National

The Obama Administration said that they wanted an open and frank dialogue with sustainable and small business leaders and in a late afternoon tax policy session, they got it. Aviva Aron-Dine, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy fielded questions from about thirty ASBC members who presented the administration with a list of Tax Policy Principles formulated by the group and spoke with a unified voice against tax cuts and tax credits as a means to restore the economy. "We are here to tell you flat out that tax credits do not influence hiring." one ASBC member said. Another member added that when the Administration proposes tax cuts and tax credits as a means for restoring the economy, that it only serves to bolster the administration's congressional critics argument that he is not cutting taxes and slashing spending fast enough.

Ron Barber, former aide to the nearly assassinated and critically injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), defeated right wing teahadist Jesse Kelly, famous for his obsession with guns and for campaign events where he and his fellow right wing terrorists would shot at pictures of Giffords and Obama, last night by a healthy nearly landslidish margin of 53% to 46%. The PPP poll on this race we talked about yesterday basically nailed the result, which is very difficult in House races, and which is why we consider it the most accurate poll in the business.

Arizona voters in Gabby Giffords' former district held to the polls today in a special election to name her replacement. The winner today will serve out the remainder of the House term, or until January 3, 2013. The candidates are Giffords' 2010 Republican opponent, Jesse Kelly, and a former aide, Ron Barber (D). As you will see below, PPP has come out with an election eve poll showing Barber leading by 12. I will be surprised if it is a blowout like that, but we will see. Here is an update to our electoral college tracking map:

As part of getting the Delaware Business for Social Responsibility (DBSR) going, I'll be your representative at the ASBC Summit this week. The agenda includes a keynote by Hilda Solis, Secretary of the Department of Labor, as well as panels on Sustainable Economic Growth & Innovation with panelists like Jonathan Greenblatt, Director, White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Engagement.

Every year, Vice President Joe Biden invites the press, and by that I would like the White House Press Corps, and their families for a "Beach Party" and barbecue. For more pics, and for what Biden did to David Brooks', click through...

That's how Obama's latest TV ad begins. It opens with a portion of a speech President Obama delivered on the economy last week, where he called on Congress to pass his jobs plan and reminded Americans that, despite weak recent jobs numbers, the economy has added nearly 4.3 million private sector jobs over the last 27 consecutive months of private sector job growth. It also knocks Mitt Romney's comments on Friday that we need less firefighters, less policemen, less teachers and less construction workers in America.

A batch of new polls gives mixed signals, and has President Obama leading the race 264 to 176, with 98 electoral votes up for grabs.

... and I agree with it.

The Delaware Democratic Party has endorsed former judge Mitch Crane in the Democratic Primary for Insurance Commissioner. This endorsement is as important for the Crane campaign as it is monumentally devastating to incumbent Karen Weldin Stewart. Indeed, has a Democratic incumbent not been endorsed for reelection by his or her own party? I can't recall it happening in my politically aware lifetime.