OVERNIGHT CAMPAIGN: Obama, Romney exchange barbs over foreign policy

by Justin Sink, Emily Goodin, Cameron Joseph and Alexandra Jaffe - 09/12/12 10:34 PM ET

“There’s a broader lesson to be learned here,” Obama told CBS News. “And I think — you know, Governor Romney seems to have a tendency to shoot first and aim later. And as president, one of the things I’ve learned is you can’t do that. That, you know, it’s important for you to make sure that the statements that you make are backed up by the facts. And that you’ve thought through the ramifications before you make ’em.”

{mosads}The Romney campaign had yet to respond to Obama’s latest volley as of press time.

Get full details on the back-and-forth here. And the background on the situation in Libya is available here.

TOMORROW’S AGENDA TODAY: President Obama will be campaigning in Arvada, Colo.

Vice President Biden will be campaigning in Wisconsin.

First lady Michelle Obama campaigns in Richmond and Fredericksburg, Va.

Mitt Romney will hold a rally at Van Dyck Park in Fairfax, Va., and campaign in Ronkonkoma, N.Y.

Paul Ryan will be in Washington, D.C., for votes in the House.

TWEET OF THE DAY: “Just watched an excellent and moving stmt by Sec. Clinton- just the right message and tone.” — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement about the deaths in Libya

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The friendship between our two countries, born out of shared struggle, will not be another casualty of this attack.” — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on the deaths of American diplomats in Libya

POLL POSITION:

President Obama has a double-digit lead over Mitt Romney in New Mexico, according to a survey from liberal-leaning Public Policy Polling. Obama takes 53 percent support, compared to 42 percent for Romney. Obama led the same poll in July by only 5 percentage points.

AD WATCH:

President Obama’s reelection campaign hammered Mitt Romney over his tax plan in a new television ad. The president’s team continued to accuse the GOP presidential nominee of evading questions on his proposal.

“Mitt Romney. He won’t reveal what’s in his taxes and he won’t tell you what he’d do to yours,” says the narrator in the ad. “To pay for huge new tax breaks for millionaires like him, Romney would have to raise taxes on the middle class … two thousand dollars for a family with children, says a non-partisan report.”

Romney’s campaign accused Obama of cutting funding to Medicare in a Spanish-language television ad.

The Obama campaign is keeping pressure on Romney over women’s health issues in a new campaign ad. “Mitt Romney’s position on women’s health, it’s dangerous,” a woman says in the ad.

BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE:

A Democratic super-PAC working to regain the majority in the House is launching its biggest ad buy of the election season, with $2.2 million in expenditures on races in seven tough districts nationwide. House Majority PAC is targeting Republican challenger David Rouzer and Reps. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.), Steve King (R-Iowa), Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.) and Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) with a series of ads that are as diverse as the candidates they attack.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is taking a page from the “Moneyball” school of baseball statistics in a new digital initiative announced by his office. Boehner is launching a joint fundraising committee for online fundraising that will delve deep into the wealth of available digital data, including targeted social media ads, in order to further support Republicans in the House.

CALIFORNIA: San Diego Port Commissioner Scott Peters (D) released his first ad, a tongue-in-cheek spoof showing children throwing tantrums around a boardroom table that he compares to Congress before touting his accomplishments. He’s running against Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) in a newly competitive district.

NEVADA: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee debuted its first ad against Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.), blasting him for voting against requiring insurance companies to cover “a simple vaccine to prevent cervical cancer for women” and accusing him of saying that “women get cancer from risky behavior.” Heck is locked in a tight race against Nevada Assembly leader John Oceguera (D) in a suburban Las Vegas district.

PENNSYLVANIA: Rep. Mark Critz (D-Pa.) blasted President Obama‘s energy policies in his first campaign ad, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the left wing of his party. “Seven hundred coal jobs depended on building an air shaft at the Cumberland Mine, but we had to fight President Obama’s EPA in order to get it built,” he says, closing by saying that he’s “pro-life, pro-gun” and will “fight anyone who stands in the way of Pennsylvania jobs.” Critz is facing a tough fight in a Republican-leaning district in southwestern Pennsylvania’s coal country.

PENNSYLVANIA PART TWO: Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) says in his first ad that he’s “working to get us back on track by balancing the budget and reducing wasteful regulations to create jobs.” He’s running for reelection in a slightly GOP-leaning district in Philadelphia’s suburbs.

RHODE ISLAND: Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), fresh off Tuesday’s primary win, leads Republican challenger Brendan Doherty in a new poll conducted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Cicilline leads Doherty by 49 to 43 percent, according to a poll conducted earlier this week that was provided to The Hill.

SENATE SHOWDOWN:

ARIZONA: Richard Carmona (D) released a new statewide ad that serves as both an introductory bio spot and an attack on incumbent politicians, with a focus on healthcare.

CONNECTICUT: Democrats are releasing two new ads in the Connecticut Senate race attacking Republican Linda McMahon, indicating the race is heating up as Democrats play offense while McMahon gains on opponent Rep. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).

MASSACHUSETTS: Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren (D) urged her followers to join her in wishing Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) “a very happy birthday.” The freshman senator turned 53. Brown tweeted a “thank you” in response.

MISSOURI: Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) will not be attending a Family Research Council Political Action Committee meeting this weekend, despite reports that FRC President Tony Perkins had said he would be there. Akin spokesman Ryan Hite said he wasn’t sure why Perkins had said at a National Press Club luncheon earlier that day that Akin would attend the weekend meeting, scheduled to coincide with the Values Voters Summit, the annual meeting of social conservatives in Washington. Hite said that Akin had plans to campaign in Missouri this weekend, and that those would not change.

MONTANA: Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) has a slight lead over Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.), according to a new poll from the Democratic-affiliated Public Policy Polling. Tester leads Rehberg by 45 to 43 percent in the poll, the latest to show a tight race in the GOP-leaning state.

NEVADA: Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) is up with two new ads, one in Spanish blasting Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) for “wanting to deport undocumented students” and the other, in English, touting her push to extend unemployment benefits.

VIRGINIA: Former Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) is up with a new ad promising a “better future” for America if he is elected. And Democratic rival Tim Kaine is on the attack in a new ad, contrasting his economic record with Allen’s.

WISCONSIN: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is up with its first ad of the cycle, a spot that rips former Gov. Tommy Thompson (R) for his work for “Wall Street banks and big drug companies.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

First lady Michelle Obama said her biggest personal health fear is triggered by her father’s multiple sclerosis. “If I’m honest with myself, I think probably because my father had MS and he contracted it at the prime of his life – I worry about those sudden illnesses that may be genetically linked that you don’t have any control over,” she said in a pre-taped interview that aired Wednesday on “the Dr. Oz Show,” a syndicated, daytime talk show. “That would be probably something that’s looming.”

Sarah Palin compared President Obama to former President Teddy Roosevelt and found him wanting this week, urging Obama to get a “big stick” for foreign policy use in a way Roosevelt likely never intended.

Please send tips and comments to Emily Goodin, egoodin@digital-stage.thehill.com; Cameron Joseph, cjoseph@digital-stage.thehill.com; Alexandra Jaffe, ajaffe@digital-stage.thehill.com, and Justin Sink, jsink@digital-stage.thehill.com

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