holland, michigan

President Obama shakes hands as he arrives at Gerald Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan, August 11

President Obama holds a battery as talks with Amanda Spore during his tour of Johnson Controls

President Obama waves to an employee in a “clean” facility during a tour of Johnson Controls Inc. in Holland, Mich., Aug. 11. Elizabeth Rolinski, vice president of operations at Johnson Controls Inc., right, accompanied the President during the tour of the advanced battery facility

President Barack Obama arrives to speak at Johnson Controls Inc. in Holland, Mich

♥ dc

Gallup

oh boy……

ThinkProgress

And this is the guy the professional left are conspiring to elect?

Good grief.

Thank you Fred.

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Steve Benen: …. Occasionally, Romney interacts with real people who aren’t part of the meticulous choreography. And that’s when the ostensible GOP frontrunner gets into trouble. Here’s Romney campaigning in Iowa this morning, for example, following a shouting match with hecklers concerned about taxes and entitlements.

“Corporations are people, my friend,” Romney said in response to suggestions that big businesses should pay more. He added, “Of course they are. Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to people.”

At that moment, a whole lot of political and media professionals, all at the same time, whispered to themselves, “Well, that’s going to show up in a campaign ad sometime soon.”

Part of the problem with this is the phrasing, since “corporations are people” doesn’t exactly scream “man of the people.”….

…. And that leads to the larger point: Romney’s been running for president non-stop for nearly five years, but he’s still not good at the whole “personal interaction” thing. Just over the past few months, we’ve seen several examples — the jokes about being “unemployed” in Florida; the fake butt-pinch in New Hampshire, the $100 bill in Colorado — that reinforce the belief talking and relating to people just doesn’t come naturally to Romney.

If Democrats are eager to characterize Romney as a weird guy who isn’t comfortable in his own skin, the former governor actually seems eager to help reinforce the theme…..

Full post here

line-up complete

NYT: Representative Nancy Pelosi today announced her three appointees to the special congressional committee tasked with finding ways to reduce federal budget deficits, even as a Republican member of the newly formed panel expressed an openness to consider possible tax increases.

Ms. Pelosi’s choices complete the 12-member panel, which is evenly divided between both the parties and the two houses of Congress.

All three members named by Ms. Pelosi hold leading roles in the party: Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina, the No. 3 House Democrat; Representative Xavier Becerra of California, vice chair of the Democratic Caucus; and Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the senior Democrat on the House Budget Committee.

… One Republican member of the committee, Representative Dave Camp of Michigan, said today that he would not rule out possible tax increases – a central point of contention in the recent debt talks and something many economists contend will be a necessary element to any successful bipartisan proposal.

“I don’t want to rule anything in or out,” Mr. Camp told Reuters. “I am willing to discuss all issues that might help us reduce our short and long-term debt and grow our economy. Everything is on the table, until we as a group rule it out,” he said.

Ms. Pelosi, in her statement, described Mr. Clyburn as a consensus builder with experience on the Appropriations Committee; Mr. Becerra as a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee who “placed the interests of America’s working families first”; and Mr. Van Hollen as a Democratic leader in the deficit-reduction talks led by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

The three Democratic members will join three House Republicans, Jeb Hensarling of Texas and Mr. Camp and Fred Upton, both from Michigan, on the committee. The Senate will be represented by three Republicans, Jon Kyl of Arizona, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Rob Portman of Ohio, along with the Democrats Patty Murray of Washington, John Kerry of Massachusetts and Max Baucus of Montana.

out of a clear blue sky….

President Barack Obama boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Aug. 11, en route to Michigan.

President Obama walks toward Marine One while departing the White House, August 11

mixed news

Bloomberg: Claims for unemployment insurance payments in the U.S. unexpectedly fell last week to a four-month low, signaling the recent slowdown in payroll gains was caused by a lack of hiring rather than more firings.

First-time applications for jobless benefits decreased 7,000 in the week ended Aug. 6 to 395,000, the fewest since early April … Economists forecast 405,000 claims … The number of people on unemployment benefit rolls and those getting extended payments also dropped.

… The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure of initial claims, dropped to 405,000, also the lowest since April, from 408,250.

… The number of people continuing to collect jobless benefits dropped by 60,000 in the week ended July 30 to 3.69 million. The decrease was the biggest since February….

…. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits, which tends to track the jobless rate, fell to 2.9 percent in the week ended July 30, today’s report showed. Forty-four states and territories reported a decrease in claims, while nine had an increase.

Initial jobless claims reflect weekly firings and tend to fall as job growth – measured by the monthly non-farm payrolls report – accelerates…..

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But ….

The trade deficit widened 4.4 percent to $53.1 billion from $50.8 billion in May, a report from the Commerce Department showed today. The deficit exceeded all estimates in a Bloomberg News survey of economists in which the median was $48 billion. Exports declined the most since January 2009.

Full article here