memeorandum: Obama: U.S. Has Become a ‘Little Soft’ (Jared A. Favole/Washington Wire)

6:35 AM ET, September 30, 2011

Top Items:

Jonah Goldberg / National Review:

Wait, Is Malaise French for “Soft”? — Obama speaking in Orlando: … Interesting perspective. I wonder where America could have lost its competitive edge. It couldn't possibly have anything to do with a government that blows billions on green energy boondoggles while making it harder …

Discussion: Pajamas Media and Cold Fury

Jared A. Favole / Washington Wire:

Obama: U.S. Has Become a ‘Little Soft’ — President Barack Obama on Thursday said the U.S. has lost some of its competitive edge and gotten a “little soft.” — Mr. Obama, in an interview with WESH-TV in Orlando, said his administration has been tough on the country's trading partners and tried to strengthen U.S. manufacturing.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Right Scoop, The Gateway Pundit and The Lonely Conservative

Steven Nelson / The Daily Caller:

Biden: Voters should blame Obama, not Bush, for economy — Vice President Joe Biden told Florida radio station WLRN on Thursday that voters should hold President Barack Obama, not former President George W. Bush, accountable for the poor state of America's economy.

Discussion: Mediaite, Politics, The Hill, Don Surber, Sister Toldjah and Campaign 2012

Brian Montopoli / CBS News:

Joe Biden: The economy belongs to us, not Bush — Vice President Joe Biden said in a live interview with Miami public radio station WLRN Thursday that the Obama administration - not the Bush administration - now has ownership of the struggling U.S. economy.

Discussion: Hot Air, Examiner, Michelle Malkin, The Lonely Conservative, National Review and Pajamas Media

WESH-TV:
WESH, President Talk Jobs Act, NASA, Rail

Discussion: American Spectator, The Sundries Shack and nation.foxnews.com

Chris Bowers / Daily Kos:

Occupy Wall Street growing rapidly — Airline pilots march on Wall Street Tuesday. (Dan Nguyen @ New York City/Flickr) — Occupy Wall Street is experiencing a burst of rapid visibility and support. Several established groups are now getting involved:

Discussion: Toronto Star, Teamster Nation, Newshoggers.com, Hullabaloo and Raw Replay

Matt Sledge / The Huffington Post:

NYC Transit Union Joins Occupy Wall Street … SEIU 32BJ , Wall Street Protest , March On Wall Street , May 12 Coalition , New York City Unions , New York Transit Workers , New York Transit Workers Union , Occupy Wall Street , Seiu 1199 , Unions Wall Street Protest , New York News

Discussion: Seeing the Forest, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and Crooks and Liars

Linette Lopez / Business Insider:

A Massive Union Just Voted To Side With The Wall Street Protesters — According to Daily Kos, The New York Transit Workers Union (TWU) voted to support the Wall Street Protestors at their meeting last night. — A member of TWU Local 100 told a reporter that they would join the protest Friday at 4PM.

Discussion: Corrente, Booman Tribune, Teamster Nation, Guardian, Firedoglake, The Gateway Pundit and Mediaite

Latest from Crain's New York Business:
Veteran agitators flock to Occupy Wall Street

Discussion: Firedoglake, Runnin' Scared, New York Magazine and The Raw Story

Daily Mail:
Ladies and gentleman, we are currently cruising down Wall Street because we are fed up with our bosses!

Discussion: Balloon Juice and The Agonist

Andrew Taylor / Associated Press:

House GOP Unveils Plan To Cut NPR, Job Training And Education Programs … WASHINGTON — Setting a collision course with Democrats that could drag out for months, House Republicans on Thursday unveiled plans to cut federal money for job training, heating subsidies and grants to better-performing schools.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
The other big jobs fight

Discussion: democracyarsenal.org, Firedoglake, Reuters and Daily Kos

Maya Rodriguez / WWL-TV:

Anti-Obama sign in Uptown neighborhood draws controversy — NEW ORLEANS — There are several political signs attracting all kinds of attention in one Uptown neighborhood. — On Wednesday, crowds gathered at the corner of Calhoun and Coralie streets, looking at several signs depicting President Barack Obama …

Discussion: Doug Ross, The Hinterland Gazette, Hullabaloo, The Crawdad Hole and First Draft

Michelle Malkin: Adventures in liberal tolerance, part 999,901

Stephen Gutowski / MRCTV:
Liberals Try to Remove Anti-Obama Signs in New Orleans

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

ABCNEWS:

Tobacco Companies Knew of Radiation in Cigarettes, Covered It Up — Tobacco companies knew that cigarettes contained a radioactive substance called polonium-210, but hid that knowledge from the public for over four decades, a new study of historical documents revealed.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:

Durbin says Democrats don't currently have the votes for Obama jobs bill — Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said, at the moment, Democrats in Congress don't have the votes to pass President Obama's jobs bill, but Durbin added that that situation would change.

Discussion: Fox News, wlsam.com and Hot Air

BBC:

Islamist cleric Anwar Awlaki ‘killed in Yemen’ — The US-born radical Islamist cleric and suspected al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki has been killed in Yemen, the country's defence ministry reported. — US administration officials confirmed the reports, according to US media.

Discussion: The Jawa Report and The Page

Reuters:

Exclusive: Justice Department probing Chinese accounting — (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is investigating accounting irregularities at Chinese companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges, said an official with the Securities and Exchange Commission, suggesting criminal charges may be brought in addition to civil proceedings.

Discussion: China Real Time Report, DealBook, MarketBeat and Money & Company

Telegraph:

Hugo Chavez in hospital ‘for kidney failure’ — Hugo Chavez, who has been fighting cancer, was rushed to a military hospital for emergency care following kidney failure, according to reports. — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez — The leftist, staunchly anti-US stalwart Chavez went …

Discussion: Pajamas Media

U.S. Department of the Treasury:

Treasury Continues Efforts Targeting Terrorist Organizations Operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan — Treasury Department Sanctions Prominent Taliban Financiers, Haqqani Network Commander, al-Qa'ida and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Financial Facilitator — WASHINGTON - Continuing efforts …

Discussion: The Long War Journal and The Politico

First Read / msnbc.com:

Irony alert: Romney cites wrong Brit in defense of flip-flops — By NBC's Garrett Haake and Jo Ling Kent — Speaking to a New Hampshire Town Hall audience of more than 250 yesterday, Mitt Romney addressed perceptions that he is a flip-flopper by quoting from a political leader he often cites on the trail, Winston Churchill.

Discussion: Business Insider, FrumForum and New York Magazine

Economist:
Economics A-Z terms beginning with K

Discussion: Business Insider

Keach Hagey / The Politico:

Hey kids, Glenn Beck has a new show — Glenn Beck has been a frequent critic of the left's “indoctrination” of American children, attacking PBS and calling out Elmo from “Sesame Street” for favoring the redistribution of wealth. — When he left Fox News last April, Beck explained …

New Jersey Online:

Chris Christie seriously considering run for president in 2012 — BATON ROUGE — Gov. Chris Christie is seriously rethinking his months of denials and may launch a campaign for the White House after all, a source close to the governor said tonight. — In the last week, Christie …

Discussion: Business Insider and Mediaite

O.Kay Henderson:

Gingrich chides reporter for asking him about campaign $$ (AUDIO) — During a Q&A session with reporters this afternoon, Seema Mehta of The LA Times asked Gingrich about his fundraising for the quarter. — AUDIO of Mehta & Gingrich … AUDIO: Q & A with reporters

Discussion: The Page

TheBlaze.com:

OBAMA'S SENIOR ADVISOR VALERIE JARRETT: THE POINT OF GOVERNMENT IS TO GIVE PEOPLE A LIVELIHOOD SO THEY CAN PROVIDE FOR THEIR FAMILIES — Order By: — I thought we were against slavery — Log in to Reply — wow freakin wow. — She needs to read the Constitution!

Discussion: Hot Air, Little Green Footballs, The Lonely Conservative and The Right Scoop

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Florida close — Mitt Romney's return to the top of the GOP field is very good news for Republicans if they want to knock off Barack Obama next year. Our newest Florida poll finds that Romney would be in a toss up with Obama in the critical swing state but that Perry trails Obama by 7 points …

Discussion: Campaign 2012, GOP 12, Guardian and Washington Post

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Perry Slumps in Polls, but Not to Romney's Gain

Discussion: Daily Kos, Wall Street Journal, Hot Air, Top of the Ticket, Salon, The Raw Story, Campaign 2012, Poll Watch Daily and The Daily Dish

Serena Williams / The Onion:

Congress Takes Group Of Schoolchildren Hostage — WASHINGTON—Brandishing shotguns and semiautomatic pistols, members of the 112th U.S. Congress took a class of visiting schoolchildren hostage this morning, barricading themselves inside the Capitol rotunda, where they remain at press time.

Eva Rodriguez / Washington Post:

Obama may have more than five votes to uphold health-care law — The Obama administration's decision on Wednesday to seek review of a lower court's ruling on the constitutionality of its signature health-care program almost guarantees a Supreme Court decision by next June. And the administration is predicting victory.

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Atlantic Online, The Heritage Foundation, Booman Tribune, Outside the Beltway and SCOTUSblog