(Photo: Getty)

CHARLOTTE, NC -- Though Governor Andrew Cuomo is often named as a potential presidential contender in 2016, he has exerted tremendous effort to have a low-key presence at the Democratic National Convention and generally prefers cooperating with Republicans rather than criticizing them. However, in an address before the New York delegation's breakfast to the DNC this morning, Mr. Cuomo launched an uncharacteristically direct attack on the GOP and gave a stirring defense of President Barack Obama.

Mr. Cuomo began his speech thanking the other politicians in attendance and the convention's organizers before quickly pivoting to the presidential election.

"One more thank you," he said. "To a man who has stood by the State of New York for about four years. He was there for the State of New York when it was teetering on the brink, like so many other states when this nation was teetering on the brink. A new man came to office, a new leader, a new president, and he's been a phenomenal partner to the State of New York helping us through this transformation and these difficult times and let's thank President Barack Obama for what he's done for our state!"

Standing in front of a sign that subtly read, ""NEW YORK STATE PROGRESSIVE CAPITAL OF THE NATION'," Mr. Cuomo went on to mock the Republican Party's convention, which took place last week in Tampa.

"Last week, I admit I was peeking at the Republican convention. I found it amusing actually, it was great theater. That's what it was, it was theater," said Mr. Cuomo. "Watching them made my day, I'll tell you the truth. You know, it was all about balloons...and generalities. We used to call it smoke and mirrors, there were no real plans, there were no details, there was no road map."

Though he dismissed the RNC as lacking substance, Mr. Cuomo said the Republican presidential ticket has had one surprising "moment of frankness and candor"--the selection of Congressman Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney's running mate. Though Mr. Romney has largely disavowed Mr. Ryan's signature achievement, his budget proposal, Mr. Cuomo said the Ryan budget actually reveals "a paint-by-numbers picture of the America they want to bring to us."

"And that picture is a foreign picture to me, my friends," Mr. Cuomo said.

Mr. Cuomo characterized Mr. Romney's campaign as being based on the premise President Obama "created" the nation's economic woes, but he described this notion as "absurd" and said the President had instead "inherited" the poor economic climate. He then went on to criticize another key component of the Republican campaign--Mr. Romney's tax policies.

"The second thing they say is, well, we have to reduce taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Why? Because, then we will unleash the American entrepreneurial spirit, that great spirit they talk about all the time," said Mr. Cuomo adopting a theatrical tone and slowly, dramatically enunciating his words. "The American spirit will come out and the American spirit will make everything OK. The American spirit has a special wand and he will wave the wand. ... When we reduce the taxes on the wealthiest Americans, that makes the spirit come to us."

After depicting the Republican tax plan as a fairy tale, Mr. Cuomo described what he thinks would really accompany tax cuts for wealthy Americans.

"When you cut taxes on the rich there is no spirit that appears. The rich people get more money, that's what happens when you cut taxes on the rich," he said.

Mr. Cuomo explained that President Obama has the "opposite philosophy" that doesn't involve solving the nation's financial woes "on the backs of the middle class." He said the members of the New York delegation know President Obama's economic policies are the correct path for the country because they have seen the results of "progressive" policies firsthand under his leadership in the Empire State.

"We know the President is right and we know he can do these things, because we are doing these things in New York! We know we can find savings in Medicaid and still give people the healthcare they need, because we're doing it in New York! We know you can tax people fairly, not a flat tax, not everyone-pays-the-same-tax rate, which is what we had in New York, but a simple premise that says this: The more you make, the more you should pay. That's fair, that's progressive, the tax code that we just put into place in New York."

"We know these things can be done," Mr. Cuomo continued, before referencing his signature progressive accomplishment--legalizing same sex marriage in New York. "And we know we can fight discrimination, and we can end discrimination and we can make discrimination a past transgression rather than a present injustice, and we can make a statement as a nation that everybody's relationship is the same, and everybody's love is the same. And whether you're gay or straight, in the eyes of the law, your relationship and your love is equal."

To a huge round of applause, Mr. Cuomo urged the rest of the country to follow New York's example on gay marriage.

Mr. Cuomo closed by stressing the urgency of this election and the need to reelect Mr. Obama to solve the problems ahead.

"These are two very different philosophies. Two different outcomes for this nation. Two very different paths that we will follow," said Mr. Cuomo. "This is an election where our country is going to have to take a very hard look in the mirror. This is a gut check election for this country. We have to be very clear about the choices."

As he finished, Mr. Cuomo raised his voice to full volume and asked the crowd whether they think the Democrats' progressive approach is the correct path forward.

"We're going to go to this nation, and we're going to say, 'Do you believe in the politics of inclusion? Do you believe in fairness for all? Do you believe that the opportunity for all that this nation was founded on, is alive and well? And our answer is, 'Yes!'" he said, nearly shouting. "Do you believe in interconnection? And do you believe in interrelation? And do you believe that I am connected to you, to you, to you and there's a cord that connects us all?"

The audience rose and gave a standing ovation as Mr. Cuomo finished his call to arms. He then walked off the stage and exited the outdoor tent where the event was held accompanied by his girlfriend, Sandra Lee. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver followed closely behind them.

Mr. Cuomo's breakfast speech was only officially announced last night after reports of a cancelled fundraiser and aborted plans for a speech closer to the convention site that left multiple delegates we spoke with confused about whether the Governor would make an appearance at the DNC. Though Mr. Cuomo didn't take any questions from reporters after his speech, Politicker managed to catch him as he left the breakfast to ask why his speech seemed to have been initially cancelled.

"It wasn't," the Governor replied tersely.

Afterwards, aides explained that the other speech, which was to take place at the NASCAR Hall of Fame adjacent to the DNC was simply rescheduled and relocated for logistical reasons.

Sheldon Silver (Photo: Getty)

CHARLOTTE, NC -- Last night, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was cut off as he was giving a lengthy speech delivering the New York delegation's votes at the Democratic National Convention. This morning, Politicker asked Mr. Silver how it felt to have his speech cut short when we saw him at the New York delegation breakfast.

"I wasn't expecting that and, you know, we're a big state, we have a lot of votes and there's a lot to say," Mr. Silver said.

We queried Mr. Silver about what he was hoping to add had he been allowed to continue. He implied he was nearly done when his speech was aborted.

"Well, I added everything, basically our vote," he said.

The interruption of Mr. Silver's speech wasn't the only potential slight to the New York delegation, which was seated all the way in back of the convention floor. Mr. Silver said it was simply New York's turn to end up in the nosebleeds.

"What can I tell you? I mean, it's a big convention, somebody's got to sit in the back and we got that this year," he said.

Joseph Smith arguing with a protester outside the DNC. (Photo: Hunter Walker)

CHARLOTTE, NC -- So far, the street protests at the Democratic National Convention seem to be much larger than anything seen at the RNC last weekin Tampa. This afternoon, streets had to be closed and checkpoints were moved when a group of protesters took to the street on Stonewall Street a couple of blocks from the site of the convention. Politicker came out to see the protests and so did Joseph Smith from Port Hueneme, California, who was wearing an "Obama" basketball jersey and said his wife was a delegate. Mr. Smith got into shouting matches with several of the protesters, many of whom were cursing the president. Mr. Smith told Politicker he thought the protesters were being "disrespectful" and he suggested the protesters, who were mostly white, were working against minorities.

"I think it's disrespectful in general for people," Mr. Smith. "You're talking about Obama did this and did that. George Bush did it, Senior and Junior, but they seem to forget. ... If you really want to know what it's about, it's black and white."

One of the protesters bristled at this characterization and pointed the minorities in the protest group out to Mr. Smith who dismissed this by saying, "You always had Uncle Toms in slavery."

"You had two kinds of slave. You had slaves in the field who were working and suffering and you had those in the house with their masters and they loved their masters more than they loved themselves," Mr. Smith said. "You'd think in 2012 this wouldnt exist, but this is really 1864 and 5."

One of the protesters informed Mr. Smith he was "offending" her.

"I don't care," he snapped back.

The tension between Mr. Smith and the protesters wasn't the only sign of discord at the demonstration. This afternoon's protest contained contingents from several different groups including Occupy Wall Street, Yippies and Veterans For Peace. Many of the disparate groups who filled the ranks of the protests had different concerns.

Vermin Supreme, the presidential candidate known for wearing a boot atop his head was there with a group of his supporters who carried signs saying "TEETH" and "PONIES." For his part, Mr. Supreme said he was simply protesting to make himself heard.

"I'm here today to peacefully assemble, to exercise my free speech and free assembly rights, to communicate with my elected representatives in government," shouted Mr. Supreme through a megaphone. "I just want to say, 'Hello, how are you? 'It's good to meet you, good to greet you.'"

We spotted a young couple who was laying on the asphalt a few feet away from Mr. Supreme. They wouldn't give their names, but they said they planned to remain on the ground until they were allowed to enter the convention center.

"We're waiting for them to let us go to the convention center so the veterans can take their message to the Democrats," the male half of the pair explained.

The man said he was "not a vet" but was "marching in solidarity with the vets." We asked him what he believed the veterans' issues were.

"The issue that the veterans are brining up is anti war and 'Free Bradley Manning,'" he said referencing the soldier who is currently imprisoned for allegedly leaking classified information to Wikileaks.

His female companion said it was "difficult" to explain who they were there protesting with.

"There's different organizations; there is Occupy Charlotte, Occupy Water Street Occupy DC, Alliance DC, then you have the unions, the vets joining us," she said. "All that we want to do is just use freedom of speech."

Nearby, we spotted another man named Bob Andre who said he was there with Occupy Wall Street and that he had also protested the RNC in Tampa. Mr. Andre said the DNC protests were "better" and said the purpose of the protest was "to expose how fake and how lawless Obama is."

As the protesters argued with Mr. Smith, a man with a beard tried to stop them by shouting "This is ridiculous!" He told us his name was Brent Lengel and that he was there on behalf of "Occupy Wall Street and the Yippies."

"This march is about Bradley Manning. This is done by Veterans For Peace. This is ridiculous getting into it about Obama, it's absolutely insane," said Mr. Lengel. "There are some belligerent people who have a lot of very high emotions and are mad about a lot of things. They're arguing with each other....They're saying stupid shit like, 'Fuck Obama.' That's not helpful, we need to stay focused on the issue here. We need to stay focused on the fact Bradley Manning is still in jail for exposing a war crime."

At the moment, the protesters, who would like to get to an intersection one block closer to the convention center, are still involved in a standoff with a line of policemen who have blocked their path. As we left to file this story about an hour-and-a-half ago we spotted the young couple we spoke with getting up off the ground.

A still from the "New Morning" ad. (Photo: YouTube)

GASTONIA, NC -- A super PAC with ties to evangelist leader Gary Bauer is trying frighten would-be Obama supporters in at least one Southern swing state by raising the specter of the President's support for gay marriage. The "Campaign for American Values" has launched a pro-Mitt Romney television campaign with an ad warning viewers that "Obama trying to force gay marriage on this country."

In the commercial, which is entitled "New Morning," a couple wakes up to coffee and the threat of legalized same sex marriage as they peruse the morning paper.

"Obama is trying to force gay marriage on this country. That's not the change I voted for. Marriage is between a man and a woman. That's not the change I voted for," one of them says,

"That's not the change I voted for either," the other agrees.

The ad closes with a narrator advising the couple to ward off this potential onslaught of married gay couples by voting "for someone with values" as the words "VOTE ROMNEY/RYAN" appear on the screen. 

Campaign for American Values was founded in 2010. It is a super PAC and can accept unlimited contributions. According to the latest documents on file with the Federal Election Commission, the group currently has $762,291.53 on hand. The group has several ties to evangelical leader Gary Bauer. Campaign for American Values' treasurer is Dorie Black, who is also a staffer at Mr. Bauer's non-profit. The super PAC's website is registered to an address shared by Mr. Bauer's political action committee, the campaign for working families. Mr. Bauer also posted the ad on his YouTube page.

Mr. Romney has said he is against same sex marriage and President Obama expressed support for it back in May, but their disagreement on the issue hasn't been a central element of the presidential race. Though social issues can rally conservatives, President Obama has had success raising donations from his support for gay marriage. An ad campaign such as this could cause the issue to emerge as the latest hot topic in the campaign trail's infamously hyperactive news cycle..

Politicker saw the "New Morning" ad while attending the Democratic National Convention in North Carolina, a crucial swing state that is perfectly primed for a gay marriage battle. We reached out to Ms. Black and Mr. Bauer to find out more about the super PAC and if the ad is running anywhere else, but, as of this writing, we have yet to receive a response. Campaign for American Values spent $28,150 on an ad in support of Mr. Romney late last month, the same day the "New Morning" commercial appeared online.

Opponents of President Obama may see encouraging signs they can gain votes in North Carolina by emphasizing President's support for gay marriage. In 2008, President Obama won the Tarheel State by a slim 28,000 vote margin, becoming the first Democrat to win North Carolina since 1976. However, back in May, the day before President Obama decided to express his support for gay marriage, 61 percent of North Carolina voters backed an amendment to their state constitution banning gay marriage and civil unions. Since then, Mr. Romney has managed to claw out a thin lead in the North Carolina polls.

Mr. Bauer, is a former aide to President Ronald Reagan who ran for president in 2000. He initially backed Rick Santorum rather than Mr. Romney in this year's race.

Update (7:16 p.m.): Mr. Bauer, who is indeed the chairman of the Campaign for American Values, discussed the commercial and his plans for more similar ads with Politicker. 

Watch the anti-Obama super PAC's anti-gay marriage ad below.

Mitt Romney (Photo: Getty)

In his Ohio ad, Mr. Romney vows that, on his first day in office he will stand "up to China" and demand "a level playing field for our businesses and workers." By his hundredth day, Mr. Romney says he will have repealed "regulations that are strangling our energy industry and costing us jobs." In the end, he says the Buckeye State will be "a better place to do business as we see more factories and jobs coming back."

For his Virginia ad, Mr. Romney promises that on day one of his hypothetical administration he will "repeal Obamacare" and attack the deficit. By day 100, Mr. Romney says he will have "reversed Obama's offshore drilling ban, creating thousands of new jobs for Virginians." He claims all of these plans will leave Virginia with "new life" and "new energy."

Mr. Romney's ads in Iowa and North Carolina also begin with a promise to "repeal Obamacare" and attack the deficit on his first day in office. In the Iowa spot, he says by his hundredth day he will be "working towards a balanced budget" leaving Iowans with "fewer worries about their future and their children's future." In the North Carolina commercial, Mr. Romney says, by day 100, he will "cut taxes that kill jobs" and bringing the state "new certainty to our economy at the promise of new banking and high tech jobs."

Watch Mr. Romney's new ads here, here, here and here.

(Photo: David Ball/Wikimedia Commons)

Legislators in North Carolina have proposed a bill aimed at making sure there will be enough booze at September's Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. Under current North Carolina law, state-run liquor stores, which are the only source for hard alcohol in the state, must be closed on Sundays and on Labor Day, the day before the convention is scheduled to start. The bill would allow the stores to remain open on Labor Day to prevent bars and restaurants from running out of booze due to the combined imbibing of holiday weekend revelers and early DNC arrivals.

The primary sponsors of the DNC booze bill are Charlotte-area members of North Carolina's House of Representatives (two Democrats and two Republicans). It would only affect state-run liquor stores in Mecklenburg County, which is where Charlotte is located, and would only last for this year.

As of this writing, we were unable to get any of the bill's sponsors to respond to requests for comment on this story.

"You're not going to be able to get anyone on the phone until midnight because they're on the House floor right now voting on the budget," the aide who answered the phone in Representative Ruth Samuelson's office informed us.

(h/t @BuzzfeedBen)

Washington Post reporter Amy Gardner enjoyed some margaritas from the White House while covering the president's trip to Nevada.

Actor Don Cheadle was unable to claim victory after playing in a 3 on 3 basketball game against President Barack Obama.

Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin is all about keeping it positive.

A young co-worker asked The Atlantic scribe Molly Ball about the early days of the internet.

Talking Points Memo's Brian Beutler had an unconventional #FollowFriday recommendation.

Politico reporter Ginger Gibson noticed an interesting fact about the location of Mitt Romney's campaign event in North Carolina.

"The passage of Amendment One is a profound injustice. Singling out a class of citizens for discriminatory treatment is unfair, unlawful and violates basic American values," Mr. Umhoefer said. "Gay and lesbian Americans, like their fellow citizens, want nothing more than to marry the person they love. Committed, loving couples and their families should not be denied this most fundamental freedom."

AFER is dedicated to "achieving full federal marriage equality." The foundation is currently sponsoring Perry v. Brown, a court case challenging the constitutionality of California's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8. In February, a three judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on the case and decided Proposition 8 was unconsitutional. The case is expected to reach the Supreme Court on appeal.

North Carolina's gay marriage ban, Amendment One, was backed by about 61 percent of voters. Supporters of the ban included a majority of both Republican and African American voters.

President Barack Obama

With his latest campaign ad blitz in the battleground states, President Barack Obama would like to remind you that the economic crisis began before he was in office. His ad, which will air in nine states, articulates what are clearly becoming the main early messages of his reelection bid; the economic recovery may be slow, but it is happening and the Obama administration has made a number of acheivements that make it worth keeping the faith for the many voters who believed in him during the last election.

"In 2008 an economic meltdown, 4.4 million jobs lost, America's economy spiraling down. All before this president took the oath" a narrator says in between grim news clips from the financial crisis as the ad begins.

As shots of Tea Partiers play, the narrator said,  "some said our best days were behind us, but not him." The narrator goes on to give the Obama administration credit for several accomplishments as clips of the president play beginning with a shot of his inauguration clearly labeled "January 2009."

"He believed in us. Fought for us and today our auto industry is back firing on all cylinders. Our greatest enemy brought to justice by our greatest heroes Our troops are home from Iraq. Instead of losing jobs were creating them," the narrator said.

President Obama's ad, which is called "Go" ends with an acknowledgment the economy hasn't fully recovered. However, it argues the president still deserves the fervent hope he infamously inspired and courted in 2008.

"We're not there yet, it's still too hard for too many," the narrator said. "But we're coming back, because America's greatness comes from a strong middle class. Because you don't quit and neither does he."

"Go" is airing in all of the biggest battleground states; Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Nevada, New Hampshire, Iowa, North Carolina, Florida and Colorado. Watch the ad below.

Governor Cuomo denied trying to strong arm State Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb.

Assemblyman Vito Lopez' scandal scarred Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council is due for a big payout from the state.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer had a baby boy.

Charlotte, North Carolina is prepared to keep Occupy Wall Street protesters away from the upcoming Democratic National Convention.

Newt Gingrich said he doesn't believe in Palestinians.

Jose Vargas, the Pulitzer Prizewinning reporter who revealed himself as an undocumented immigrant last year, was thrown out of a Mitt Romney event in Iowa after holding up a sign that said "I am an American w/o papers."

President Obama set off one of his own metal detectors.