"Barack Obama may get no more than a gentleman’s C for the way he’s running his presidential campaign — but that beats Mitt Romney, whose effort is seen more negatively than positively by the American public, with notably softer ratings for Romney in his base than for Obama in his.
After a week in which Romney has struggled to counter questions about his tax records and his tenure at Bain Capital, just 38 percent of Americans in this ABC News/Washington Post poll express a favorable opinion of the way he’s running his campaign for the presidency, while 49 percent respond unfavorably — an 11-point negative margin. See PDF with full results, charts and tables here. Obama, for his part, gets an even split in assessments of his campaign efforts, 46-45 percent, favorable-unfavorable, in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates. (Nine percent are undecided about the way Obama’s handling his campaign, vs. a bit more, 14 percent, on Romney’s efforts.) With the race so close — the pair were precisely tied in an ABC/Post poll last week — views of their effectiveness running their campaigns can matter. So, of course, will the campaigns themselves, particularly if the race comes to down to motivating and turning out base supporters." (NYMag)
"The presumptive GOP nominee has said repeatedly that he won’t release any more returns, telling the National Review on Tuesday he didn’t want give the Obama campaign 'more pages to pick through, distort and lie about.' Some lawmakers defended that decision. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) noted he released only two years of tax returns during the 2008 campaign, adding that, in 2004, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) revealed little tax information for his wife, Teresa Heinz, a multimillionaire.
McCain also firmly rejected speculation that he might have passed over Romney for his running mate four years ago because of the tax issue. 'It just shows the really gutter campaign the Obama campaign is running,' he said. 'They have become a disgraceful campaign; they should be ashamed of themselves.' Other Republicans joined him in rallying to Romney’s defense. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said former President Ronald Reagan released only one year of tax returns in 1980 and warned that Democrats would find another issue to distract voters from the sluggish economy if Romney shared his records. 'It’s not required,' he said. 'Democrats are trying to use it to distract Romney from his message, but it will pass. The election will come down to who can lead the country in the future. As soon as this [controversy] is over, they’ll have another one.' Several GOP senators said they expected Romney to release additional tax return information in the days ahead. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said he heard from a Romney campaign source recently that the presumptive GOP nominee would release more information in the coming days. 'I stand behind him regardless of what he decides to do on that,' said Lee. The secrecy surrounding Romney’s tax filings dogged his campaign during the Republican presidential primary." (TheHill)
"For his second appearance as one of Inside City Hall‘s 'Wise Guys,' former Governor Eliot Spitzer discussed the recent rumors of former Congressman Anthony Weiner running for public office again next year. Both former officials resigned due to lewd scandals, but, using his personal experience as a guide, Mr. Spitzer said the timing of Mr. Weiner’s resignation — only a year ago — makes now probably too soon for a comeback. 'I think we can all agree that a year is not a terribly lengthy period of time,” he said. “Obviously I’m in a sort of difficult position to talk about this. It’s been five years since I left office. Five years is more than one. You can see people’s sensibilities change as they see you, talk to you, as you’ve done more things.' 'I think that’s a personal decision,' he answered when later asked if Mr. Weiner should indeed give politics another go in the next election cycle. 'I think next year is maybe a little short. But the public’s tolerance for this is something that he will only determine by whether he floated this intentionally a not, who knows? I kind of doubt it. I mean, probably a little too short but the public will have to make that decision.'" (Politicker)
"The Newsroom's sexual politics have been problematic from the start, and Sunday night's 'I Will Try to Fix You' kept right at it. Women: Aren't they crazy? Why are they so frivolous? Why can't they be more serious — you know, like how men are? We'll grant that it's hard to write good characters, credible characters, textured characters, and it's not like the men of Newsroom are all perfect; they are dumb and noisy, too, sometimes. What the show's fourth episode drove home was that within the Aaron Sorkin world, there's no insult more grave than being a woman. 'I'm concerned about the rest of us being turned into a bunch of old ladies with hair-dryers on our heads,' Will snapped at one of his dates on Sunday's episode. That's his nightmare, his fear: that our culture has become too invested in gossip or reality TV, which are feminine concerns. Later in the episode, Gabrielle Giffords gets shot. Thank God something important happened — like six people dying — so the noble staff of News Night With Will MacAvoy could cut in to the nightmarish senselessness of a fashion TV show.Will doesn't seem to particularly care for any of the women he spends time with. He calls one date a 'bitch' and doesn't flinch when MacKenzie derisively refers to his companions as his 'Netflix queue of divorcées.' Will's boss and mentor Charlie scolds him in 'Fix' for dating women 'he'd never want to spend daylight hours with.' Because it's degrading? Disrespectful? Objectifying? Because it's patronizing? Cruel? Selfish? No, no: Because Will deserves better. Will can be petty, nasty, and immature, but the show insists that he's still worthy of an enormous amount of respect. But that inherent dignity doesn't extend to any of the female characters." (Vulture)
"WALTER ISAACSON: That was Don Graham, all of you all know, chairman and CEO of the Washington Post Company. Many distinguishing characteristics. Was there early on at Facebook, but as a young guy coming out of college, first went to Vietnam, which was unusual, I think in '67, '68 for somebody -- and then joined the Washington, D.C. police force. So, when it comes to the notion of connecting journalism, technology, and service, nobody better than Don Graham. Thank you, Don, for being here. (Applause.) Laura O'Shaughnessy and Tim O'Shaughnessy, just so you'll know the joke about the family panel, Laura is the daughter of Don Graham. They both worked for Steve Case I think, met at Revolution, married, and then started complementary businesses in a way. Right? Yours is basically a way to help businesses monetize on Facebook and social networks? LAURA O'SHAUGHNESSY: That's right. WALTER ISAACSON: Is that the short form of it? And then LivingSocial, as everybody knows, is sort of a cross between a social network and a coupon and merchandising system. Let me start with you, Don, what did you learn from Facebook that applies to the business of newspapers? DON GRAHAM: Well, thank you, Walter. We wanted to applaud the people at Fortune who, only the Fortune Brainstorm TECH conference of all leading tech conferences has seen fit to reach out to the newspaper industry for technology advice. (Laughter.) And we think that was very far-sighted. (Laughter.)" (Fortune)
"Looking at Editta Sherman's celebrity portraits, you wonder: Who will be this era's Tyrone Power? Which current movie star will be the one hardly anyone recalls seventy years from now? Bale? Brody? Bloom? Whose name will draw blank stares from the Class of 2082? If you saw the documentary Bill Cunningham New York, you certainly remember Sherman, the vivacious nonagenarian photographer who was Cunningham's Carnegie Hall neighbor and the muse for his shamefully out-of-print book Facades. Since 1949, she lived and worked in the artist studios above Carnegie Hall. She also raised five children there. In 2010, she, Cunningham, and the other remaining tenants were moved out so the studios could be made into offices and classrooms. Sherman just celebrated her 100th birthday, and through July 29 the gallery CPW25, located nearby her new Central Park South apartment, is having a retrospective of her work—her first exhibition since 1967. While some of the subjects are instantly recognizable—Joe DiMaggio, young Charlton Heston and Angela Lansbury, and, from just a few years ago, Tilda Swinton—many others are Old Hollywood forgottens such as Power, Kim Hunter, and Frank Morgan. Sherman's methods are equally outmoded: she uses an 8×10 camera, same as her photographer father from whom she learned the craft. Last week, I spoke to Sherman about nearly trysting with Power, selling old clothes to Swinton, and dancing ballet for Andy Warhol." (TheAwl)
"Is there a future for The Daily? According to last week’s reports by The New York Observer and The New York Times, News Corp’s 'tablet newspaper' is on probation: Rupert Murdoch might pull the plug on The Daily which looses $30 million a year. But, in an open email to the publication’s staff, Jesse Angelo, its editor-in-chief, was quick to deny such rumors. Eighteen months ago, The Daily was held up as embodying the newsmedia’s future. It was the first to be designed for the iPad, it bore the blessing of Steve Jobs himself (quite notable for someone who usually loathed the news sector), and it had the backing of the deep-pocketed News Corporation conglomerate. The project’s success would be measured over time (five years), supported by a considerable amount of funding. It had all it needed to be a success. Fact is, The Daily never took-off. Six months after its high-wattage launch, it only claimed 80,000 paid-for subscribers. Today, Jesse Angelo mentions a mere 100,000 subs. It is both far from the 500,000 necessary to break-even and totally out of step with the growth of the iPad (and the iPhone, and the Android) installed base. Something’s wrong with The Daily’s concept. I subscribed. Twice, actually. At 99 cents a week ($39.99 a year), it was supposed to be a painless addition to my vast set of digital subscriptions. Strangely, it never succeeded in becoming part of my reading habits. For The Daily, this might be its first problem: It is everything and nothing special at the same time. It’s not a tabloid, but it doesn’t carry in-depth, enterprise journalism either. It’s a sophisticated container for commodity news — i.e. the news that you can get everywhere, in real-time and for free. If I crave celebrity fodder, I go to TMZ or to the Huffington Post. If I want business news, I’ll find everything on CNN Money or Business Insider, all very efficiently and appealingly edited. No need to go through the tedious download of a 100 pages-plus issue." (MondayNote)
"There is activity in the city, but it’s the kind of heat that you really don’t want to go out on the street. Perhaps after the Sun goes down. Last night I had dinner with Wendy Carduner, the Directrice of Doubles, and the restaurant was packed. And cool. On this Monday past, JH and I drove up to Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate near Tarrytown. I was participating/being interviewed by Los Angeles architect David Appelbaum for a documentary that Stephen Crisman is producing/directing for the National Geographic channel on Great Houses of America. (I don’t know if that’s the title but that is the idea). Kykuit (pronounced ky-cut — from the Dutch word meaning 'look-out') is only about 17 miles north of Manhattan once you get on the Henry Hudson Parkway. We drove up midmorning, and riding in the air-conditioned car, it was a beautiful drive. The West Side highways and those to the north — the Saw Mill River Parkway — are verdant and lush. And for a few miles, the Hudson River with nature’s stately Palisades on the western side command your view (unless you’re driving).We went up to Kykuit a few years ago for a tour with the American Friends of Versailles. At that time we had a tour of the some of the house’s interior, which was last occupied by Nelson and Happy Rockefeller and their children. The property is vast, for an American estate. The property was acquired by John D. Rockefeller Sr. in parcels beginning in 1893 when he bought 400 acres in North Tarrytown in the Pocantico Hills. Rockefeller’s main residence at that time was in Cleveland but because of the massive expansion of his business, The Standard Oil Company (now Exxon), he established a residence in Manhattan (on West 54th Street). But he always loved countryside and this property in the Pocantico Hills ran along the Hudson, affording a king’s view of the wide river and the Catskills beyond. It was originally intended as a 'country house' for when the Rockefellers were residing in Manhattan, while the house in Cleveland was still considered “home” and where the family spent several months a year." (NYSocialDiary)
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"Howard (Stern) said that Alec (Baldwin) was kicked off a flight for playing some game. Alec said he was kicked off for asking what the flight attendant's name was. Alec said he was at the gate and the flight was 40 minutes late on their time. He said everyone had their phone on and he was the one who got screamed at. He said she did it twice. Howard asked why he doesn't fly private. Alec said he wanted to try and live a normal life like everyone else. Howard said he can't though. Alec said that he has paparazzi following him and trying to get pictures of his wife. He said one guy was walking backwards trying to get a shot of his wife and he fell into a stroller with a baby in it. That was one of Alec's neighbors. Howard said he doesn't try to hide when he goes out. He said he just lets people photograph him. Howard asked why he wasn't invited to his wedding. Alec said he had Woody Allen there. Howard asked why he was there and not him. Alec said he's doing a Woody Allen movie. Howard said what he's trying to understand is why Alec quits twitter when he gets angry. Alec said his Twitter is all about his charity. He said that he's donating every penny from his Capital One commercials to charity." (Marksfriggin)
"What do People Like Us, and people like them, do on a blissfully breezy Monday eve? Hit the Cinema Society and Allure screening of the Elizabeth Banks and Chris Pine flick at Chelsea's SVA Theater, followed by a rooftop shindig blocks away at Hotel Americano. The cast avec writer/director Alex Kurtzman (who based the film on his own experience meeting his half sibs for the first time at age 30) mingled with the Conde beauty glossy's EIC, Linda Wells, along with a mellow and chatty crowd including Girls' Zosia Mamet (The Daily loves you, Shosh!), Coco Rocha, Kenneth Branagh, Gina Gershon, Tyson Ballou, Rachel Roy, and Andrew Wyatt, one of the men behind the genius jams of Miike Snow." (Fashionweekdaily)
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