Romney?s Potential 'Gang of Eight'

President Obama and Mitt Romney are giving dueling economic speeches this week, presenting their proposals to a skeptical public.?But one question that?s gone unanswered is which candidate has a better shot at getting their agenda passed if elected?

In recent months, it?s become accepted conventional wisdom that gridlock is the new permanent reality in Washington.?President Obama and Congressional Republicans haven?t been able to reach common ground on any of the intractable fiscal challenges facing the U.S.?If Romney won the presidency, under a Republican-controlled Congress, he?d face obstacles from a defeated Democratic minority, which could use the filibuster to block his agenda, and be subject to the whims of an increasingly uncompromising, conservative Republican party.

There is, however, one reason to expect a surge of bipartisan Congressional activity: There are a number of moderate Democratic senators, who will be up for re-election in 2014, who are running in states that Romney is expected to win easily. It would be in their political interest to work together with a newly-elected Republican president.

If Romney is savvy, the first people he?d reach out to would be Sens. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., Mary Landrieu, D-La. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, Kay Hagan, D-N.C., Tim Johnson, D-S.D., and Jay Rockefeller, D-W.V.??Add independent Angus King to the Senate ? he?s the frontrunner in this year?s open seat Maine Senate race ? and pragmatic Virginia moderate Mark Warner and there?s a caucus of at least eight clear swing votes that could line up Romney?s way.?

Romney?s not talking much about bipartisanship on the campaign trail; his focus has been squarely on blasting Obama?s record.? But if he wins, a test of his governing aptitude will be how effectively he courts those red-state Democrats, whose own political survival relies on getting things done.

--Josh Kraushaar, Hotline?s executive editor
@HotlineJosh

NATIONAL JOURNAL'S PRESIDENTIAL REPORT

Obama, Romney Prep for Dueling Speeches
[CNN, 6/13/12] President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney will campaign in the same state on the same day for the first time on Thursday and they?ll do it in Ohio, yet more evidence that the state has become the mother of all battlegrounds in 2012.

Obama's CEO: Jim Messina Has a President to Sell
[Bloomberg Businessweek, 6/14/12] When Jim Messina began as Obama's campaign manager, he arranged personal seminars with the CEOs and senior executives of Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, DreamWorks and other companies as part of his preparation. Each CEO taught Messina something - Steve Jobs told him that mobile technology must be central to the campaign and Steven Spielberg explained how to capture an audience's attention.

AFL-CIO Pulling Funds From Obama Campaign
[U.S. News and World Report, 6/13/12] The labor organization will be pulling money away from political candidates ? including Obama ? saying that it?s not meant as a slight to the president, but that they need the money for internal use. The AFL-CIO donated $1.2 million to Democrats in 2008 and has extensive Get Out The Vote experience.

New Data Show Obama Ahead in Social-Media Race NEW!
[National Journal, 6/14/12] If the presidential race were based on Facebook fan engagement, Obama would be far ahead of Romney, according to a report released on Thursday. While Romney led his competitors for the GOP presidential nod, the social-media analytics firm Socialbakers found that Obama appears to be winning the social-media race.

'Doing Fine' Line Used in New Romney TV Ad
[National Journal, 6/14/12] The Romney campaign released a?new television ad?on Thursday, using President Obama?s ?doing fine? line against him. Democrats, however, say the line has been taken out of context and chopped up to benefit Romney. No word on where the ad is running.

Adelson's Pro-Romney Donations Will Be "Limitless," Could Top $100M
[Forbes, 6/14/12] A "well-placed source" tells Forbes that the $10 million the billionaire casino mogul is donating to pro-Romney efforts could just be the start and that his contributions could well be ?limitless.?

Romney Says Obama's Russia Policy Has 'Clearly Failed'
[National Journal, 6/13/12] Mitt Romney attacked President Obama on Wednesday over reports that Russia was arming Syrian President Bashar al-Assad?s forces with high-powered weaponry, calling it a failure in Obama's foreign policy. Romney?s hard-line position on Russia has been criticized by Democrats and Colin Powell.

Romney Points to Failures, GOP Governors Tout Jobs
[Wall Street Journal, 6/14/12] Republican governors in crucial states for this election - Virginia, Ohio, Florida, Michigan and Iowa - have cited job growth, higher corporate investment and rebirth of domestic manufacturing in order to protect their own political future. One problem: Romney has targeted these states as a place to point out a feeble recovery.

Writing Her Own Dress Code NEW!
?[The New York Times, 6/13/12] Ann Romney's wardrobes are usually strikingly different from that of her buttoned up husband. The New York Times? Ruth La Ferla explores her looks, from wrap dresses to mismatched prints.

Romney Advisor: Good Economy In Ohio Comes Despite Obama, Not Because Of Him
[TPM, 6/13/12] The Romney team isn?t giving President Obama an inch when it comes to economic recovery across the country. As both candidates travel to Ohio on Thursday, a Romney advisor in a conference call to reporters said that Republican governors deserve the credit.

Romney Calls Obama ?Eloquent,? but Says ?Words Are Cheap?
[National Journal, 6/13/12] President Obama plans to give a major speech on the economy on Thursday. Ahead of the speech, Romney slammed the president for not presenting any new ideas on the economy, saying that although the president is ?eloquent,? his ?words are cheap.?

Romney Does Face the Nation, His First Non-Fox Sunday Show
[Washington Post, 6/13/12] This Sunday, Romney will sit down with Bob Schieffer for the first time in this election cycle, the first Sunday show the Republican challenger has done outside of Fox News Sunday. Romney has been criticized for staying clear of Sunday shows in the past. ?

Romney's Health Care Plan Would Not Prohibit Discrimination Based On Pre-Existing Conditions
[Huffington Post, 6/13/12] As part of Romney?s plan to repeal and replace the president?s signature health care law, his campaign said that it would not include a provision that prohibits discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions?one of the biggest tenants of ?Obamacare.?

Who?s Spending What and Where in the 2012 Race ? In One Chart
[Washington Post, 6/13/12] The Post tracks the ad spending in the presidential election from June 12 to June 18, and finds that the Obama campaign is spending significantly more on-air dollars than Romney -- roughly $7.2 million for the period. Romney, in contrast, will spend just $2.5 million.

Dems: Obama Could Lose, Donors Better Get Moving
[Associated Press, 6/13/12] More and more Democratic strategists fear that Obama could, in fact, lose the presidential election if he doesn?t shape up his message and Democrats step up their fundraising in the coming months.

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