Colbert King, Washington Post
Mitt and Ann Romney are deluding themselves if they believe that calls for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to release more of his income tax returns are simply a campaign instigated by Barack Obama’s supporters. Would that partisanship is sparking the demands for additional disclosure. The Romneys must know in their hearts that there is more to it.Most Americans don’t begrudge Mitt Romney his wealth, estimated in the neighborhood of $250 million. His entrepreneurship is an American success story.

The Truth-o-Meter says: True | Obama ad says class sizes 'don't matter' to Romney

A new Barack Obama campaign ad titled "Children" attacks Republican Mitt Romney on education by painting him as out of touch with public school students and their families. In the ad, parents Kevin and Caroline say their children’s best experiences have been in the classroom. "But Mitt Romney says class sizes don’t matter," a narrator interjects. A photo of Romney appears, along with a Washington Times headline declaring "Romney downplays value of small class size." Many parents have long believed that small class sizes translate into ...

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As a candidate, Barack Obama said we needed to reckon with race and with America's original sin, slavery. But as our first black president, he has avoided mention of race almost entirely. In having to be "twice as good" and "half as black," Obama reveals the false promise and double standard of integration.

Mark Murray, NBC News
After Mitt Romney selected his vice presidential running mate, and just days before the political conventions kick off next week, President Barack Obama maintains his advantage in the race for the White House, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.A Democratic ticket featuring Obama and Vice President Joe Biden gets support from 48 percent of registered voters, and a Republican ticket of Romney and new running mate Paul Ryan gets 44 percent. 

ROCHESTER, N.H. -- President Barack Obama is talking about his daughters' experience at summer camp and revealing for the first time where they spent their summer – New Hampshire.

While campaigning in New Hampshire on Saturday, Obama noted at two rallies that his daughters, Sasha and Malia, spent a month at summer camp in the state.

Obama has previously talked about his daughters going to summer camp but has not said where they went. He says Sasha and Malia enjoyed water sports, playing basketball and tennis and doing arts and crafts as well as "some ice cream" at their camp.

Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney are both contesting New Hampshire, which is considered a swing state.

WEST TISBURY, Mass. -- Mitt Romney says he needs to keep raising money at a furious pace because President Barack Obama broke all fundraising marks four years ago.

Romney's staff says the GOP presidential candidate will raise nearly $7 million from events Friday and Saturday on New York's Long Island, in Boston and on the Massachusetts resort areas of Martha's Vineyard, Cape Cod and Nantucket.

Romney told reporters on Martha's Vineyard that he wishes he could spend more time campaigning in competitive states.

He notes that Obama was the first president to reject federal funding for the general election and the spending limits that go with such taxpayer-supplied funds.

As promised members of the Rochester 912 Project, Granite State Patriots Liberty PAC and other groups staged a rally and march to voice their opposition to President Barack Obama before his arrival at Rochester Commons.

Jerry Della Femina, New York Post
Why not?Almost all of my friends are Democrats; all of them voted for Barack Obama in 2008.Ask them these days, as I have, if they plan to vote for Obama this November, and they’ll give you an “Oh shucks” sad smile, look down, look back up with guilty eyes and say “I’m disappointed.”Then they play the party line and say. “But Romney? But Ryan?”

Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
A little over two weeks ago, Gallup found that the most important issues on the minds of voters are the economy, jobs, and the federal budget deficit.  Today’s Gallup poll shows Obama more than twenty points underwater on all three issues, and above 60% disapproval on two of them:Three months before the election, President Barack Obama gets good marks from Americans for his handling of terrorism, fair marks for education and foreign affairs, but poor marks on immigration and three big economic issues: the federal budget deficit, creating jobs, and the economy generally.

Greg Sargent, Washington Post
It’s instructive to compare the two major ad campaigns targeting Barack Obama that were launched today. The first ad, from the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity, features a range of Obama supporters explaining, more in sorrow than in anger, that they have reluctantly concluded Obama has failed.The second ad, from the Romney campaign, strikes a harsher tone, claiming Obama raided Medicare to take money from “you” — the elderly viewer — to give it to those who benefit from Obamacare.

The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly False | Mitt Romney said Barack Obama robs Medicare of more than $700 billion to pay for Obamacare

Medicare is a hot topic in the presidential race since Mitt Romney picked U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan to be his running mate. Ryan, R-Wis., is the head of the Budget Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives and the architect of a plan to dramatically restructure Medicare. Ryan’s plan is for people who are under age 55 now. It would give them voucher-like credits to buy traditional fee-for-service Medicare or competing private insurance plans. (The credits are sometimes called "premium support.") Though House Republicans voted overwhelmingly for Ryan’s plan, ...

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Roger Cohen, New York Times
No sooner had Mitt Romney and his newly picked running mate Paul Ryan of Wisconsin dubbed themselves "America's Comeback Team" than President Barack Obama tweeted: "Romney-Ryan: The Go Back Team."Bring it on! Saving Private Romney is going to involve an ideological battle "” over the size of government, the extent of Americans' obligations to one another, even the soul of the country "” that is no less than the United States deserves. An election should not be about candidates'...

John Carney, CNBC
If Barack Obama loses to Mitt Romney in November, it will almost certainly be stubbornly high unemployment during the past four years that cost the president the election. The president told us it wouldn't be this way. His stimulus plan was supposed to bring down unemployment.The administration had projected that unemployment would be down to 6 percent by August 2012 - thanks in large part to Obama's stimulus package. Instead, we're stuck with unemployment over 8 percent.

The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Has Barack Obama deported more people than any other president in U.S. history?

A group known as American Principles in Action is running an ad targeting Hispanic voters in Nevada, trying to weaken their support for President Barack Obama. "Don’t be fooled by President Obama’s words," the narrator says. "He’s not committed to immigrants. He only wants our vote. With the election on the line, he offers our undocumented youth a temporary solution that cheats them of legal status. Why didn’t he keep his promise to push immigration reform? Instead, Obama has deported more people than any other president in this country's history. With friends like these, ...

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The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Barack Obama says most Americans pay a higher tax rate than Mitt Romney

A new ad from President Barack Obama’s campaign continues the drumbeat that Mitt Romney is a privileged rich guy who isn't paying his fair share of taxes. "You work hard, stretch every penny," a narrator says. "But chances are, you pay a higher tax rate than him: Mitt Romney made $20 million in 2010, but paid only 14 percent in taxes — probably less than you." We wondered whether it’s accurate to say that Romney "paid only 14 percent in taxes — probably less than you." The 14 percent figure checks out. The 2010 ...

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The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly False | Mitt Romney says 90 percent of cities saw unemployment rise in June

In an ad titled "It's Just Not Getting Better," Mitt Romney takes aim at President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy. "In June, jobless ranks were higher in nearly 90 percent of U.S. cities," the ad’s narrator says. "In July, unemployment went up again. And the president is running out of time. Under Obama’s economy, it’s just not getting better. Mitt Romney has a plan for a stronger middle class. Under the Romney plan, more jobs and more take-home pay. It’s a plan that works for America." We wondered whether it was ...

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The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Mitt Romney says Barack Obama rejects Jerusalem as capital of Israel

A 30-second ad from Mitt Romney’s campaign paints two starkly different portraits of the two presidential candidates’ positions on Israel. Barack Obama: a president who has not visited the Jewish state. Mitt Romney: a friend who cherishes America’s friendship with the ally. "Who shares your values?" a narrator asks as an image of Obama appears. "As president, Barack Obama has never visited Israel and refuses to recognize Jerusalem as its capital." Romney, the ad continues, "will be a different kind of president who stands by our allies. He ...

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The Truth-o-Meter says: True | Mitt Romney says Barack Obama has not visited Israel as president

Following a trip in which he said Israel was blessed by the hand of providence, Mitt Romney is out with an ad questioning President Barack Obama’s allegiance to the Jewish state. "Who shares your values?" a narrator asks as an image of Obama appears. "As president, Barack Obama has never visited Israel and refuses to recognize Jerusalem as its capital." Romney, the ad continues, "will be a different kind of president who stands by our allies. He knows America holds a deep and cherished relationship with Israel." The ad ...

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The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Mitt Romney would add “trillions” to the deficit while Barack Obama would “cut the deficit by $4 trillion," says Obama TV ad

President Barack Obama would like to cast Mitt Romney as a retread of the George W. Bush years. His campaign’s latest ad lists some prominent features of the Bush presidency and has Romney’s plans matching them item for item. Here’s what the ad says: "You watched and worried. Two wars. Tax cuts for millionaires. Debt piled up. Mitt Romney's plan? A new $250,000 tax cut for millionaires. Increase military spending. Adding trillions to the deficit. Or President Obama's plan. A balanced approach. 4 trillion in deficit reduction. Millionaires pay a little more." In ...

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Michelle Obama took to Twitter on Saturday night to congratulate Michael Phelps.

"Wow @MichaelPhelps! Barack & I have been cheering you on! We're so proud of you & what you've accomplished," the First Lady wrote.

The U.S. swimming champ took gold in his final Olympic race on Saturday. The win is the 18th gold and 22nd overall medal of his Olympic career.

Obama also congratulated Phelps on Tuesday night after his record-breaking victory.

Check out the tweet below.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Politico
When Democrats chose Charlotte, N.C., as the host city for our 2012 national convention, President Barack Obama gave us two directives: Think outside of the box, and find ways to include more Americans.Those guidelines have been at the heart of every decision we’ve made in planning this convention. So when Democrats join us in Charlotte in September, they’ll experience a convention unlike any other — one that will be the most open and accessible convention in history.

David Harsanyi, Reason
Former President Bill Clinton is slated to deliver a prime-time address at the Democratic National Convention. No doubt, he's going to give one hell of a talk. The man is on his game, enjoying the highest favorable ratings he's seen since 1993; a robust 66 percent of Americans think highly of the former president.It's a politically astute choice by Barack Obama, as "there isn't anybody on the planet who has a greater perspective on not just the last four years, but the last two decades, than Bill Clinton," David Axelrod explained to The New York Times. "He...

The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Mitt Romney would cut millionaires’ taxes, Barack Obama says

You comparison shop for cans of tuna. Mitt Romney rides on Donald Trump’s jet. A new Obama campaign ad shows those scenes to hammer at the lifestyle differences between struggling middle-class Americans and the Republican presidential candidate. Then it takes aim at Romney’s economic proposals. "Now he has a plan," the ad says, "that would give millionaires another tax break and raises taxes on middle-class families by up to $2,000 a year." We know from our previous reporting on Romney’s tax plan that it offers across-the-board cuts, including ...

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Alex Altman, Time
For a few minutes, it almost feels like 2008 again inside the air-conditioned gym. The raucous crowd is chanting and cheering and slinging I love you‘s. Before Barack Obama revs up his speech, they’re singing happy birthday to the President, who turns 51 on Saturday. “If I’d have known you guys were going to sing, I’d have brought a cake,” Obama tells the crowd of 2,400 at Rollins Collins in the Orlando suburbs. “I’d have made a wish. It probably would have had to do with electoral votes,” Obama adds....