(CNN) – Donald Trump, whose penchant for questioning President Barack Obama's place of birth showed no signs of abating Friday, is helping presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney raise money. Isn't such close proximity to the "birther" conspiracy embarrassing for a candidate who's serious about becoming the next president?

That was the question posed by CNN Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger to Romney's senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom Friday.
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(CNN) – In a commencement address that often echoed his campaign pitch, Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday offered graduating cadets at the U.S. Military Academy a full-throated espousal of President Barack Obama's foreign policy.

"President Obama and I came into office determined to end the war in Iraq responsibly, and today our troops are home," Biden said, underscoring a point he and Obama often make on the campaign trail.
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(CNN) – Democrat Tom Barrett, who is trailing embattled Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in polls ahead of Wisconsin's June 5 recall election, sought to portray his challenger as a divisive "rock star" to the tea party in a debate Friday, claiming the incumbent Republican had torn apart the state in pursuit of national political ambitions.

Barrett, the Milwaukee mayor, is facing Walker in a recall election after Walker made the controversial decision in 2011 to cut most collective bargaining rights for state employees. Two polls released Thursday put Walker ahead of his Democratic challenger by single digits.
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Washington (CNN) - If House Republicans have their way this summer, the Bush-era tax cuts would become permanent, "Obamacare" would begin to be dismantled and energy regulations would be rolled back.

On Friday, House GOP leaders unveiled their summer agenda with an eye on the fall campaign, including those and other items that probably won't become law, but will highlight the party's message on the economy.

(CNN) - Michigan Rep. Thaddeus McCotter may face a re-election hurdle that is not related to anti-incumbency sentiment or his ideological purity.

The Michigan Republican may not be on the ballot.
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(CNN) - President Barack Obama and Rep. Lynn Jenkins marked the Memorial Day weekend by paying tribute to American service members during their weekly addresses Saturday.

"Memorial Day is more than a three-day weekend," Obama said. "In town squares and national cemeteries, in public services and moments of quiet reflection, we will honor those who loved their country enough to sacrifice their own lives for it."
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(CNN) - CNN White House Correspondent Dan Lothian reports the Obama campaign's push to court veterans could be the difference in key states.

(CNN) – When Mitt Romney was elected governor of Massachusetts in 2002, the state was in an economic situation similar to where the country is now, Romney senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom said in a Friday interview on CNN's "The Situation Room."

"The state was in recession, in many ways the circumstances of the economy were similar to what the nation is facing now. We were losing thousands of jobs every month, the budget was completely unbalanced," he said. The Obama campaign points to 26 consecutive months of job creation, which began shortly after President Barack Obama took office.

"After four years, Mitt Romney had turned that situation completely around. The budget had been balanced four years in a row without raising taxes," Fehrnstrom said.

Washington (CNN) - There's good news for drivers hitting the road this Memorial Day weekend: Gas prices are falling.

Regular unleaded dropped to a national average of $3.71 per gallon this week, 23 cents below an April high of $3.94, according to the federal government.

CNN's GUT CHECK | for May 25, 2012 | 5 p.m.
- n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

DEVELOPING… Obama campaign defends raising money from Bain employees to CNN’s Dana Bash: "No one aside from Mitt Romney is running for president highlighting their tenure as a corporate buyout specialist as one of job creation, when in fact, his goal was profit maximization," Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt told CNN...

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