1.) The Cory Booker effect? — No matter how outstanding a job Chris Christie is doing in New Jersey, if superstar Democratic Mayor Cory Booker runs against him for re-election in the Democratic state, Christie may be in trouble. Booker, of course, is the type of mayor who just so happens to save women from burning buildings — literally. It may be no wonder then that Chris Christie is apparently coming around to the idea of being Mitt Romney’s VP nominee. TheDC’s Will Rahn reports:
“People close to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie believe he would join the Republican presidential ticket should he be offered the vice presidential slot by presumptive nominee Mitt Romney, National Review reports. Christie has said that he ‘love(s)’ his current job and recently reassured constituents that he was ‘not going anywhere.’ However, Christie has also said that Romney ‘might be able to convince’ him to take the job. As it turns out, Christie might not need all that much convincing. ‘Christie is open to it, his family’s comfortable with it, and he’s been vetted before,’ one ‘top state lawmaker’ told National Review’s Robert Costa. ‘He isn’t going to campaign for it, but it’s no secret that he would relish the opportunity to play at that level.'”
2.) Santorum endorses Romney. Barely. — Rick Santorum finally gave Mitt Romney his endorsement, not a ringing endorsement, but an endorsement nonetheless. TheDC’s Christopher Bedford reports:
“One-time GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum emailed his endorsement of likely nominee Mitt Romney to supporters late Monday night. The lukewarm letter focused primarily on the need to deny President Barack Obama a second term in office, and made frequent references to Santorum’s oft-voiced doubts about his former bitter primary rival … “The primary campaign certainly made it clear that Governor Romney and I have some differences,” Santorum wrote, “But there are many significant areas in which we agree.’ ‘I am also comfortable with Governor Romney on foreign policy matters,’ the hawkish Republican added.”
Kids applying for college be warned: Rick Santorum may not be the best person to get a recommendation from. It may go something like this, “Little Jonny is kind of an idiot, but compared to everyone else at your school he’s probably not so bad. I am also comfortable with his athletic ability. It certainly could be worse. He has my recommendation.”
3.) President Obama votes present on gay marriage — President Obama is trying to have it both ways on gay marriage, TheDC’s Neil Munro reports:
“President Barack Obama is staying in the gay marriage closet because he doesn’t want to alienate black voters or gay donors. He’s refusing to confirm or deny that he would use a second term to champion new marriage rules that would allow same-sex couples to get marriage licenses. ‘We respect the right of all people to have a personal opinion,’ White House spokesman Jay Carney said on May 7 — a day after Vice President Joe Biden endorsed marriage for gays and lesbians. ‘The president is the right person to describe his personal views. He said his views on this were evolving, and I don’t have an update on that,’ Carney added.”
What a profile in political courage.
4.) John Stossel takes himself out of presidential race — And also admits he gets confused for Geraldo a lot. TheDC’s Jamie Weinstein (ME!) reports in a video interview:
“’Once a week,’ Stossel specified when asked the frequency with which fans confuse him with his colleague. ‘Hey Geraldo,’ or something like that,’ Stossel mimicked fans of Geraldo’s screaming out to him on the street … Asked whether he would ever run for president on the Libertarian Party ticket considering his ability to explain libertarian beliefs to a general audience, Stossel retorted, ‘I would suck at politics so that’s not where I want to go.’”
5.) Poll of the Day: Americans split on gay marriage — Gallup poll asks, “Do you think marriages between same-sex couples should or should not be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages?”: 50% say “should,” 48% say “should not,” with 2% unsure.
6.) Tweet of Yesterday — rob delaney: If you want to be my hero forever. RT @alecbaldwin: When 30 Rock is over, should I do a 30 Rock musical on cruise ships?