Afternoon Coffee

++Obama meets with Clint Eastwood on patio outside White House--shot of Obama next to an empty chair.

++Obama's birth certificate has been released--It's actually on display at the National Statuary Hall here in D.C. It has been since 2009.

++Runners' World could not verify Paul Ryan's claim having run a marathon under 3 hours.

++The Hologram of Reagan people joked about the RNC pulling out was not a hoax. It really existed.

++People were skeptical at the WSJ-NBC poll showing Romney getting 0% of the African-American vote. Black Entertainment Television conducted a poll that showed Romney at 5%. 

++Mel Martinez, a Cuban-American Republican, noting Latino disquiet with Romney's immigration positions said the campaign should be "pushing the panic button." 

++Much has been made that Romney needs to win over 61% of the white vote to win. As a bit of comparison, the tea baggers wins in 2010 provided Republicans with 62% of the white vote, the largest percentage for any single party since the 19th century. 

++While Mr. Staples backs Romney, Mr. Car Max has complimented Obama on his ability to assemble the talent to provide the auto bailout and being the first President to address the rising cost of medical care through the ACCA. He said he would hire Obama over Romney.

++Reuters has an article that Clint had hijacked the Republican Convention on Romney's Big Night. To give you some idea of this distraction to the Romney people Romney adviser Tara Hall had to spend time commenting on NBC that the empty chair represented Obama's presidency. 

++Probably few noted John Boehner's introduction to Cardinal Dolan. He said the church's preference for the poor did not mean large government programs. Dolan was criticized by Catholics for accepting to do the benediction. He will do the same at the Democratic Convention.

++In Colorado the Personhood Amendment failed to make the ballot . In the past it had been used as a 'wedge issue" to mobilize the Christian Right as it was in 2008.