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Lady GaGa attends Lady GaGa "Fame" Perfume Launch on Sept. 14, 2012 in New York.

The vast majority of Americans — 89 percent — say celebrity endorsements of a candidate don’t sway them at all, according to a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll .  That’s better news for Mitt Romney than for President Barack Obama.

The president has far more star power on his side than Republican Romney has. On Sept. 18, Beyonce and Jay-Z hosted a $4 million fundraiser at Jay-Z’s club 40/40 in New York for Obama, and actor George Clooney has been a constant supporter of the president’s, raising $15 million for him at his Studio City mansion in May. That’s not to mention pop stars Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey and Gwen Stefani, who are also raising money for the president’s re-election effort.

Three percent say they’d actually vote against  a candidate because of a celebrity endorsement; that’s tied with three percent who say it may make them a bit more likely to vote for a candidate.

In fairness, the Romneys have a few celebrity supporters of their own, including, of course, Clint Eastwood (a bigger highlight at the Republican National Convention than Romney, according to those surveyed by the Pew Research Center), actor Jon Voight and also Oscar-winner Robert Duvall, who hosted a Sept.6 fundraiser at his Middleburg, Virginia, home for Ann Romney.

Another interesting poll finding: 19 percent of those surveyed said they would rather their children marry into the Obama family than the Kennedy’s (18 percent), the British royal family (16 percent) or the Kardashian clan (2 percent.)

The August 22-26 poll  of 1,218 adults nationwide has an error margin of plus or minus three percentage points.

Original post is Clooney, Jay-Z vs Eastwood, Duvall — No Impact for Obama or Romney by Political Capital.

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Referee Pete Morelli #135 and other officials take the field before the start of the Washington Redskins taking on the Arizona Cardinals at FedExField on Sept. 18, 2011 in Landover, Maryland.

President Barack Obama is “very pleased” that the National Football League’s referees have settled their differences with team owners.

So says Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, in a gaggle aboard the president’s airplane today en route to a campaign event in Virginia, adding:

“It’s a great day for America.”

Obama had earlier this week voiced his opinion about the calls that led to a new sense of urgency in the NFL talks: The alleged pass interference and end-zone-touchdown pass that gave the Seattle Seahawks a 14-12 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Monday night:

“Terrible.”

“The president’s very pleased that the two sides have come together to resolve their differences and ensure that going forward,when we watch our favorite teams play in the NFL, we can focus on the players and the game rather than on the officiating,” Carney said today.

Original post is NFL Refs: `Great Day for America’ by Political Capital.

Photograph by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images

Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam leave after U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivered a speech in Jerusalem, Israel.

First Lady Michelle Obama may have done 56 fundraisers this year, besting Ann Romney’s tally of 37, but the aspiring first lady is not sitting idly by. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Ann Romney is headlining an Oct. 1 reception at the home of the biggest contributors to Republican super-political action committees: Las Vegas Sands Corp. chairman Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, who have donated $36.3 million to Republican-leaning groups.

Michelle Obama has raised at least $17.5 million for her husband’s re-election campaign this year, according to information provided by the Obama campaign and reported by Bloomberg yesterday. The Romney campaign wouldn’t provide ticket ranges or the approximate number of people attending Ann Romney’s events beyond confirming that she too has brought in millions to her husband’s campaign coffers this year.

Obama’s high-profile fundraisers like one at the Beverly Hills mansion of pop star Gwen Stefani in August have gotten far more attention than Ann Romney’s under-the-radar fundraisers, which included one at former President George W. Bush’s Dallas home on Sept. 18. Tickets for a Sept. 6 fundraiser with Ann Romney at Oscar-winner Robert Duvall’s home in Middleburg, Virginia ranged from $2,500 to $25,000, according to an invitation obtained by the National Journal.

Tickets for the Oct. 1 fundraiser range from $1,000 for the general reception to $10,000 per couple to co-chair the event, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“This will be the very first visit from Ann since her husband, Governor Mitt Romney, became the Republican nominee for president of the United States,” said the invitation obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Nevada is one of a handful of key battleground states frequented by both candidates.

Original post is Ann Romney to Raise Cash at Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Home by Political Capital.

Photograph by Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

President Barack Obama with David Letterman during a taping of the show.

When the Obamas curl up on the sofa to watch late-night TV, they probably favor the “Late Show with David Letterman” over any of its competitors.

President Barack Obama will make his seventh appearance on the show on Sept. 18. It will be his second appearance since his election as president. The last time he was on was Sept. 21, 2009.

For her part, the first lady just did the show on Aug. 29 and went back again on Sept. 6 to deliver the Top 10 list from the Democratic National Convention.

Original post is Obamas Pick Letterman Over Leno by Political Capital.

Photograph by Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images

Rep. Vern Buchanan arrives for the last vote in the House before the two-week Easter recess in this March 29, 2012 file photo.

Twenty lawmakers made a list they undoubtedly hope their constituents will miss:  2012′s Most Corrupt Members of Congress.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a Washington-based advocacy group, released the annual list today which includes large black and white photo’s, akin to mug shots, of this year’s 12 most corrupt politicians and a list of eight others who won “dishonorable mentions.”

Those partaking in bipartisan misdeeds include seven Democrats and 13 Republicans. They range from Representative Laura Richardson, a California Democrat, who forced her staff to work on her campaigns — a big no, no — to Senator David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, who said he would block a raise for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar unless he issued more deepwater drilling permits.

“It is hardly surprising Americans’ contempt for Congress is at an all-time high,” said CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan in an e-mailed statement to the press announcing the list.  “While voters have grown weary of seemingly endless ethical scandals, both the House and Senate remain loath to crack down on their members’ misconduct.”

The lawmakers aren’t ranked according to the most egregious violators but the press release makes clear that Rep. Vern Buchanan,a Florida Republican, is at the top of the list. He’s been on it four times after all.  His misdeeds according to CREW:  trying to bribe a business partner to help him cover up illegal reimbursements to employees of his car dealerships who donated to his campaign.

CREW said that since 2005 they’ve named 81 lawmakers to the list. Thirty-two of them are no longer in Congress.

Original post is A Top 20 List Members of Congress Want to Avoid by Political Capital.

Photograph by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

President Barack Obama at a campaign event in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 29, 2012.

The president answered ten questions from users of the social news website Reddit yesterday ranging from the mundane to the serious.

The news from the interview, which the president did from Charlottesville, Virginia, at the end of a two-day campaign swing, was his response to a question from Reddit user suzmerk who asked, “What are you going to do to end the corrupting influence of money in politics during your second term?”

Obama’s answer: I will “seriously consider” a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision that removed limits on campaign spending by corporations and unions.

“Even if the amendment process falls short, it can shine a spotlight of the super-PAC phenomenon and help apply pressure for change,” he said, in a nod to voter’s concerns about the growing influence of outside money in presidential elections.

On its website Reddit says that at the beginning of the year it had roughly 34 million visitors a month. Obama’s visit yesterday clogged up the site, making it difficult to sift through thousands of comments and questions. The site allowed the president to pick and choose which questions he wanted to answer.

Another heavy question came from FifthSurprise: “What was the most difficult decision that you had to make during this term?”

Obama’s response: The troop surge in Afghanistan.

“Any time you send our brave men and women into battle, you know that not everyone will come home safely, and that necessarily weighs heavily on you.”

There were lighter moments too during the roughly thirty minute q and a session, like this one from user karlfranks: “Who’s your favorite basketball player?” The president’s response: “Jordan – I’m a Bulls guy.”

And this from silent1mezzo: “What’s the recipe for the White House’s beer?”

Obama’s response: “It will be out soon! I can tell from first hand experience, it is tasty.”

As of 11:09 a.m. EST this morning there were 23,056 comments posted on the president’s page.

Original post is Obama Answers Questions from Campaign Finance Reform to Beer by Political Capital.

Photograph by Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo

A real estate agent who specializes in distressed properties walks outside after checking a house in West Palm Beach, Fla.

A new group made up of frustrated homeowners who owe more on their homes than they are currently worth say that they could be a decisive vote in key swing states in November.

“Underwater voters are the single most underestimated swing voting bloc in the country. Sixteen million homeowners are waiting on President Obama and Governor Romney for a plan,” said Tracy Van Slyke, Director of The New Bottom Line, in an e-mailed press release distributed by the group called “Home is Where the Vote Is.”  “Only widespread principal reduction can fix this mess.”

The homeowners will be asking President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney to lay out their plans to stem foreclosures. They’re planning town-hall meetings and protests, including a protest at the first presidential debate on Oct. 3 at the University of Denver, and will be organizing in swing states including Nevada, Georgia, Colorado, Ohio and Florida. They plan their first town hall next week in Orlando, coinciding with the Republican convention there.

The unemployment rate rose last month in every battleground state in the presidential election except Ohio. In Nevada, one of those critical states, one in every 415 homes received a foreclosure filing in Jul,y and the same was true in Ohio for one in every 528 homes, according to RealtyTrac Inc., an Irvine, California-based provider of foreclosure data.

Obama didn’t talk about housing at all in Nevada today — even though the state has among the highest foreclosure rates in the country and his campaign singled out housing as the main focus of a radio ad playing there. The ad is one of several airing with tailor-made messages in eight battleground states. In the Nevada, ad the narrator says that Romney and Ryan“would just let home values bottom out” and would do nothing to help service members avoid foreclosure.

More aid to underwater homeowners was part of the president’s $447 billion jobs plan which he proposed in September and was blocked by congressional Republicans. He has since been criticized for not doing more to help underwater borrowers.

During an August 20 impromptu visit to the White House briefing room, Obama said he’s been pressing Congress to pass a refinancing bill that “puts $3,000 into the pockets of the average family who hasn’t yet refinanced their mortgage. That’s a big deal.”

Romney has not laid out a housing plan — in fact housing is not listed among the top 24 issues of concern to his campaign.

In an interview with the editorial board of the Las Vegas Review-Journal in October he said: “Don’t try and stop the foreclosure process.”

He suggested that the government“`let it run its course and hit the bottom. Allow investors to buy homes, put renters in them, fix the homes up and let it turn around and come back up.”

Original post is Underwater Homeowners Protesting by Political Capital.

Photograph by Pete Marovich-Pool/Getty Images

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have dinner with three winners of "Dinner with Barack and Michelle" fundraising contest on August 20, 2012 at Mintwood Place in Washington, DC.

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama dined at a Washington restaurant tonight with three winners of a contest sponsored by his re-election bid, one of whom is a “highly trained wildfire smokejumper from Idaho,” according to the campaign.

The two other contest winners are educators: David Garcia, an associate music professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and Latasha Scurry, an assistant high school principal in Florida. And all of the three guests the winners were allowed to bring with them are either current or retired teachers.

Obama took note. “I’m glad we’ve got at least one firefighter to mix things up,” he said.

Ben Oakleaf, the winner from Idaho, is  ”an avid sportsman and a proud conservationist,” according to an e-mail the campaign sent to reporters. Smokejumpers parachute into wildfire areas, with tools, water and food also dropped in from the sky so that they can be self-sufficient for 48 hours.

The winners of the ”Dinner with Barack” contest — the fifth his 2012 campaign has conducted — and their guests had  their flights into Washington and their lodging paid for by the president’s campaign. Entry was free online, though contributions to help Obama’s cause weren’t discouraged.

The dinner party convened at Mintwood Place, about a 10-minute drive from the White House in Washington’s Adams Morgan neighborhood. The restaurant features a modern decor, including a tin ceiling.

Items on the Mintwood menu include cast-iron Amish chicken for $23, “New York strip steak frites” with bordelaise sauce for $32, and cocktails such as the “Woodrow Wilson,” consisting of Boomsa Genever Gin, Hum liqueur, Elderflower and Cava.

Before-dinner conversation included the first lady talking about the “kids state dinner” — really a lunch — she hosted at the White House earlier today. Attended by more than 50 children who submitted original recipes that stress health eating, it was part of Michelle Obama’s campaign to combat childhood obesity. She described some of the dishes featured at the event, including avocado salad and cabbage on a bun with zucchini fries.

Original post is Idaho `Smokejumper’ Joins the Obamas for a Night Out by Political Capital.

Photograph by Alex Wong/Getty Images

President Barack Obama during the daily press briefing at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on August 20, 2012.

President Barack Obama says his campaign has not gone “out of bounds” in criticizing Republican challenger Mitt Romney, though he can’t say the same for the super-PAC backing him.

Asked about a Web video that the Obama-backing Priorities USA Action has produced, in which a laid-off worker at a steel company taken over by Bain Capital speaks of his wife dying of cancer after they lost their health insurance,  Obama said: “I don’t think that Governor Romney was somehow responsible for the death of the woman that was portrayed in that ad.”

“But keep in mind that this is an ad that I didn’t approve, I did not produce, and as far as I can tell has barely run,” the president said. “I think it ran once.”  He said in an impromptu news conference today: “If you look at the overall trajectory of our campaign, and the ads that I have approved and are produced by my campaign, you’ll see that we point out sharp differences between the candidates, but we don’t go out of bounds.”

The ad in question may have run on TV only once (in the political battleground of Columbus, Ohio) since it was unveiled on Aug. 7, yet it has drawn almost one million viewers on YouTube. And it was all over cable news stations for days.

The ad features a former steel plant worker, Joe Soptic, talking about how his family lost health insurance, and his wife died, after Bain Capital LLC, the Boston-based private equity firm that Romney co-founded, closed the plant where Soptic was employed.  “I do not think Mitt Romney realizes what he has done to anyone. And furthermore, I do not think Mitt Romney is concerned,” Soptic says in the ad.

Republicans and fact checkers say the ad makes unfair claims linking Romney to the death of Soptic’s wife. Priorities USA Action says the ad aired by mistake in Ohio.  The candidates’ campaigns are not allowed to coordinate with outside groups such as super-PACs.

Obama says that while he’s running a campaign that seeks to highlight “sharp” policy differences, Romney is the one who has gone for blood.

“In contrast you’ve got Governor Romney creating as a centerpiece of his campaign this notion that we’re taking the work requirement out of welfare,” said Obama, calling that “patently false.”

Obama said his administration has agreed to approve giving five governors, including two Republicans, some “flexibility” in how they manage welfare programs in their state.

–With reporting by Greg Giroux

Original post is Obama: Campaign in `Bounds’ by Political Capital.

Photograph by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Mitt Romney at a campaign rally on August 14, 2012 in Chillicothe, Ohio.

Mitt Romney’s insistence that he hasn’t paid less than a 13 percent tax rate for the last 10 years has done little to quell the debate over whether he should release more of his tax returns.

The latest ad from Priorities USA Action, a super-PAC backing President Barack Obama, seizes on Romney’s remarks by showing Romney and his running mate, Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan, locked in an embrace with a heart graphic around the pair and the simple subtitle: “Paul Ryan’s Tax Plan Would Slash Mitt Romney’s Tax Rate to 1 Percent.”

The 30-second Web ad shows the pair with a red heart drawn around them, twice, as the Obama campaign seeks to tie Romney to his running mate’s fiscal plan, which would cut the deficit by $4 trillion over a decade and revamp Social Security and Medicare.

“Mitt Romney’s worth $200 million dollars, but under Paul Ryan’s budget, he’d pay only 1 percent in taxes, while middle class families would pay $1000 more,” the voice-over says, with an image of a family of four juxtaposed with Romney sauntering down the steps of an airplane.

The spot will run online in critical battleground states: Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Earlier today Obama campaign manager Jim Messina told Romney campaign manager Matt Rhoades that if the Republican candidate for president will release five years of tax returns, the Obama campaign won’t criticize him for not releasing any more.

Rhoades’s response: “Thanks for the note.”

“See you in Denver.”

The University of Denver is the location of the first presidential debate on Oct. 3.

Original post is Romney’s 13% Slides to 1% Tax Under Ryan: Obama-backing PAC by Political Capital.