By Mitt Romney will speak at the NAACP's annual meeting Wednesday in Houston. His focus, advisers said, will be the economy, especially the 14.4 percent unemployment rate among blacks. He's also expected to talk about education, which he has called the "civil rights issue of our era."
President Barack Obama carried 95 percent of the black vote in 2008, and Romney is unlikely to cut into that support in 2012. Still, his appearance at the NAACP gathering makes a statement, Rep. Tim Scott, R-S.C., told the Associated Press.
"The first thing you need to do is show up, so I ultimately think he's doing the right thing," Scott said."What he's saying to everyone is that he's (running to become) America's president and not just those folks he thinks he can get votes from right now. I think that's a very important statement."
Vice President Joe Biden will be in Houston on Thursday to speak at the convention.
(Update: Romney tells
NAACP that if he’s elected, ‘We will know each other’)
The House is scheduled to vote Wednesday on repealing Obamacare. It will be the 31st time the Republican-controlled House has attempted to fully repeal or trim Obama's signature legislation in some fashion. The measure is likely to pass, but it is doomed in the Senate where Democrats are in charge.
Obama will meet with Democratic congressional leaders at the White House to discuss their agenda for the coming months and his proposals for the economy. Those attending include Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Majority Whip Dick Durbin, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Patty Murray, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer. It's closed to the press, but somebody is likely to say something after the meeting.
Also worth noting: Rick Santorum spends his second day in Iowa in his first trip to the Hawkeye State since he won the January caucus; Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will be in Washington, D.C., for a Romney fundraiser; and Romney will head to Montana to raise campaign cash after he speaks in Houston.
And then there is this: It has been 60 years since Republicans nominated Dwight D. Eisenhower for president and Richard M. Nixon for vice president.
Sources: Yahoo! News, Associated Press
