Obama tones downs (somewhat) attacks on Romney, jokes about 'jealous' wife and attack ads

President Obama toned down some of his harsh attacks on Republican challenger Mitt Romney on Thursday evening at West Palm Beach’s Century Village retirement community.

But not by much.

Beginning slowly with his half-hour speech, Obama rambled a bit with a gentle anecdote-laden speech about how he missed some of the early days of campaigning, where he meet real people and had a chance to hear their stories.

Soon he transitioned to Romney, whose very name elicited boos from the senior-centric crowd of 675 or so people. Obama reminded them that his opponent wanted to “let Detroit go bankrupt,” and that the Republican supported a Medicare plan that would trim future benefits while proposing tax cuts that could benefit the wealthy.

"It’s wrong to ask you to pay more for Medicare so that people who are doing well right now get even more,” Obama said, claiming that Romney could wind up raising taxes on the middle class – something the Romney camp denies.

“"I don't believe you can reduce the deficit without asking the wealthiest Americans to give up the tax cuts they've enjoyed,” Obama said.

Gov. Rick Scott ranks county health departments

Another arm of state government can be added to the growing list of agencies ranked at the behest of Gov. Rick Scott.

Through a public record request, the Times/Herald has obtained a copy of a report that rates the performance of the state's 67 county health departments.

Indian River County, with a raw score of 58 points out of 69, is at the top of the list. Liberty County's 23 points is the lowest. Hillsborough County ranked below the average score of 47, and was next-to-last among major metro counties.

The Department of Health, which came up with the ranking system at Scott's request, says the document completed in December is still a work in progress. The report includes health data, as well as the result of customer satisfaction and employee surveys. It also factors in financial stability and leadership effectiveness.

Although some county health officials said they have seen the report, the document hasn't been widely publicized. The Department of Health said it shared the ranking with county health officers in February, but also cautioned that its scope is limited.

Trial of former RPOF chair Jim Greer postponed until after the general election

The criminal trial for former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer has been postponed until the week of Nov. 12.

Orlando Circuit Judge Marc Lubet on Thursday ordered a continuance after Greer's lawyer, Damon Chase, asked for more time to review documents he is subpoenaing from the Republican Party of Florida. Chase said he wants to be sure he can review any emails, notes, memos and reports that mention Victory Strategies LLC, the company Greer is accused of using to get almost $200,000 out of the party.

Greer had been scheduled to face trial on July 30.

The decision is good news for Florida Republicans who were dreading the spectacle of a trial that could expose the inner workings of a party in turmoil just weeks before Florida hosts the Republican National Convention.

Greer is charged with money laundering and multiple counts of fraud.

-- Katie Sanders and Lucy Morgan, Tampa Bay Times staff writers

WSJ: Connie Mack shows how to lose winnable race

Those liberal editorial writers at the far-left Wall Street Journal have joined the liberal conspiracy with this editorial:

Perhaps Florida Rep. Connie Mack someday plans to write a book on how to lose a winnable Senate race. Chapter One: Pursue a public vendetta against the press.

Mr. Mack has been engaged in a tiff with the local media since the Miami Herald reported in February on old marital and debt problems. The Tampa Bay Times followed up a couple of months later with an examination of the candidate's campaign. Mr. Mack's father, a former U.S senator, retaliated with a letter to Republicans accusing the press of trying to "torpedo Connie's candidacy" and "save and promote [incumbent Democratic Senator] Bill Nelson and Barack Obama."

Fast forward a few months. Mr. Mack's biggest competition for the Republican nomination, former Sen. George LeMieux, dropped out of the race in June. The nomination was supposedly Mr. Mack's for the taking and may still be. But the Tampa Bay Times ostensibly tried to complicate the heir apparent's coronation by endorsing former Rep. Dave Weldon over the weekend. 

[...]

Mr. Mack may score some points with conservatives by excoriating the liberal media, but such attacks will wear thin quickly and fall flat with independents. The only thing Mr. Mack buys with his media assassinations is more scrutiny and negative coverage.

 Full piece here (subscription required).

--MARC CAPUTO

Congresswoman to Gov. Rick Scott: Expand Medicaid

Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, a Democrat who represents parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties, sent a letter Tuesday urging Gov. Rick Scott to comply with the Affordable Care Act and expand Medicaid.

Scott announced he would not expand the state's health program for the poor after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that the federal health overhaul, known as ObamaCare, is constitutional.

The court also said the federal government cannot force the states to expand their Medicaid programs. Scott said the state would "opt out" of the expansion because it would cost too much money and be bad for Florida businesses.

Wilson argues that providing health insurance to the poor would cost the state little and is the "humane" thing to do.

"Public officials like you and me have excellent health coverage, and we should be working to ensure that every person has health insurance," Wilson wrote.

Twitter: Britt_alana

 

Obama returns to Jax with refrain that middle class is 'at risk like never before'

Four years after running against the teetering economy, President Barack Obama returned to Jacksonville Thursday, the same place he used to draw a stark contrast to John McCain in 2008 who memorably told a Jacksonville audience after the fall of Lehman Brothers that “the fundamentals of the economy are strong.”

This time, Obama deflected criticism of a national economy still staggering under his watch and told a much smaller crowd that Wall Street’s “culture of anything goes” prompting the nation's record debt are the factors that continue to threaten the future of the middle class. 

“We are here today because we recognize that this basic bargain, this essence of who we are …is at risk like never before,’’ he said. “What’s standing in our way is not technical solutions…what’s standing in our way is our politics.’’ 

In his 27-minute speech, delayed by an hour because of bad weather, he appealed to the cheering crowd to work for him, saying the opposition "will spend more money than we’ve ever seen in our lifetime on ads that same the same thing:...the economy is not where it should be and it’s all Obama’s fault."

He called the tactic a "plan to win an election but they can’t hide the fact that's not a plan to create jobs. That’s not a plan to revive the economy."

He revived his familiar criticism of Romney’s plan for a “25 percent tax cut for every millionaire in the country” by gutting job training, and college aid, rolling back health care reform and “forcing more than 2,000 Floridians to pay more for their prescription drugs.” 

Romney supporters welcome Obama to Florida with new TV ad

 

The GOP-supporting super PAC, American Crossroads, launched a $2.8 million attack ad against President Barack Obama Thursday in Florida, the same day the president began a two-day swing through the state.

The ad, entitled “Smoke,” opens with a stream of critical negative ads and then announces the president is "racking up $4 billion in new debt every day, the unemployment rate is stuck above 8 percent, and family incomes are falling. President Obama can’t run on that record."

The $9.3 million ad buy will run in Florida and eight other targeted states for approximately eleven days, the super-PAC said. American Crossroads was founded by former George W. Bush advisor Karl Rove. It also airs in:  Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia.

Marco Rubio talks about his book on the Diane Rehm Show

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., was on NPR's Diane Rehm Show this morning.  Listen here.

Lobbyist: Rep Burgin helped steered $10k to committee at center of questionable attack mailer v. former Sen Prez Lee

A vicious attack flier. Secret money. A lawmaker indirectly steering cash from one lobbyist to another. Oh, and a dose of porn and infidelity.

The Tom Lee-Rachel Burgin Republican state Senate race is as Tallahassee as it gets. It shows how the state Capitol really works behind the scenes when it comes to lawmaker votes and elections.

It all blew up this week when a group called The American People Committee sent a potentially unlawful attack flier bashing Tom Lee, a former Senate president, by linking him to Hillsborough County's porn-vexed property appraiser. Florida Senate Republican leaders hit the roof. They began contacting the lobbyists and special interests who helped fund the committee behind the flier. The message: bad idea.

One name was at the top of the list for stroking a $10,000 check July 5: Uber-moneyman and lobbyist David Ramba. He said he told future Senate President Andy Gardiner, with whom he'll attend a baseball fundraiser today, that he knew almost nothing about how the money was going to be used.

Ramba's explanation: He was told to cough up the money by Lee's opponent, Rep. Rachel Burgin. The check was cut on behalf of another committee, Save Our Internet Access, which represent so-called internet cafes (i.e., small gambling operations)

"She told me where to direct the money," Ramba said. "She asked for support and, since she has been supportive of our issues, we were happy to do it."

But Burgin said Ramba's explanation is "not quite accurate....It's inaccurate."

Gator's the state reptile; Bill Nelson's the "state liberal," pro-Connie Mack PAC says in ad welcoming Obama to FL

Freedom PAC welcomes President Obama to Florida today with a light-hearted ad that calls Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson the "state liberal." The PAC, which supports Republican challenger Connie Mack, says the ad is running in select markets, which will could include Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Fort Myers and Orlando (where Obama is visiting).

The script: "President Obama is taking a break from his liberal agenda to visit Florida... Here's a few things you should know - The state flower is the Orange Blossom. The state reptile is the Alligator. The state tree is the Palm. And the state liberal... is Senator Bill Nelson. Nelson voted for ObamaCare and chose to side with President Obama 98% of the time. Now, you have a choice - support Connie Mack for US Senate."

One little visual error: The ad shows a coconut palm when talking about the state tree. The actual symbol is a the less-iconic-looking sabal palm.

Here's a pic of the sabal palm for all y'all in the upper 48: