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By James Hohmann (
mailto:jhohmann@politico.com
jhohmann@politico.com ) and Emily Schultheis (
mailto:eschultheis@politico.com
eschultheis@politico.com )

2012 MUST READ - INTENSE HUNTSMAN CAMPAIGN INFIGHTING - POLITICO's Jonathan Martin has a 4,000-word story up this morning that takes us deep inside Jon Huntsman's struggling campaign, detailing "dueling camps trading charges and an exodus of campaign officials." David Fischer, who has known Huntsman since the 1980s and later worked for his father, goes on record to place the blame on chief strategist John Weaver. He and other anti-Weaver sources say at least four staffers have left the campaign in part over clashes with Weaver. Martin explains that tensions on presidential campaigns are common but these are unique: "It's illustrative of a campaign that has been thrown together on the run
and is comprised of figures who hadn't even met the candidate before he returned from China this spring, working alongside those who have known him for much of their adult life." Read the whole story here:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc3506f8b4738eabb033652a79fd517e977e36d44f066adb89625a
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc3506f8b4738eabb033652a79fd517e977e36d44f066adb89625a .

OBAMA TURNS 50 TODAY- DEFENDS DEBT DEAL AT BIRTHDAY FUNDRAISER - At the Aragon Entertainment Center in Chicago, after a speech to 2,000-plus donors, the president went upstairs for a private dinner with the really big donors. He called the package 'responsible' but insisted it is 'not going to dismantle our social safety net.' Then he tipped his hat to Republicans: 'I give the other side credit. They are single-minded in their focus in wanting to cut programs and shrink government." Per the pool report: 'I think this episode was just a severe example of what's been going on for quite some time and it's part of what led me to run for president," he said.

SNEAK PEEK - RNC BIRTHDAY CARD - The Republican National Committee will blast a birthday card out later this morning that they created for the occasion. The committee has seized on the b-day-related fundraising in the wake of the debt talks. The three-page document lists 50 dire numbers for the president to ponder on his big day-related to the debt, unemployment, bankruptcies and the like. The tagline: "Another year older, if only you were another year wiser then there might be something to celebrate." The final number is zero, which is the number of people the RNC says the president will have left to blame when he loses next November. See it here:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc3506803af070cb46655da0bd51cc9d5b7d7d8cce74942221508d
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc3506803af070cb46655da0bd51cc9d5b7d7d8cce74942221508d .

***As Pawlenty turns his attention to the ground game, some Republicans express concern about Perry's prospects and Wu finally resigns, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

2012 TALKER - BACHMANN WINS DELAWARE STRAW POLL - The Delaware GOP asked those who visited their booth at the state fair to fill out a straw poll ballot, and Michele Bachmann narrowly won with 18 percent. The informal and unscientific survey, conducted from July 21 to July 30, offered 14 choices. Romney and Perry tied for second with 15 percent. University of Delaware graduate Chris Christie - who governs nearby New Jersey - garnered 12 percent. Republican state chairman John Sigler, who shared the results with Morning Score yesterday afternoon, notes that that the fair is in Harrington-south of Dover-and attracts more conservative party activists. It was strength in this rural part of the
state that allowed Christine O'Donnell to win the Republican Senate nomination last year.

RADIO SILENCE - PAWLENTY GOING OFF THE AIR 72 HOURS BEFORE AMES - TPaw will pull his radio and television ads off the air three days before the all-important Ames straw poll. The former Minnesota governor has been aggressively campaigning as he aims for upward momentum in the polls, which means less time for fundraising. The campaign insists the decision is less about a cash crunch and more about using limited resources for in-person mobilization efforts. "It's such a small universe of people, we really want to focus on people we know are supporting us - focus on turnout mode instead of name ID and recruitment," Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Pawlenty's Ames consultant, told POLITICO's Kendra Marr.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc3506292194d8a0e250a8ef4426f86fa262c812280d840062669f
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc3506292194d8a0e250a8ef4426f86fa262c812280d840062669f

HE'LL STILL GET EARNED MEDIA -Pawlenty will spend the eight days before Ames continuing his bus tour across Iowa. From this Friday through next Saturday, the campaign said yesterday that he will cover 1,366 miles through 26 cities in 21 counties. Since July 18, he's traveled about 1,500 miles and had 30-plus town halls or meet-and-greets in the Hawkeye State.

PROS SAY HE COULD STILL WIN IOWA -Republican National Committeeman Steve Scheffler told Score yesterday afternoon that he has no idea what will happen in Ames and that no one has a clear edge in Iowa now. He said anecdotal experience backs up polling he's seen to suggest that more than four in five Iowa caucus goers are either undecided or could switch candidates by caucus day. "I've never seen it this fluid ever, ever," he said during an interview at the RNC's summer meeting. "If Rick Perry gets in late, normally that would be an issue of dead on arrival. But based on the race being as fluid as it is, I think he could alter the race." Scheffler, a prominent social conservative, will not
endorse before the caucuses.

GOOD MORNING FROM TAMPA -GOP CALENDAR STANDOFF ESCALATES - PUT THEM IN THE NOSEBLEEDS - Your Morning Score correspondent is at the Republican National Committee summer meeting in Tampa today, where some members of the RNC's rules committee are looking for additional ways to try deterring states considering primaries earlier than allowed under the bylaws - Florida, Arizona, etc. They're already technically supposed to get their delegations cut in half. But a push we're watching today might take away the states' VIP passes and give them the worst seats in the convention hall next year. 'We will find as many posts to put them behind as we can,' Tennessee National Committeeman John Ryder, an
RNC member pushing for maximum enforcement of the penalties, told CNN's Peter Hamby. This could be awkward for the Florida delegation, one of the biggest and the one hosting the convention. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus warned at a press conference yesterday that the organization plans to "make sure the rules are followed - not only in letter, but in spirit." The CNN report:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc3506bf57001192ba9e1359a20a617d8f98c0ad8b98ac7196e743
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc3506bf57001192ba9e1359a20a617d8f98c0ad8b98ac7196e743 . Note: This fight will not get resolved this week.

COULD PERRY BEAT OBAMA? -GOP ESTABLISHMENT WORRIES ABOUT ELECTABILITY - With a deeply-sourced story, Alex Burns and Maggie Haberman report that "in private, in some quarters of the party a sense of apprehension has set in about the prospect of another Texas governor's candidacy... there are real doubts about whether a brash, Southern hard-liner like Perry can win votes in the crucial swing states needed to capture the White House." They quote one veteran GOP strategist saying that multiple members of Congress have "expressed concerns about Perry's ability to compete in not only the traditional 10 to 12 swing states, but also some of the lean-Republican states." There's also a rundown of
what parts of Perry's 12-year record in Texas could be politically troublesome outside the Lone Star State:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc3506f0557e4540d2336ff39f77f5afb78163d50436ac2d2b177f
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc3506f0557e4540d2336ff39f77f5afb78163d50436ac2d2b177f .

NOT A HELPFUL HEADLINE - "Perry's Surgery Included Experimental Stem Cell Therapy" - The Texas Tribune reports that the Texas governor's spinal fusion surgery early last month included an injection of Perry's own stem cells - a procedure that's experimental and still has not been approved by the FDA. A Perry spokesman confirmed the details of the surgery Wednesday. Embryonic stem cells, the particularly controversial kind for many social conservatives, were not used in the procedure.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc35069e2f1ebcab068c539f3c701d7a67ac281547e4add074e258
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc35069e2f1ebcab068c539f3c701d7a67ac281547e4add074e258

POLL OF THE DAY - OBAMA, ROMNEY TIED IN NEVADA - Public Policy Polling released a survey yesterday afternoon showing Obama and Romney in a dead heat in the Silver State, with Obama up 47-46. The Democratic firm also found that Obama holds a nine point lead matched up against Herman Cain or Rick Perry, 10 points against Bachmann and 12 points against Palin. Obama's approval is 47 percent, with 50 percent disapproval. PPP director Tom Jensen explains: "A broad theme has been emerging in our state by state Presidential polling over the last couple months: if the Republicans nominate Mitt Romney it's a toss up. And if they nominate anyone else it's 2008 all over again. Our newest Nevada numbers
very much reinforce that trend." His blog post:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc3506dc337aea64ad90164445c335033cef9305ebe66a94325384
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc3506dc337aea64ad90164445c335033cef9305ebe66a94325384 .

WHAT THE CANDIDATES ARE UP TO - With the Ames straw poll in just over a week, four 2012 hopefuls are stumping in Iowa today. Newt Gingrich will attend a meet-and-greet in Cedar Rapids and a lawn party at the home of several supporters in Des Moines; Rick Santorum is hosting town halls in Rock Rapids, Orange City and Sioux City; Herman Cain is speaking as part of a 2012 candidate series in Des Moines and later addressing educators in West Des Moines; and Thad McCotter will speak at a breakfast event in Altoona and the Jones County GOP dinner in Anamosa. Jon Huntsman and Gary Johnson are both in New Hampshire: Huntsman will speak to the Salem Chamber of Commerce and the Derry Republican
Committee in Derry, while Johnson is attending a breakfast in Concord, meeting with small business owners in Manchester and going on a group run in Nashua.

SITTING ON CASH - BUSH BUNDLERS NOT OPENING THEIR CHECKBOOKS - The New York Times checked in on the big money donors who backed George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. Nicholas Confessore: "Fewer than one in five of Mr. Bush's Rangers and Pioneers, the elite corps of 'bundlers' who helped Mr. Bush smash fund-raising records...have contributed to any of the current Republican candidates, according to a New York Times analysis."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc3506042b0ef356ddbfe95f7d39d88120e33b7fb5c6bd4fb54ab1
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc3506042b0ef356ddbfe95f7d39d88120e33b7fb5c6bd4fb54ab1

SESSIONS TO GOP: STAY ON OFFENSE - National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions is releasing a memo this morning encouraging members to tout their efforts to cut the deficit and to blame Democrats for lingering high unemployment during the August recess. "House Republicans have cut more spending than any Congress since World War II," he offers. POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt, who got an early copy, explains that "Sessions paints a rosy picture of GOP 2012 prospects, arguing that redistricting will shore up the party's incumbents and leave Democrats with few targets as they seek to erase the 24-seat GOP hold on the House and reclaim the majority."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc3506d77393c8eb295dea972d7ebca4f53e6181b08bb0427f6e48
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc3506d77393c8eb295dea972d7ebca4f53e6181b08bb0427f6e48

WU (FINALLY) RESIGNS - SPECIAL SET FOR JAN. 31 - Embattled Rep. David Wu finally tendered his resignation Wednesday evening. Wu had said he would resign as soon as the debt deal was finished - and his slow response left many lawmakers wondering when or whether Wu would actually go. Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber announced the special election dates late Wednesday night: the primaries will be on Nov. 8, and the general election next January 31. On the Democratic side, three candidates are vying for the seat: State Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, state Sen. Suzanne Bonamici and state Rep. Brad Witt. Republican Rob Cornilles, who lost to Wu in 2010, will officially announce today that he is
running again.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc35060bb10dc17b5864d33b04b9ad98b46dcf7e7991d11eab92ab
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a1d00dad00fc35060bb10dc17b5864d33b04b9ad98b46dcf7e7991d11eab92ab

NEW LEADERSHIP AT CRNC - Alex Schriver of Alabama officially began his term as chairman of the College Republican National Committee yesterday. He announced Michael Antonopoulos as executive director, Lindsay Moffett Conrad as finance director and Brad Alexander as national field director. The committee holds cache for young Republicans because legends like Karl Rove, Lee Atwater and Rick Davis all held leadership positions in the group.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'Twitter users follow Newt they same way they elect to follow Ashton Kutcher, Shaquille O'Neil or John McCain.' - Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond, in an official campaign press release denying that the former House Speaker ever paid for followers. What started as an anonymous ex-aide talking to Gawker became a multiple-day story.

Go to POLITICO Morning Score Now >> http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c6efcdd5989ce31c1d0e76f53d2f16967e7e858ba84212dc25db1d64b1090f4f

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