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1.) Poll of the Day: Obama has same approval rating in Mississippi as he does in Ohio — Last week Gallup released its extensive polling of President Obama’s job approval rating in all 50 states. The polls, conducted between the beginning of January and the end of June, showed only 13 states where he has a 50 percent job approval rating or better.
But more startling for the president, Gallup’s results indicated that he had the same low job approval rating — 44 percent — in Mississippi, a state which Obama will certainly lose decisively in November, as he did in Ohio, a key battleground state which every winning presidential contender has carried since 1964. Obama scored even lower in another key battleground state, Colorado, where his approval rating was just 43 percent.
In New Mexico, a state which many thought wouldn’t be particularly competitive for Romney, Obama had an approval rating of just 45 percent, the same as in Georgia, a state Obama is sure to lose. Pennsylvania, which hasn’t gone to the Republican presidential contender since 1988, showed a job approval rating of just 46 percent for Obama, the same as in the key swing states of Florida, Virginia and Iowa.
Given the scope and time frame of the polls, it is possible that they aren’t reflective of the current state of affairs in the states as of August. But the results should be hardly comforting for Team Obama.
2.) Obama no likey Romney — In case you thought President Obama had a soft spot in his heart for Mitt Romney, a new book suggests otherwise. TheDC’s Alex Pappas reports:
For President Barack Obama, it’s now personal. A new book cites Obama aides saying the president has a “genuine disdain” for Mitt Romney. “One factor made the 2012 grind bearable and at times even fun for Obama: he began campaign preparations feeling neutral about Romney, but like the former governor’s GOP opponents in 2008 and 2012, he quickly developed a genuine disdain for the man,” author Glenn Thrush writes in the soon-to-be released e-book “Obama’s Last Stand.”
One wonders how this hatred will manifest itself. Perhaps the Obama campaign will charge Romney with something outrageous, like being a felon. Scratch that. Team Obama wouldn’t go that far, would they?
3.) A Garden State shocker? — A long-shot contender believes he can do the unlikely in New Jersey. TheDC’s Alexis Levinson reports:
Joe Kyrillos hopes to score a major upset in November in his race against New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez. This is no easy feat for the Republican state senator. The two most recent polls of the race — from Fairleigh Dickinson and Monmouth Universities — put him 12 and 9 percentage points behind Menendez, respectively. But Kyrillos says he’s not deterred. “It’s not a normal election year, it’s not a normal New Jersey year because the country’s hurting,” he told The Daily Caller in a phone interview.
PREDICTION: If Kyrillos beats Menendez in New Jersey, Obama will have a rather unpleasant election night. He may even get to go to bed very, very early.
4.) Washington, D.C. politicos try to screw up a good thing — What else is new. TheDC’s Chris Bedford reports:
Members of the Washington, D.C. City Council haven’t given up on their efforts to bring the efficient and reliable luxury sedan-on-call service Uber under the authority of the company’s competitors in the taxicab industry. Council members previously tried to establish a price floor for the company. More recently, at a July 10 meeting, a number of City Council members voted to bring the sedan service under the authority of the D.C. Taxicab Commission, a regulatory body strongly influenced by the taxi industry. The move was only slowed by four council members – Michael Brown, Tommy Wells, David Catania and Jack Evans — who pushed through an amendment to stay the order for six months, until Jan. 1, 2013.
5.) Lindsey Graham, a friend of a liar man? — Lindsey Graham had a few comments on Harry Reid’s allegations that Mitt Romney is hiding his tax returns because he didn’t pay any income tax. TheDC’s Jeff Poor reports:
On CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of lying about his claim that a source told him presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney had not paid taxes for a decade. … “One last thing — you didn’t ask me about Harry Reid,” Graham said. “I’ve been around this town for a while. I actually like Harry, but what he did on the floor of the Senate is so out of bounds. I think he’s lying about his statement of knowing something about Romney.”
6.) Tweet of Yesterday — Matt K. Lewis: Dear everyone — Allen West will not be Romney’s running mate.
VIDEO: Ann Coulter says strong Chick-fil-A appreciation turnout debunks gay marriage polling