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' Carrie Halperin and Amanda VanAllen

POLLS

The Washington Times' Stephen Dinan: " Obama, Romney in dead heat as voter bases stick" Heading into their nominating conventions, President Obama and Mitt Romney are dead even - down to a tenth of a percent - in the latest The Washington Times/JZ Analytics Poll, which also shows independents, the critical swing group, beginning to pick sides. Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney both stood at 45.7 percent support, and Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson garnered nearly 4 percent support. About 5 percent said they were undecided in an election looking like it will depend on which candidate can turn out his base supporters. LINK

The Washington Post's Dan Balz and Jon Cohen: " Poll: Obama, Romney neck-and-neck ahead of party conventions" The Republican National Convention opens this week with President Obama and presumptive nominee Mitt Romney running evenly, with voters more focused on Obama's handling of the nation's flagging economy than on some issues dominating the political debate in recent weeks. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows Romney at 47 percent among registered voters and Obama at 46 percent - barely changed from the deadlocked contest in early July. LINK

CONVENTION WEATHER

The Hill's Ian Swanson and Jonathan Easley: " Fears of Katrina repeat haunt opening of GOP convention" An intensifying tropical storm barreling toward New Orleans forced GOP presidential pick Mitt Romney into emergency convention plans Monday amid fears that the Republicans' four-day party would coincide with disaster in the Gulf. Tropical Storm Isaac is poised to develop into a category two hurricane with winds up to 100 mph building up dangerous sea levels, and on Sunday it was already throwing the GOP nominee's carefully choreographed debut into chaos. LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Mark Z. Barabak and Michael A. Memoli: " Wind, rain and Republicans descend on Tampa" Greeted by rain and howling wind, Republicans gathered Sunday for a convention partly waylaid by Tropical Storm Isaac, which threatened to swamp this low-lying city and hijack precious days of attention from presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. LINK

ROMNEY

ABC News' Devin Dwyer: " Romney Convention Reset 'Not Gonna Work,' Obama Camp Says" In a prebuttal to the Republican Convention, the Obama campaign says attempts by presumptive nominee Mitt Romney to refresh his image on the national stage are "not gonna work." A spoof movie trailer produced by the campaign - dubbed an "epic cinematic preview " of Romney's week ahead - openly mocks Romney for what is portrayed as his repeated failure to cultivate a positive image. LINK

New York Daily News' Jonathan Lemire: "GOP Convention: Key states are likely target of Romney's big speech" Mitt Romney hopes to leave Tampa on Friday with the roar of the Republican National Convention crowd in his ears - and a significant bounce in the polls. For much of the summer, Romney has trailed President Obama by a handful of points in most national surveys, and the GOP nominee received little boost from his selection of Paul Ryan to be his running mate. LINK

USA Today's Susan Page: " Interview: Romney blasts Obama for a 'vituperative' campaign" Mitt Romney calls campaign attacks by President Obama and his allies "vituperative" and "vicious" and "absurd" and "sad." Also: Effective. "I do think that the president's campaign of personal vilification and demonization probably draws some people away from me," Romney says when asked why he's no better than tied against a vulnerable incumbent. LINK

The Wall Street Journal's Colleen McCain Nelson and Patrick O'Connor: " Romney Seeks Image Boost as Storm Stalks Convention" Mitt Romney enters the most important week of his political career dogged by a nasty tropical storm but hopeful it will pass in time for a circle of friends and supporters to give his presidential campaign the powerful lift it has been seeking all summer. Republicans have gathered here on Florida's Gulf coast for a convention that will launch Mr. Romney into a general-election campaign that will be short, intense and extremely expensive. More than that, it will offer the nation a stark choice in governing philosophies. LINK

Bloomberg's Julie Hirscfeld: " Romney's Shifts Leave Doubts About Which Mitt Voters Would Get" When Governor Mitt Romney set out to fix the dysfunctional health-care system in Massachusetts, one of his first moves was to embrace a political nemesis. Romney had faulted John Sasso, a Democratic operative, for his 1994 election loss to Senator Edward Kennedy, yet now he needed Sasso's political ties and instincts to deal with a Democratic legislature and achieve a signature goal. LINK

The New York Times' Adam Nagourney: " A Party of Factions Gathers, Seeking Consensus" Mitt Romney arrives here this week to accept his nomination from the increasingly disparate coalition of factions known as the Republican Party, confronting the challenge of unifying them behind him and - should he win - exerting his own authority over a party that is in many ways still forging a post-Bush identity. In interviews, Republican leaders said they were united and energized by the prospect of defeating President Obama and enacting bedrock Republican principles: shrinking the government and reducing spending and taxes. LINK

PAUL RYAN

Politico's Lois Romano: " RNC 2012: For GOP delegates, it's all about Ryan" Thousands of pumped delegates flocked into this hurricane-wary city over the weekend far giddier about the prospects of beating President Barack Obama than they were four years ago - or even four months ago. Have they finally fallen in love with Mitt Romney - their emotionally unavailable standard-bearer - after a lackluster courtship? Not quite. LINK

BOOKMARKS

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