memeorandum: Biden on Negative Tone: 'You Don't Want to Encourage Fringe People' (Katie Escherich/ABCNEWS)

5:10 PM ET, October 13, 2008

Top Items:

McCain campaign attacks Bill Kristol: 'He's bought into the Obama campaign's party line.' — Yesterday on Fox News Sunday, Bill Kristol said John McCain's campaign has really become “a pathetic campaign.” In his New York Times op-ed this morning, Kristol went further, suggesting that McCain should …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Moderate Voice, The Huffington Post, The Mahablog, Washington Monthly, Lawyers, Guns and Money and Wonkette

Washington Post:

Obama Up by 10 Points as McCain Favorability Ratings Fall — With just over three weeks until Election Day, the two presidential nominees appear to be on opposite trajectories, with Sen. Barack Obama gaining momentum and Sen. John McCain stalled or losing ground on a range of issues and personal traits …

Discussion: The New Republic, American Street, ABCNEWS, Democracy in America, Needlenose, Hot Air, Comments from Left Field, MSNBC, David Corn, The Campaign Spot, Daily Kos, ATTACKERMAN, Reuters and Firedoglake

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over — WASHINGTON — Howard Wolfson, the generally pessimistic Democratic consultant who was a senior adviser to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, wrote an item on his blog at The New Republic the other day, declaring without qualification that Senator Barack Obama would defeat Senator John McCain.

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Washington Monthly, American Spectator and The State of the Union

William Kristol / New York Times:

Fire the Campaign — It's time for John McCain to fire his campaign. — He has nothing to lose. His campaign is totally overmatched by Obama's. The Obama team is well organized, flush with resources, and the candidate and the campaign are in sync. The McCain campaign …

Discussion: The Opinionator, The Moderate Voice, The Swamp, Marc Ambinder, The New Republic, Buck Naked Politics, The Gun Toting Liberal, MyDD, Swampland and Opinions You Should Have

Mike Allen / The Politico:
Struggling McCain debuts comeback speech

Discussion: Washington Post, Newshoggers.com, Democratic Strategist, The Raw Story, Jules Crittenden, AMERICAblog News, JammieWearingFool, Taylor Marsh and Donklephant

Jim Tankersley / The Swamp:
McCain's Pennsylvania problem

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and US Elections

Marist Poll:
The Battleground: The Presidential Race in Ohio

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Wire and Pajamas Media

Walter Shapiro / Salon:
How John McCain could still win

Discussion: Townhall.com and Shakesville

Ragnar / The Jawa Report:
OVER?!?!? NOTHING's Over Until We Decide It Is

Discussion: Political Machine

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
KRISOL'S NEW ADVICE.... The New York Times' Bill Kristol …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns and Money

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight.com:
Is Drudge Priming a McCain “Reboot” Narrative?

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Catherine Rampell / Economix:

Paul Krugman Wins Economics Nobel — Paul Krugman, a professor at Princeton University and an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on Monday. — “It's been an extremely weird day, but weird in a positive way,” …

Discussion: The New Republic, Marginal Revolution, Crooks and Liars, Reuters, TigerHawk, The Sideshow, Don Surber, PoliGazette, Silicon Alley Insider, Newshoggers.com, Washington Monthly, Buck Naked Politics, Gawker and Shakesville

John Cole / Balloon Juice:

Great Moments In Right-Wing Punditry — Via the comments, this gem from the Powerline on 8 August 2005: … John Hinderaker, in peak form. — Considering my recent past (at least up until mid 2005), I am not really in a position to get all high and mighty, but after being staggeringly wrong …

Discussion: TalkLeft

Tyler Cowen / Marginal Revolution:
Paul Krugman wins the Nobel Prize

Discussion: The Corner, Associated Press, The Curious Capitalist, Greg Mankiw's Blog, JustOneMinute, American Power, Economix, Tim Blair, FP Passport and EconLog

Donald L. Luskin / Chronicle of the Conspiracy:
KRUGMAN WINS THE NOBEL PRIZE The Nobel Prize is never posthumous …

Discussion: pw and Crooked Timber

Daniel / Crooked Timber:
“It's a total surprise”

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Bloomberg, Freakonomics, Grasping Reality … and Think Progress

Associated Press:
Krugman Wins Nobel Prize for Economics

Discussion: The G Spot, Guardian, NewsBusters.org and Jules Crittenden

Christopher Hitchens / Slate:

MCCAIN LACKS THE CHARACTER AND TEMPERAMENT TO BE PRESIDENT. AND PALIN IS SIMPLY A DISGRACE. — I used to nod wisely when people said: “Let's discuss issues rather than personalities.” It seemed so obvious that in politics an issue was an issue and a personality was a personality …

Discussion: Newshoggers.com, The Nation, THE LIBERAL JOURNAL, Gawker and Wonkette

CNN:
Palin: I've been cleared of ‘any hint of unethical activity’

Discussion: Think Progress, Washington Post, Taylor Marsh and Comments from Left Field

ABCNEWS:

Congressman's $121,000 Payoff to Alleged Mistress — Tim Mahoney Elected to Remove ‘Ethical Cloud’ of His Disgraced Predecessor, Mark Foley — West Palm Beach Congressman Tim Mahoney (D-FL), whose predecessor resigned in the wake of a sex scandal, agreed to a $121,000 payment to a former mistress …

Discussion: Washington Wire, Townhall.com, Palm Beach Post, Anne Schroeder's Blogs, TPMMuckraker, Hot Air, Wonkette, Salon, The Crypt's Blogs, Say Anything, Gateway Pundit, JammieWearingFool, Stop The ACLU, NewsBusters.org, Naked Politics and Reason

Katie Escherich / ABCNEWS:

Biden on Negative Tone: 'You Don't Want to Encourage Fringe People' — Democratic VP Candidate on Personal Attacks, Poll Numbers, Pennsylvania Roots — Sen. Joe Biden claims that some of the personal attacks against Sen. Barack Obama are “really off the wall” and warned his Republican rivals …

Discussion: TIME.com

Tim Craig / Washington Post:
GOP Head Compares Obama to Bin Laden

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Corner, The Moderate Voice, The Campaign Spot, NewsBusters.org, The Huffington Post and TPM Election Central

Washington Wire:
Senior McCain Aide Says They ‘Need’ Florida, Ohio Wins

Discussion: TIME.com

Wall Street Journal:

Obama's 95% Illusion — It depends on what the meaning of ‘tax cut’ is. — One of Barack Obama's most potent campaign claims is that he'll cut taxes for no less than 95% of “working families.” He's even promising to cut taxes enough that the government's tax share of GDP will be no more than 18.2% …

Discussion: The Corner, Salon, www.redstate.com, Fraters Libertas, Say Anything, This ain't Hell …, Wake up America, TaxProf Blog, QandO, Hot Air and Townhall.com

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

Acorn pushes back, hugs McCain — The beleaguered Democratic-leaning community group Acorn sends over this photograph: John McCain, in March of 2006, sitting beside Florida Rep. Kendrick Meek at an event Acorn co-sponsored in Florida. — The immigration event, which other photos show …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Daily Kos, MyDD, Salon, Oliver Willis, Progress Illinois and Campaign Silo

New York Times:

Obama Expands Economic Plans — TOLEDO — Senator Barack Obama on Monday expanded his economic platform, including proposals to spur new jobs, to give Americans penalty-free access to retirement savings to help them through the downturn, to urge a 90-day moratorium on home foreclosures …

Discussion: Marc Ambinder

Gallup:

Gallup Daily: Obama Ahead, 51% to 41% — His advantage could be as narrow as 7 points, depending on likely voters — PRINCETON, NJ — Voter preferences in the presidential race continue to be generally auspicious for Barack Obama's election prospects only three weeks ahead of the eve of Election Day.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos, Swampland, Real Clear Politics, MyDD and TPM Election Central

David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:

CAN WE GET A REWRITE HERE? — Sarah Palin knows a thing or two about abuse of power when she says John McCain is ready to put a stop to it:

Discussion: Think Progress, Washington Monthly, Comments from Left Field and TPM Election Central

The Huffington Post:

Tina Fey On Sarah Palin: “If She Wins...I'm Leaving Earth” — Tina Fey told TVGuide she'll be “done” if John McCain and Sarah Palin win the election next month. — The “SNL” veteran who has come back to play the Republican Vice Presidential candidate (and whose own show, “30 Rock,” …

Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:

Republican activists off-message at McCain rallies (cont) — An AFP shot from this morning in Virginia Beach. — I'm told in Ricmond, where Palin is now, the signs only accuse Obama of being a communist and Marxist.

Discussion: FOX Embeds

Adam Goldman / Associated Press:

Levi Johnston speaks about Bristol Palin, baby — WASILLA, Alaska - Levi Johnston, who's having a baby with Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter, can't believe all the things he's hearing. No, he wasn't held against his will on the campaign trail. No, he's not being forced into a shotgun wedding with 17-year-old Bristol Palin.

Discussion: Swampland, Comedy Central and Talking Points Memo