Orlando Sentinel// Scott Powers
President Barack Obama, speaking to 2,400 screaming supporters at Rollins College Thursday, said the 2012 election offers “two fundamentally different visions for America,” between what he called Mitt Romney’s tax cuts for the reach versus his own defense of the middle class. Interrupted several times by a crowd changing “Four more years!,” the president’s roughly 30-minute speech contrasted his own economic plan with a study released Wednesday by the non-partisan Tax Policy Center that said Romney’s proposed tax cuts for the wealthy would boost taxes for the middle class.
Obama to women bloggers: I won’t give ‘any ground’ on abortion rights
Washington Times // Susan Crabtree
Looking to expand his already strong lead among women voters, President Obama addressed a women’s blogger conference in New York City Thursday pledging “not to give any ground” when it comes to abortion rights or women’s reproductive issues. “Millions of young women have coverage through their parents’ plans. They are beginning to gain access to contraception at no additional cost. I’m not going to give any ground to those who would deny women their own health care choices,” he told the crowd at the Blog Her event via a closed-circuit video feed while traveling in Florida. “Women should have control over decisions that affect your health, your lives, your careers.”
Mitt Romney’s tax plan would offer big cuts to millionaires, raise taxes on middle class, Brookings analysts say
Boston Globe // Callum Borchers
Mitt Romney’s tax plan would provide large tax cuts to wealthy Americans and hike taxes on middle- and low-income households, according to an analysis by The Brookings Institution.
The report published Wednesday estimated households with incomes over $1 million would receive average tax cuts of $87,117 under Romney’s plan, while those earning $200,000 or less would pay higher taxes. Brookings analysts concluded Romney’s plan favors high earners “even when we bias our assumptions about which and whose tax expenditures are reduced to make the resulting tax system as progressive as possible.”
Obama Leads Romney in Three Swing-State Polls, Hits 50 Percent
National Journal // Steven Shepard
President Obama holds significant leads over Mitt Romney in three crucial battleground states, hitting the critical 50 percent threshold in each, according to new Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times polls released early Wednesday that show the president performing virtually equally among the key groups that will determine his prospects for earning a second term. Obama leads Romney by 6 percentage points in both Florida and Ohio, while in Pennsylvania, traditionally a more Democratic-leaning state, he leads by a robust 11 points.
Mitt Romney flunks his foreign-policy tryout
New York Times // Nicholas Burns
Governor Mitt Romney had a chance to demonstrate on his trip to Great Britain, Israel, and Poland that he is ready to take on the duties of America’s top diplomat and commander in chief — among the presidency’s most vital responsibilities. Yet for reasons that are hard to understand, Romney undermined himself through surprising lapses in judgment and careless rhetoric, and he failed to articulate his core beliefs on international policy. Far from building confidence in his foreign-policy credentials, the trip actually fueled doubts about his readiness to lead in the most complex and dangerous international environment in a generation.
