US blogwatch: ‘Bust-up’ inside Romney camp

The Romney campaign is exploiting his victory in last week’s presidential debate.

In a speech on Monday in Virginia, he went on the attack over foreign policy before today’s congressional hearings on the deadly assault on the US consulate in Libya. It’s red meat for conservative commentators who have poured scorn on President Obama’s claims to have made America safer.

Yet Romney’s resurgence has been built on his more moderate approach in the debate. Politico.com reports that the shift in tactics was prompted by a bust-up inside his campaign led by his wife Ann and eldest son Tagg: they are said to have sidelined chief strategist Stuart Stevens.

The best that Obama has salvaged from his trouncing is a TV advert about Romney’s pledge to pull funding for public television and thus for Sesame Street’s Big Bird: “Mitt Romney: taking on our enemies no matter where they nest”. Sesame Street’s production company have demanded that the ad be stopped.

*The big focus tomorrow is the evening’s vice-presidential debate in Danville, Kentucky. Vice-presidential debates rarely matter much, though there are signs that this one could be more fun. Vice President Joe Biden is occasionally gaffe prone but combative — and experienced in foreign policy. Romney running mate Paul Ryan is equally aggressive. Michael Tomasky blogs on thedailybeast.com that “Biden has been swinging at Romney and Ryan for months now, sometimes missing but sometimes landing the best punches of any Democrat.” Expect fireworks.