The Note's Must-Reads for Monday, July 30, 2012

The Note's Must-Reads are a round-up of today's political headlines and stories from ABC News and the top U.S. newspapers. Posted Monday through Friday right here at www.abcnews.com

Compiled by ABC News' Jayce Henderson, Amanda VanAllen, and Carrie Halperin

MITT ROMNEY: ABC News' Holly Bailey: " Romney: 'No option should be excluded' in stopping a nuclear Iran" Speaking against the backdrop of the historic Old City, Mitt Romney signaled he supports Israel's right to "defend itself" against its enemies and said "any and all measures" should be considered in the world's efforts to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The Republican candidate said preventing a nuclear Iran should be America's "highest national security priority." LINK

USA Today's Meredith Mandell and Jackie Kucinich: " Romney takes aim at Iran during trip to Israel" Preventing a nuclear Iran is the "highest national security priority" for the U.S., Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Sunday, and "no option should be excluded" in that pursuit. With the backdrop of Jerusalem's Old City behind him, Romney sought to strike an aggressive tone and vowed to "stay together and stand together" with Israel as it faces threats from neighboring countries. LINK

The Wall Street Journal's Sara Murray: " Romney Talks Tough" Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney signaled a tougher approach to Iran's nuclear ambitions, telling Israelis on Sunday that "no option should be excluded," including the use of military force. Keeping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons should be America's "highest national security priority," Mr. Romney said in a speech set against the backdrop of Jerusalem's Old City. LINK

The Boston Globe's Callum Borchers: " Mitt Romney says he is 'clear in the purpose that America represents'" Mitt Romney said Sunday that his conviction and problem-solving skills would make him a successful foreign policy president in the mold of Ronald Reagan, who like Romney lacked experience in international diplomacy. "I would say that foreign policy is a place where intelligence, resolve, clarity and confidence in cause is of extraordinary importance," Romney said in an interview with CBS News before delivering a foreign policy address in Jerusalem. LINK

The Washington Times' Abraham Rabinovich and Seth McLaughlin: " Romney in favor of 'any measures' against Iran" In a 6,000-mile reach for evangelical and Jewish voters in the presidential election, presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney said Sunday that the U.S. should "employ any and all measures" to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, arguing that it is the nation's most pressing national security issue. LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Maeve Reston: " Romney takes hard line on Iran in Israel speech" On a day that mixed religious symbolism, courtship of financial donors and tough rhetoric, Mitt Romney on Sunday declared in his most aggressive tones to date that the U.S. should stand firmly behind Israel if it chooses military action to thwart Iran's progression toward a nuclear weapon. LINK

The Hill's Meghashyam Mali: " Romney laughs off Newsweek magazine's 'wimp' cover story" GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney brushed off a Newsweek cover labeling him a "wimp," saying that the media tried the same tactic to discredit former President George H. W. Bush. "They tried that in George Herbert Walker Bush. He was a pretty great President and anything but," said Romney in an interview on CBS's Face the Nation. LINK

New York Daily News' Thomas Defrank: " After a blunder-filled stay in London, Mitt Romney ventured to Israel, but President Obama's camp was more than happy Sunday to talk about the Republican's U.K. missteps" As Mitt Romney tried to change a sore subject in Israel on Sunday, President Obama's gleeful surrogates kept hammering the GOP nominee over his comments in London that so incensed British politicians and the press. Predictably, Team Obama took to the Sunday political talk show circuit and pounced on Romney's remarks as an opening to question whether he has foreign policy smarts let alone experience. LINK

Bloomberg's Nicole Gaoutte: " Romney's Russia Rhetoric May Backfire In Visit To Poland" Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney arrives in Poland today seeking to burnish his foreign policy standing and score points against President Barack Obama for his "abandonment" of the eastern Europe. While Polish relations with Obama have been bumpy, Romney's attempts to play off Cold War fears in a former Soviet satellite and to connect with Americans of eastern European descent may not resonate in today's Poland, analysts and scholars said. LINK

OTHER / VOTING RIGHTS: The New York Times' Jeff Zeleny: " Bill Clinton to Have Leading Role at Party's Convention" Former President Bill Clinton is set to play a central part in the Democratic convention, aides said, and will formally place President Obama's name into nomination by delivering a prime-time speech designed to present a forceful economic argument for why Mr. Obama deserves to win a second term. LINK

The Washington Post's Matt Zapotosky, Emma Brown, Laura Vozzella, Joshua Hicks and David A. Fahrenthold: " As presidential campaign heads into final 100 days, undecided voters still struggle" There are 100 days left in what, at times, has seemed like an endless presidential election. And these are the bewildered sounds of the Undecided American, trying to decide. "I know Obama says he has put people back to work, and I don't dispute that," Pam Nickel said at an outdoor shopping mall in Perrysburg, Ohio, on Tuesday. Underemployment is a big issue for her, though. "I don't know that the last four years will sway me as much as what happens in the next few months," she said. LINK

Politico's Jim Sensenbrenner: " Politicizing Voting Rights Act dims luster" The fundamental goals and bipartisan legacy of the Voting Rights Act are imperiled by Attorney General Eric Holder's Justice Department and the administration he serves. The beleaguered attorney general recently asserted that common-sense efforts to ensure the identity and citizenship of voters represent a modern "poll tax" - inconsistent with the Voting Rights Act. LINK

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