Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Gingrich wants new 2012 'contract' - Romney must thread health care needle - Reuters/Ipsos: Obama buries GOP field - Cheri Daniels out-draws Christie - Huck pushing history cartoons - Trump: Pro-torture, anti-Iraq
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 12 May 2011 05:43:24 -0400 (EDT)

By Alexander Burns (@aburnspolitico, [email-masked]) 

POPPING OVERNIGHT - "Gingrich accuses Obama of 'dishonest scare tactics,' calls for new GOP 'contract'" - Fox: "Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich came out swinging at President Obama in his first TV interview after announcing his candidacy for president, telling Fox News' Sean Hannity that Obama 'should be ashamed of himself' for distorting Republican positions. 'This is not about one person in the Oval Office. This is about millions of Americans deciding that together we can win the future with the right policies leading to the right outcomes,' Gingrich said ... Gingrich argued that Republicans need to aim even higher and try to add 12 seats in the Senate and about 40 in the House. 'If we had a contract in the fall of 2012, and if we had an election on core principles and we won that election, then we would have a mandate starting on the very first day with executive orders,' he told Fox News." http://fxn.ws/jnM7eI  

NEXT UP - ROMNEY TAKES THE STAGE - Mitt Romney's Really Big Speech on health care is now just a few hours away. So far, all indications are that the former governor will give a serious, forward-looking policy address - that may or may not put to rest every question about his record in Massachusetts. In USA Today, Romney previewed his message on federal health care reform: "The reforms that I propose ... are based on the same philosophical tenets as the reforms I offered during my last presidential campaign in 2008 ... Step 1: Give states the responsibility, flexibility and resources to care for citizens who are poor, uninsured or chronically ill ... Step 2: Reform the tax code to promote the individual ownership of health insurance ... Step 3: Focus federal regulation of health care on making markets work ... Step 4: Reform medical liability ... Step 5: Make health care more like a consumer market and less like a government program." http://usat.ly/jTT9Kr  

SHOTS FROM THE RIGHT - The Wall Street Journal editorial board preemptively takes the safety off against Romney's health care record: "RomneyCare was predicated on the illusion that insurance would be less expensive if everyone were covered. Even if this theory were plausible, it is not true in Massachusetts today ... [T]he debate over ObamaCare and the larger entitlement state may be the central question of the 2012 election. On that question, Mr. Romney is compromised and not credible. If he does not change his message, he might as well try to knock off Joe Biden and get on the Obama ticket." http://on.wsj.com/iNMTus  

AND KISSES FROM THE LEFT: The Affordable Care Act-defending group Protect Your Care has purchased online ads in Michigan, New Hampshire and Washington, offering to help users "learn how Romney laid the groundwork for health care reform." Neera Tanden, a leader of the group and top official at the Center for American Progress, will carry that message on MSNBC in the 10 o'clock hour this morning. Here's one ad, with Obama front and center: http://politi.co/kpVlAk and the wink-and-nod pro-Romney site: http://bit.ly/llcely  

THE SPEECH - Begins at 2 p.m. Eastern at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center ... POLITICO's Kasie Hunt raises the curtain here: http://politi.co/lEolKB  

As Rick Berg turns the ignition, Warren Tolman considers it and Iowans pine for Hillary Clinton, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign. 

THE NEW YORK SPECIAL - THAT ESCALATED FAST - Two days ago, everyone was sitting on the sidelines in the Empire State's 26th District. Now both party committees and American Crossroads are on the air or poised to go up in the three-way race. The National Republican Congressional Committee is the latest in, per the Buffalo News: "An NRCC official said its independent expenditure unit -- which does television and radio advertising as well as mail and polling -- will get involved in the race. The official did not know how much money the campaign committee was devoting to the effort ... The NRCC also is doing web ads, nightly phone banks making calls to district residents, and helping the Corwin campaign with its communications and get-out-the-vote efforts." http://bit.ly/kJA20G  

PLUS - DAVIS DUCKS: Republican Jane Corwin and Democrat Kathy Hochul are debating this evening on WGRZ-TV. But self-funding independent Jack Davis - the third-party candidate who's making this race competitive - won't be showing up. His statement, from the station: "Jane Corwin and Kathy Hochul are professional politicians. They are lying about me and my record ... I will not lend my integrity and my reputation for honesty to a forum with two politicians who will say anything to get elected." http://bit.ly/ijw2fp  

LETTING HIS FISTS DO THE TALKING? "Assault" is a strong word, but Davis was caught on camera swatting at a tracker and laughing about it - really - here: http://bit.ly/mnWBoL  

TODAY IN D.C. - From the White House guidance: "In the morning, the President will deliver remarks at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast ... Later in the morning, the President and the Vice President will meet with the Senate Republican Caucus ... Later in the day, the President is interviewed by Telemundo ... the President will be interviewed by KINC Univision/Entravision Las Vegas, WLTV Univision 23 Miami and Telemundo Dallas." And the VP: "At 2:30 PM, the Vice President will host a meeting at Blair House with a bipartisan, bicameral group of Members of Congress to continue work on a legislative framework for comprehensive deficit reduction. 

AND TONIGHT IN INDIANA - WOMAN OF THE HOUR - The Journal's Neil King takes a good look at the woman at the center of Mitch Daniels's 2012 deliberations, ahead of her star turn at tonight's Indiana GOP dinner: "The Cheri Daniels event is far outselling the group's ballyhooed speaker last fall, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. 'This is the biggest crowd we've had in at least a generation,' said Pete Seat, the state party's spokesman. The governor insists his wife has no plans to break news ... The Indiana first lady's distaste for politics is legendary... She is a constant presence at both weeks of the annual Indiana State Fair. She won two blue ribbons at the 2007 fair, one for cow milking and the other for long-distance watermelon-seed spitting. (She spit one 15 feet, one inch) ... 'She is funnier than hell,' Mr. Daniels said. 'And half the time she is ragging on me or making fun of me for something.'" http://on.wsj.com/kVVwnm  

OSAMA DEAD - WHERE'S THE BOUNCE? President Obama's approval ratings are up since the killing of Osama bin Laden, but his reelection prospects haven't changed much in a pair of national polls. Gallup: "Given a choice between Barack Obama and an unnamed Republican, 43% of registered voters say they are more likely to vote for Obama and 40% are more likely to vote for the Republican. This is essentially unchanged from April and February, when voters' preferences were evenly split." And PPP: "More voters may like Obama for the moment, but there aren't more planning to support him next year. Last month Obama led the Huckabee/Romney/Palin/Gingrich quartet by an average of 10.75 points. This month Obama leads those same four candidates by an average of...10.75 points" ... Full results: http://bit.ly/iqE11P  and http://bit.ly/jhnzJ F ... Flashback: http://politi.co/kbM5V2  

MINORITY REPORT - RIDING HIGH - Obama's 2012 odds are much stronger in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released yesterday, which put his reelect numbers over 50 percent against nine potential Republican opponents. His strongest leads were against the widely disliked Donald Trump (27 points), the little-known Jon Huntsman (21 points) and the polarizing Michele Bachmann (21 points). The closest match-ups - in relative terms - were against Mike Huckabee (12 points) and Mitt Romney (13 points). http://bit.ly/mOKDsy  

A SERIOUS MAN - TRUMP IN NASHUA - Donald Trump says he's still considering a run for president. And after his trip to New Hampshire yesterday, he has a foreign policy platform to prove it. Like most things about Trump, it doesn't fit neatly into a left-right ideological spectrum, the Nashua Telegraph reports: "Trump said bin Laden would not have been caught or killed without what he first called 'enhanced interrogation' ... 'Isn't [that] another word for that torture?' Trump asked rhetorically. Pakistan is no trusted ally of the U.S., and Trump offered a simple ultimatum about the future of the $2.4 billion in U.S. foreign aid ... Trump suggested the $1.5 trillion cost was a waste of money unseating and killing dictator Saddam Hussein, who played no role in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. 'He did not knock down the World Trade Center; had nothing to do with it. Frankly what he did do is kill terrorists,' Trump declared. 'You could not be a terrorist in Iraq; he would kill you. Now Iraq is the Harvard of terrorism. You want to be a terrorist, you go to Iraq." http://bit.ly/mGH5PP  

LA VIE EN HUCK - ENTREPRENEUR: Most potential presidential candidates try to disentangle themselves from for-profit activities in order to run. Not former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who just founded an education company that promises to teach American history through patriotic cartoons. The just-unveiled sales pitch for Learn Our History: "Many of our schools and teachers today haven't found ways to make history for kids fun ... Your kids will love to learn American history as they watch our nation's stories come to life right before their eyes! All the while, they'll build a strong sense of national pride and appreciation for America." http://bit.ly/iVYPBi  

SPEECHLESS - Arkansas blogger Jason Tolbert: "I am really not sure if this is some sort of strange joke but it appears to be legit ... I don't even know what to say." http://bit.ly/kztxef  

RECRUITMENT WATCH - BERG, RIGHT AHEAD: North Dakota's lone congressman is poised to run for Senate, giving Republicans an advantage in the race for retiring Sen. Kent Conrad's open seat. David Catanese: "The 51-year-old former state lawmaker will most likely make the announcement next Wednesday, though the exact day remains fluid ... Jonathan Casper, who served as Berg's deputy campaign manager in the 2010 effort that unseated Rep. Earl Pomeroy, has taken leave from his current role as legislative aide to return to the state to make political preparations, according to the source ... Berg, who will give up his slot on the influential House Ways and Means Committee, will be the clear front-runner for both the nomination and the general election." http://politi.co/musLPO  

AND IN MASS. - MAYBE TOLMAN? Warren Tolman - a well regarded former state legislator, gubernatorial candidate and TV commentator - is mulling a challenge to GOP Sen. Scott Brown. The Globe's Glen Johnson: "Tolman ... told the Globe this afternoon that 'I've been encouraged to think about it by a lot of people' ... 'I think there's some people who think I would be a good candidate and add something to the mix, and I think there's some people who look at the incumbent and think I could do better,' Tolman said ... '[T]here's a clear contrast between the vision that Ted Kennedy brought to the US Senate and that which Scott Brown brings.'" http://bo.st/jSUHhf   

JUST FOR FUN - SORTA - IOWA LOVES HILLARY - America's secretary of state has the earliest of leads in the 2016 Iowa caucuses, taking 44 percent of the vote against a pretty random set of competitors tested by PPP. From the poll: "Clinton is the overwhelming favorite ... followed by Joe Biden at 13%. None of the other folks we threw in there managed to hit double digits- Andrew Cuomo at 7%, Russ Feingold at 5%, Oprah Winfrey at 4%, Cory Booker at 3%, and Brian Schweitzer and Mark Warner at 1%." http://bit.ly/meLXIc  

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I've never been a big fan of Jerry Seinfeld - never dug him, in the true sense." - Donald Trump, to Rolling Stone http://bit.ly/jstMIT  

Go to Morning Score Now >> http://www.politico.com/morningscore

=================================

2011 POLITICO, LLC

Morning Score.  

To unsubscribe, http://dyn.politico.com/Unsubscribe_auto.cfm?email=[email-masked]&uuid=AE70CC48-1C23-CEB6-CA262D609FB059FD&alertID=17

================================