Romney Aides Scratch Their Heads Over Eastwood's Speech  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Clint Eastwood's rambling and off-color endorsement of Mitt Romney on Thursday seemed to startle and unsettle even the candidate's own top aides, several of whom made a point of distancing themselves from the decision to put him onstage without a polished script.

Chris Matthews gets into confrontation with GOP delegates  —  TAMPA, Fla. — MSNBC host Chris Matthews got into a heated exchange with Republican delegates at a Tampa restaurant early Friday morning following the conclusion of the GOP national convention.  —  Matthews was booed and sworn …

Exclusive: Inside Karl Rove's Billionaire Fundraiser  —  On the final morning of the Republican National Convention, Karl Rove took the stage at the Tampa Club to provide an exclusive breakfast briefing to about 70 of the Republican party's highest-earning and most powerful donors.

BREAKING: Federal Court Strikes Down Ohio Law Restricting Early Voting  —  Last month, President Obama's reelection campaign filed a lawsuit claiming that a recently enacted Ohio law eliminating early voting in the three days before an election, except for members of the military …

Obama speech to soldiers met with silence  —  President Barack Obama was greeted with fleeting applause and extended periods of silence as he offered profuse praise to soldiers and their families during an Aug. 31 speech in Fort Bliss, Texas.  —  His praise for the soldiers …

Paul Ryan Says He's Run Sub-3:00 Marathon … In an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt last week, Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan said he's run a sub-3:00 marathon.  —  In the interview, after Ryan told Hewitt that he ran in high school, Hewitt asked if Ryan still runs.

Obama bounced into announcing visit to storm-ravaged Louisiana after Romney shows him up with surprise visit  —  President Barack Obama was today forced to announce he will fly to storm-hit Louisiana on Monday - hours after Mitt Romney beat him to the punch by deciding to head there this afternoon.

Republican Congressman: There Are Very Few Pregnancies From Rape, It Is A Tiny Percentage  —  The pro-life congressman reiterated support for abortions in the case of rape, incest, and the life of the mother, but added that very few pregnancies and abortions are a result of rape.  —  Source: youtube.com

Romney's likeability improves in post-convention boost: Reuters/Ipsos poll  —  (Reuters) - Mitt Romney emerged from the Republican convention with an overall improvement in his image among voters but no significant change in the number who say they will vote for him, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday.

Monetary Policy since the Onset of the Crisis  —  When we convened in Jackson Hole in August 2007, the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) target for the federal funds rate was 5-1/4 percent.  Sixteen months later, with the financial crisis in full swing, the FOMC had lowered the target …

‘The Fighter’ bails on Brown  —  Nothing is sheltered from the whirlwind whims of elections season, even the squared-circle of a boxing ring.  —  Mill City ring king Micky Ward found himself backed into a corner Thursday when word trickled out that he was supporting U.S. Senator Scott Brown's re-election campaign.

Voter Fraud: Hard to Identify  —  Voter fraud has become a divisive political-campaign issue and given rise to proposals for new voter-identification legislation in 14 states this year.  A Texas law passed last year was struck down by federal judges Thursday for failing to prove it wouldn't unfairly affect poor and minority voters.

RNC Convention Workers Being Paid Below Minimum Wage … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Mitt Romney, Elections 2012, Florida, Labor, Video, Rep. Paul Ryan, Cleanevent, Janitors, Media, Minimum Wage, Mitt Romney 2012, Republican Convention Workers, Rnc, Rnc Convention Workers, Rnc Janitors …

Ann Romney: 'We're Used To' Passing Up Multi-Million Dollar Jobs  —  On Friday, Fox & Friends asked Ann Romney if it was difficult for the couple to turn down a $30 million job offer after Mitt lost the 2008 presidential nomination.  Ann, who has been trying to help her husband connect …

Dem convention will focus on Bush economics — but not on Bush the man  —  The Obama campaign just held a conference call with reporters to discuss the GOP convention and contrast it with plans for their own gathering next week.  The most notable tidbit: David Axelrod's suggestion …

Obama Moves to Speak on Romney's Character  —  WASHINGTON — As the Obama campaign heads into its convention next week, Democrats see openings both to fill in unpopular details of Mitt Romney's agenda left unsaid by Republicans in Tampa this week and to raise new questions about Mr. Romney's character …

Mitt Romney speech leaves Ron Paul ‘skeptical’  —  Rep. Ron Paul said GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney's convention speech left him “very skeptical” that the country's economic policies will change.  —  “The speech is what I would expect,” the Texas Republican said Friday on Bloomberg Television's “In the Loop.”

Party of Strivers  —  America was built by materialistic and sometimes superficial strivers.  It was built by pioneers who voluntarily subjected themselves to stone-age conditions on the frontier fired by dreams of riches.  It was built by immigrants who crammed themselves into hellish tenements …