memeorandum: Trib exclusive: Meeting the energy challenge (Mitt Romney/PittsburghLIVE.com)

1:45 PM 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: The Daily Caller, National Review, Booman Tribune, Hit & Run, Hot Air, Pat Dollard and Michelle Malkin

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

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

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, FrumForum and Balloon Juice

New York Times:
Republican Presidential Candidates Debate in Las Vegas

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

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, ABCNEWS, GOP 12, CNN, National Review, The Other McCain and Pajamas Media

Washington Examiner:
In fifth debate, Perry finally shows up

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

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

Discussion: Washington Wire and The Atlantic Online

Jonathan Bernstein / Washington Post:
Romney still the best at this, Perry not as bad, and the loser? Anderson Cooper

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Political Mojo, A plain blog about politics and Daily Kos

2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
SLIDESHOW: Meet The 2012 GOPers: Rick Perry

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

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

CBS Cleveland:
‘Occupy Cleveland’ Protester Alleges She Was Raped

Discussion: UrbanGrounds, Weasel Zippers, Moonbattery, RedState, Scared Monkeys, The Gateway Pundit, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, iOwnTheWorld.com and ABCNEWS

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

Discussion: LewRockwell.com Blog and JammieWearingFool

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

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
GOP rips Dems for anti-Semitism in Occupy Wall Street protests

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Reid says government jobs must take priority over private-sector jobs — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday said Congress needs to worry about government jobs more than private-sector jobs, and that this is why Senate Democrats are pushing a bill aimed at shoring up teachers and first responders.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, National Review, Michelle Malkin, USA Today and Washington Wire

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

GOP senators angry about Reid claim they're rooting for failure — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who is trying to bring comity back to the upper chamber, has broken protocol by accusing Republicans of rooting for the economy to fail. — The accusations from the blunt Nevada Democrat …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Weasel Zippers

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: New York Magazine, Pat Dollard and CBS Cleveland

Moni Basu / CNN:
Deputies forced to shoot escaped exotic animals in Ohio

Discussion: Hot Air and Gothamist

Josh Jarman / The Columbus Dispatch:
Sheriff: Owner of escaped exotic animals opened cages, then committed suicide

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Lede and Gawker

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

John Feehery / Pundits Blog:

Bickering — Newt Gingrich had the line of the night toward the end of the debate when he complained that the moderator encouraged a level of bickering that could only make it harder for the GOP to get the White House. — I don't think Anderson Cooper was really trying to sink the Republican nominee for president in this debate.

Discussion: CNN

Mark Murray / msnbc.com:
NBC Poll: Cain leads in S.C.; tight Fla. race with Romney

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

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 Atlantic Online, Gawker, msnbc.com and Pajamas Media

Mj Lee / The Politico:
Census: D.C. is country's wealthiest area

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Marginal Revolution

Washington Post:

Washington Post-Pew Research Center Poll — This poll was conducted for The Washington Post and the Pew Research Center by telephone October 13 to 16, 2011, among a random national sample of 1,007 adults, including users of both conventional and cellular phones.

Discussion: GOP 12, Taegan Goddard's …, Outside the Beltway, Althouse and The Political Carnival

Washington Post:
Rick Perry better known, more disliked by GOP conservatives

Discussion: Daily Kos, GOP 12 and The Politico

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: ThinkProgress, The Politico, Washington Post, Gawker, Outside the Beltway and Shakesville

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

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: MyFox Boston, Pajamas Media, New York Magazine and JammieWearingFool

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

Jared Bernstein / On the Economy:

9-9-9 in One (Really Long) Graph — In my previous post decrying the extreme redistribution of the tax burden from the wealthy to everyone else, I had to use two graphs to tell the story. I couldn't fit the increase in tax liabilities for the bottom 80% on the same graph that includes …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Atlantic Online and Washington Post

Tim Mak / The Politico:

Report: Military ballot problems rise — An astonishing 120,000 active duty military personnel never received their requested absentee ballots in the 2010 election, a new report shows. — This oversight meant that 29 percent of active duty military voters didn't get their absentee ballot …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

ABCNEWS:

Transcript: ABC News' Jake Tapper's Exclusive Interview With President Obama — President Obama sits down with ABC News' senior White House correspondent Jake Tapper for an exclusive interview in Jamestown, N.C. (Courtesy the White House) — The following is a transcript …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit

Zombie / Pajamas Media:

Spew anti-Semitism at Occupy rally — get fired — Remember Patricia McAllister, the LA school district employee we featured recently who said at the Occupy Los Angeles protest that “Zionist Jews should be run out of the country”? — Well, looks like Zionist Jews must be in charge of the LA schools too …

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: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Gawker, Crooks and Liars, Eater NY, Spocko's Brain and Mogulite