The Morning Flap: June 4, 2012

These are my links for June 1st through June 4th:

• Should President Obama have gone to Wisconsin?– Two things are clear with 24 hours before polls open in the attempt to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R). First, the incumbent is a slight favorite over Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D). Second, President Obama won’t set foot in the state prior to Tuesday’s vote.The bigger question is whether those two facts are related. And the answer to that question depends on whom you ask.
• This sure isn’t the McCain campaign– But Mitt Romney isn’t John McCain, and this isn’t your grandfather’s campaign.Historians may well look back, when they dissect Mr. Romney’s landslide victory in November 2012, to last week — a week when the Republican candidate not only showed that he’s ready to mix it up in the octagon, but the Democratic incumbent looked like an overrated palooka finally matched against someone his own size.

  Hard-core conservatives were horrified at the prospect of a Romney run, looking anywhere and everywhere for an alternative, even flocking to an unknown pizza baron in search of a better candidate.

• Scott Walker Recall Battle May Hurt Obama Re-election– President Obama holds multiple paths to re-election, with a handful of battleground states being able to slip away without leading to his defeat. But each possible outcome on his campaign map has always shared a common trait: winning Wisconsin.A Republican resurgence here, which has burst into full view as the party determinedly defends its sitting governor in a rare recall election, is spilling into the presidential race. The result is poised to shape the general election fight between Mr. Obama and Mitt Romney, who intends to add Wisconsin to his list of targeted states.

  The president is bracing for a difficult set of challenges, which began last week when an uptick in the unemployment rate provided a fresh reminder of the beleaguered domestic economy and the deepening financial uncertainties abroad. A Republican victory here could set off a wave of adjustments in the lineup of swing states. Even before the outcome of Tuesday’s vote is known, Democrats are warning that Wisconsin is far from a surefire win in November.

• If Walker Wins, What Are the Lessons? – It looks as if Governor Scott Walker will survive Tuesday’s recall vote. The Real Clear Politics average of recent polls has him leading Milwaukee’s Democratic mayor Tom Barrett by 6.6 points. As of late Sunday, the betting site Intrade was predicting that Walker has a 94.5 percent chance of becoming the victor. Even Ed Rendell, the former Pennsylvania governor and chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is now saying the recall wasn’t smart. “Don’t get an election that’s divisive, that may have an influence on the presidential election,” he told MSNBC last week. “We made a mistake doing that.”
• Obama’s 2008 Donors Don’t Give In 2012 – In 2008, more than 550,000 gave more than $200 to Barack Obama, entering their names in the longest list of individual donors ever seen in American politics. That list was a snapshot of the hope Obama inspired in a cross sections of liberals, young professionals, African-Americans, and Democrats who saw in him a generational and historic moment. But now, as Obama struggles to keep pace with his 2008 fundraising clip, that list offers a cross-section of Democratic disappointment and alienation. According to a BuzzFeed analysis of campaign finance data, 88% of the people who gave $200 or more in 2008 — 537,806 people — have not yet given that sum this year. And this drop-off isn’t simply an artifact of timing. A full 87% of the people who gave $200 — the sum that triggers an itemized report to the Federal Elections Commission —through April of 2008, 182,078 people, had not contributed by the end of last month.
• WITH Recall poll watch: Scott Walker leads by 3 points– PPP’s final poll on the Wisconsin recall finds Scott Walker ahead, but also a race that’s tightening. Walker leads Tom Barrett 50-47. That’s down from 50-45 on a PPP poll conducted three weeks ago and it’s also down from a 52-45 lead that Walker posted in a Marquette Law poll released last week.Barrett is actually winning independent voters by a 48-46 margin. The reason he continues to trail overall is that Republicans are more excited about voting in Tuesday’s election than Democrats are. Our projected electorate voted for Barack Obama by only 7 points, even though he took the state by 14 in 2008. If the folks who turn out on Tuesday actually matched the 2008 electorate, Barrett would be ahead of Walker by a 50-49 margin. It’s cliche but this is a race that really is going to completely come down to turnout.

  Walker has a 51/47 approval rating. He’s up with men (55-42), whites (52-46), seniors (58-39), and especially voters in the Milwaukee suburbs (70/29).

• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-06-04 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-06-04
• Untitled (http://getglue.com/Fullosseousflap/stickers/amc/the_killing_bulldog?s=ts&ref=Fullosseousflap) – I unlocked the The Killing: Bulldog sticker on @GetGlue!
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-06-03 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-06-03
• Gregory Flap @ Ronnie’s Diner – foursquare – After 8 miles with Mary, Alice, Tara and Nancy. Overcast day in Marina Del Rey (@ Ronnie’s Diner)
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-06-02 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-06-02
• Destinations / Santa Monica pier….at night. Tomorrow I will run on thee….. – Santa Monica pier….at night. Tomorrow I will run on thee…..
• Destinations / New Zealand….someday! – New Zealand….someday!
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Rielle Hunter’s Tell All Book About John Edwards Coming Out in June – Rielle Hunter’s Tell All Book About John Edwards Coming Out in June
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » The Morning Flap: June 1, 2012 – The Morning Flap: June 1, 2012
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-25: FEC Complaint Filed over Buck and Patricia McKeon Mailer – CA-25: FEC Complaint Filed over Buck and Patricia McKeon Mailer
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Mitt Romney Hits President Obama on Solyndra – Mitt Romney Hits President Obama on Solyndra
• Flapsblog Posts / Do we really want to know? or Care? – Do we really want to know? or Care?
• Destinations / Fond memories from my childhood….. – Fond memories from my childhood…..
• Flapsblog Posts / United States and Israel wage cyber-war against Iran’s nuclear facilities – United States and Israel wage cyber-war against Iran’s nuclear facilities
• Is Pennsylvania No Longer a Swing State? – Hasn’t been a swing state since the 1980’s RT @politicalwire: Is Pennsylvania no longer a swing state?
• Untitled (http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/01/4530147/california-voters-prefer-obama.html) – Oh My! RT @RobStutzman: Obama polling under 50% in CA. #tcot
• Flapsblog Posts / Bloomberg wants to ban large sodas in NYC….. – Bloomberg wants to ban large sodas in NYC…..
• How Obama Was Dangerously Naive About STUXNET and Cyberwarfare – Technology Review – How Obama Was Dangerously Naive About STUXNET and Cyberwarfare
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: June 1, 2012 – The Morning Drill: June 1, 2012