memeorandum: Rats and drugs mar Occupy Oakland tent city, officials say (Sean Maher/Mercury News)

11:30 AM ET, October 19, 2011

Top Items:

Why Perry went there — The Texas governor went into Tuesday night's debate looking for a reaction — and he got one.

Discussion: National Review, Hot Air, Taegan Goddard's …, Pat Dollard and Michelle Malkin

The dangers of accidental candor — After five debates in six weeks, these get-togethers for the Republican presidential candidates were quickly becoming sleep-inducing. Last night in Las Vegas, though, was at least lively — with time running out, someone lit a fire under the candidates' feet.

Discussion: Daily Kos and Balloon Juice

New York Times:

Republican Presidential Candidates Debate in Las Vegas — LAS VEGAS — Mitt Romney came under withering attack from his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination at a debate here Tuesday night, with Gov. Rick Perry leading an intense and sometimes personal barrage …

E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:

The Republican Bickersons — That was fun tonight. Attack, defend, attack and attack some more. Texas Gov. Rick Perry had some problems in tonight's Republican presidential debate, as he's had before — do we really want to “defund the United Nations”? — but he was a real presence this time …

Discussion: Northern Reflections, p m carpenter's commentary, National Review and Daily Kos

Mark Murray / msnbc.com:

NBC Poll: Cain leads in S.C.; tight Fla. race with Romney — ‘The road to the convention is going to go through these two states’ — Below: — Deputy political director — updated 2011-10-19T10:19:11 — Former businessman Herman Cain holds a narrow lead in South Carolina's Republican primary …

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, CNN, The Other McCain, Hotline On Call, The Politico and Reuters

2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:

SLIDESHOW: Meet The 2012 GOPers: Rick Perry — “Mitt, you lose all of your standing from my perspective because you hired illegals in your home and you knew about it for a year,” Perry said. “And the idea that you stand here before us and talk about that you're strong on immigration is on its face the height of hypocrisy.”

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic Online, Wonkette and Business Insider

Washington Examiner:
In fifth debate, Perry finally shows up

Discussion: CNN, Campaign 2012, Washington Post, Riehl World View, Hot Air, American Spectator, Betsy's Page and Pundit & Pundette

CNN:
Five things we learned from Tuesday's GOP debate

Discussion: Washington Wire, The Atlantic Online and The Moderate Voice

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Immigration sparks war of words between Romney, Perry at GOP debate

Discussion: Telegraph, Don Surber, The Politico and Ben Smith's Blog

Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:
Herman Cain backers launch super PAC

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Caller, The Page and The Other McCain

James Oliphant / Los Angeles Times:
Herman Cain says he ‘misspoke’ on considering prisoner transfer

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Washington Post and ABCNEWS

The Politico:
Rick Perry vs. Mitt Romney: Now it's personal

Discussion: ABCNEWS, National Review and Pajamas Media

Stephen Green / Pajamas Media:
Drunkblogging Tonight's GOP Debate

Discussion: the first casualty, The Huffington Post, Vox Popoli and FrumForum

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Debate rivals pile on Romney in Vegas

Discussion: Washington Post, The Page, Mediaite, RedState, American Spectator and The Moderate Voice

CNN:
CNN LIVE EVENT/SPECIAL

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Washington Monthly and FrumForum

Adrianne Jeffries / The New York Observer:

Real World: Occupy Wall Street? MTV Issues Casting Call for Protesters — Is Occupy Wall Street ready to start being real? Bunim/Murray Productions, the agency casting for MTV's Real World 27, appears to think the show Real World needs some real world drama: an ad appeared …

Discussion: The Impolitic, Business Insider, Shakesville, ThinkProgress, City Room, New York Magazine, Vox Tablet, Deadline.com, Althouse, Gothamist, Runnin' Scared, The Politico and The Informer

Fars News Agency:
Occupy Wall Street Protesters Condemn Zionists for Economic Crisis in US

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit

Dylan Stableford / Yahoo! News:
Naomi Wolf arrested while defending Occupy Wall Street protesters

Discussion: LewRockwell.com Blog and JammieWearingFool

Susanne Craig / DealBook:
Goldman Loss Offers a Bad Omen for Wall Street

Discussion: ThinkProgress and The 1600 Report

Dennis Cauchon / USA Today:

Student loan debt hits record levels — Students and workers seeking retraining are borrowing extraordinary amounts of money through federal loan programs, potentially putting a huge burden on the backs of young people looking for jobs and trying to start careers.

Discussion: Shakesville

Tim Mak / The Politico:
Unpaid student loans top $1 trillion

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Steve Zeitchik / 24 Frames:
Will Nolan's ‘Dark Knight Rises’ occupy Wall Street?

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Guardian, Big Hollywood, Deadline.com, Mogulite, New York Magazine, Business Insider, Gawker and Gothamist

ABCNEWS:

Animals Loose in Ohio: Town Under Lockdown — An Ohio town is under lockdown as dozens of wild animals including bears, wolves and tigers have escaped from a private preserve are and are on the loose after the owner of the preserve has been found dead. — Terry Thompson of Zanesville …

Discussion: CNN, Pat Dollard, New York Magazine and CBS Cleveland

Florida Today:
Ohio town locked down after lions, bears, wolves escape from sanctuary

Discussion: Mediaite

NY Daily News:

Occupy Wall St. pepper-spray cop Anthony Bologna loses 10 vacation days for violating NYPD rules — NYPD Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna was disciplined Tuesday for pepper-spraying two female protesters in the notorious YouTube video seen around the world.

Discussion: Gawker, Firedoglake and iOwnTheWorld.com

Al Baker / New York Times:
Commander Who Pepper-Sprayed Protesters Faces Disciplinary Charge

Discussion: ANIMAL, Runnin' Scared and Balloon Juice

Sam Youngman / Ballot Box:

President Obama's strategy on jobs is working — even if Americans aren't — It's certainly not pretty, but darn if it doesn't appear to be working. — President Obama's newfound message discipline on jobs and his two-pronged attack on the GOP are providing the beleaguered president …

Discussion: Don Surber

Steven Hayward / Power Line:

The Question That Needs Asking — I only caught a little of the GOP debate last night, but I came away with two thoughts: first, the distinct impression that New Gingrich's “it's-so-crazy-it-just-might- work” strategy for this race is looking a little less crazy with every debate.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, American Spectator and National Review

Bloomberg:

U.S. Capital Now Richer Than Silicon Valley — Federal employees whose compensation averages more than $126,000 and the nation's greatest concentration of lawyers helped Washington edge out San Jose as the wealthiest U.S. metropolitan area, government data show.

Discussion: The Politico and msnbc.com

Latest from Crain's New York Business:

Protesters get personal to embarrass city's titans — Advocates are making scenes at the restaurants and doorsteps of the rich and famous in increasingly edgy attempts to change policies or win labor disputes. — By Daniel Massey @masseydaniel — It's been a rough few weeks …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Eater NY, Gawker and Spocko's Brain

Rebecca Rosenberg / New York Post:

Protest mob is enjoying rich diet — They may sleep in the park, but they eat like kings. — Hundreds of grimy protesters laying siege to Wall Street and stuffed into the now-smelly Zuccotti Park dine each night on gourmet meals prepared by a former hotel chef using only the finest organic ingredients.

Discussion: New York Magazine and JammieWearingFool

CBS Cleveland:

‘Occupy Cleveland’ Protester Alleges She Was Raped — CLEVELAND, Ohio (CBS Cleveland) - An “Occupy Cleveland” protester tells police she was raped in her tent over the weekend. — Cleveland police are investigating an alleged sexual assault incident Saturday at the “Occupy Cleveland” …

Discussion: Reuters, UrbanGrounds, RedState, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, iOwnTheWorld.com and Weekly Standard

Paul Krugman:

TPC Does Herman Cain — The Tax Policy Center has the distributional analysis of 9-9-9. It's awesome: — Howard Gleckman summarizes:

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, americanthinker.com, Washington Post and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Alex Klein / New York Magazine:

Are You Smarter Than a Wall Street Occupier? — Over the past month, the crusaders at Zuccotti Park have braved the elements, tussled with police, and stood their ground against Mayor Bloomberg. But how much do the protesters actually know about the economic system that they're fighting to change?

Discussion: Power Line, americanthinker.com, Pirate's Cove, Instapundit, Mogulite and iOwnTheWorld.com

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Reid looks to move Obama's $35 billion teacher, first-responder jobs measure — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) signaled on Tuesday that he and other Senate Democrats are looking to advance President Obama's proposal to spend $35 billion to shore up jobs for teachers, police and firefighters in the coming weeks.

Discussion: National Review, Michelle Malkin, USA Today, americanthinker.com and Washington Wire