Pic: Mitt And Ann Romney Vote…

BELMONT, MA – NOVEMBER 06:  Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) and his wife Ann Romney (C) cast their ballots at Beech Street Center on November 6, 2012 in Belmont, Massachusetts. As Americans are heading to the ballots, polls show that U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney are in a tight race. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Ouch: Ann Romney Compares Obama To A Petulant Child For His Post-Debate Temper Tantrum…

Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, equated President Obama's campaign to a petulant child during an interview Tuesday after being asked about charges from the president's campaign that her husband had "lied" during last week's debate.

“I mean, lied about what? This is something he’s been saying all along. This is what he believes.  This is his policy, these are his statements," Ann Romney said in an interview set to air Wednesday on Fox News. "I mean, lie — it’s sort of like someone that’s, you know, in the sandbox that like lost the game and they’re just going to kick sand in someone’s face and say, ‘you liar.’ I mean, it’s like they lost, and so now they just are going to say, OK, the game, we didn’t like the game. So to me, it’s poor sportsmanship.”

In an interview Sunday with CBS News, Obama adviser David Axelrod said Romney's debate positions were "uprooted" from what he had said on the campaign trail.

"I think [the president] was a little taken aback at the brazenness with which Gov. Romney walked away from so many of the positions on which he's run, walked away from his record,” Axelrod said.

Ann Romney said she "knew right away" that her husband was winning the first presidential debate.

"I knew after the first question," she said. "I turned to my son after 50 minutes, and I gave him a nudge, and I said it’s 100 to zero right now. "

She added that she hoped his performance would attract the support of more female voters, a crucial demographic headed into Election Day and one that the president has thus far dominated.

"I had been waiting for a very, very long time for people to see my husband how I see him. And I think that people got a chance to do that at the debate," Ann Romney said.

Via: The Hill

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Romneys to Release Taxes

The Romney campaign is releasing Mitt and Ann Romney's 2011 tax return today. The campaign previews a few of the highlights here:

• In 2011, the Romneys paid $1,935,708 in taxes on $13,696,951 in mostly investment income.

• The Romneys’ effective tax rate for 2011 was 14.1%.

• The Romneys donated $4,020,772 to charity in 2011, amounting to nearly 30% of their income.

• The Romneys claimed a deduction for $2.25 million of those charitable contributions.

• The Romneys’ generous charitable donations in 2011 would have significantly reduced their tax obligation for the year. The Romneys thus limited their deduction of charitable contributions to conform to the Governor's statement in August, based upon the January estimate of income, that he paid at least 13% in income taxes in each of the last 10 years.

Additionally, the Romney campaign is releasing a summary of 20 years of taxes, between 1990-2009, detailing their tax expenditures during those years:

• In each year during the entire 20-year period, the Romneys owed both state and federal income taxes.

• Over the entire 20-year period, the average annual effective federal tax rate was 20.20%.

• Over the entire 20-year period, the lowest annual effective federal personal tax rate was 13.66%.

• Over the entire 20-year period, the Romneys gave to charity an average of 13.45% of their adjusted gross income.

• Over the entire 20-year period, the total federal and state taxes owed plus the total charitable donations deducted represented 38.49% of total AGI.

UPDATE: Here's Mitt and Ann Romney's 2011 tax return:

Mitt and Ann Romney 2011 1040

Via: The Weekly Standard

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Biden says 'I' more than any convention speaker

BIDEN SPEAKS “I,” “I’ve,” “I’m,” “I’ll,” “my,” “mine” and “me.”

Over the past two weeks, politicians at both the Democratic and Republican conventions spoke of health care policy, taxation and every other hot-button issue under the sun.

They also, it turns out, talked about themselves. A lot

Using the transcripts produced by Federal News Service, POLITICO examined the speeches of the conventions’ most prominent speakers and counted the number of instances the following words were employed: “I,” “I’ve,” “I’m,” “I’ll,” “my,” “mine” and “me.”

The results? Joe Biden took first place by a wide margin. With his primetime — and personal — speech, the vice president racked up 135 mentions of himself. He was followed by first lady Michelle Obama, with 112. Mitt Romney took top honors among Republicans with 91 mentions of himself, as compared to 103 for his opponent, President Barack Obama.

Other notable speakers — and top self-mentioners — included Chris Christie (73), Ann Romney (67), Clint Eastwood (63), Paul Ryan (62), Mike Huckabee (56) and Marco Rubio (47), Julian Castro (43), Elizabeth Warren (37), Charlie Crist (33) and Lilly Ledbetter (32).

Despite Bill Clinton’s stem-winding speech in Charlotte, he clocked in with a relatively modest 30 mentions of self.

Via: POLITICO

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ANN ROMNEY: WOMEN NOT 'DUMB ENOUGH' TO ACCEPT OBAMA

Ann Romney entered the Tampa Bay Times Forum to thunderous applause and cheers. Her speech focused on the strengths exemplified in mothers -- working or no -- and their efforts not just in holding the home together but holding the country together. Her speech was a stark contrast to the left's demonizing portrayal of Republican women.

"It's the moms who've always had to work a little hard to make everything right," she remarked, "It's the the moms who hold this country together."

Her message was one of empowerment, not victimhood. She opened by asking for prayers for those in Tropical Storm Issac's path, then launched into a shot against the rhetoric of "war on women" from the Obama campaign.

She received a standing ovation when she asked: "A storybook marriage? Not at all. Mitt and I have a real marriage."

"You may not agree with Mitt's positions or his politics... only 13% of Massachusetts is Republican, so it's not like it's a surprise to me," she said, before promising, "no one will work harder than Mitt Romney to make this country a better place to live." It echoes the question conservatives have been asking for months: can you honestly say that you're better off now than you were four years ago?"

"Mitt Romney was not handed his success," Romney stated. "He built it!" Her words directly contradicted President Obama's stereotype of the Republican candidate: "Mitt doesn't like to talk about how he helps others. He sees it as a privilege, not a talking point." After listing his accomplishments in Massachusetts, Mrs. Romney proclaimed, "this is the man America needs... This man will not fail."

Via: Fox News

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