The Tampa Bay Times’ Smith previews Obama’s speech: “Obama will have some explaining to do, even with the heavily Democratic crowd at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) conference in central Florida. He last addressed the group in 2008, vowing that comprehensive immigration reform ‘is a priority I will pursue from my very first day.’ It never happened.”
Ahead of Obama’s speech, there’s a new Latino Decicisions poll of Latinos in the swing states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Virginia. “In Florida, the poll found Obama leading Romney by a margin of 53% to 37%, a slight increase from a 50% to 40% lead Obama held over Romney in a January 2012 Latino Decisions/Univision News poll in Florida. In the five states combined Obama lead Romney 63% to 27%, however in southwestern battlegrounds of Arizona, Colorado and Nevada Obama performed even better. In Arizona Obama received 74% to 18% for Romney, in Colorado he was favored by 70% to 22% and in Nevada 69% to 20%. In Virginia, Obama lead 59% to 28% over Romney among Latino registered voters.”
USA Today: “The darkening clouds of the slowing economy could provide a bright spot for consumers: gasoline at $3 a gallon — or less — by autumn.”
The Tampa Bay Times editorial page calls House Republicans’ contempt effort “hyperpartisan grandstanding. But President Barack Obama's response — to shield Justice Department records from the public's view — is not defensible and undermines the rule of law. The administration should turn over the documents in question or provide further justification for withholding them. The president is not above the law, and his claims of executive privilege will not, and should not, suffice.”
It concludes: “House Republicans should drop the political theater and resume negotiations with the Justice Department. The Obama administration should make good on its promise of transparency, or better explain itself to the American people.”
The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent interviewed Obama’s pollster, who cautioned against obsessing over every horserace poll. “The only thing that’s bouncing around are the public polls,” pollster Joel Benenson told Sargent. “The electorate doesn’t bounce around like that. It’s more static than the noise in all these polls. If you watch the electorate over time, they don’t jump up and down. This is a process.”