Tagg Romney Declines Senate Bid in Massachusetts

The possibility of a new Romney campaign was dashed on Monday evening when Mitt Romney’s oldest son, Tagg, announced that he would not pursue John Kerry’s now-vacant Senate seat in Massachusetts.

“The timing is not right for me,” Tagg Romney, 42, said in a statement, making him the latest high-profile Republican to decline a bid. On Friday, former Senator Scott P. Brown said he would not seek to return to the chamber.

Tagg Romney has not ruled out running for office at some point, but he said in October: “I’d be really surprised if I did. It’s a really horrible process, and honestly I just don’t want to go through it, and I do’t want to put my family through it.”

The younger Mr. Romney’s full statement:

I have been humbled by the outreach I received this weekend encouraging me to become a candidate for the U.S. Senate. I love my home state and admit it would be an honor to represent the citizens of our great Commonwealth. However, I am currently committed to my business and to spending as much time as I can with my wife and children. The timing is not right for me, but I am hopeful that the people of Massachusetts will select someone of great integrity, vision, and compassion as our next U.S. Senator.

Tagg Romney Declines Senate Bid in Massachusetts

The possibility of a new Romney campaign was dashed on Monday evening when Mitt Romney’s oldest son, Tagg, announced that he would not pursue John Kerry’s now-vacant Senate seat in Massachusetts.

“The timing is not right for me,” Tagg Romney, 42, said in a statement, making him the latest high-profile Republican to decline a bid. On Friday, former Senator Scott P. Brown said he would not seek to return to the chamber.

Tagg Romney has not ruled out running for office at some point, but he said in October: “I’d be really surprised if I did. It’s a really horrible process, and honestly I just don’t want to go through it, and I do’t want to put my family through it.”

The younger Mr. Romney’s full statement:

I have been humbled by the outreach I received this weekend encouraging me to become a candidate for the U.S. Senate. I love my home state and admit it would be an honor to represent the citizens of our great Commonwealth. However, I am currently committed to my business and to spending as much time as I can with my wife and children. The timing is not right for me, but I am hopeful that the people of Massachusetts will select someone of great integrity, vision, and compassion as our next U.S. Senator.

Gallup Conducts Review of Tracking Poll Methodology

After an election season in which it received significant criticism for the results of its Daily Tracking poll, Gallup announced last week that Michael Traugott, a polling expert from the University of Michigan, is helping the company review its election polling methods.

The tracking poll, which was watched closely as it released new horse-race numbers every day throughout the course of the campaign, had a final estimate of 50 percent for Mitt Romney and 49 percent for President Obama (the actual outcome was 51 percent for Mr. Obama to 47 percent for Mr. Romney). While many polls showed a tight race up to the end, Gallup received additional scrutiny for showing Mr. Romney with a numerical, albeit statistically insignificant, edge. (Gallup also had Mr. Romney with a five-point advantage in late October and a seven-point lead in mid-October.)

Mr. Traugott, Gallup notes, is an expert in polling methodolog and led a review for the American Association for Public Opinion Research examining the inaccuracy of the 2008 New Hampshire Democratic primary polls.

Issues being reviewed by Gallup range from ones pollsters have dealt with for decades, including likely voter screening, to ones that have only begun presenting challenges in recent election cycles, like cellphone sampling.

Cuomo and Clinton Catch Up (Cue Intrigue)

Spencer Platt/Getty Images Gov. Andrew Cuomo, left, and former President Bill Clinton spoke after the funeral service for former Mayor Edward I. Koch at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan.

They spoke intently and uninterrupted, eyes fixed on each other for about five minutes despite the swirling crowd around them.

Outside of the funeral for former Mayor Edward I. Koch on Monday morning in Manhattan, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and former President Bill Clinton seemed like old friends, swapping a few casual observations and catching up on news.

Much of what they said i unknown, since they spoke just beyond reporters’ earshot. But theirs is a friendship, born during Mr. Cuomo’s tenure as housing secretary in the Clinton administration, that may soon be tested.

Mr. Clinton’s wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, who on Friday left her position as secretary of state, is widely viewed as a possible candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. So is Mr. Cuomo. (Cue intrigue.)

As they prepared to depart, Mr. Cuomo raised his voice a bit. “Nice to see you, Bill,” he said, extending his hand. “Tell Hillary I said hello.”

McCain\'s Iran Humor Isn\'t Fully Appreciated

Senator John McCain just can’t help himself, it seems. At least not when there’s a joke to be told about Iran.

A statement Monday by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, in which he said he was “ready to be the first human to be sent to space by Iranian scientists,” prompted Mr. McCain to quip on Twitter:

So Ahmadinejad wants to be first Iranian in space - wasn’t he just there last week “Iran launches monkey into space” http://t.co/PaZKAqac

â€" John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) 4 Feb 13

Rather than laughter, responses on Twitter tended toward accusations of bigotry.

Mr. McCain expressed surprise at the anger in a follow-up message less than an hour later:

Re: Iran space tweet - lighten up folks, can’t everyone take a joke

â€" John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) 4 Feb 13

But maybe Mr. McCain, the Arizona Republican, should have seen that reaction coming. In 2007, during his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, Mr. McCain sang his version of ““Bomb Iran‘” (to the tune of the Beach Boys’ “Barbara Ann”). He similarly dismissed charges of insensitivity.

Q.& A.: Recording Video on an SD Card

Q.

How many minutes of video can I fit on the 16-gigabyte Secure Digital memory card in my camera

A.

The amount of video you can fit on your camera’s memory card can depend on the camera, the image quality and any special-effects modes you may be using while filming. The video section of your camera’s manual should have some specific answers on recording times for the different settings. If you chucked your manual right after you got the camera or cannot find it, check the support area of your manufacturer’s Web site or try an online manual repository like Retrevo.

For example, on the PowerShot S95 camera, Canon’s manual says you should be able to fit approximately one hour, 42 minutes and 57 seconds of video on a 16-gigabyte car when recording video at the high-definition setting of 1,280 by 720 pixels (at 24 frames per second). Switching to the standard-quality setting of 640 by 480 pixels (at 30 frames per second) lets you fit two hours, 59 minutes and three seconds of video on a 16-gigabyte SD card.

If you drop the quality level even lower to the 320 by 240 pixels (at 30 frames per second) setting, you can store more than eight hours of video on the card. Video clips may have a maximum size of four gigabytes or around 30 minutes in length at the high-definition setting, but you can resume recording new clips until the card is full.

While your camera’s manual should have more precise information, the SD Association, (an industry group devoted to creating technical standards for the Secure Digital format), has some basic information on how many minutes of video can fit on SD cards of different capacities on its site. The page! also provides estimates on how many photos or approximate minutes of music fit on various SD cards.