President Obama raised a total of $29.1 million for his re-election campaign and for the Democratic National Committee in January, he told supporters over Twitter early Friday morning, with most contributions coming in checksof $250 or less. Mr. Obama’s numbers marks the starting gun for fund-raising in 2012, as the candidates for president begin filing monthly reports of their finances with the Federal Election Commission, along with those “super PACs” that have opted for monthly filing schedules in the election year. Formal filings are due by midnight on Monday.
Partisan Split on Party Direction
New York Times // Dalia Sussman
Republican voters are far less content with the direction of their party than Democrats are with theirs, the latest New York Times/CBS News pollfinds – a potentially important disadvantage in an election year when the political parties aim to motivate their bases. Overall, most registered voters are dubious that either major political party is headed in the right direction. Just 26 percent of all voters say the Republican Party is, while 60 percent say it’s not. The Democratic Party gets a somewhat better assessment, though it’s still negative on balance – 35 percent say it’s headed in the right direction, 50 percent disagree.
LA Mayor Villaraigosa to Chair Democratic National Convention
Washington Post // Felicia Sonmez and Ben Pershing
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosawill be the chairman of the Democratic National Conventionin Charlotte, DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) announced Tuesday. The move is a further step onto the national stage by Villaraigosa, 59, who in 2008 was a national co-chairman of then-senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) White House bid and later served as a memberof President Obama’s Transition Economic Advisory Board.
Actually, Obama has made the economy better
Madison Capital Times // Dave Zweifel
How many times have you heard it? Barack Obama’s policies have made the nation’s economy worse. That’s been the standard pitch from the Republicans in Congress. It’s been the battle cry against Obama from the likes of Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich in their campaigns for the GOP nomination for president. It seems they are trying to say it often enough that it becomes the perceived reality.
Obama’s ‘truth team’ aims to network its way to re-election win
Washington Post // David Nakamura
With his decision to embrace an independent super PAC last week, President Obama issued a plea for deep-pocketed allies to help his campaign fight back against Republican rivals in the increasingly expensive and sophisticated arena of television attack ads. Now, the Obama campaign is putting out a call for its grass-roots network to join the battle for free. On Monday, the president’s reelection team will unveil a trio of Web sites dedicated to providing supporters with information on the president’s record — and more than a little dirt on his Republican rivals. The campaign has named it Obama’s “Truth Team,” and the goal is to arm millions of surrogates with the facts, figures and talking points they need to engage in ground-level political combat — on their Twitter and Facebook feeds and in old-fashioned conversations with friends and neighbors.
It’s not just national, Obama improve in swing states too
Talking Points Memo // Kyle Leighton
President Obama’s improving national approval numbers are certainly helpful to his re-election efforts — they drive a positive narrative after years of disappointing news on the economy. But while nationwide numbers provide a snapshot of the country’s mood, the battle for the presidency will be fought state by state. So are Obama’s numbers also looking up in the all important swing states? It sure looks that way.
Administration Won’t Defend Blocking Gay Military Couples from Sharing Benefits
The Atlantic // Elspeth Reeve
At least as recently as 2005, new Army recruits watched videos instructing them, “Do not attempt a gay marriage.” But in a sign of progress on Friday, Attorney General Eric Holder said the Obama administration would no longer defend in court legislation that forbids giving benefits to the legal spouses of gay military members. In a letter to Congress, Talking Points Memo’s Ryan J. Reillyreports, Holder said the law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fifth Amendment. A year ago, the administration saidit would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, but legally married gay military couples still couldn’t get benefits.
CNN poll finds GOP enthusiasm for Santorum
Wall Street Journal // Neil King Jr.
A new CNN pollfinds Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum basically caught in a dead heat nationally, with Mr. Santorum pulling in 34% and Mr. Romney 32%. But by one key measure, there’s a large gap between the two. Just 38% of Mr. Romney’s supporters say they support him “strongly,” while the rest say they back him “only moderately.” For Mr. Santorum, 55% of his backers say they support him “strongly.” It is telling that Mr. Romney—the race’s on-again, off-again front-runner for nearly 10 months—still has such tentative support among his own supporters, while the surging Mr. Santorum appears to have more durable backing.
Romney struggling to attract white working class
Associated Press // Alan Farm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Mitt Romney is faltering with white working-class voters crucial to his party’s drive to capture the White House, even as he tries to fend off a rising GOP challenger, Rick Santorum, who wields strong blue-collar appeal. The wealthy former Bain Capital chief has led his rivals by comfortable margins among white college graduates, according to combined polls of voters in the first five states that held presidential nominating contests. But the exit and entry surveys showed only a modest Romney advantage among whites who lack college degrees, the yardstick analysts typically use to define the working class.
Maine GOP Caucuses: Drama Continues
Wall Street Journal // Janet Hook
The Maine Republican Party said Friday that a recount of the state’s disputed GOP presidential preference poll showed that Mitt Romney still has more votes than any other candidate – but that the final outcome may not yet be known. Under heavy criticism for mistakes and omissions from its straw poll tally of the state’s caucuses last Saturday, the Maine GOP Friday concluded a recount and moved to eventually include the results of a delayed caucus in Washington County, where the poll had been delayed because of a snowstorm.
