US Presidential Election Roundup: 28/7 – 04/8

This week’s roundup of the US presidential elections…

Obama campaign takes risks with negative campaigning [New York Times] Campaign advisers and political strategists weigh in on the implications of negative ads.

Press prohibited from Romney fundraiser [Washington Post] Mitt Romney’s campaign initially banned media personnel from attending a fundraiser in Jerusalem.

Romney campaign reverses media ban [Washington Post] Following criticism, the Romney campaign agreed to allow journalists to attend and cover the Jerusalem fundraiser.

Romney sympathetic to potential Israeli attack on Iran [Sky News] An aide to Mitt Romney has said that the Republican contender ‘would respect’ a decision by Israel to attack Iran in order to prevent the country from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Pelosi accuses Republicans of exploiting Jewish voters [Talking Points Memo] Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader, has faced criticism from Eric Cantor after suggesting that Republicans are exploiting Jewish voters with regard to policies on Israel.

Jerusalem ‘the capital of Israel’ says Romney [Huffington Post] Speaking in the city, Mitt Romney has described Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Obama adviser attacks Romney after foreign trip [Telegraph] Robert Gibbs has described Mitt Romney’s trip to the UK as ‘embarrassing for our country.’

Obama leads in new poll [The Hill] President Obama leads Mitt Romney by 4 points overall in a new poll, in addition to a narrower lead on economic issues.

Palestinians criticise Romney over ‘culture’ remarks [Huffington Post] An aide to the Palestinian president has said that Mitt Romney ‘lacks information, knowledge, vision and understanding of this region and its people.’

Candidates’ ancestry analysed [ABC] The family history site Ancestry.com has said that President Obama may be descended from the first recorded African slave in America.

Romney aide criticises press [CNN] An aide to the Romney campaign told journalists to ‘show some respect’ after questions were directed to the Republican candidate as he visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw, Poland.

Romney accuses Russia of ‘oppression’ [Telegraph] In a speech at Warsaw University, Mitt Romney has said that, ‘In Russia, once-promising advances toward a free and open society have faltered.’

Obama makes campaign donation [CNN] It was announced in an email this week that President Obama has donated $5,000 to his re-election campaign.

DNC keynote speaker named [NPR] The mayor of San Antonio Julian Castro has been selected by President Obama as the keynote speaker at this year’s Democratic National Convention.

Data shows Florida tie [Politico] New poll data suggests a close election race between President Obama and Mitt Romney in the state of Florida.

Campaign apps unveiled [Politico] Smartphone apps have been made available for both the Obama and Romney election campaigns.

Reid accuses Romney of avoiding tax [Political Wire] Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, has suggested that Mitt Romney did not pay tax for 10 years.

New ad associates Romney with Bush [Huffington Post] A new Obama campaign ad has suggested similarities between the policies of former President George W. Bush and Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney.

Obama leads in battleground states [National Journal] New polls have found that President Obama has a lead over his rival Mitt Romney in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania.

‘Twitter Political Index’ revealed [Washington Post] Social media site Twitter has released an index in order to measure and analyse sentiment surrounding the election campaigns.

Clinton takes on support role [ABC] Former President Bill Clinton has begun to take a role in fundraising for the Obama campaign.

Campaigns react to employment data [Miami Herald] The Obama and Romney campaigns have reacted to data that suggested rises in both job creation and also unemployment.

Compiled by Patrick McGhee.

Tagged 2012, Clinton, Florida, Israel, Jerusalem, Obama, Ohio, Palestine, Romney, Russia, Twitter Political Index, Unemployment, US presidential elections, USA