Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: How Romney will bracket Obama in New Hampshire--Tonight's debate is at 8 p.m. ET--Gingrich will be featured CPAC speaker--Could ND-SEN be in play?--Pantano's first ad
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:09:26 -0600

By James Hohmann (
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked] ; Twitter: @jameshohmann)

ROMNEY'S FIRST AD - Mitt Romney kicks off the paid media phase of his campaign today with a 60-second spot that blisters President Obama for failing to turn the economy around. It includes footage from a promise-filled speech that then-candidate Obama gave in October 2008 in the Granite State. It ends with Romney pledging to get rid of Obamacare, cut the size of government and get Americans back to work. Buy size: $134,000 for a week on WMUR. On YouTube:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672bd0d5d9fb895e2d07aa55884486829d63798ce95905f886d 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672bd0d5d9fb895e2d07aa55884486829d63798ce95905f886d .

JUJITSU - USING OBAMA'S WORDS AGAINST HIM:The buzziest part of the ad is a clip from Obama's 2008 speech when he faulted a John McCain advisor for telling a reporter on background that "if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose." The McCain context is NOT included in the ad itself.

The president's campaign spokesman says this makes it "a deceitful and dishonest attack" meant to distract from Romney's own record in Massachusetts. Think Progress calls it "too cute by half." The Democratic National Committee says "it continues a pattern of dishonesty and a lack of credibility on issues that matter to the American people."

In Romney's eyes, though, the president is now doing exactly what he attacked McCain for doing four years ago. "Every single day, like millions of Americans, we are going to talk about President Obama's historic failure, and the need to get America back on track," Romney communications director Gail Gitcho writes on the campaign blog. "President Obama will have to confront the promises made by candidate Obama."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672ada772f264ef7dfbdfd2247b849961e86f84e75bda8f0c9e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672ada772f264ef7dfbdfd2247b849961e86f84e75bda8f0c9e 

BOSTON MINDMELD:The Romney campaign is delighted to fight with Democrats over whether the ad should have included the McCain context. Campaign officials fully anticipated the way the attacks would unfold last night (almost to the word...) and preempted them in the hours before the candidate unveiled the spot on Sean Hannity's show. Today's impending back-and-forth will only elevate Romney and rally conservatives to his side. Most important, by the end of the day, the high command in Boston is confident they will win the argument with voters (especially independents).

The polls and focus groups make it undeniable: the more that next November's election is a referendum on Barack Obama's job performance, specifically his stewardship of the economy, the more likely he is to lose. That's why OFA, the DNC, the White House and their army of surrogates at liberal interest groups are hitting so hard. Going one step further: The more the GOP primaries center on beating Obama, the more likely Romney is to win the nomination.

BRACKETING OBAMA - THE MOST AGGRESSIVE MESSAGING PUSH EVER ATTEMPTED BY TEAM ROMNEY:Air Force One lands in Manchester at 11 a.m. The president gives a speech promoting his Jobs Act at Manchester Central high school at 12:15. Romney's operation has done everything in their power to ensure that Obama will find himself in enemy territory when he arrives. Their full-court press is built around, first, contrasting Romney's approach to fixing the economy against this administration's and, second, faulting Obama for running "a campaign of distraction." Here is a run-down of what's up their sleeve:

ROMNEY'S OPEN LETTER:Romney has written a two-page letter to President Obama welcoming him to the state where he has built his firewall and a beautiful lake house. It is running in today's Concord Monitor, the Union Leader and the Nashua Telegraph. "I will be blunt," Romney writes. "Your policies have failed. It is bad enough that they have fallen short even by the standards your own administration set for itself. But things are much worse than that. Far from bringing the crisis to an end, your policies have actively hindered economic recovery." Read the whole letter:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672b33178839212007243978c673631e134984810e76795e983 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672b33178839212007243978c673631e134984810e76795e983 .

A FLURRY OF STATEMENTS - FIRST IN SCORE:Boston is going to blast out these three press releases in the next couple hours with statements from some of the most powerful figures in the state's Republican establishment (all supporters). Here are early excerpts:
JOHN SUNUNU,former governor, state party chair and White House chief of staff:"Today President Obama and his campaign are afraid to talk about the economy because his policies have failed to put people back to work. The real tragedy is this President's unwillingness to lead America in the right direction."D.J. BETTENCOURT, New Hampshire House Majority Leader:"We can't afford four more years of economic amateurism. Unlike our current president, Mitt Romney knows how the economy actually works and will put in place policies to get our economy moving on day one as president."JEB BRADLEY, New Hampshire State Senate Majority Leader: "Three years ago, candidate Obama came to New Hampshire and
 promised that he would turn around our country's economy. Three years later, it is clear that President Obama has failed to deliver on the promises he made to Granite Staters."
SURROGATES:Thealways-quotable Sununu will be ubiquitous on local radio and TV. At 2 p.m., Tim Pawlenty and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte will hold a press conference call. Romney himself will go on New Hampshire radio to talk about the ad.

RALLY:Romney's field operation is mobilizing volunteers to rally outside the high school where Obama is speaking, which will ensure rank-and-file Romney backers (not just establishment figures) are part of local stories about Obama's jobs speech.

THE UNION LEADER'S PAGE ONE EDITORIAL - "PRIMARY VOTERS REJECTED OBAMA":"Four years ago, primary voters here tried to tell the nation that this wet-behind-the-ears socialist wannabe was the wrong man," the unsigned editorial says, referring to Hillary Clinton's victory in the Granite State. "Here is hoping that seven weeks from today, primary voters here will put the nation on a path to unseating this glib, clueless disaster of a President."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672a7e6caf076232145d0fdc900ca3ced587cac8e6765d606f2 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672a7e6caf076232145d0fdc900ca3ced587cac8e6765d606f2 

OBAMA'S GRANITE STATE MESSAGE - EXTEND PAYROLL TAX CUTS:The Associated Press reports this morning that the president will argue in Manchester that a failure to extend the payroll tax breaks would hurt the middle class and dare Republicans in Congress to block a measure that would lead to their increase. "The White House says a middle-class family making $50,000 a year would see its taxes rise by $1,000 if the payroll tax cuts are not extended," Julie Pace writes. "A senior administration official said the president would not insist on the cuts being paid for immediately."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672369cb7c540ebfabe4b704f647d79efd06f02bfe9a7a6fb9e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672369cb7c540ebfabe4b704f647d79efd06f02bfe9a7a6fb9e 

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE - ROMNEY LEADS BIG IN NEW SUFFOLK POLL:Romney stands at 41 percent in a brand new Suffolk University poll of New Hampshire voters, with Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul tied for second at 14 percent. NOT BREAKING THROUGH is Jon Huntsman, who is stuck in single digits (9). FADING HARD is Rick Perry, who is at just two percent (behind Santorum!). "A Romney loss here is highly improbable, and Romney's best insurance policy in New Hampshire is Ron Paul, whose fixed support takes 14 percent off the table," says David Paleologos, director of Suffolk University's Political Research Center. The American Research Group released a separate poll yesterday showing Romney leading Gingrich
 33 to 22, with Paul at 12. ARG's release:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade76723ea4530bc6acbb9853676c41dd3c2abec8b28a1ddfd4ed16 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade76723ea4530bc6acbb9853676c41dd3c2abec8b28a1ddfd4ed16 . Insiders take Suffolk more seriously than both ARG and Magellan, the latter of whom shocked observers by reporting a statistical tie last week between Mitt and Newt (29-27).Suffolk's top lines (6-page PDF):
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade76721ae54a07ca8590f5d7c8baeb34f6c67294727aceb9e33b3b 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade76721ae54a07ca8590f5d7c8baeb34f6c67294727aceb9e33b3b . Suffolk's press release:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672f5d771f5a7dcf1bdd5986b49296a8d74b08b09b802a6824b 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672f5d771f5a7dcf1bdd5986b49296a8d74b08b09b802a6824b .

QUINNIPIAC SHOWS ROMNEY, OBAMA TIED:Romneygets 44 to Obama's 45 in a national Quinnipiac Poll that posted at 6 a.m. Obama beats Gingrich 49-40 and Cain 50-37.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672c4e61c13535d71b224312b53a735d41a5edee6ab92e6c3e1 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672c4e61c13535d71b224312b53a735d41a5edee6ab92e6c3e1 

PILE ON - THE REPUBLICAN APPARATUS JOINS IN:

NEW HAMPSHIRE GOP:The new chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, Wayne MacDonald, has an op-ed in today's Concord Monitor (it also appears in today's Foster Daily Democrat) with this headline: "The President Talks A Good Game, But Where Are The Jobs?"He's also hosting a 9:30 a.m. conference call for reporters. The state party is also raising money off Obama's visit. A series of emails with subjects like"Don't Let Obama Occupy New Hampshire"have gone out to the supporters list:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade76724835a2c3288d113e72736b43f7fef3210c312efe8fb9e298 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade76724835a2c3288d113e72736b43f7fef3210c312efe8fb9e298 . Here's Wayne's op-ed, which focuses on the perils of job-killing regulation:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672a62305e4e2547d8286257c593fb7ac49075a694b6e6aee52 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672a62305e4e2547d8286257c593fb7ac49075a694b6e6aee52 .

REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE:The RNC research shop will blast out a three-page hit later this morning that highlights economic gloom in the Granite State and says that the American Dream is slipping away on Obama's watch. The gist: "In 2007, Obama told Manchester High School that as president he would keep the promise of America alive. Obama's youth coalition is crumbling as a result of his failed promises. With Obamanomics failing New Hampshire, the Granite State's voters have turned against Obama."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade76722c95fb2b5839621a2c6f895f203e31267a4f12345d698caf 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade76722c95fb2b5839621a2c6f895f203e31267a4f12345d698caf 

** As Bachmann claims the White House called her, Cain thanks God and Gingrich gets ready for his first debate as a frontrunner, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

THE NEW NEWT - ROLLS OUT SOCIAL SECURITY PRIVATE ACCOUNTS:Jonathan Martin traveled with Gingrich in New Hampshire yesterday and reports back that he's still "casually combative, discursive, and, as ever, boiling-over with opinion." The key takeaway: "For all his promises to try to remain disciplined, the garrulous Gingrich seems incapable of being an on-message politician." On those who don't want private Social Security accounts, for example, Gingrich said: "You're an American. You're allowed to be dumb." Here's the thing: primary voters dig the shtick, even if it makes Beltway pundits roll their eyes.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672435e07531115a412ad308f97e249c984ce37c0461fd66223 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672435e07531115a412ad308f97e249c984ce37c0461fd66223 

EXCLUSIVE - GINGRICH WILL BE FEATURED CPAC SPEAKER:The American Conservative Union will announce later that Newt Gingrich will be a featured speaker at CPAC 2012. The 39th annual conservative confab will be held Thursday, February 9 through Saturday, February 11 in DC. Online registration is open:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade767247221730b87ea2be010a73841132ee89540a0c13f296507f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade767247221730b87ea2be010a73841132ee89540a0c13f296507f .

PICKS UP BACHMANN'S EX-NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE DIRECTOR:"Newt Gingrich is expanding his New Hampshire campaign staff for the third time in a month, adding Rep. Michele Bachmann's former state director Jeff Chidester to his team," MSNBC's First Read reports. "Chidester, who is a radio talk show host and Tea Party activist, will work with senior adviser Jim Wieczorek to build a Tea Party coalition and state steering committee...The New Hampshire-based staff now totals eight."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade767247b387f51be8b7b9f983db9c4fcfd7268af17677471fbfee 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade767247b387f51be8b7b9f983db9c4fcfd7268af17677471fbfee 

TAKES LEAD IN TWO NEW NATIONAL POLLS:A Quinnipiac University national poll out this morning puts Gingrich at the top of the field with 26 percent. Romney is second with 22 percent. In a head-to-head matchup with Romney, Newt leads 49-39. Cain drops from 30 percent in the Nov. 2 survey to 14 percent today. A CNN/ORC International Poll out yesterday put Gingrich over Romney 24 to 20, which is within the margin of error. On who is most qualified to be commander-in-chief, 36% of Republicans say Gingrich-16 points higher than Romney. CNN's 34-page PDF WITH crosstabs:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672bdab83ed68f92ce42c15399f5877fd343caaf79959129536 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672bdab83ed68f92ce42c15399f5877fd343caaf79959129536 . Paul Steinhauser's write-up:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672bf62f5172ba2a2ea39a95dcde309134c26cacadc664b36d5 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672bf62f5172ba2a2ea39a95dcde309134c26cacadc664b36d5 . The new Q poll:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672c4e61c13535d71b224312b53a735d41a5edee6ab92e6c3e1 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672c4e61c13535d71b224312b53a735d41a5edee6ab92e6c3e1 .

PREEMPTIVELY DISMISSES ROMNEY ATTACKS:Gingrichtells CBN's David Brody that Romney attacking him will backfire. "There's no evidence that shows that reaching out and putting his hand on Rick Perry's shoulder did him any good," Gingrich said. Video via GOP2012:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade767282d6e3ef7fe1c2047d7fb316d9185a64ecd0acb404abdcd8 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade767282d6e3ef7fe1c2047d7fb316d9185a64ecd0acb404abdcd8 .

TONIGHT'S DEBATE - WHAT TO WATCH:It airs at 8 p.m. on CNN. Foreign policy is the focus. Alex Burns previews it by raising five questions:Can Newt Gingrich perform as a frontrunner?Can Mitt Romney pass the commander-in-chief test?Can Herman Cain keep his foot out of his mouth?Can Jon Huntsman turn his Afghanistan position into a strength?Will Ron Paul get a turn in the spotlight? His piece:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672d5e22aff48b843150c6cb43354bfb4887dabdcdcf535f5bc 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672d5e22aff48b843150c6cb43354bfb4887dabdcdcf535f5bc . Reid Epstein ponders why more of the candidates are not attacking Romney directly on stage:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade76729f701d56f93dddae55fb485864482894c590e485f24cf0ac 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade76729f701d56f93dddae55fb485864482894c590e485f24cf0ac .

Jackie Kucinich previews the debate in USA Today by noting how hard it will be to run against Obama on foreign policy and national security in a general election context:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672032b0b890b0f161c38b6f9018faeac036b5d46b9fc75b14e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672032b0b890b0f161c38b6f9018faeac036b5d46b9fc75b14e .

NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE SNEAK PEEK - PANTANO NAILS ROUZER ON IMMIGRATION:With a devastating spot sure to turn heads, Republican Ilario Pantano will begin ripping Republican primary opponent State Senator David Rouzer for being soft on immigration today. Pantano, the son of a legal immigrant to the United States, accuses Rouzer of advocating amnesty by supporting the AgJOBS Act in 2007, which Pantano says would have given amnesty to 1.5 million illegal agriculture workers. It's a $20,000 broadcast and cable buy in the Wilmington market from 11/22-11/27. Both Pantano and Rouzer were added to the NRCC's "On The Radar" list just a few weeks ago. The winner will challenge Mike McIntyre. This makes
 it look like a brutal primary is in the offing. Pantano is also launching a microsite that details Rouzer's softness on immigration:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade76729119f34efa2cc290bd78a973b04042a4eb969fd8a15622f1 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade76729119f34efa2cc290bd78a973b04042a4eb969fd8a15622f1 . Ad:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade767264ced8cb610658cb4740c636ed2fc739d89e9449a44af8ef 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade767264ced8cb610658cb4740c636ed2fc739d89e9449a44af8ef .

CAIN BACKTRACKS - HE'LL SIT DOWN WITH THE UNION LEADER EDITORIAL BOARD AFTER ALL:"Herman Cain will sit for an hour-long taped interview with the New Hampshire Union Leader, Publisher and President Joseph W. McQuaid announced on Twitter on Monday...McQuaid said Cain's spokesman 'called me up this morning and wondered if they could come in one day next week for an hour-long interview and have C-SPAN there.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade76728c2a25fd307733c734ba95dc68f2e07e5ee315bf2afe5bf4 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade76728c2a25fd307733c734ba95dc68f2e07e5ee315bf2afe5bf4 

FOOT IN MOUTH - CAIN THANKED GOD FOR HIS CHRISTIAN DOCTOR:At the Holy Land Experience, a Bible-themed amusement park in Orlando, Cain one of the doctors who treated him for cancer was named Dr. Abdallah. Yahoo News' Chris Moody quotes Cain: "I said to his physician assistant, I said, 'That sounds foreign, not that I had anything against foreign doctors, but it sounded too foreign. She said, 'He's from Lebanon.' Oh, Lebanon! My mind immediately started thinking, wait a minute, maybe his religious persuasion is different than mine! She could see the look on my face and she said, 'Don't worry, Mr. Cain, he's a Christian from Lebanon.' Cain reportedly added: 'Hallelujah! Thank God!'
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672d3d2ef9ad4fd52523352fb7c5a127b9e1c309d671e5d706f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672d3d2ef9ad4fd52523352fb7c5a127b9e1c309d671e5d706f 

PERRY PLEDGES - SIGNS FAMILY LEADER DOCUMENT IN BID FOR SOCIAL CONSERVATIVES:"The pledge advocates several issues, including the Defense of Marriage Act, personal fidelity to the signee's spouse, appointment of 'faithful constitutionalists' as judges, and reformation of anti-marriage elements in divorce, tax and welfare laws," according to the Des Moines Register. "Family Leader head Bob Vander Plaats has said signing the pledge will be a prerequisite for the group's endorsement, one coveted among candidates seeking to nab the evangelical vote." Santorum and Bachmann have signed. Gingrich said he will with a few modifications. Romney has not.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672820dcacb02f9ae3d2b47cffa73286e100c2346ecd9c8213f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672820dcacb02f9ae3d2b47cffa73286e100c2346ecd9c8213f 

PERRY APOLOGIZES - SAYS "HEARTLESS" QUOTE WAS INSULTING:On Fox News last night, the Texas governor said he shouldn't have said at the Orlando debate in September that people who opposed his in-state tuition plan for illegals had no heart. "My wife said it was an insulting thing to say," Perry said. "My error was in saying that...It was incorrect...I shouldn't have said it."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade767230649ce4729a728bb4aab0e413b34d7fbf51903db735dba7 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade767230649ce4729a728bb4aab0e413b34d7fbf51903db735dba7 

"IT'S TIME TO LET A WOMAN SPEAK" - BACHMANN INCHES CLOSER TO PLAYING GENDER CARD:"Michele Bachmann, the only woman running for the Republican presidential nomination, questioned Monday whether sexism was a factor in the amount of questions she receives at debates," CNN reports. "Sometimes you wonder about that,' Bachmann said in an interview on NBC's 'Today' with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. 'I have no way of knowing...It's unusual to have a woman candidate. We've never had a woman on the Republican ticket running for president at this level before. So I think it's time to let a woman speak.'
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade767208b6f25aed2d4118dd5f5d131ad41e10f7223ade2402b9d8 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade767208b6f25aed2d4118dd5f5d131ad41e10f7223ade2402b9d8 

STRAINING CREDULITY - BACHMANN CLAIMS CARTER WHITE HOUSE TRIED TO INTIMIDATE HER:"After one of her first jobs, at a small-town newspaper, Bachmann writes about the shock of how much of her paycheck was going to Social Security taxes," Ginger Gibson writes in a round-up of the newsiest nuggets in the congresswoman's campaign book. "So she wrote a letter explaining she no long wanted the withholdings kept because she planned to save for her own retirement. 'The next thing I knew, I got an intimidating phone call from Washington, D.C.,' she writes. 'The caller on the other end of the line said this was coming from the White House! The man said, 'We received your letter, and we want you to know
 that you have to pay your Social Security. It's a crime not to; you will go to jail if you don't pay us the money.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672ba4754c05212a0ccd9eaa67ad2896e6f8d9436983b6b525e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672ba4754c05212a0ccd9eaa67ad2896e6f8d9436983b6b525e 

TRUMP CARD - THE DONALD KEEPS DOOR OPEN TO THIRD PARTY RUN:He says in his forthcoming book "Time to get tough" that his net worth is $7 billion, including $3 billion in "brand value." The New York businessman is keeping the door open to a third-party run, if Republicans nominate "the wrong candidate." Fox got an early copy of the book:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672998c712b0eee21e11e06dea580e33fc24ff3f110d4bc7de3 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672998c712b0eee21e11e06dea580e33fc24ff3f110d4bc7de3 .

WHAT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ARE UP TO:It's quiet because of the 8 p.m. debate. Huntsman has a 9 a.m. town hall in Manchester. Ron Paul has a meet-and-greet in Bedford and launches his small-business coalition in Concord.

NORTH DAKOTA SENATE - DEMOCRATIC POLL SHOWS HEITKAMP UP 5:The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will distribute a new poll this morning from Mark Mellman of the Mellman Group that shows former Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp leading Congressman Rick Berg by 5 points, 47-42. Among Independents, Heitkamp leads Berg by 21. From a memo: While Heitkamp is net favorable among independents by a 43-point margin (59% favorable, 16% unfavorable), Berg is viewed unfavorably by a plurality of swing voters (34% favorable, 41% unfavorable). Just 28% are positive of Berg's job performance. By a 46% to 26% margin voters say Berg is too much of a politician. Only 34% said yes when asked if he
 represents their point of view on the issues or shares their values. See the memo:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade767256f360c3accaf5b39c3887afe7ad71fac9d6724c0a14a499 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade767256f360c3accaf5b39c3887afe7ad71fac9d6724c0a14a499 .

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I tasted a beer and tried a cigarette once, as a wayward teenager, and never did it again." - Mitt Romney, in the forthcoming issue of People Magazine
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672975c62640bb6530f2c12e0c2a9da323a134c7978861eeed7 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=70d759e40ade7672975c62640bb6530f2c12e0c2a9da323a134c7978861eeed7 

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