Based just on Romney's schedule, and the approaching convention.

“If you look at Governor Romney’s schedule, he’s got events in Illinois Tuesday, Iowa Wednesday, a fundraising breakfast Thursday morning in New York – his calendar then is clear, so far as I can tell, Thursday afternoon and Friday,” said Kristol. “Then he begins a barnstorming tour Saturday in Virginia, North Carolina Sunday, Florida Monday, Ohio Tuesday.”

“It’d be pretty weird, I think, to do this four-day tour through four swing states – big bus tour, a lot of excitement – without having picked a V.P. and with that, sort of, hanging over him and dwarfing whatever message he wants to get out,” Kristol continued.

“I now believe the pick would be made Thursday afternoon or Friday,” said Kristol, saying that he believes Thursday is the more likely of the two days to reveal a running mate. “Let the guy go on the morning shows Friday morning. Dominate the news over the weekend – very exciting bus tour – with Romney accompanied by either Christie, Ryan or Rubio.”

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more...

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And is Romney panicking?

Bill Kristol teases a small dose of sketchy information:

Speaking of Christie: As of Friday, when we wrote the editorial [weighing Ryan v. Rubio as picks], weÂ’d been led to believe Christie wasn't in serious consideration. We now have reason to think he may be.

Eh, not much there.

Speaking of Bobby Jindal, even though we weren't:

The aide in charge of the Mitt Romney's vice presidential search is traveling with the presumptive Republican nominee in Colorado Thursday as he campaigns with some prominent GOP governors rumored to be on the running-mate shortlist.

Romney will be joined Thursday by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at a rally at a high school in Basalt, Colo. Each of the governors has been thought to be a potential vice presidential pick.

This could possibly be connected to Krisol's Christie-in-the-mix report. Maybe Romney's veep-hunting aide interviewed Christie.

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Speaking truth to incompetence.

He notes that July's job figures are actually 150,000 jobs lost (BLS Table A). The "gain" in jobs is all due to a "seasonal adjustment," turning lost jobs into jobs gained.

Obama's "Tragic" Record on Jobs: Pitiful.

Obama's tragic jobs record reflects the dismal economic growth under his administration's throwback, Keynesian economic policies. For all of last year, the economy grew by a paltry real rate of 1.7%, only about half America's long-term trend. The average so far this year has been no better. That dismal growth is further reflected in the Census Bureau reports of falling real wages under Obama, kicking median family income back over 10 years, with more Americans in poverty today than at any time in the more than 50 years that Census has been tracking poverty.

In sharp contrast, in the second year of Reagan's recovery, the economy boomed by a real rate of 6.8%, the highest in 50 years. Real per capita disposable income increased by 18% from 1982 to 1989, meaning the American standard of living increased by almost 20% in those first 7 years of the Reagan boom alone. The poverty rate, which had started increasing during the Carter years, declined every year from 1984 to 1989, dropping by one-sixth from its peak. That is the proper comparison for Obama's economic performance.

Obama cannot explain away the disgraceful failure of his Keynesian economic policies by arguing it is because the recession he inherited from Bush was so bad. The American historical experience is that the worse the recession, the stronger the recovery, as the American economy snaps back to its world-leading, long-term, economic growth trend line. Based on this historical record, we should be enjoying the third year of a raging economic recovery boom right now.

Fascism: Justice Department suddenly investigating Romney backer Sheldon Adelson.

Gee, I wonder what message they're sending to Romney's other donors.

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Balls, that guy, some assembly required.

From an ebook soon to come out:

"When he talked about Romney, aides picked up a level of anger he never had for Clinton or McCain, even after Sarah Palin was picked as his running mate. 'There was a baseline of respect for John McCain. The president always thought he was an honorable man and a war hero,' said a longtime Obama adviser. 'That doesn't hold true for Romney. He was no goddamned war hero.'"

Obama, of course, was awarded the Silver Star for the Battle of Tony Rezko's Adjoining Plot.

Maybe this explains some of the Lightworker's anger:

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and the Republican National Committee raised $101.3 million in July, once again outpacing President Barack Obama and Democrats with a big month of financial strength ahead of the November 6 election.

Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Committee raised $75 million in July, lagging for the third straight month as Democrats brace to witness Obama become the first incumbent to be outspent in the final stretch of the campaign.

Continuing to rely largely on big donors, the Romney campaign, the RNC and state Republican parties involved in the joint fundraising effort had $185.9 million left in cash on hand at the end of last month. Obama's campaign has not disclosed its cash on hand at the end of July.

Obama's still ahead in total cash raised, but that advantage is fading, and besides, it appears he's spent the bulk of it already. Burn notice:

ObamaÂ’s High Burn Rate Scorches Campaign Schedule

...

President Obama has gone where no incumbent has gone before: a massive, intensely negative dreadnaught of a campaign that has been pounding his challengers since April. And now, heÂ’s paying the price.

...

Democrats told The Hill that Obama was adding more high-dollar fundraisers next month – events like the $40,000-a-head soiree that took Obama to New York on Monday night. But, more significantly, Obama will also be doing a higher number of fundraisers in the fall.

The Obama campaign is sitting on mountains of cash right now, but he is burning through it at an astonishing rate....

The president and his men knew this big, ugly and early approach would be hugely expensive. There were whispered brags that the campaign would raise $1 billion...

This plan led Obama to hold more fundraisers than his past five predecessors combined and left him open to constant attacks from Republicans who unfailingly point out that while Obama has attended more than 120 fundraisers in the past six months, he has not met once with his jobs council. Obama has nuzzled Hollywood heavyweights, Wall Street financiers, same-sex marriage enthusiasts and other rich liberal groups day after day.

Unfortunately for Democrats, ObamaÂ’s unprecedented fundraising push has not kept pace with his unprecedented campaign-spending rate.

In fairness, no one in Obama's campaign could have possibly foreseen he had a problem with spending more money than he had on hand.

Teeing Up The Next Attack?

This story is not about Obama hating Romney... it's just a "clever" way of bringing up the fact that Romney didn't serve. The next attack wave begins... -- The MegaIndependent

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Claim: Obama didn't visit Israel as president.

Fact: Obama didn't visit Israel as president.

Rating: Two Pinnochios, indicating a moderately-sized lie.

See, there's context that makes a truth into a lie.

via @slublog.

(I'm foggy-headed today due to taking Nyquil last night to put me to sleep at a somewhat reasonable (but late) hour. As I've got nothin', I'm just going to do a bunch of quick links.)

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Although the Southern Poverty Law Center calls most people racist, on this one they're on firmer ground.

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Eh, whatever.

Call it a palate cleanser. Not all palate cleansers taste good.

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He seems to mean it, too.

Meanwhile, Rich Lowry pessimistically predicts -- probably correctly -- that private and governmental bullying of gay-marriage opponents is the "wave of the future."

Related: Carbonite CEO admits that his decision to stop advertising on Limbaugh hurt his own company a lot more than he ever imagined it would.

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Like the man* said: Lord, grant me hope, and grant me change, but don't grant them to me yet.

ObamaÂ’s new position on super PACs also comes with an additional liability: controversial fabulist David Brock. To help elevate the stature and punching heft of Priorities USA, founder and former White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton joined forces with American Bridge 21st Century, a super PAC and opposition research shop founded by Brock, who remains its treasurer today. In addition to defending his flip-flopping on super PACs, President Obama should call on Burton to repudiate Brock.

The scandalous founder and figurehead leader of Media Matter for America has made a living combatting “…Christian-influenced ideology.” Outcries against Brock’s hateful, anti-religious, anti-Semitic propaganda war and gutter politics have come from all sides. The Simon Wiesenthal Center was concerned, the anti-Defamation League and American Jewish Committee were also alarmed, liberal Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz promised to campaign against the president if he didn’t distance himself from Brock, and AIPAC spokesman, former Clinton administration official, and former Clinton/Gore spokesman Josh Block has also piled on from the left. Even bombastic MSNBC host Ed Schultz has openly shunned Brock’s outrageous below-the-belt brand of politics.

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