Primetime Speaker Gave Extensive PowerPoint On How To Build Your Business With Government Money  —  Small business woman Sher Valenzuela, who is running for Lt. Governor in Delaware, is giving a primetime speech tonight at the “We Build It” themed day of the Republican convention.

Sasquatch stunt takes a tragic turn on highway  —  Kalispell man, 44, dies  —  A man dressed in a military-style “Ghillie suit” who was attempting to provoke a Bigfoot sighting was struck by two vehicles and killed on U.S. 93 South of Kalispell Sunday night.

Who's on the inside track for a Romney Cabinet  —  Mitt Romney said his Cabinet and White House staff will be stacked with men and women from the business world, but his top advisers sketched out for POLITICO a team compromised of many familiar faces in Washington.

Jindal Cries Wolf On Obama Administration Response To Hurricane Isaac?  —  Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is already complaining that the Obama administration is being stingy with federal resources before Hurricane Isaac has even made landfall.  —  But the usual FEMA pre-disaster protocol has been activated.

Fiorina says Treasury post ‘would be a great honor’  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Carly Fiorina on Tuesday did not take her name out of the running for a possible role as Treasury secretary in a Romney administration.  —  “Well, obviously that would be a great honor,” she said at an economic forum Tuesday hosted by POLITICO Pro.

Wisconsin Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch: Some Rapes Are More Equal Than Others  —  In a masterful bit of Orwellian dissonance, Wisconsin's recall-surviving Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch (R) last week called Rep. Todd Akin's attempt to categorize rape “abhorrent, insulting” and “disgusting …

EXCLUSIVE: Undercover At NOM's Anti-Gay Student Conference  —  Every summer for the past four years, the National Organization for Marriage's (NOM) Ruth Institute has invited college students from across the country to participate in its weekend-long “It Takes A Family To Raise A Village” (ITAF) conference in San Diego, CA.