evening all

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WAGA, Atlanta

PBO’s interview with WFLA, Tampa here and with KLAS, Las Vegas here

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CBS

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CNN: Mitt Romney’s overall favorable ratings have dropped, while Rick Santorum’s standing has jumped among Republicans, according to a new national survey.

…. In the new survey, 54% of Republicans said they hold a favorable opinion of Romney, while 67% said the same in January. Among all Americans, 34% described the candidate as likable, down from 41% last month.

…. only one presidential candidate in the race has a national favorable rating above the 50% mark: President Barack Obama.

Among all Americans, Obama received positive reviews from 53%, with the poll suggesting he may have grown more popular in recent months.

More here

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Bob Cesca: Regular people are donating to the president’s re-election campaign in record numbers:

According to an analysis by The Huffington Post, the Obama reelection campaign committee, Obama for America, pulled in at least 45 percent of its contributions from donors giving less than $200 during each of the fundraising quarters it was active in 2011…..

This is another strong indicator that the anti-Obama smearfest on the left is out of touch with the rest of the American left…..

More here

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Wednesday: PBO will travel to Master Lock in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to continue to discuss his blueprint for an economy built to last based on American manufacturing and the importance of companies insourcing and investing in America. He will then travel to Los Angeles, California where he will attend campaign events. He will spend the night in Los Angeles.

Thursday: PBO will attend campaign events in Corona del Mar, California before traveling to San Francisco, California to attend campaign events. He will spend the night in San Francisco.

Friday: PBO will travel to the Seattle where he will continue to discuss his blueprint for an economy built to last. He will also attend campaign events in the Seattle area before returning to Washington, D.C. later in the evening.

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From left, Chief of Staff Jack Lew, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling and U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke confer as President Barack Obama holds a bilateral meeting with Vice President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China in the Oval Office, Feb. 14, 2012. Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs; Mike Froman, Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics; and Lael Brainard, Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, are also pictured. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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The Week

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Don’t miss Liberal Librarian’s new post at The People’s View

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ABC: For Jenna Lyons, Michelle Obama has been the best endorsement J. Crew has ever received …. (her) penchant for J. Crew clothing has been “the most incredible gift that keeps on giving.” Not only did the company see a “huge lift” in business, Lyons credited Obama, 48, with creating a special bond with customers.

…. When Obama appeared on “The Tonight Show” in 2008 and told Jay Leno that her yellow sweater, skirt and blouse were a “J.Crew ensemble,” the company’s stock went up 8.2 percent. In 2011, Business Insider credited her with contributing to one of the most successful re-branding campaigns ever…

More here

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a word from tally: the gop’s war on women

The GOP’s War on Women, (and everyone else who isn’t them…)

This is long, but it’s imperative everyone understands this, so please read. In fact, go get a beverage……

The GOP is dangerous. I know that sounds alarmist, but I don’t say that lightly. For me to illustrate just how dangerous, I need to explain some basics.

First, how did so many Americans get so stupid?

[Chips raises her hand.] “I know Tally! Pick me! Pick me!”

Yes Chips?

“The Republicans have been cutting Public Education funding for the last thirty years, and now globally, we’re ranked 14^th for reading, 17^th for science, and 25^th for math!”

Excellent answer Chips! Correct. I love being surrounded by smart people!

We all pay taxes. Taxes go to millions of different things. No one person can specify where and how their tax contribution is spent. That is the government’s function.

Pretty much everyone has some form of insurance. If you drive a car, you have auto insurance. If you have a job, you pay into state disability and unemployment insurance programs. Even Social Security and Medicare are types of insurance. Even your taxes are a kind of insurance, and pay for Police and Fire departments, among a bazillion other things that most people take for granted.

The most important thing I learned since President Obama’s Birth Control Punking last Friday, is that 99% of America (and apparently 100% of the media), have ZERO knowledge of how insurance actually works……

Full post here

afternoon all

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Greg Sargent: Despite birth control controversy, Obama suffers no erosion among Catholics

Since the birth control controversy broke, it has been an article of faith among even some neutral commentators that the battle would cause Obama to lose crucial support among Catholic swing voters.

But Gallup has performed a new analysis of its tracking data that should complicate this assertion: It finds that Obama has suffered no meaningful downturn in recent days among that consistuency, even among church-going Catholics.

More here

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TPM

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Later this afternoon, President Obama hosts another round of interviews with television stations – today’s lineup: KLAS, Las Vegas; WAGA, Atlanta; WFLA, Tampa; and WBTV, Charlotte, N.C.

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Steve Benen

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Ezra Klein

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President Barack Obama meets with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in the Oval Office

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rise and shine

White House live

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Morning everyone. Will catch up later today, having a busy morning. Until then, chat away – and happy Valentine’s day!

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