memeorandum: ASSAD REGIME — President Barack Obama has decided to waive almost … (Josh Rogin/Foreign Policy)

1:30 PM ET, October 5, 2011

Top Items:

Russ Feingold endorses Occupy Wall Street: “This will make the Tea Party look like ... a tea party.” — “I'm really encouraged by what I'm seeing. People around the country are finally organizing to stand up to the huge influence of corporations on government and our lives.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Slate and The Raw Story

Justin Sink / Ballot Box:

Cain to protesters: 'If you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself' — Herman Cain said that he believed the ongoing Occupy Wall Street protests were “orchestrated” to help president Obama, and denounced the protesters during an interview published by the Wall Street Journal Wednesday.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Washington Wire:
Herman Cain: I'm More Than the ‘Anti-Romney’

Discussion: Gallup, Political Mojo, Business Insider and nation.foxnews.com

Pat Garofalo / ThinkProgress: Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke On Occupy Wall Street: 'I Can't Blame Them'

Sarah B. Boxer / NationalJournal.com:
Romney: Wall Street Protests ‘Class Warfare’

Discussion: MoJo Articles, TalkLeft, Guardian and The Raw Story

Bob Van Voris / Bloomberg:
“Occupy Wall Street” protesters sue New York City

Discussion: Gawker, CNN and Runnin' Scared

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
Who are the 99 percent?

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, American Power, The Huffington Post, Don Surber, The Talking Dog, normblog, Balloon Juice, Political Mojo, Wonkette, Democracy in America, ThinkProgress, Alas, a Blog and DealBook

Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:
99% what? ‘Occupy Wall Street’ organizers look for minorities

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Maggie's Farm, Weasel Zippers, The Crawdad Hole, Questions and Observations, Hot Air, The Daily Californian, National Review, Michelle Malkin and americanthinker.com

Quote and Comment:
A CNN Business reporter, Alison Kosik, summarizes what she thinks …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Wonkette and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

Erica Werner / Associated Press:

Senate Democrats rewrite Obama's jobs bill — WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats are scrambling to rewrite portions of President Barack Obama's jobs bill, even as Obama tries to blame Republicans for Congress' failure to act. — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell moved to call …

Discussion: National Review, The Heritage Foundation, The Reaction, msnbc.com and Associated Press

The Hill:

Dem unity, minus Obama — After months of squabbling, Democrats on Capitol Hill have united in recent weeks. And in an unusual twist, they have done it in spite of President Obama. — House Democrats, who have helped the GOP pass controversial bills this year, drew the line on a stopgap spending bill last month.

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Senate Democrats buck Obama on jobs proposal by changing ‘pay-fors’ — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) on Tuesday further distanced his Democratic Conference from President Obama by nixing a major component of the White House's jobs plan. — Reid said he would revise parts …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and TPMDC

Sam Youngman / Ballot Box:
Push for President Obama's jobs bill illustrates the art of beating a dead horse

Discussion: The Politico, Taegan Goddard's … and Booman Tribune

The Hill: GOP worries they'll have to accept massive spending measure

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Dems Float Surtax On Millionaires To Pay For Jobs Bill

Discussion: The Politico, Daily Kos, The Hill, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Hullabaloo and National Review

Alexander Burns / The Politico:

Perry raises $17 million — Siren, as they say: … The $17 million figure, which a Perry spokesman confirms to me, is almost as much as Mitt Romney raised in his first quarter as a declared presidential candidate this year. — It's also more than Rudy Giuliani and John McCain raised …

Discussion: Hot Air, Washington Post, Wake up America, The Other McCain, CNN, Rick Perry for President 2012, Ben Smith's Blog, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway and New York Magazine

Quinnipiac University:

With Christie Out, Romney Is Back On Top Of Gop Pack, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Perry Fades As Cain Surges — With New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie out of the Republican presidential race, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney jumps to a 22 percent lead …

Discussion: msnbc.com, GOP 12, Guardian, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, The Volokh Conspiracy, New York Times and National Review

Brian Montopoli / CBS News:
Herman Cain rises, Rick Perry slides in new CBS News poll

Frazier Moore / Associated Press:

Roger Ailes looks back on 15 years of Fox News — NEW YORK - As the most powerful man in the universe, or one of them anyway, Roger Ailes can look back on the first 15 years of his crowning achievement, Fox News Channel, with satisfaction. And he does. — It was way back in February 1996 that …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Gawker, Mediaite and The Atlantic Online, more at Mediagazer »

Christian Heinze / Ballot Box:
Why Palin could run as an independent

Discussion: Hot Air

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
GOP looks past Palin for 2012

Discussion: Washington Wire, Liberal Values and GOP 12

Pete Kennedy / Food Freedom:

Wisconsin Judge Rules No Right to Own a Cow or Drink Its Milk — WI Judge to Zinniker, FTCLDF: No “Fundamental Right to Own a Cow, or Consume Its Milk... Am I Making Myself Clear?” — ~ David Gumpert — FTCLDF — In a decision denying basic property rights and even exceeding …

Discussion: Rod Dreher, Ricochet Conversation Feed and Marginal Revolution

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:

Opposition to Obama grows — strongly — Four in 10 Americans “strongly” disapprove of how President Obama is handling job as president in the new Washington Post-ABC News poll, the highest that number has risen during his time in office and a sign of the hardening opposition to him as he seeks a second term.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Hot Air, Hotline On Call, Pajamas Media, The Daily Dish, Politics, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and JammieWearingFool

Justin Sink / The Hill:
New poll shows Obama approval continuing to sour

Discussion: The Crawdad Hole

Gary Langer / Politics:

Obama Gains vs. GOP on Jobs as Congress Hits a New Low — Barack Obama has jumped to a 15-point lead over the Republicans in Congress in trust to handle job creation, a sign the beleaguered president's $450 billion jobs package has hit its mark in public opinion.

Discussion: Daily Kos, TalkLeft and US Politics

Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Poll sees a new low in Americans' approval of Congress

Discussion: Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Business Insider and Prairie Weather

William Creeley / FIRE:

Getting It Right: Dean of George Mason Law Sets Excellent Example — All too often here at FIRE, we find ourselves up to our necks in campus censorship. For example, in just the last few weeks, we've seen a professor threatened by campus police for posting a sci-fi quote and a coalition …

Discussion: Big Government, Ricochet Conversation Feed and National Review

Emily Schultheis / Ben Smith's Blog:

O'Reilly: Romney as Eisenhower — Many people on the right have been giving Mitt Romney a new look lately, especially in the wake of Christie's decision not to run. — Count Fox host Bill O'Reilly among those warming to Romney, as told last night to an incredulous Glenn Beck:

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Booman Tribune

Michael W. McConnell / Wall Street Journal:

Washington Wants a Say Over Your Minister — The Supreme Court weighs whether the feds can decide which church employees are clergy and which aren't. — Today, the Obama administration will invite the Supreme Court to open a new front in the culture wars.

Discussion: Pajamas Media, National Review and LewRockwell.com Blog

Josh Rogin / Foreign Policy:

ASSAD REGIME — President Barack Obama has decided to waive almost all the legally mandated penalties for countries that use child soldiers and provide those countries U.S. military assistance, just like he did last year. — The White House is expected to soon announce its decision to issue …

Discussion: Political Mojo, The Raw Story and Betsy's Page

Brian Powell / Political Correction RSS:

Rep. Steve King Daydreams About The Good Ol' Days When Only Property Owners Voted — In a Judiciary Committee hearing on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) used his allotted time to daydream out loud about an era of American history when only male property owners were allowed to vote.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Daily Kos and John Boehner

Peter Lloyd / PinkPaper:

PM David Cameron re-iterates backing for gay marriage at party conference speech — Prime Minister David Cameron has spoken of his support for gay marriage at the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester, today. — news.PinkPaper.com — Prime Minister David Cameron has spoken …

Discussion: ThinkProgress