Gabrielle Giffords on the Campaign Trail, Paul Krugman on Obama Gaffe and More

Giffords Stumps for Former Aide:

Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords made a rare public appearance at a campaign event for Ron Barber in Tucson, Ariz., on Saturday. She was greeted by a cheering standing-room-only crowd that was befitting of the woman whose road to recovery from a gunshot wound to the head has inspired many. Barber, a former aide to the Democratic congresswoman who was also wounded in the assassination attempt on Giffords’ life in January 2011, is running in the special election to fill her vacated seat. Giffords resigned from the House to focus on her recovery. (Read more)

Obama Tests Likability: Polls consistently show President Obama to be very likable among Americans—indeed, his favorability ratings remain high amid a weak economy and a tough political climate—but is that enough to get him re-elected? The answer, according to Politico, is elusive. That theory is something the president may very well have to put to the test as we enter the final months of the 2012 presidential campaign. (Read more)

Krugman Says Obama Erred: New York Times columnist Paul Krugman says Obama “screwed up the line” Friday when he commented that the private sector is “doing fine.” Said Krugman: “The truth is the private sector is doing better than the public sector, which is not well enough. The real story of this economy is that cutbacks at the public sector are what’s hurting the recovery.” (Read more)

Why Obama’s Gaffe Does Not Matter: Tim Murphy of Mother Jones makes an interesting case for why the president’s “private sector” gaffe won’t matter in the election, despite the fact that some political pundits think we’ll be talking about it for months to come. Murphy writes: “It’s very possible that this quote will enter Romney’s campaign lexicon going forward, but the idea that we should talk about it because we’ll be talking about it is pretty circular. The role of a political reporter isn’t to predict the future; it’s to cut through the balogna. In this case, Obama tripped on his line, but his factual point stands.” (Read more)

Huckabee Says He’s Unlikely to Be Romney Veep Candidate: Mike Huckabee is pretty sure he will not be Romney’s running mate. Actually, as the former Arkansas governor tells it, he has a greater chance of being asked by Madonna to go on tour with her as a bass player than to be on the 2012 Republican presidential ticket. (Read more)

Video of the Day: The problem with education in America today, evidently, is that there are too many teachers. At least that’s what Mitt Romney seems to think, as he recently said that the U.S. needs fewer teachers. If a recent interview with top Romney campaign surrogate and former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu is any indication, it appears the presumed Republican presidential nominee is sticking to that statement.

— Posted by Tracy Bloom