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1.) Pardon me, Mr. President, please pardon me — Some Democratic politicos come to political conventions to network, others come to raise their political profile, but few come to beg for a pardon from the sitting president. Well, there’s at least one of the latter this year. TheDC’s Alex Pappas reports:
“Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, headed to federal prison next week to serve a 69-month sentence on federal corruption charges, told The Daily Caller that he’s at the Democratic National Convention to lay the groundwork for what he hopes will be a future pardon from President Barack Obama. ‘I am going to try to get a commutation of sentence and eventually a pardon,’ Siegelman told TheDC in a Monday interview inside the convention center … In 2006, Siegelman was convicted on federal corruption charges that stemmed from the allegation that he gave former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy a seat on a hospital regulatory board in exchange for $500,000 in donations for a pro-lottery campaign he was organizing. Siegelman says he wasn’t intentionally committing a crime at the time.”
2.) Clinton’s man is a Romney fan –Bill Clinton may be slated to give a speech boosting President Obama Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention, but the word on the streets of Chappaqua is Clinton’s “closest politics adviser” plans to vote for the other guy. TheDC’s Jamie Weinstein (ME!) reports:
“Douglas Band, former President Bill Clinton’s top aide, plans to vote for Mitt Romney in November, according to a report in The New Yorker. In an extensive article on the complicated and often unpleasant relationship between Bill Clinton and President Obama, the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza reports that Band intends to cast his ballot for the former Massachusetts governor this fall. ‘According to two people with direct knowledge, Douglas Band has said that he will vote for Romney,’ Lizza writes.”
3.) Let the openness begin — History will be made in the field of openness in Charlotte this week, reports TheDC’s Caroline May:
“Stressing that the 2012 Democratic National Convention will be the most inclusive and open convention in history, convention leaders presented their expectations and messages Monday morning for the week’s Democratic activities in the Queen City. ‘This convention is the most open and accessible convention in history,’ said Steve Kerrigan, CEO of the Democratic National Convention Committee, at the Convention Center press conference … ‘We are going to show the country that we are the party of openness and opportunity, the party of ingenuity and innovation,” [Los Angeles Mayor Antonio] Villaraigosa said.”
TheDC Morning walked around Charlotte Monday and didn’t find it all that open, with security checks and cops around every turn.
4.) The Barry endorsement — It’s not quite glowing endorsement, but former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry made clear which presidential candidate he is behind while visiting the Democratic National Convention Monday. TheDC’s Alex Pappas reports:
“Marion Barry, the outspoken former mayor of Washington D.C., told The Daily Caller that he’s still a big supporter of President Barack Obama but said he doesn’t think the president has done as much for African-Americans as he would like. ‘He’s not done everything I wanted him to do, but he’s done more than anyone else has done,’ Barry, a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, told TheDC in a brief interview in the hallway of the convention center here.”
A sharp blow to the Romney campaign. If you’ve lost Marion Barry, have you lost the country?
5.) Poll of Yesterday: Romney up in North Carolina — RealClearPolitics average of North Carolina: Mitt Romney 47.3 percent, President Obama 45.3 percent.
6.) Tweet of the Day — john r stanton: based on weather situation in Tampa and Charlotte, its pretty clear Mother Nature is a Gary Johnson voter
VIDEO: NC Gov. Perdue warns of ‘coat hangers in the bath tub’ if pro-life movement gets its way