OVERNIGHT CAMPAIGN: New message, new momentum

Romney’s appearance came just hours after his campaign released a two-minute commercial featuring the owner of a New Hampshire metal-fabricating company, criticizing Obama on the remarks.

{mosads}”My father’s hands didn’t build this company? My hands didn’t build this company? My son’s hands aren’t building this company? Did somebody else take out the loan on my father’s house to finance the equipment? Did somebody else make payroll every week or figure out where it’s coming from?” the Romney supporter says in the ad.

The Obama campaign has accused the Romney team of taking the president’s remark out of context. In a Web video, the campaign accused the Republican challenger of “launching a false attack,” and argued he would “say anything” to get elected.

TOMORROW’S AGENDA TODAY: Mitt Romney will be campaigning in New Hampshire.

President Obama will wrap up Day Two of his Florida tour, with stops in Fort Myers and Orlando.

Vice President Biden will be in Houston for a fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Michelle Obama will be in Virginia to launch the campaign’s “It Takes One” initiative, which is aimed at building grassroots support. She’ll make stops in Charlottesville and Fredericksburg.

Ann Romney will be campaigning in Michigan.

TWEET OF THE DAY: “Great to see leadership like this. Thank you @SenJohnMcCain. http://bit.ly/Oalgvk” — Ben Affleck praising GOP Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) for his defense of Clinton aide Huma Abedin

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “There are 18,000 names in my Rolodex.” — former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, in a New York Times magazine profile.

POLL POSITION:

A USA Today poll found that 54 percent of all voters and 53 percent of independents say that Mitt Romney should release more than two years’ worth of tax returns. Some three in 10 Republicans and three-quarters of Democrats agree that Romney should disclose more. The results are seen as evidence that the Obama campaign’s push for fuller disclosure from the presumptive Republican nominee could be gaining traction.

Republicans favor former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for Romney’s running mate, according to a survey from Fox News. She was the pick of three in 10 Republicans, leading Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the favorite of 19 percent of those surveyed; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the choice of 8 percent; and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who garnered 8 percent.

President Obama has a narrow lead over Romney, 45 percent to 41, according to a poll from Fox News.

Romney holds a narrow lead over Obama, 47 percent to 46, in a survey from CBS News and The New York Times.

A new poll of 12 battleground states shows Obama and Romney in a dead heat, with each candidate garnering 46 percent of the vote. The survey, released by NPR, showed those voters discouraged about the direction of the country but generally split on who would best address the issues facing it.

Romney is tied with Obama in the battleground state of Virginia, with each candidate garnering 44 percent of the vote, according to Quinnipiac University.

AD WATCH:

The pro-Republican super-PAC American Crossroads is up with a $9.3 million ad buy slamming President Obama‘s attacks on Mitt Romney’s private-sector record as “unfair” and “untrue.” It will run in several swing states.

The Republican National Committee released a Web ad bashing Obama over reports he has not held a meeting of his jobs council in the past six months, echoing a new attack from Romney on the issue.

BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE:

Illinois: Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) will skip the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.

SENATE SHOWDOWN:

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised $18.1 million in the second quarter, which included $2.5 million raised in the three days following the Supreme Court’s decision that upheld Democrats’ healthcare law. The group has $31.4 million in the bank.

Missouri: Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) is going on the air with attack ads against all three of her potential general-election opponents: businessman John Brunner (R), former Missouri state Treasurer Sarah Steelman (R) and Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.). The move is unusual: candidates usually wait until primaries wrap up to attack one opponent, or pick their most likely opponent and focus on attacking him or her.

North Dakota: Former Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp is out with a new ad touting her work to protect the state’s farmers against a federal-government “land grab” while she was in office.

Wisconsin: Businessman Eric Hovde (R) has railed against government subsidies during his campaign — but his real estate firm collected nearly $8,000 in tobacco subsidies from the federal government in the last three years. And former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson (R) supported waivers under the landmark 1996 welfare reform law when he served as federal Health secretary, documents show.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pushed back hard against the notion that congressional leaders should release their tax returns, saying the standard applies only to presidential candidates. “When I run for president of the United States, you can hold me to that standard,” Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol. “The disclosure that we have is full and complete,” she added, noting that she’s met all of the financial disclosure obligations required of Congress.

Actor Morgan Freeman donated $1 million to Priorities USA, the super-PAC supporting President Obama‘s reelection.

Obama, campaigning in Florida, ramped up his talk on healthcare and Medicare, seeking to convince voters — including the state’s senior citizens — that Mitt Romney’s ideas are “the wrong way to go.”

Republican lawmakers renewed their criticism of Obama’s handling of the crisis in Syria after a U.S.-backed sanctions resolution failed again at the United Nations.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus bashed White House energy programs by highlighting the struggles of Fisker Automotive, a company that was approved for up to $529 million in federal loans. 

A prominent transportation union is sharply criticizing Romney for attacking Obama’s statements about the government’s role in building public infrastructure, which the president argues is used by businesses to help them succeed.

The Democratic National Committee said it would refrain from using the Romney’s dressage horse, Rafalca, in future advertisements after suggestions the ad could be offensive to the Republican challenger’s wife, Ann.

Rick Santorum announced that Tyndale House Publishers will release his upcoming book, American Patriots: Answering the Call to Freedom on Oct. 2.

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