The American Spectator

1. Scott Walker’s victory in the recall doesn’t guarantee a Mitt Romney win in Wisconsin — at first glance, the exit polls suggest the voters are still leaning toward Barack Obama by a decent margin — but it suggests it is possible. It also suggests limits to the unions’ get-out-the-vote efforts and a divide between public sector and private sector union members that could be problematic for Obama nationally.

2. Speaking of that divide, Obama was forced to backtrack last week when he suggested that the private sector was doing just fine. Republicans swiftly pounced on the comment, which echoed John McCain’s confident assurances that the fundamentals of the economy were strong right before the financial meltdown and makes the president appear out of touch. But it also opens up another line of attack for Romney: most of Obama’s ideas for creating jobs, including the jobs bill the GOP stands accused of obstructing, grow the public sector rather than the private sector.

3. I’ll have more to say about this later, but Rand Paul’s Romney endorsement is the latest example that he is tactically very different from his father. Ron Paul refused to endorse the Republican nominee in 2008 and initially urged his supporters to back any of three antiwar third party candidates before settling on Constitution Party nominee Chuck Baldwin. It’s not clear that the elder Paul will endorse Romney this year either. Rand’s endorsement has angered many Ron Paul voters, but it positions him well in the broader party. It could also keep some votes in the Republican column that might otherwise go to Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson.

4. Obama’s private versus public sector comments also show that he isn’t likely to do much to address the fiscal crisis in his second term. As a Keynesian, he clearly believes that government cutting is bad for the economy.

5. Democrats are increasingly concerned about the special election to replace Gabby Giffords, to be held Tuesday. Republican Jesse Kelly, a former Marine who lost to Giffords in 2010, has a decent chance to beat Democrat Ron Barber, a former district director for Giffords who was shot in the attack on the congresswoman.

6. Already on the defensive about his nanny state soda regulations, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended his stop and frisk program from the pulpit of a black church this morning.

7. American Spectator writers were well represented at the Future of Journalism Summit in Providence, Rhode Island this weekend. Senior editors Quin Hillyer and John Fund were discussion panelists, and Fund was one of the main speakers at the awards dinner in honor of Andrew Breitbart. AmSpec alum Phil Klein took home the Breitbart award for best reporter. It was a good event. Netroots Nation took place across town.