More Romney Bain Woes, ‘Fox & Friends’ Hits New Low, and More

Romney’s Bain Dates:

The “when did Mitt Romney actually leave Bain Capital” story continues to have legs, thanks to new information about his role there after he supposedly left the firm. According to associates who worked with Romney at Bain, he was still active in the company until 2001 — two years later than Romney has previously stated. Although he didn’t participate in management decisions or matters pertaining to the firm’s investments, they said, Romney continued to meet with his Bain partners and also oversaw his own partnership stakes. One person familiar with the presidential candidate’s discussions with Bain associates said Romney took care to avoid managing the day-to-day business dealings of the firm, but did not entirely relinquish ownership of it. (Read more)

Romney Campaign Denies Remark: Mitt Romney’s international trip has just begun, but it’s already off to a rocky start. His campaign found itself on the defensive after an anonymous quote in The Daily Telegraph that was attributed to a Romney adviser criticized Barack Obama’s view of the “special relationship” between the United States and England. “We are part of an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and he [Romney] feels that the special relationship is special,” the adviser is said to have said. “The White House didn’t fully appreciate the shared history we have.” The campaign denies being the source of the quote but that hasn’t stopped the Obama camp from pouncing on the remark. In a written statement, Vice President Joe Biden called the comment “disturbing.” He added: “Not surprisingly, this is just another feeble attempt by the Romney campaign to score political points at the expense of this critical partnership. This assertion is beneath a presidential campaign.” (Read more)

Presidential Debates Set: It’s been some time since the last Republican one, but fear not debate aficionados: The proposed schedule for three presidential and one vice presidential matchups has been released, with all slated to take place over a three-week period in October. Unfortunately, the debates will likely be less entertaining than the primary round, since Texas governor and former GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry will not be participating in any of them. (Read more)

Gun Control Opposition Dominates: If lobbyist money spent is an indicator, it looks pretty doubtful that Congress will enact any new tough gun control laws in the wake of the deadly Colorado movie theater shooting. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, gun rights advocates have outspent those who support gun control 25-to-1 since 2009. In the past three years, gun organizations — led by the National Rifle Association — have spent more than $17 million lobbying Congress and the Department of the Interior. As one would expect, Republican politicians have been the top beneficiaries. (Read more)

Video of the Day: Just when you think “Fox & Friends” has hit rock bottom, the show somehow manages to stoop even lower. How else to explain this segment in which host Brian Kilmeade interviews uses two girls, ages 4 and 7, to make a point/advance Fox News’ conservative viewpoint about a gaffe Obama recently made about the relationship between government and small businesses.

Bonus Video of the Day: Herman Cain’s back, and he’s coming to the aid of his onetime rival Mitt Romney on the matter of not releasing more tax returns. Cain told The Sacramento Bee: “Let me say this as emphatically as I can: Who cares about Mitt Romney’s tax returns?” Apparently not Cain.

— Posted by Tracy Bloom.