memeorandum: Give firms freedom to sack unproductive workers, leaked Downing Street report advises (Christopher Hope/Telegraph)

10:05 AM ET, October 26, 2011

Top Items:

Romney's ‘huge freaking deal’ — At this point in the morning yesterday, it looked like the biggest political screw-up of the day would be Rick Perry's latest Birther flirtations. As it turns out, though as ridiculous as this was, it was eclipsed rather easily.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Politics Extra and Talking Points Memo

Jeff Bell / bizjournals:
Poll: Support fading for Ohio S.B. 5

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Online NewsHour, Crooks and Liars, Washington Post and Third Base Politics

Quinnipiac University:
Pizza Magnate Leads GOP Presidential Pack In Ohio, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Romney Stalled As Perry Vanishes

Discussion: msnbc.com, Daily Kos and Hotline On Call

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
A day down the drain for Rick Perry

Discussion: Power Line, New York Post, Campaign 2012, American Spectator and News Desk

CNN:
Romney avoids weighing in on Ohio union fight

Discussion: The Hill, The Caucus, The Columbus Dispatch, Washington Wire, The New Republic, New York Magazine, The Moderate Voice, Ben Smith's Blog, Ballot Box, GOP 12, The Politico, Trail Blazers Blog, ThinkProgress, American Spectator, The Page, The Hill and National Review

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
EXCLUSIVE: GOP governors blast birther gambit

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, NBC Universal, The Moderate Voice, The Page, The Other McCain, Business Insider and Hot Air

Scott Johnson / Power Line:
Mr. Romney regrets — Over at Ricochet, Troy Senik draws attention …

Discussion: Ricochet Conversation Feed and Chicago Boyz

David Weigel / Slate:
In Ohio, Mitt Romney Punts on Health Care and Union Rights

Discussion: Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, DownWithTyranny!, Guardian, The Caucus, Daily Kos, Michelle Malkin, Washington Monthly, American Power, Plunderbund and Ben Smith's Blog

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
EXCLUSIVE: Jeb Bush denounces birtherism

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots, The Hill, Naked Politics, Riehl World View and Booman Tribune

Erick Erickson / Erick's blog:
“An Incredible Moment in Politics.” Mitt Romney Won't Go There.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, National Review, 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com, Addicting Info, Whiskey Fire, The Atlantic Online, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Campaign 2012, Third Base Politics, Business Insider, The Right Scoop, The PJ Tatler and Riehl World View

CNN:
Perry takes sides in Ohio union fight after Romney dodges issue

Discussion: The Caucus and Washington Wire

New York Times:

New Poll Finds a Deep Distrust of Government — With Election Day just over a year away, a deep sense of economic anxiety and doubt about the future hangs over the nation, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, with Americans' distrust of government at its highest level ever.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Strata-Sphere, The Caucus, The Politico, ABCNEWS, AMERICAN FUTURE, Hot Air, Booman Tribune, Business Insider, Hullabaloo, americanthinker.com, Trail Blazers Blog, Outside the Beltway, ThinkProgress and Daily Kos

Robert Pear / New York Times:

Top Earners Doubled Share of Nation's Income, C.B.O. Says — WASHINGTON — The top 1 percent of earners more than doubled their share of the nation's income over the last three decades, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday, in a new report likely to figure prominently …

Discussion: CBS News, Online NewsHour, Prairie Weather and Jared Bernstein

CBO's Latest 10 Documents:

TRENDS IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF HOUSEHOLD INCOME BETWEEN 1979 AND 2007 — Text-only. The full version of the summary may include tables, charts, and footnotes. — AFTER-TAX INCOME GREW MORE FOR HIGHEST-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS — After-tax income for the highest-income households grew more than it did for any other group.

Discussion: The Mahablog, Political Mojo, Ricochet Conversation Feed, Business Insider, Director's Blog, Real Time Economics and Reuters

James Pethokoukis / The Enterprise Blog:

The revenue and GDP impact of the Perry flat tax plan — now with actual numbers! — As I wrote in an earlier post, an outside consulting firm hired by the Rick Perry presidential campaign has analyzed the revenue and growth impacts of his flat tax plan as follows:

Catherine Rampell / Economix:

How Rick Perry's Tax Plan Would Affect You — Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, today released some details on his flat tax proposal. The plan would give Americans the option of determining their taxes based on an alternate system that has one tax rate and fewer deductions.

Discussion: The Enterprise Blog, Washington Post, New York Times, National Review, Political Mojo and Jared Bernstein

Matt K. Lewis / The Daily Caller:
Rick Perry's first TV ad, ‘Creating Jobs,’ hits Iowa; promises to create 2 1/2 million new jobs

Discussion: Washington Wire, CNN, GOP 12 and Wall Street Journal

Tamar Lewin / New York Times:

President to Ease Student-Loan Burden for Low-Income Graduates — President Obama will announce new programs Wednesday to lower monthly loan payments for some students graduating next year and thereafter and to let borrowers who have a mix of direct federal loans and loans under …

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Obama education chief: student loan reform to address income inequality — President Obama's education reform efforts will address growing income inequality in the U.S., Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said Wednesday. — Speaking on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Wednesday …

Discussion: The Politico

Susan Walsh / ABCNEWS:

Obama: If We Lose in 2012, Government Will Tell People 'You're on Your Own' — At a million-dollar San Francisco fundraiser today, President Obama warned his recession-battered supporters that if he loses the 2012 election it could herald a new, painful era of self-reliance in America.

Discussion: Right Wing News, Say Anything, Weasel Zippers, Ed Driscoll, National Review and Riehl World View

The Lede:

Police Fire Tear Gas at Protesters in Oakland, Calif. — 1:40 a.m. | Updated Police officers shot several rounds of tear gas into a crowd of hundreds of protesters from the group Occupy Oakland on Tuesday night, as the protesters tried to re-enter an area outside of City Hall that the police …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, New York Magazine, Associated Press, Towleroad News #gay, Hot Air, Washington Monthly, Big Government, Boing Boing, Weasel Zippers, Gawker, Verum Serum, Crooks and Liars and Hullabaloo

insideBayArea:
Live Blog: Protesters return to area where police tear gased them

Discussion: L.A. NOW, The PJ Tatler and The Gateway Pundit

insideBayArea:
Ousted protesters marching back to Frank Ogawa Plaza

Discussion: Hot Air, Salon, Oakland North, Firedoglake, Verum Serum and Campaign 2012

Wall Street Journal:

Gupta to Face Criminal Charges — For decades, Rajat K. Gupta was the face of business success, leading global consulting giant McKinsey & Co. and serving on the boards of several prestigious American companies, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. — Now, prosecutors say …

Discussion: naked capitalism, New York Magazine and The Page

DealBook:
U.S. Expected to Charge Executive Tied to Galleon Case

Discussion: moneywatch.bnet.com, msnbc.com, TalkLeft, Bloomberg and Business Insider

San Francisco Chronicle:

Obama White House on press access: a Nixonian quality — The Obama White House's restrictions on media access to its fundraising events makes a mockery of its claim to be the most transparent administration in history. — If anything, there is almost a Nixonian quality to the level of control …

Discussion: Don Surber, JammieWearingFool and Outside the Beltway

Erik Wasson / The Hill:
White House backs Republican measure repealing 3% tax rule

Discussion: The Politico

Richard Cohen / Washington Post:

Where are the anti-Semites of Occupy Wall Street? — Reckless Jew that I am, I muscled my way into the Occupy Wall Street encampment in Lower Manhattan despite multiple reports of virulent and conceivably lethal anti-Semitism. Projecting an unvarnished Semitism, I circled the place …

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications, CANNONFIRE, The Hill and Daily Kos

John Doyle / NY Daily News:
Three men wanted for threatening to kill a 24-year-old Occupy Wall Street protester

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, JammieWearingFool and Verum Serum

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Perry's nightmare: WaPo's Rubin — The WaPo blogger has described the Texan as 'sleepy," 'hostile," and 'dreadful.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Erick's blog and Riehl World View

Hollywood Reporter:

President Obama Holds Secret Meet-and-Greet With Hollywood Execs and Influencers (Exclusive) … Before he left Los Angeles for San Francisco on Tuesday, President Barack Obama stopped for an undisclosed meeting with some of the entertainment industry's high-level executives …

Discussion: Ballot Box and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Occupy Atlanta | Woodruff Park remains unoccupied — Woodruff Park remained unoccupied Wednesday morning. — The park remained quiet and empty the morning after Atlanta police arrested 53 Occupy Atlanta protesters after multiple warnings. — Organizers had urged protesters …

Financial Times:

Fears euro summit could miss final deal — By Peter Spiegel in Brussels, Gerrit Wiesmann in Berlin and Matt Steinglass in Amsterdam — Eurozone leaders were struggling on Tuesday to reach agreement on a much-anticipated deal to reverse their spiralling debt crisis amid mounting signals …

Discussion: americanthinker.com, AMERICAN FUTURE, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, Calculated Risk and Firedoglake