Here are some random observations from today’s blogosphere:

• In speaking to a Univision forum in Florida, Mitt Romney noted that President Obama has referred to him as the “grandfather” of Obamacare which Romney said he took as a compliment.  As Alex Seitz-Wald of Salon observed, “What?  Are you even trying anymore?”  It’s not just that repealing Obamacare has been a centerpiece of the Romney campaign, but this is at least the third time in recent weeks that he has had to walk back a positive comment on the health care reform.  I can only imagine the sleepless nights his staff must be going through as they anticipate the debate in two weeks, given the candidate’s penchant for unforced error after unforced error.
• Speaking of unforced errors, the number of Republican elected officials disavowing, or running from, Romney’s observation on the irresponsible 47 per cent of the electorate grows every day.  When your most prominent supporters are the likes of Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, how is that going to help attract the undecided voter?  I’ll take a wild guess here.  If you put any stock in what any of that foursome has to say, you ain’t undecided.
• Speaking of the 47 per cent not paying taxes, how predictable was it that Romney’s comments would bring the issue of his refusal to release his own tax returns to the fore?  (I may be mistaken here, but I do not think he has fully released even one year of returns.)  According to Jillian Rayfield of Salon, Senator Harry Reid said, “For all we know, Mitt Romney could be one of those who have paid no federal income taxes.”
• So when is the last time the head of a foreign government made a TV ad in which he is the only person speaking on a subject that is part of a Presidential election?  According to Politico‘s Maggie Haberman, Israel’s Prime Minister is appearing in ads in Florida markets that “house some of the state’s largest Jewish communities.”  The subject of the ads are Iran and its nuclear threat.  It is widely reported that Bibi Netanyahu has all but endorsed Mitt Romney, even though he is apparently unaware that Romney has said his position on Iran is the same as Barack Obama’s.
• Finally, as apart of an endless series of how dysfunctional our hyperpartisan government has become, Seitz-Wald reports that “Senate Republicans filibustered a bill yesterday to create 20,000 jobs for veterans …. who have unemployment rates far above the national average.”  As I was driving today, I also heard a commentary on NPR stating that Senate Republicans have also failed to fund a bill to provide benefits to those 9/11 first responders who are suffering from related disabilities.  I’ll check on this tomorrow, but you may hear about it first from Jon Stewart who was instrumental in overturning the GOP obstructionism on passing the bill in the first place.