Cruz News

USA Today reports:

The questions about Sen. Ted Cruz's citizenship may just be beginning.

Political analysts said Tuesday that Cruz may think he's tamping down a controversy by renouncing his previously unknown Canadian citizenship, but the situation may prove to be nettlesome — just like questions about President Obama's citizenship.

Dante Scala, a political scientist at the University of New Hampshire, calls it the "nuisance factor."

"If we learned anything from the allegations surrounding President Obama's citizenship, it's this: Facts may be stubborn things, but people's beliefs can be a lot more stubborn than the facts," Scala said. "Many people believe what they want to believe, regardless of the facts, especially when it's about a public figure they do not like in the first place."

At RealClearPolitics, Tom Bevan takes down a weird Daily Beast hit piece.

All of this was neatly packaged on The Daily Beast’s front page under the headline “Cruz’s ‘Creepy’ Years,” posing the question to its readers: “Can a master debater who used to stroll by the women’s wing of the dorm in a paisley bathrobe be the next president?”

The “master debater” double-entendre is the giveaway. This pun is more suitable for an episode of "Beavis and Butt-head" than a news organization that comprises the remnants of Newsweek.

But, unfortunately, this kind of story - unflattering, decades-old recollections from acquaintances dressed up as news - is becoming more and more prevalent. The Daily Beast's piece on Cruz represents a new low for the genre and for modern political journalism, but I'm sure it won't be long before someone, somewhere plumbs new depths.

Economic Clouds

In the past week, the media have asked whether Donald Trump's birtherism will hurt Mitt Romney.  That's silly.  There is no evidence that ordinary voters either know or care about Trump's comments.  Trump has "overshadowed" Romney only to the extent that reporters say that he has done so.  Such comments are what linguists call "performance utterances" or "performatives" -- they create social reality rather than just describe it.  One example is Trump's own trademark phrase, "You're fired."

Meanwhile, far more important news is coming out. CNBC reports:

Jobless claims rose last week, private employment growth disappointed while growth was less than originally reported in the first quarter, according to reports that provide few bright spots for the economy.

Private-sector jobs growth came in at a disappointingly weak 133,000 from April to May, according to a report from ADP and Macroeconomic Advisors that adds to a bleak outlook for employment.

A day before the government releases its report for nonfarm payrolls in May, the ADP report showed that job growth continues to slow.

Economists had expected the report to show nongovernment jobs grew by 150,000.
"This number could have some weather payback in it, but I think basically it confirms and reinforces the notion that there was a sharp deceleration of employment in the springtime months," Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisors, told CNBC's "Squawk Box."

Bloomberg reports:

The number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes fell in April by the most in a year, indicating the U.S. housing recovery remains uneven.

The index of pending home resales dropped 5.5 percent following a revised 3.8 percent gain the prior month, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 42 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for no change in the measure.

CNN reports:

Consumer confidence fell to a five-month low in May, according to a closely watched survey that showed Americans less optimistic about current labor market and business conditions, as well as the short-term outlook.

The survey released Tuesday by The Conference Board, a business research firm, showed an overall index reading of 64.9, down from 68.7 in April. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected confidence to tick up to 69.4 in the latest survey.

Birthers, Redux

In an interview in Parade, Rick Perry declined to say definitely that President Obama was born in the United States. When the reporter pressed him, he said that the issue was "distractive." Linda Feldmann writes at The Christian Science Monitor:

Distractive, indeed. And now Perry, who is trying mightily to revive his presidential prospects, has created a new distraction. Maybe he’s not a full-fledged birther, part of a fringe that is convinced that Obama was born in Kenya or Indonesia or maybe Mars and is therefore ineligible to be president. But Perry has now teed up yet another diversion from what should be his dominant message as a candidate: his job-creation record.

Listen, for example, to Bobby Jindal, who won reelection as governor of Louisiana on Saturday and who addressed a recent Republican National Committee meeting in Tampa, Fla. Governor Jindal, who is the son of Indian immigrants, said this: “I do not question where President Obama is from. I question where President Obama is going.”

Jindal may well have his eye on the presidency someday, and he also wouldn’t want “distractive” questions about his eligibility. Ditto Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the rising GOP star and son of Cuban immigrants. He’s faced some birtherism as well – as well as that little flap about misstating when exactly his parents came to the States.

Obama, Trump, Alinsky, and Nixon

By releasing his long-form birth certificate today, the president drew attention to Donald Trump, who was delighted to take credit: "Today I am very proud of myself because I have accomplished something that nobody else has been able to accomplish."

Two quotations shed light on today's events:

Saul Alinsky: "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it. Don’t try to attack abstract corporations or bureaucracies. Identify a responsible individual."

Richard Nixon: "Politics is battle, and the best way to fire up your troops is to rally them against a visible opponent on the other side of the field."

It would suit the president just fine if Donald Trump became the face of the Republican Party. A bombastic, hedonistic billionaire whose slogan is "You're fired!" would make a perfect foil.

Expect leading Democrats to start referring to the GOP as "the party of Donald Trump."

You heard it here first.