memeorandum: Cuomo tells gay activists he will legalize same-sex marriage … (Celeste Katz/NY Daily News)

9:20 AM ET, October 15, 2010

Top Items:

FIRST LADY CAMPAIGNS INSIDE POLLING PLACE — First lady Michelle Obama appears to have violated Illinois law — when she engaged in political discussion at a polling place! — The drama began after Mrs. Obama stopped off at the Martin Luther King Center on the south side of Chicago to cast an early vote.

Discussion: theblogprof, Hot Air, Pajamas Media, Pat Dollard, Weasel Zippers, Gateway Pundit, HillBuzz, Wonkette, TBogg, RealClearPolitics Video Log, QC Examiner and New York Magazine

Lauren Leamanczyk / Today's TMJ4:
First Lady Makes Surprise Visit To Milwaukee Diner

Discussion: JustOneMinute, JammieWearingFool, iOwnTheWorld.com and The Politico

Amie Parnes / The Politico:
FAST FOOD FOR FLOTUS

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, FishbowlDC and Liberty Pundits Blog

The Huffington Post:

Christine O'Donnell Tells GOPers: 'I've Got Sean Hannity In My Back Pocket' — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — WASHINGTON — Christine O'Donnell may not be a witch, but she knows how to use scare tactics to raise money, top Republican strategists and officials here tell me.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Jesus' General and News Hounds

Kate Zernike / New York Times:

Tea Party Set to Win Enough Races for Wide Influence — Enough Tea Party-supported candidates are running strongly in competitive and Republican-leaning Congressional races that the movement stands a good chance of establishing a sizeable caucus to push its agenda in the House and the Senate, according to a New York Times analysis.

Discussion: The Foundry, Prairie Weather and The Page

Thomas Fitzgerald / Philly.com:
Armey: Toomey Triggered ‘Conception’ of Tea Party

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Daily Kos

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

The Mortgage Morass — American officials used to lecture other countries about their economic failings and tell them that they needed to emulate the U.S. model. The Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, in particular, led to a lot of self-satisfied moralizing.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Outside the Beltway, AMERICAblog News, Opinionator and Prairie Weather

Digby / Hullabaloo:

It's Time For Jail Terms — So I'm listening to Andrea Mitchell and Jim Cramer explain the Foreclosure Fraud Crisis as they wail and rend their garments about how terrible it will be for just everyone if these poor banks are held responsible for this problem because the whole economy will implode.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Post, salsa.mydccc.org, Zandar Versus The Stupid and Pat Dollard

Joe Rauch / Reuters:
Wall St. pins foreclosure fiasco on homeowners

Discussion: naked capitalism, Scripting News, The Moderate Voice, AMERICAblog News and The Consumerist

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Nevada Fight Night fizzles — LAS VEGAS - Republican Sharron Angle lashed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the only debate of the Nevada Senate race Thursday night, telling the Democrat to “man up” at one point and questioning how he got wealthy during his years in Congress.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, CNN, The Huffington Post, Washington Wire, New York Times and The Page

Jon Ralston / Las Vegas Sun:
Reid lost the debate to Angle

Discussion: The Fix and The Plum Line

LATimes / Top of the Ticket:
Harry Reid - Sharron Angle debate: Topic-by-topic recap

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Gateway Pundit, Los Angeles Times and Liberty Pundits Blog

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Why the Reid-Angle debate matters so much

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Taylor Marsh, Wake up America, The Hill, National Review and The Hill

Megan Carpentier / TPMDC:

California NOW President: ‘Meg Whitman Could Be Described As A Political Whore’ — Last week, the National Organization for Women and the PAC of the California NOW chapter took heat for their endorsement of state Attorney General Jerry Brown (D) over Meg Whitman (R) in the gubernatorial race …

Discussion: SFGate, Weasel Zippers, The Informer, New York Magazine, Gateway Pundit, The Politico and PolitiCal

Andy Barr / The Politico:
Arnold Schwarzenegger hits Jerry Brown, Meg Whitman

Discussion: The Note, Capitol Alert and The Hill

Jennifer Haberkorn / The Politico:

Judge disses Dems' ‘Alice in Wonderland’ health defense — A federal judge in Florida on Thursday said he will allow some of the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the health care law to proceed — and criticized Democrats for making an “Alice in Wonderland” argument to defend the law.

Discussion: Law Blog and Althouse

Melissa Nelson / Associated Press:
Judge: Suit over health overhaul can go to trial

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, Michelle Malkin and The Other McCain

Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs:

The New Career of a Madman: Johnson Shrieks, “My site gave Geller her ‘break’ on the web” — UPDATE: LGF FLASHBACK! The Guardian's new columnist can't scrub fast enough: — It get's better — And this — this is rich. — Talk about a hot mess. Chuck Johnson has penned …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs

Charles Johnson / Guardian:
Pamela Geller and the bloggers of hate | Charles Johnson

Discussion: Dennis the Peasant, American Power and Jihad Watch

David Streitfeld / New York Times:

From a Maine House, a National Foreclosure Freeze — DENMARK, Me. — The house that set off the national furor over faulty foreclosures is blue-gray and weathered. The porch is piled with furniture and knickknacks awaiting the next yard sale. In the driveway is a busted pickup truck.

Discussion: Emptywheel and The Big Picture

Mara Liasson / NPR:

NPR Poll Offers Sliver Of Hope For Democrats — With only 18 days left until Election Day, an NPR survey of likely voters in battleground districts found that while the overall field still tilts to the GOP, Democrats are closing the gap in some places. — The good news for Democrats …

Discussion: Public Opinion Strategies

Fox News:

EXCLUSIVE: New Pakistani Taliban Operative Feared Inside U.S. After Times Square Failure — Senior U.S. officials are concerned over recent intelligence indicating that the Pakistani Taliban, which orchestrated the failed Times Square bombing, may have successfully placed another operative inside …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Liberty Pundits Blog

David S. Hilzenrath / Washington Post:

Worries over fast-tracked foreclosures send bank stocks plummeting — Stocks of major banks declined sharply Thursday amid concern that widespread corner-cutting in the foreclosure process could saddle the financial system with a costly and paralyzing mess.

Glenn Thrush / The Politico:

Barack Obama sees rise of ‘tribal attitude’ — President Barack Obama thinks that the recession has caused a temporary increase in racial tension by stoking “tribal attitude” among people in economic distress. — During an hour-long town hall with young people simulcast on MTV …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Right Wing News and The Hill

Marty Lamb for Congress:

McGovern Says Constitution is WRONG — Lamb Will Uphold Constitution — Holliston, MA ...Tonight, Marty Lamb, Republican candidate for Congress in Massachusetts Third District, was shocked at Congressman James McGovern's words and his attitude toward the U.S. Constitution.

Discussion: American Spectator, Da Techguy's Blog, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, RealClearPolitics Video Log, RedState and The Other McCain

Daniel Indiviglio / The Atlantic Online:

Foreclosure-Gate's Doomsday Scenario — The documentation problems surrounding mortgages originated during the housing boom just get uglier and uglier. One of the most recently surfaced worries is also one of the most serious. Bank analyst Josh Rosner envisions a doomsday scenario …

Discussion: TigerHawk, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Washington Independent, Balloon Juice, Bloomberg, The Big Picture, Prairie Weather, The Moderate Voice, Ezra Klein, Newshoggers.com and Mother Jones

Celeste Katz / NY Daily News:

Cuomo tells gay activists he will legalize same-sex marriage, make ‘equality a reality’ in New York — Our Kate Lucadamo is on scene at the Empire State Pride Agenda's Fall Dinner, where just a short time ago, Andrew Cuomo told attendees he wants to make their hopes of legal same-sex marriage a reality.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Daily Politics and Speakeasy

Wall Street Journal:

Democratic Funding Fades — Liberal Groups Lag in Late Efforts to Raise Cash; Less Money for Key Races — WASHINGTON—A late effort by Democrats to match record fund raising by conservative organizations has come up short, leaving the party more reliant than usual on the campaign efforts of labor unions.

Discussion: Associated Press and Hotline On Call

Wisconsin Radio Network:

Judge rules concealed carry ban unconstitutional — A Clark County judge says Wisconsin's ban on carrying concealed weapons is unconstitutional. In the case, authorities charged a Sauk City man with carrying a concealed weapon, after he admitted he had a knife in his waistband. He never threatened anyone.

Louise Radnofsky / Washington Wire:

Democrats' Primary Turnout Lowest on Record — Fueled by tea party activism and hotly contested races, Republican participation in this year's primary elections was up. But Democratic participation fell to a record low, leaving overall voter turnout at the second lowest level ever for a midterm election …

Discussion: Sweetness & Light

Christopher Hayes / The Nation:

Postcard From Palestine — This article appeared in the November 1, 2010 edition of The Nation. — Recommended by — Hebron — The first thing you notice when you drive into Hebron is the lack of cars. Since 1997 this second-largest Palestinian city in the West Bank …

Discussion: Yglesias and American Prospect

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Second Sestak Comeback Is Unlikely — There's been some excitement this week about Pennsylvania, where two internal polls commissioned by Democrats show a tight Senate race. One of the polls actually puts their candidate, Joe Sestak, ahead by 3 points; the other has him 1 point behind Pat Toomey.

Discussion: Commentary, RHRealityCheck.org, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, Politics Daily and Hot Air

Laura Rozen / The Politico:

World powers propose nuclear talks with Iran in November — World powers have proposed meeting with Iran in November to discuss its nuclear program, the top international negotiator said Thursday. — A spokesperson for European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton said she has proposed …

Discussion: Israel Matzav

James Joyner / Outside the Beltway:

Modernizing Education — Ezra Klein submits this 11:40 video by Sir Ken Robinson on the need to transform education. — He contends that Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder is either a complete myth or grossly overdiagnosed. Rather, the problem is that we're expecting kids used …

Discussion: The Daily Dish and The League of Ordinary …

Rupert Murdoch / Commentary:

‘The Aim Is to Make Israel a Pariah’ — Last night, Rupert Murdoch gave an extraordinary speech at an Anti-Defamation League dinner in which he revealed, yet again, that he is a true and selfless friend of the Jewish people and of Israel. Here is the text:

Discussion: Power Line