The Right Choice

[HagridOfTheDeep]

 MAJOR NETWORKS AIR SUNDAY NIGHT PROFILES OF SUSANA MARTINEZ

Sunday, July 29th, 2012

One program devoted an entire segment to the relationship between
Susana Martinez and her sister Lettie, pictured above.

After the passing of her father early yesterday morning, Susana Martinez’s face has been plastered on television screens across the country. Many Sunday night news programs, including 60 Minutes on CBS, cancelled previous programming tonight to air specials profiling the family life and career of New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez. The programs emphasized the governor’s relationship with her late father and developmentally disabled sister, Lettie.

60 Minutes host Steve Croft even went so far as to concede that coverage of the New Mexico governor “has been slightly unfair,” and that, “perhaps now is fitting time to properly, and fairly, introduce the Republican vice presidential candidate to Americans.”

The programs touched on Martinez’s childhood roots helping out at her parents’ small business; on her marriage to Chuck Franco; on her switch from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party; on her career in law; and, finally, on her campaign for, and tenure as, New Mexico governor.

This coverage comes amidst news that the Obama campaign will continue hammering Martinez over her perceived inexperience and tokenism. Mitt Romney condemned the president's "lack of class" from Poland in a press release.

[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

Well Romney and Martinez got their positive coverage, but for how long and at what cost?

[HagridOfTheDeep]

MARTINEZ RETURNS TO CAMPAIGN TRAIL, HOSTS TOWN HALL IN FLORIDA

Monday, July 30th, 2012

Susana Martinez hugs a supporter after receiving condolences for the loss of her father, Jake Martinez.

On Monday in Fort Lauderdale, vice presidential candidate Susana Martinez held her first event since the death of her father. The event, a town hall, had to be moved out of a grade school gymnasium to the school’s football field after hundreds more people than expected showed up at the school.

Martinez received an extremely warm welcome and directly addressed the death of her father before taking questions: “My family is going through a time of hurt,” the candidate said. “And… you know… personally, I’m devastated. My father was an exceptional man who profoundly shaped the person I’ve grown into today. I wasn’t sure whether or not it was the right thing to do—if jumping back onto the campaign trail so soon would be too hard for my family. But I got thinking about my dad, and how proud of me he was, and I realized: I would be doing him such a disservice if I cooped myself up to mourn. I have a chance to change this country for the better alongside Mitt Romney… and that’s what we’re going to do. Your support during this time has been magnificent—thank you. It’s time to give back.”

Many people in the crowd were visibly moved by Martinez’s strength, and the governor was warmly received. Many of the supporters who asked the governor questions expressed their distaste over President Obama’s decision to continue running negative ads.

“I voted for Obama in ’08,” one Cuban American, Missy Valencia, told Martinez. “How do you feel about the negativity he’s been launching at you? You did nothing wrong. I won’t be voting for Obama again. We need you to turn our country around.”

Martinez will be campaign in Florida for the next two days. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney heads to Israel after receiving the endorsement of former Polish President Lech Walesa.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

ROMNEY NUMBERS UP IN SWING STATES

Tuesday, July 31st, 2012

Five state polls from Rasmussen released this morning show Romney recovering ground in five key swing states. In the initial wake of Romney’s roll-out of the Susana Martinez vice presidential campaign, Romney’s numbers had sunk considerably in the Rust Belt, Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida. Today’s improved numbers come as welcome news for the GOP ticket.

In fact, a CNN favorability poll, also released today, shows Governor Martinez’s numbers rising significantly amongst voters nationwide. The governor, whose father passed away over the weekend, returned to the campaign trail on Monday at a town hall meeting in Fort Lauderdale. Many pundits have gone so far as to call this town hall meeting a “game changer” for the Mitt Romney campaign.

Nationally, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are tied at 47%.

Favorability



National: July 31st, 2012
Joe Biden: +45%/-41%
Susana Martinez: +50%/-30%


Current Polling

National: July 31st, 2012
Barack Obama: 47%
Mitt Romney: 47%

Pres. BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA (D-IL): 259
Fmr. Gov. WILLARD MITT ROMNEY (R-MA): 221
(TOSS-UP: 58)

Florida: July 31st, 2012
Barack Obama: 46% (-2)
Mitt Romney: 47% (+3)

Iowa: July 31st, 2012
Barack Obama: 44% (-5)
Mitt Romney: 48% (+4)

North Carolina: July 31st, 2012
Barack Obama: 43% (-3)
Mitt Romney: 48% (+4)

Ohio: July 31st, 2012
Barack Obama: 47% (-3)
Mitt Romney: 47% (+4)

Virginia: July 31st, 2012
Barack Obama: 50%
Mitt Romney: 46% (+3)

Colorado: July 26th, 2012
Barack Obama: 43% (-2)
Mitt Romney: 48% (+4)

Nevada: June 26th, 2012
Barack Obama: 45% (-3)
Mitt Romney: 47% (+5)

New Mexico: July 26th, 2012
Barack Obama: 46% (-3)
Mitt Romney: 47% (+3)
Gary Johnson: 4% (-1)

Indiana: July 23rd, 2012
Barack Obama: 46%
Mitt Romney: 50%

New Hampshire: July 23rd, 2012
Barack Obama: 51%
Mitt Romney: 41%

[HagridOfTheDeep]

OBAMA PULLS NEGATIVE ADS AS ROMNEY CAMPAIGN MOUNTS NEW DEFENSE OF MARTINEZ

Tuesday, July 31st, 2012

The Romney campaign released a pro-Martinez spot,
entitled “Courage,” on Tuesday.

This afternoon in an e-mail to supporters, Barack Obama made an about-face, deciding to pull all negative ads targeting New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez. The president expressed his condolences for the loss of Martinez’s father and talked about running a campaign above disrespect and smear tactics. This change in strategy comes after a new poll released today showed Martinez’s favorables skyrocketing amongst the population.

The Romney campaign, however, is not putting much faith in Obama’s change of heart. A new ad from team Romney, called “Courage,” accuses Obama of unfairly attacking Martinez. It also highlights the New Mexico governor’s devotion to family and the strength she’s shown in dealing with her father’s death.

The ad will run in several battleground states through next week.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Excited for the next update and the conventions

[Jerseyrules]

Excited for the next update and the conventions

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Thanks folks. I've been on vacation with family for a few days and I've just had way less time for this than I thought I would. Hopefully I'll get it up-to-date fairly soon. The news cycle will be getting a bit lighter, too.

[Jerseyrules]

Looking forward to it

[ask_not]

ROMNEY FACES MORE QUESTIONS ON TAX RETURNS

Wednesday, July 18th, 2012

GOP candidate Mitt Romney says he will under no circumstances release more tax returns.

Responding to criticism over the release of his tax returns Wednesday, Mitt Romney told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that two years’ worth of returns is enough.

“Wolf—Wolf, let me finish. This tax return issue is a distraction on the part of the president. I’ve been more than transparent, and I’m beginning to get, well, just a little tired of this. I will not be releasing any more documents, and President Obama is just going to have to get used to it. And you know, if I were him, I'd be apologizing for running on such a truly false message.”

The Situation Room interview saw Romney get visibly annoyed and testy. The interview comes amidst a devastating week for the all-but-certain GOP nominee. Questions about the real date of Romney’s departure from Bain Capital have dogged the former governor, and both Republicans and Democrats have called on Romney to release his tax records.

“People are beginning to wonder what Mitt has to hide,” Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger told Blitzer yesterday. “He wouldn’t be suffering through this hailstorm if he didn’t think releasing the documents would be worse.”

Governor Romney will be holding a large rally tomorrow in Albuquerque, where his campaign says he will address these controversies.very plausible time line.