Diane Sawyer with the women of the U.S. Senate. (Photo: ABC/Martin Simon)

Yesterday, a record 20 women were sworn in to the U.S. Senate. To mark the occasion ABC's World News With Diane Sawyer had all of the female senators on for a group interview. One of the major topics of the discussion was the belief of many of the senators that they achieve better results than their male colleagues on a variety of issues including the budget, immigration reform and climate change. Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow got the ball rolling when she suggested women are more inclined to get results by working in a bipartisan manner.

"It was the first time in 2001 when we had enough women to actually be on every committee, to have a woman's voice, a woman's experience [and] a woman's values on every committee. You fast forward to now, the new year. There will be six of us chairing committees and other women in the ranking member spot," Ms. Stabenow said. "And I think the public understands to get things done, we're the ones that want to work across the aisle to do that."

Maine Senator Susan Collins took the argument a step further by saying if women were in charge of the Senate and in the White House there would be a solution to the budget debate that has gripped Washington.

"I think if we were in charge of the Senate and of the administration that we would have a budget deal by now," Ms. Collins said. 

When New Hampshire's Kelly Ayotte weighed in, she backed away from Ms. Collins' point and said she was't sure a Senate and Executive branch controlled by women would have completed a budget deal.

"Well, I think that--you know, women are great problem solvers," said Ms. Ayotte. "I don't know if it would get done, but I know that the people here are committed to making sure that we solve our problems."

Ms. Sawyer pressed the point and asked how that was "different" from the male senators. Ms. Ayotte disagreed with the assertion women would be better problem solvers in the Senate than men.

"I think to say that men aren't focused on solving problems wouldn't--wouldn't be accurate," Ms. Ayotte said.

Ms. Collins stepped back in to defend her point.

"Let me just finish my thought on that," said Ms. Collins. "What I find is with all due difference to--deference to our male colleagues, that women's styles tend to be more collaborative."

Later on in the interview, Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski said she believes women bring a "sense of timeliness" to the Senate that is not shared by their male colleagues.

"I can tell you every single one of these women has great pressure on them not only for their constituents, but their families. We don't believe in the culture of delay," Ms. Mikulski said. "In this institution if they can delay a problem, pick an argument--and wait till next year they'll do it. Us, we want to get it done. And I think that's the impact when women are chairing these committees to involve, to listen, mutual respect, mutual trust and get the job done."

Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu cited a specific issue where she felt the female perspective was advantageous--immigration reform.

"I'll give you a specific on immigration reform. And I think this could come naturally to us. There's a big issue right now about S.T.E.M., about science, technology, engineering and math and extending immigration visas for doctoral candidates," said Ms. Landrieu. "When I first heard that I thought it was a great idea. But my thought was, 'I wonder about their spouses. Are they gonna get visas as well?' I mean, I don't know if a man would have thought of that. I mean, I think a perspective--when we're doing immigration reform we're thinking of not just the individuals...the visa but the family, their relationships with children or with....I think that's just one example. There could be many more. But without a woman at the table that might not come up. It could, but it may not. I think it comes up more quickly."

Ms. Sawyer went on to ask the assembled female senators whether any of them might be future presidents. Washington's Patty Murray responded that women would bring a different outlook to a presidential campaign than men.

"I think the thing is--is that every man wakes up in the morning and looks in the mirror and says, 'I could be president,'" Ms. Murray said. "I think every woman looks in the mirror and says, 'What can I get done for my country today?'"

California Senator Dianne Feinstein chimed in to say that having less testosterone makes female politicians more effective.

"I think one of the things that we have done throughout our career is earned a portfolio of expertise. We have worked our way up, we have done our apprenticeship. We understand how government should function and we want to play a role toward that positive functioning. This is one of the reasons I think women become effective originally, that they can sound that call," said Ms. Feinstein. "Another reason I think, you know, we're less on testosterone. We don't have that need to always be confrontational. And I think we're problem solvers, and I think that's what this country needs."

Ms. Feinstein continued by suggesting climate change is another issue women in the Senate may make more progress on than men have.

"I was just gonna say one other thing. If you take a big issue that men have not been able to solve, it's the issue of climate change," she explained. "What would happen if 20 of us cosponsored a bill? What would happen if we went out and mobilized American women to support that bill? It may...this may be a real point of major differentiation that we could get this done for America and essentially lead the way."

Wisconsin's Tammy Baldwin concurred that women might be able to make more progress on climate change because of their "unique capability" to think about future generations.

"On that topic, I think that there's unique capability of being able to think about the effect of our actions today on generations hence that women share," Ms. Baldwin said. "We have that long range vision."

Watch Ms. Sawyer's full interview with the senators below.

Residents of Maine and Maryland voted to legalize gay marriage. It was the first time same-sex marriage was approved by voters rather than being legalized in a legislature, as it was in New York in 2010. As of this writing, a gay marriage referendum was also leading in Washington, which rejected same sex marriage in 2009.

Along with the wins for gay marriage, Democrat Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay U.S. Senator with her win in Wisconsin. Here in New York, the state gained an openly gay congressman in the Hudson Valley after Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney defeated Republican incumbent Nan Hayworth in the 18th district.

Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize the production sale and possession of medical marijuana for recreational use. Massachusetts also legalized marijuana for medical use. Despite these victories for marijuana advocates, a recreational marijuana initiative failed in Oregon, as did a medical marijuana proposal in Arkansas. Montana also voted to make its medical marijuana laws more restrictive. However, In spite of these setbacks the passage of bills legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes was a major landmark for advocates of the substance.

John Hickenlooper, the governor of Colorado, initially opposed his state's medical marijuana initiative. However, on NBC he indicated that, though the drug is still illegal federally, his state would at least "want to decriminalize it" in the wake of last night's vote. Mr. Hickenlooper also issued a statement indicating his desire to "respect" the wishes of voters.

"The voters have spoken and we have to respect their will," Mr. Hickenlooper said. "This will be a complicated process, but we intend to follow through. That said, federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug, so don’t break out the Cheetos or gold fish too quickly."

Joe Biden eating lunch in 2009. (Photo: Getty)

Vice President Joe Biden is campaigning in Wisconsin today and he stopped for lunch this afternoon at West Side Family Restaurant in Beloit. While there, as is his custom, Mr. Biden had an interesting exchange with one of the diners. According to the White House press pool report, which was written by Politico's Jennifer Epstein, Mr. Biden sat down with an older man and it "sounded like the man was saying that he had met John F. Kennedy during a campaign stop five decades ago."

"I'll tell you what, man. I'm no John F. Kennedy," Mr. Biden said.

Mr. Biden went on to pose for pictures with a woman who said, "My name is Gorgeous."

"Hello, Gorgeous," the vice president quipped.

After mingling with the patrons, Mr. Biden ate a cheeseburger with tomato and a side of fries accompanied by his son, Hunter, and his sister, Valerie Biden Owens. He washed it down with a Diet Pepsi.

Paul Ryan on the campaign trail in Ohio last weekend. (Photo: Getty)

Based on a Politicker investigation, Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate is asking the Federal Election Commission to open an investigation into Paul Ryan's congressional campaign committee. Last Thursday, we published a report detailing how Paul Ryan, who is simultaneously running for re-election in Wisconsin’s First Congressional District and on the GOP presidential ticket with Mitt Romney, may have improperly used funds from his congressional campaign for about $60,000 in expenses at the Republican National Convention. Mr. Tate's letter to the FEC said this story shows Mr. Ryan's congressional campaign committee "co-mingled expenditures between the Committee and the Romney Committee" in violation of federal regulations. Politicker has obtained a copy of Mr. Tate's letter, which he is sending this week.

"As disclosed in an article published on October 25, 2012 in Politicker.com, a political website operated by The New York Observer, the Committee reported '$59,603.41 that was specifically identified as [Republican National] convention-related expenses between July 26 and October 17.' A copy of the article is attached to this letter," Mr. Tate wrote. "A spokesperson for the Committee is quoted as stating that the bulk of such expenses were for the purchase of twenty hotel rooms for use at the Republican National Convention, although the Committee had only five staff members."

In his letter to the FEC Mr. Tate said the explanation Mr. Ryan's campaign manager, Kevin Seifert, gave us for the expenses "strains credulity."

"It strains credulity to believe that the twenty rooms paid for by the Committee at the Republican National Convention were expended solely to promote the re-election of Mr. Ryan to the House of Representatives," wrote Mr. Tate. "Instead, these were expenses clearly meant to promote Mr. Ryan’s candidacy for Vice President, and which, under federal law, should have been paid for by the Romney Committee."

Mr. Tate also noted, as we did in our story, that Mr. Seifert's explanations for the spending "were contradicted" by some of the information in the campaign's disclosure reports. Specifically, Mr. Seifert claimed some of the more than 20 rooms purchased by Ryan For Congress at the RNC were purchased at a hotel where the Wisconsin delegation was staying, while the address listed with the payment for those rooms in the campaign's disclosure report was an entirely different hotel.

We reached out to the Romney campaign and Mr. Seifert to see if they had any response to Mr. Tate's letter. As of this writing, they have yet to respond. We also contacted the campaign of Rob Zerban, Mr. Ryan's Democratic opponent in his House race. T.J. Helmstetter, a spokesman for Mr. Zerban said they "expect the FEC to look at the case on its merits and act swiftly."

"I think your story uncovered important information for the voters and, frankly, for the FEC. From what we can see, it appears the Ryan campaign has been playing fast and loose with its campaign funds. Almost as fast and loose as the numbers in the Paul Ryan budget, which doesn't add up either," Mr. Helmstetter said. "We expect the FEC to look at the case on its merits and act swiftly. Paul Ryan needs to play by the same rules as every other candidate."

Mr. Helmstetter added that the campaign's "shifting answers" posed to the questions we raised about Mr. Ryan's spending are part of a "disturbing pattern of dishonesty" on the part of the candidate.

"Given his campaign's shifting answers to the questions posed on this RNC funding, it looks like we're getting more of this same disturbing pattern of dishonesty that we've seen from Ryan throughout the entire campaign," said Mr. Helmstetter.

Read a copy of Mr. Tate's letter, which was first reported in the print edition of this morning's New York Observer, below.

"October 30, 2012
Office of General Counsel
Federal Election Commission
999 E Street, N.W.
Washington, DC  20463
Re:   Complaint against Ryan for Congress,

FEC No. C00330894

TO THE GENERAL COUNSEL:

Pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 437g(a) and 11 C.F.R. 111.4, I am writing to request that the  Federal Election Commission  open a Matter Under Review against Ryan for Congress, FEC No. C00330894, (the “Committee”) the principal campaign committee of Congressman Paul D. Ryan, FEC No.  H8WI01024, and find that the Committee has violated the Federal Election Campaign Act, and its related regulations, for the reasons set forth below.

In addition to being the Republican candidate for election to the U.S. House of Representatives for the 8th Congressional District of Wisconsin, Mr. Ryan is also the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States FEC No. P80003353, and whose principal campaign committee (along with that of Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney) is Romney for President Inc., FEC No. C00431171 (the “Romney Committee”).

Federal law is clear that  “[i]f an individual is a candidate for more than one Federal office, … he or she must designate separate principal campaign committees and establish completely separate campaign organizations.”  11 C.F.R. 110.8(d)(1).  Furthermore, “[n]o funds, goods, or services, including loans and loan guarantees, may be transferred between or used by the separate campaigns, except as provided in 11 CFR 110.3(c)(5)”. 11 C.F.R. 110.8(d)(2). On information and belief Mr. Ryan has co-mingled expenditures between the Committee and the Romney Committee, in violation of such regulations.

As disclosed in an article published on October 25, 2012 in Politicker.com, a political website operated by The New York Observer, the Committee reported “$59,603.41 that was specifically identified as [Republican National] convention-related expenses between July 26 and October 17”.   A  copy of the article is attached to this letter.   The article may also be found at http://politicker.com/2012/10/paul-ryan-campaign-money/.  A spokesperson for the Committee is quoted as stating that the bulk of such expenses were for the purchase of twenty hotel rooms for use at the Republican National Convention, although the Committee had only five staff members.

As stated in the FEC’s publication “FEC Rules for National Convention Delegates” (“Rules”),  “candidates may also use campaign funds to pay the travel and subsistence expenses of other individuals (e.g., spouse, child, Congressional staff person) in connection with the convention if the individual will be engaging in significant campaign-related or officeholder-related activity on the candidate’s behalf during the convention.  11 C.F.R. 113.1(g); AOs 1996-20, 1996-19 and 1995-47.”  Rules, p. 2.

It strains credulity to believe that the twenty rooms paid for by the Committee at the Republican National Convention were expended solely to promote the re-election of Mr. Ryan to the House of Representatives.  Instead, these were expenses clearly meant to promote Mr. Ryan’s candidacy for Vice President, and which, under federal law, should have been paid for by the Romney Committee.   Further, as shown in the Politicker article, the campaign spokesperson’s further efforts to explain away the expenditures were contradicted by the Committee’s reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Based on my information and belief, the Politicker article, along with the campaign reports cited within it, are sufficient for the Office of General Counsel to establish a Matter Under Review and for the Federal Election Commission to determine that a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act has occurred.
Respectfully Submitted,

Michael Tate, Chairman
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin
110 King Street, Suite 203
Madison, WI  53703"

A still from Congressman Sean Duffy's new ad showing him pitching his platform to his mother, Carol. (Photo: YouTube)

In a new ad for his re-election campaign, Wisconsin Congressman and former Real World star Sean Duffy touts a major endorsement--his own mother will be voting for him. While most political candidates are expected to have the support of their immediate family members, in the ad, Mr. Duffy's mother, Carol, explains she's "a lifelong Democrat" and her Republican son "really had to earn" her vote.

"I'm voting for Sean Duffy. People might expect a mom to vote for her own son, but Sean really had to earn my vote. We don't always agree, but I know Sean will fight to protect Medicare and that's what matters most," Carol says in the commercial.

To illustrate just how hard Mr. Duffy had to work to convince his mother to vote for him, the ad features footage of Mr. Duffy carefully describing his policies to Carol while holding a whiteboard labeled "My Platform." The three items listed on the platform are "Protect Medicare," "Create Jobs," and "Balance Budget." At one point, Ms. Duffy is shown reacting rather skeptically to her son's pitch.

Mr. Duffy's ad doesn't say if his mother voted for him when he was first elected to the House in 2010. It also doesn't discuss whether his father, Thomas, will be voting for him too. Politicker reached out to the elder Mr. Duffy to find out, but, as of this writing, we haven't received a response.

Watch Mr. Duffy's ad, which is entitled "Mom's Vote," below.

Paul Ryan in his new ad (Photo: YouTube)

Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan hasn't stopped running for his seat in the House of Representatives. This morning, Mr. Ryan released a television ad for his race to represent Wisconsin's First Congressional district. The ad, which will initially air for at least two weeks, features Mr. Ryan speaking with a small group of voters in what appears to be a coffee shop.

"As Americans, we deserve a choice. You, not Washington, should decide the path we take and the decisions we make. Americans can't wait, so we won't wait. If we act now, we can get this right," Mr. Ryan says in the ad. "We don't want a government-controlled society. We want a limited government that is both efficient and effective. This is our chance to restore real faith and real opportunity in America."

Mr. Ryan is allowed to simultaneously run for vice president and his House seat, but if he wins both offices, he will have to choose one. In Wisconsin, he is being challenged by two-term Kenosha County legislator Rob Zerban, who believes he is the toughest Democratic opposition Mr. Ryan has faced in his seven term congressional career and has raised far more than any of Mr. Ryan's recent rivals.

The weekend Mr. Ryan was announced as Mitt Romney's running mate, Mr. Zerban said he raised six figures worth of donations. As of late July, Mr. Zerban had raised approximately $1.2 million in his quest to unseat Mr. Ryan. However, Mr. Ryan has a formidable war chest and, as of late July, had amassed approximately $4.3 million for his House race. His latest commercial is part of what is expected to be a $2 million fall media buy.

Mr. Ryan's congressional ads may be seen by show as betraying a lack of faith in the prospects of the Republican presidential ticket, but it also allows Team Romney to have ads featuring Mr. Ryan air in a swing state without dipping into the campaign coffers. The Romney campaign is also paying for ads in Wisconsin. Polls show the selection of Mr. Ryan gave the Romney ticket a slight boost that turned Wisconsin, which had been leaning towards President Barack Obama, into a tossup.

Watch Mr. Ryan's new ad below.

A mourner crying at a service in Oak Creek Friday for the victims of the Sikh Temple shooting. (Photo: Getty)

Last weekend, Michelle Obama made a surprise visit to a hospital in Aurora, Colorado to meet with victims of last month's movie theater shooting there. Her husband, President Barack Obama, also met with those affected by the horrific shooting just two days after it occurred. However, neither the president or the First Lady has visited Oak Creek, Wisconsin where six people were killed at a Sikh Temple sixteen days after the incident in Aurora. Amardeep Kaleka, whose father was killed at Oak Creek, said he finds it "strange" his community hasn't received more support from President Obama and Mitt Romney.

"Why wouldn't they, at some point, make a stand. Make a stand for everybody out there who's ever been robbed, or gunned down or has faced this hatred," Mr. Kaleka said.

Mr. Kaleka's father, Satwant Singh Kaleka, was president of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin. According to Mr. Kaleka, his father was shot eight times and lost all of his fingernails while wrestling with the gunman. Mr. Kaleka said he and other family members of the victims haven't received any communication from President Obama beyond a single call to a "random" member of the congregation.

"We communicated with the White House very briefly, mostly the Department of Justice, and that's about it. There was a phone call made with Barack on the first day, on Sunday, to just a random congregation member," said Mr. Kaleka. "Somehow, some way he got somebody's number and he called a congregation member. He's never called the victim's families, not even the board that my father led before he died."

In a White House press briefing two days after the shooting in Oak Creek White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was asked whether flags were at half mast to commemorate those who were killed and whether the president would be meeting with the victims.

"I have no calls or scheduling announcements, or schedule changes to announce to you at this time.  But the answer is yes with regards to the flags being lowered," Mr. Carney said.

Mr. Kaleka believes there's two main reasons why the Sikh community in Oak Creek hasn't gotten the same kind of support from the president that the people of Aurora received--the tense political climate in Wisconsin and the fact Sikhs are a religious minority.

"First and foremost, I think it's politics," said Mr. Kaleka. "Wisconsin is an obviously pivotal state in most of these situations, especially presidential elections because we could swing either way. We have a big gun control issue here...and then we have the labor problem with...so, we have a lot of politics at play in our state and I wonder if that makes people want to stay away from speaking about this, or visiting us, or showing support."

He also said many at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin believe their status as a largely immigrant community and minority religion has kept politicians away.

"This is the way our community feels, and it's sad, if this was a Christian church and it was a Sikh shooter, I'm pretty sure we'd have a different response if the same exact situation happened," Mr. Kaleka said. "That's pretty sad, because we'd have undeniable recourse and actions from the government, or at least a show of support. Here we barely have any support from the federal government or even the local government."

Mr. Kaleka said he knows standing up for non-Christian minorities can have a "backlash," but he thinks Sikhs' status as a minority community makes it more important for President Obama to make a strong, visible show of support in Oak Creek.

"I think a personal visit is absolutely necessary. All politics aside, a personal visit, even with the victims' families, the temple, the people, for him to take pictures with people who have turbans and beards on does so much for our safety," said Mr. Kaleka. "Separation is what fuels this hate, or what fuels the violence against other people."

As of this writing, the White House and the Obama campaign have not responded to a request for comment on this story. However, President Obama isn't the only one who Mr. Kaleka would like to see visit Oak Park.

"I think it would be obviously beneficial if political parties, no matter which they are, even if Mitt Romney comes, it would help us unify," Mr. Kaleka said. "At some point we have to unify on one ground against hatred and tyranny."

Mr. Kaleka cited Wisconsin's Republican governor, Scott Walker, as a politician who came to the homes of victims' families and attended events responding to the Oak Creek shooting. Mr. Romney's newly-minted running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan, is from nearby Janesville, Wisconsin. Mr. Kaleka said Mr. Ryan attended "multiple events" after the shooting but hasn't met with the families of those who were killed. Both Mr. Ryan, who had not yet been named the vice presidential candidate, and Mr. Romney's son, Tagg Romney, went to Oak Creek on Friday to attend a group wake for the dead and visitation services at the temple. However, Mr. Kaleka said he'd still like a visit from Mr. Romney himself. In fact, he was incredulous when we informed him Mr. Romney and his running mate were campaigning near Mr. Ryan's hometown yesterday.

"That's amazing. Dude, we're not even like two hours away from that," Mr. Kaleka said.

As of this writing, the Romney campaign has not responded to a request asking if Mr. Romney plans to visit Oak Creek.

Paul Ryan (Photo: Getty)

With Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan considered to be a leading contender to be Mitt Romney's running mate, readers of the veepstakes tea leaves took note when he pulled out of a planned speech this evening and when his political action committee filed several amended reports. However, aides to Mr. Ryan told The Politicker it would be a mistake to read any greater significance into these moves.

Mr. Ryan was scheduled to speak at the Americans for Prosperity Foundation's Defending the American Dream Summit in Washington D.C. tonight, but he cancelled the appearance. Mr. Ryan's cancellation made Daily Caller reporter Matthew Boyle say "Hmmm..."

"Had to run to answer VP call?" asked Houston Chronicle blogger Kathleen McKinley.

Organizers told us they were unsure why Mr. Ryan pulled out of the planned speech.

"I'm not quite sure what the situation was, but he wasnt able to make it today," Americans For Prosperity spokeswoman Jennifer Ridgely said.

Mr. Ryan's press secretary, Smythe Anderson, said he simply returned to Wisconsin after this week's House voting ended last night.

"The House finished up votes last night and so he's back in the district," Ms. Anderson said.

Kevin Seifert, a spokesman for Mr. Ryan's campaign, echoed Ms. Anderson's explanation saying the congressman "wanted to get back and see his family." He also said Americans for Prosperity was warned this might happen.

"We informed Americans For Prosperity too that, in the event they finished early, this was going to happen," said Mr. Seifert.

Mr. Ryan has no publicly scheduled events this weekend.

The cancelled speech isn't the only thing that caused speculation to swirl around Mr. Ryan this afternoon. Eagle-eyed Politico reporter Ken Vogel also noted Mr. Ryan's political action committee, Prosperity PAC, filed amended versions of its three most recent monthly fundraising reports today.

"Preparing for big announcement w FEC cleanup?" Mr. Vogel asked.

Mr. Seifert said the reports had to be amended when Mr. Ryan's staff noticed a donation made in April was accidentally counted for both the Prosperity Action Committee and the congressman's joint action committee, a mistake which carried over into subsequent reports.

"It's a pretty easy explanation. Basically, it was cleaning up an error that had been made in April 2012 regarding money that had been doubly counted," Mr. Seifert said.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty have also been the subject of intense veepstakes rumors in recent weeks. Barring any early sightings of a made-over Romney campaign plane, the world may not know the answer about Mr. Romney's running mate for certain until the official announcement comes via app.

A pair of Wisconsin football fans cheering on the Green Bay Packers in their trademark "cheeseheads."

Wisconsin is both the dairy capital of the United States and a major center for beer brewing, however, apparently Wisconsinites like their cheese way better than their brewskies. That interesting nugget was buried in Public Policy Polling's latest survey of the Badger State, which found that 64 percent of Wisconsin residents prefer cheese to beer compared to just 18 percent of Wisconsinites who have a higher opinion of beer than of cheese.

The PPP poll also found that cheese has a better overall favorability breakdown than beer and that men in Wisconsin like beer much more than women do. While 75 percent of men surveyed like beer, just 57 percent of female respondents said they enjoyed brewskies. Men in Wisconsin still prefer cheese over beer, but it was a much closer call than it was among women with with 54 percent of men saying they preferred cheese compared to 75 percent of women.

Of course, PPP's Wisconsin poll also addressed political issues. PPP found that support for gay marriage in Wisconsin is growing since last year, as it has been around the country. Last August, just 39 percent of Wisconsinites polled by PPP said they wanted same-sex marriage legalized compared to 50 percent who wanted it to remain illegal. This year, 43 percent of Wisconsinites said they wanted to legalize gay marriage and 47 percent said they oppose it. The poll also showed support for civil unions for gay couples is up to 69 percent from 67 percent last year.

The Daily Caller's Michelle Fields loitered in a Manhattan Mickey D's.

Lady at NYC McDonalds just told me I have to go: "Customers can't be here for more than 30 min." Waah, where are reporters supposed to file?

—
Michelle Fields (@MichelleFields) June 01, 2012

Former HuffPo editor David Weiner was confused by Buzzfeed reporter Rosie Gray's dispatches from Bill Clinton's Wisconsin recall rally.

What year am I in? RT @RosieGray: Clinton done, crowd fired up, U2 playing

—
David Weiner (@daweiner) June 01, 2012

Donald Trump, who uses Twitlonger because he has "a very large Twitter," really, really wants you to know he wasn't bothered by the jokes at his expense at last year's White House Correspondents Dinner.

Almost all reporters falsely report that I had a "bad time" at last year's White House Correspondents' Dinner. (cont) tl.gd/hlfud5

—
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 01, 2012

Former senator, presidential candidate and Law & Order star Fred Thompson thinks the Democrats need to work on their messaging.

Senior Dem Party official: Obama may replace "Forward" slogan. How about their old one: "Lean forward and grab your ankles, America." #tcot

—
Fred Thompson (@fredthompson) June 01, 2012

Zoo enthusiast Newt Gingrich returned to his favorite place.

Another photo from zoo yesterday - Japanese giant salamander http://t.co/fqXafYYP

—
Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) June 01, 2012