The Brody File at Christian Broadcasting Network reports that several anti-pornography groups want to know whether Republican Mitt Romney "spoke up or tried to put a stop to" pornography sales at Marriott hotels during his years on the Marriott board in the 1990s.

Blog author David Brody writes:

The hotel chain is one of many that offer pay-per-view sex videos for sale through in-room entertainment. Though Marriott doesn't release their revenues when it comes to X-rated videos, industry analysts estimate it is in the tens of millions of dollars.

During his run for President, Romney has campaigned on a platform of "family values," recently telling a graduation class, "Pornography and violence poison our music and movies and television and video games."

Mitt Romney's campaign told CBN the following: "Governor Romney's role as board member was in an advisory capacity on financial matters related to the company and, obviously, he did not have a role in the day-to-day operations or decisions of individual franchise holders."

The Marriotts are a strong presence in Romney's campaign as donors and fundraisers. Like Romney, the the family is Mormon. Brody reports that it's looking increasingly likely that Romney will give a speech on his faith, to try to end lingering questions about it.

Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said today he is nominating four women to head the party convention next year in Denver. All four hold elective office and national leadership positions.

Dean's choice for permanent chair of the convention is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. He also named three permanent co-chairs: Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, head of the Democratic Governors Association; Texas state senator Leticia Van de Putte, president of the National Conference of State Legislatures, and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, president of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors.

Chairs and co-chairs preside over the convention as it adopts the party platform and formally nominates its presidential ticket.

Conservative bloggers are writing about John McCain's weak fundraising and even weaker cash on hand, and it's not pretty.

Over at Townhall.com, Patrick Ruffini's pronounces thus:  "Friends, this campaign is officially over. There is no way we are going to nominate someone who has to take public funding to take on Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama."

At National Review's The Corner, Ramesh Ponnuru says "InTrade now has a market speculating on whether McCain will drop out by the end of the year. It may need to move up the timeline."

And at Captain's Quarters, Ed Morrisey says "Fred Thompson's team may already be looking among the recently terminated to bolster their own campaign staff."

From the liberal side, more of the same. "McCain is done," says Jonathan Singer at MyDD.com
"McCain is tanking," says McJoan at DailyKos.com.

Meanwhile, the authors of MSNBC's First Read -- not liberal or conservative -- call McCain's $2 million cash on hand "shockingly" low. They also wonder about Just Once, the song that played before aides imparted the bad news on a conference call, and helpfully provide some of the words: "I did my best/But I guess my best wasn't good enough/'Cause here we are back where we were before ... Just once/Can't we figure out what we keep doing wrong/Why we never last for very long/What are we doing wrong/Just once can't we find a way to finally make it right."

(McCain in St. Paul last month before a news conference and private fundraiser; AP photo by Craig Lassig)

This is a good week to get a first-hand glimpse of this hyperactive, hyper-early presidential campaign without leaving your couch. C-SPAN is offering unfiltered views of some prominent candidates (and a spouse).

• Tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET, you can see New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband, the former president, live at a rally in Des Moines.

• Tomorrow (Tuesday) at 8:45 p.m. ET, you can see Illinois Sen. Barack Obama conduct a town hall in Fairfield, Iowa. It's a live event by the political newcomer who is breaking records for number of donors and dollars raised.

• Then on Wednesday, at 8 p.m. ET, see six Republicans audition before Iowans for Tax Relief and the Iowa Christian Alliance. The event was Saturday. Participants were former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, California Rep. Duncan Hunter and Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo.

• On Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on C-SPAN2, you can figure out what it all means with pollster Peter Hart and a focus group of 12 Baltimore area residents who discuss the 2008 presidential campaign.

More on C-SPAN's political programming is available here.

There's at least one thing we think we can say about Democratic presidential candidate Gov. Bill Richardson without being accused of bias: He is injecting a bit of fun into the campaign here and there.

Richardson has his humorous TV ads. Now he's responding to the "news" that Marlow, N.H., has never been visited by a presidential candidate by -- you guessed it -- going there.

It was National Public Radio that broke the story about Marlow's plight. Some folks who live there feel slighted that they're in the traditional first-in-the-nation primary state, but

"We raised $11.2 million" in the second quarter, have raised $24 million over the campaign so far and "have $2 million in cash on hand," campaign manager Terry Nelson just told reporters on a telephone conference call from the headquarters of Republican Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign.

Nelson also confirmed, without giving details, that the McCain campaign is restructuring. Earlier, the Associated Press reported that will mean the elimination of 50 jobs. Nelson said he will be working without pay for "the next few months."

As AP wrote earlier: "Once considered the front-runner for the GOP nomination, McCain came in third in the money chase in the first three months of the year with $13.6 million." He was thought to have been "struggling to reach that total in the second financial quarter."

Over the weekend, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama reported raising a record $32.5 million in the second quarter. Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said she raised $27 million.

By the way, even the little things aren't going quite right for the McCain folks today. As reporters waited for the conference call to start, the operator several times came on the line to say the "McCan" call would be begin shortly.

Sen. John McCain's campaign, "trailing top Republican rivals in money and polls, is undergoing a significant reorganization with staff cuts in every department," the Associated Press reports, citing "officials with knowledge of the shake-up."

The wire service writes that:

Mitt Romney has done the most TV advertising, while his fellow Republican Rudy Giuliani favors radio. And the presidential candidate generating the most discussion so far on the Web appears to be Democratic Sen. Barack Obama.

At least that's what Nielsen says today. Some details from a report it has sent around to reporters on what three of its arms -- Nielsen Monitor Plus, Neilsen//Net Ratings and Nielsen Buzz Metrics -- have measured so far in the 2008 race for the White House:

Catching up on some events in Iowa over the weekend that gave the Republican presidential contenders considerable time in the local media to talk about their ideas:

Our Gannett colleagues at the Des Moines Register have several stories and some commentary about a GOP candidates forum put on by Iowans for Tax Relief and the Iowa Christian Alliance, and about a counter rally held by Republican candidate Rep. Ron Paul -- who wasn't invited to be with the other contenders. There's also an overview of the events here.

• In the commentary category:

There's not much change at the top of Rasmussen Reports' weekly poll on the Democratic presidential contenders, but the polling firm is noting this morning that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's 39% support is "her highest total of the year." (She registered 38% support twice previously in Rasmussen's weekly reports.)

Rasmussen's latest survey, based on an automated national telephone poll of voters who say they're likely to take part in Democratic primaries or caucuses, shows:

• Clinton's support up from 37% a week earlier.
• Sen. Barack Obama still in second-place, at 26% vs. 25% the week before.
• Former senator John Edwards still in third, unchanged at 13%.

Rasmussen releases its weekly poll on the Republican contenders on Tuesdays.

After crunching the numbers from a nearly month-long poll of 2,039 voters nationwide, Gallup reports this morning that:

"A hypothetical presidential match-up between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Rudy Giuliani in the November 2008 general election ... (shows) significant differences in vote preferences among racial and ethnic groups. Giuliani wins by a substantial margin among non-Hispanic white registered voters, while Clinton wins by even more substantial margins among Hispanic and black voters."

According to Gallup:

"MSNBC executives have decided that (Joe) Scarborough is the next Don Imus -- not that anyone could replace Imus -- and are finalizing the details for Morning Joe to permanently take over the 6-to-9 morning slot," Washington Post media writer Howard Kurtz reports this morning."

In a long look at the Republican former Florida congressman -- an "outspoken outsider" -- Kurtz writes that:

One-time Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joseph Lieberman has shown again how much has changed for him and his relationship to that party since he was Al Gore's running mate in 2000.

The Connecticut senator said Sunday on ABC News' This Week With George Stephanopoulos that he might not endorse a Democrat for president in 2008. He also praised Republican candidates Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain for taking positions on abortion and immigration, respectively, that don't appeal to their party's conservative base. And, he accused Democratic contenders Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama and former senator John Edwards of taking positions on the Iraq War that appeal to "vested interests within the left."

"I'm not going to make my selection of who to support for president in '08 based on party," Lieberman said.

Lieberman lost his party's endorsement during his re-election run last year, largely because of discontent among Democrats in his state over his support for President Bush's policies in Iraq. He won re-election as an independent.

The Connecticut senator has lately helped raise money for Republican colleague Sen. Susan Collins of Maine -- a move that MoveOn.org used to help raise money for Collins' Democratic opponent.

Three weeks ago, former Bush administration secretary of State Colin Powell said on NBC's Meet the Press that he is not committed to endorsing a candidate from among his Republican colleagues.

And in the weeks since, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has left the Republican Party and has not completely extinguished speculation that he might run for president as an independent.

Money, money, money -- particularly the total collected by Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama last quarter. That story is dominating this morning's political headlines:

• USA TODAY -- Obama smashes record: "Illinois Sen. Barack Obama raised at least $32.5 million between April and June for his White House bid, his campaign reported Sunday -- shattering the record for presidential fundraising in the first six months of the year before an election. The first-term Democrat has collected more than $58 million this year. That surpasses the $37.3 million collected during the first six months of 1999 by George W. Bush, then governor of Texas. Obama's haul for the past three months also exceeds the roughly $27 million that his top Democratic rival, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, reported raising last week for the second-quarter fundraising period, which ended Saturday. The former first lady has raised at least $53 million through the first half of the year. She also transferred an extra $10 million from her Senate campaign fund."

• The Politico -- Dems have advantage so far: "The record-breaking sums raised by both Clinton and Obama suggest a growing Democratic financial advantage over Republicans, and also establish a growing gap between rich and poor candidates within the Democratic primary, with Obama and Clinton threatening to drown their rivals -- and, perhaps, the state of Iowa -- in paid advertisements."

• ABC News -- The number of contributors to Obama is impressive too: "Even more eye-popping is the number of contributors. So far, more than 250,000 people have given to Obama's campaign. To put that in context, Howard Dean -- whose grassroots campaign astonished the pundits -- had 280,000 contributors in all of 2003. Obama is almost there after just six months. Of course, Dean's money and supporters did not ultimately translate into votes. But for Obama, it will likely provide a shot of momentum, making it clear that he is a serious contender for the Democratic presidential nomination."

• The Washington Post -- Campaign tries to lower expectations: "Although thrilled by the financial performance, Obama's campaign yesterday sought to temper expectations with a note to supporters predicting that the candidate is unlikely to overtake Clinton in the polls before the Iowa caucuses early next year. 'One of our opponents is also the quasi-incumbent in the race, who in our belief will and should lead just about every national poll from now until the Iowa caucuses. Expect nothing different and attach no significance to it,' campaign manager David Plouffe wrote."

• The New York Times -- Campaign jumps on news: "Mr. Obama waited barely 12 hours after the fund-raising period closed to trumpet his success, a quarterly record for a Democratic candidate, hoping to depict widespread support for his campaign and to rebut suggestions that his candidacy is falling behind Mrs. Clinton's."

• Conservative Hugh Hewitt's blog at Townhall.com -- Clinton's strength: "The media will hone in on the $32-27M horse race figure. But $7 million of Hillary's total was aggressively upselling her core givers on the general (election), something no other campaign has done. The fact that only she can do that says something important about the core strength of her campaign and its ability to ultimately trample Obama."

• The liberal blog MyDD -- More money isn't all that matters: "You do have to reach a threshold to win the nomination, but more money doesn't do you any more good in Iowa. In 2003, Kerry needed just $5M the final three months of the campaign to win in Iowa."

Other political news this morning:

• Fred Thompson is now expected to announce his bid for the Republican presidential nomination some time in the next two weeks, The Washington Post reports.
• For the Thompsons, lobbying is now "a family affair," The New York Times writes.
• Republican presidential candidate Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado "blasted the credentials of two of his Republican rivals Sunday, calling into question Rudy Giuliani's and (Sen.) Sam Brownback's commitment to securing U.S. borders against illegal immigration," the Des Moines Register reports.

(Photo: Obama campaigning in Minnesota on June 29. By Jim Mone of the AP.)

Weekend highlights:

• Seven Democratic candidates (all but Mike Gravel) are in Orlando on Saturday to address the National Associated of Latino Elected Officials.

• Six Republicans are in Des Moines for a tax forum sponsored by Iowans for Tax Relief and the Iowa Christian Alliance. Ron Paul was excluded and is having his own separate "celebration" in the same building as the forum.

• John McCain and Rudy Giuliani are skipping the tax forum. McCain is in Arizona. Giuliani will be in New Orleans with Sen. David Vitter to receive a "hurricane preparedness update."

• We should add, tomorrow is the last day to raise money counted toward the second quarter.

• As we reported earlier here, Iowa will see an influx of candidates and spouses -- including Bill Clinton and Michelle Obama -- in the next few days.

• For more weekend details, see the Sneak Peek at ABC News.

USA TODAY's Fredreka Schouten reports that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has raised $7 million for his Democratic presidential campaign in the last three months. That's more than his first-quarter haul of $6.2 million. All of the money would go toward the Democratic primary contest.

"This proves that Gov. Richardson is a formidable fundraiser," spokeswoman Katie Roberts told Schouten. She wouldn't say how much cash Richardson has on hand.

The total leaves Richardson lagging behind his party's top fundraisers. New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign aides say she has raised about $27 million for the quarter, and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is expected to post strong results. Former North Carolina senator John Edward's has raised $8.6 million so far, according to a running tally on his website.

The second-quarter fundraising deadline is Saturday. Candidates must disclose the details of their fundraising and spending to the Federal Election Commission by July 15.

Mike Huckabee is one of two Southern conservatives in the Republican presidential race right now, and today he brushed off concerns about a likely candidate with a similar identity.

"It'll sort out as to which one of us is the real or the Southern conservative," Huckabee, a pastor and former Arkansas governor, said of former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson.

"He's going to occupy an extraordinary amount of stage space early on. He'll start at the top when he comes in. The challenge will be for him to sustain that," Huckabee told reporters in a conference call. He said that "if you enter at the top, there's only one direction you can really go."

His own goal, Huckabee said, is to continually move ahead: "We're hoping to peak at the right time."

For Huckabee, mired in single digits and having raised only $540,000 in the first quarter, that's the Aug. 11 Iowa straw poll. He said the straw poll would not necessarily make or break his bid, but he did call it a milestone.

"We're going to play to do well," he said. If he doesn't, he said he will re-assess his odds of success in the January caucuses that start the nomination process.

Another candidate in single digits, former governor Tommy Thompson, pretty much said today he would drop out if he does poorly in the straw poll. He told C-SPAN it is "very much a must-win" for his campaign.

Two leading GOP candidates, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain, are skipping the straw poll. But a third, Mitt Romney, is competing hard to win it.

Update at 4:25 p.m. ET: The other Southern conservative in the race is former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore.

Update at 4:32 p.m. ET: Rep. Ron Paul is from Texas, but he's usually categorized as a libertarian and he has been against the Iraq war from the start.

Republican Mitt Romney is moving up in the polls, at least when it comes to a story about him and an Irish setter.

Nearly 140 bloggers in the last two days have linked to a Time article on this nugget mined from a seven-part Boston Globe series on the former governor: In 1983, Romney's dog made a 12-hour trip from Boston to Ontario in a kennel lashed to the top of the family station wagon.

Time's discussion of the incident is the third most popular news story this afternoon, topped only by the release of the iPhone and discovery of a car bomb in London.

What happened with the dog?

A new poll from Gallup shines a light on how blacks and Hispanics view the presidential field. Poll questions, methodology and analysis are available here. Among the findings:

• Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton is rated favorably by 84% of blacks and 63% of Hispanics. Democrat Barack Obama, who is black, received a 68% favorable rating from blacks. Democrat Bill Richardson, who is Hispanic, received a favorable rating from only 20% of Hispanics.

The pair's lower ratings may stem from lower name recognition than Clinton, who is almost universally known. About a quarter of blacks said they had never heard of or had no opinion of Obama. Seven in 10 said the same about Richardson.

• On the Republican side, Rudy Giuliani scored most favorably with both groups; 34% of blacks and 46% of Hispanics said they had a favorable opinion of him. John McCain, co-author of the just-killed immigration bill that would have given illegals opportunities to become citizens, was second. A quarter of blacks and 31% of Hispanics viewed him favorably.

The poll came out the day the 10 Republican candidates had been invited to appear before the National Association of Latino Elected Officials in Orlando. Only one, Rep. Duncan Hunter, accepted. He's from the San Diego area and supports a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border.

Read it and weep, all you heavyweight states that moved your primaries up so you could score some love. Iowa's still the one, if candidate travel schedules are any indication.

The state that launches the nomination season with caucuses for both parties will host at least 11 candidates and three wives in the coming week. For starters, six Republicans will be there for a tax forum on Saturday in Des Moines. And three Democratic couples -- the Clintons, the Obamas and the Dodds -- are touring the state together next week.

The most prominent couple, of course, is Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton. They have appeared together at fundraisers and they went to Selma, Ala. together this year for civil rights tributes, but this is the first time the former president will participate in full-fledged campaign events with his wife.