Mitt Romney -- increasingly visible on the campaign trail on behalf of the man who beat him out for the Republican presidential nomination -- is about to forgive the $45 million he loaned himself for the primary struggles.
The filing of papers with the Federal Election Commission to re-declare Romney's loans as contributions is imminent, according to the Boston Globe.
That would clear the legal decks for the former Massachusetts governor to become a candidate again as, oh, say, vice president.
Romney, whose personal fortune is estimated north of $190 million, is marshaling his vast national donor network (which supplied $65 million to his unsuccessful campaign) for John McCain's benefit.
Although there appeared to be some personal friction between the two during the primary debates -- especially over campaign finance overhaul, which the Arizona senator has championed -- McCain more recently has been openly appreciative of Romney's vigorous campaign grunt work.
"I'm appreciative every time I see Mitt on television on my behalf," McCain said earlier this week.
"He does a better job for me than he did for himself, as a matter of fact."
Whither the homeless?
Next month, more than 50,000 politicos, protesters, journalists and security types will invade Denver for the Democratic National Convention.
Good news for local businesses. Bad news for the city's large homeless population, which long has claimed the Mile-High City's downtown as its turf.
So while the delegates are reveling and the protesters are rabble-rousing, what will the nearly 4,000 homeless be doing?
Some will be kicking back in a local movie theater. Others will stroll around the Denver Zoo or Museum of Nature and Science. And others will play bingo.
All the events will be free, funded by Denver Road Home, a branch of the mayor's office combating homelessness using United Way money.
So is this a Democratic Party ploy to sanitize the streets during the quadrennial political pep rally and nomination of Barack Obama? To keep the vagrants out of sight while the cameras roll?
A spokeswoman for one advocacy group says no. "We're not hiding the homeless," said B.J. Iacino of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. "We're housing them."
The special measures are planned because advocates say they fear the convention might traumatize the homeless, many of whom are Vietnam veterans suffering from mental illness, according to Jamie Van Leeuwen, head of Denver's Road Home.
