memeorandum: Newt Gingrich Defends “Friend” Herman Cain (Chris Usher/ABCNEWS)

5:45 PM ET, November 2, 2011

Top Items:

Jerry Bohnen / www.ktok.com:

Oklahoma Consultant Claims He Witnessed Cain Harassment — Predicts end of Cain Presidential campaign if woman is allowed to talk publicly.

Discussion: Business Insider, GOP 12, American Spectator, Little Green Footballs, The Gateway Pundit, The Lonely Conservative, Taegan Goddard's …, The Political Carnival, Instapundit, The Other McCain, The Caucus, The New Republic, National Review, The PJ Tatler and nation.foxnews.com

Richard Miniter / National Security:

Cain Says Perry Camp Behind Sex Harassment Leak — Was the recent attack on Herman Cain's presidential campaign a professional hit job? Absolutely, says Herman Cain. And he says he knows just where to look for the guy who did it: At 815 Slaters Lane in Alexandria, Virginia …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Hot Air, The Caucus, The PJ Tatler, Patterico's Pontifications, Guardian, National Review, nation.foxnews.com, Riehl World View and The Page

Associated Press:

AP Exclusive: Third worker says harassed by Cain — WASHINGTON (AP) — A third former employee says she considered filing a workplace complaint over what she considered aggressive and unwanted behavior by Herman Cain when she worked for the presidential candidate in the 1990s.

Discussion: The Page, Mediaite, Little Green Footballs, The Gateway Pundit, Freedom's Lighthouse and Associated Press

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Attorney says Cain violated deal, allowing accuser to speak — The lawyer for one of the women who accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment said his client may get a chance to speak publicly about the allegations because the GOP presidential candidate violated the confidentiality agreement between the two.

Discussion: CNN, Don Surber, National Review, Shot in the Dark, Firedoglake and The PJ Tatler

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

Cain's noxious racial politics — Herman Cain risks losing his charm. His initial appeal was as an optimistic, business-oriented outsider. He ridiculed those African Americans who were herded into the Democratic Party by naked racial politics. But now he sounds like Barack Obama's …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, newsfeed.time.com, Prairie Weather, nation.foxnews.com and Mediaite

Rasmussen Reports:

South Carolina: Cain 33% Romney 23% Gingrich 15% — In South Carolina, businessman Herman Cain leads the GOP field with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney ten points behind. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is the only other candidate in double digits.

Discussion: Hot Air, Ballot Box, Campaign 2012, Washington Wire and National Review

Evan McMorris-Santoro / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPM2012 — Herman Cain: I Can't Prove It, But These Allegations Are Racist (VIDEO) — Herman Cain is pretty sure that the attacks on him coming this week are racist. But he can't prove it. — It's just a sense he has. And it's a growing theme from his friends.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, The Atlantic Online and THEROOT.COM

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:

Uh oh: Witness found to Cain incidents? — So far, neither of the two alleged complainants from Herman Cain's tenure at the National Restaurant Association have come forward publicly, although it appears at least one would like NRA to release her from her confidentiality agreement to do so.

Discussion: RedState, Outside the Beltway, American Spectator and GOP 12

Erick Erickson / RedState:

Regarding Herman Cain: It's Not Racism. It's Opposition Research. — “Herman Cain had ten days to get in gear and prepare a response. He did not do it. Regardless of the facts or merit of the case, that's a problem.” — I have had fun with it too. I think it is hilarious that the same …

Discussion: The Right Scoop

New York Times:

Cain Accuser Got a Year's Salary in Severance Pay — WASHINGTON — The National Restaurant Association gave $35,000 — a year's salary — in severance pay to a female staff member in the late 1990s after an encounter with Herman Cain, its chief executive at the time, made her uncomfortable working there …

Chris Usher / ABCNEWS:
Newt Gingrich Defends “Friend” Herman Cain

Discussion: The Hill

Suzanne Garment / The Politico:
Cain reaction: Not by the book

Discussion: CNN and Althouse

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Cain Not Able — We have the starchy guy — tall, handsome …

Discussion: The Politico, 2012 Decoded, NewsBusters.org blogs, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice and Prairie Weather

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
Cain gets testy with reporters

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice and GOP 12

Opinionator: Is Herman Cain Finished?

Steven Shepard / NationalJournal.com:
Obama Gets a Bump in New Quinnipiac Poll

Discussion: CNN, RedState, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Hot Air, nation.foxnews.com and 2012 Decoded

Stephanie Condon / CBS News:
Herman Cain incorrectly suggests China doesn't have nuclear capability

Discussion: Firedoglake and Just An Earth-Bound Misfit, I

Joel Herrick / Shanghaiist:
GOP Presidential candidate Herman Cain unaware China has nukes

Discussion: Hot Air, Ace of Spades HQ, The Huffington Post, Online NewsHour, The Caucus, Business Insider, RedState, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, ThinkProgress, Wonkette and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Will Rahn / The Daily Caller:

NYC arrest records: Many Occupy Wall Street protesters live in luxury — Many “Occupy Wall Street” protesters arrested in New York City “occupy” more luxurious homes than their “99 percent” rhetoric might suggest, a Daily Caller investigation has found. — For each of the 984 Occupy Wall …

Discussion: Indecision Forever, The Jawa Report, Weasel Zippers, Wake up America, nation.foxnews.com, The Mahablog, No More Mister Nice Blog, JammieWearingFool, OWS Exposed, UrbanGrounds, Don Surber, Betsy's Page, americanthinker.com, Atlas Shrugs, Verum Serum, The Lonely Conservative and ThinkProgress

Joel B. Pollak / Big Government:

NYPD Officer: Crime, Sexual Assault at #OccupyWallStreet ‘More Widespread Than Even They Think’ — A member of the New York Police Department, who requested anonymity, has told Big Government that crime is even more prevalent at the Occupy Wall Street demonstration than has been reported.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, OWS Exposed and Verum Serum

Jonathan Lemire / NY Daily News:
Bloomberg strikes tougher tone on Occupy Wall Street

Discussion: New York Post, The Lonely Conservative and Weasel Zippers

Winston Churchill / Breitbart.tv:
‘RE-BRANDED’ ACORN PAYING HOMELESS ‘INSTIGATORS’ TO #OCCUPYWALLSTREET

Discussion: nation.foxnews.com, Big Government, OWS Exposed and Weasel Zippers

Kate Taylor / City Room:
Wall St. Protest Is Hurting Area's Families, Bloomberg Says

Discussion: Reuters, The Awl, Occupy Wall Street Library, Gothamist and OccupyWallSt News

Adam Serwer / Political Mojo:

Four Senior Citizens Plotted Killing Spree At A Waffle House — Four senior citizens walk into a Waffle House planning to go on a killing spree in order to “save the Constitution.” — That's not the beginning of a joke, it's the scenario outlined by the FBI in a criminal complaint filed …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Associated Press, Salon.com and Balloon Juice

FBI:
North Georgia Men Arrested, Charged in Plots to Purchase Explosives, Silencer and to Manufacture a Biological Toxin

Discussion: New York Times, The Atlantic Online, emptywheel, The Jawa Report, Campaign 2012, Sipsey Street Irregulars and Nation Now

Matt Gertz / Media Matters for America:
GA Terrorism Suspects Allegedly Wanted To Make Fox Expert's Blood-Soaked Novel A Reality

Discussion: Political Mojo, Sipsey Street Irregulars and The Raw Story

Russell Berman / The Hill:

‘Are you kidding me?’ Boehner says US not better off under Obama — It's safe to say Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) does not agree with President Obama's suggestion on Tuesday that Americans are better off now than they were when he took office. — “Are you kidding me?!”

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Politico, Washington Monthly, CNN and Weasel Zippers

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Obama: We're better off with my policies than four years ago

Discussion: RealClearPolitics Video Log, nation.foxnews.com, Michelle Malkin, Sister Toldjah, The Crawdad Hole, Nice Deb and The PJ Tatler

Sam Youngman / The Hill:

Obama rips Republicans for vote on ‘In God We Trust’ motto — Obama rips Republicans for House vote on ‘In God We Trust’ motto — “I trust in God, but God wants to see us help ourselves by putting people to work,” Obama says.... Related: Obama uses D.C. bridge as backdrop

Discussion: Washington Monthly and National Review

Kathleen Hennessey / Los Angeles Times:
House reaffirms ‘In God We Trust’ as official U.S. motto

Discussion: Hot Air and Outside the Beltway

Bruce Crumley / Global Spin:

Firebombed French Paper Is No Free Speech Martyr — A police officer stands in front of the headquarters of satiric French newspaper Charlie Hebdo, where a fire broke out overnight, November 2, 2011. (Photo: Thibault Camus / AP) — Okay, so can we finally stop with the idiotic, divisive …

Discussion: BBC, Business Insider, Harry's Place, American Spectator, Hit & Run, Feministe, Atlas Shrugs, Biased BBC and Pundit Press

New York Times:

Mr. Corzine's Big Bet — Why did Jon S. Corzine make the risky bets that have now plunged MF Global Holdings into bankruptcy court? We don't know, but the likely explanations are disturbing. — Over the past year, most investors have been fleeing the sovereign debt of Spain, Italy and other euro-zone basket cases.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Confluence, Dealbreaker and Pundit Press

Max Abelson / Bloomberg:
Corzine Steak Dinner Speech Gave No Hint of ‘Doom’

Discussion: DealBook, Cafe Hayek, Dealbreaker, Business Insider, Going Concern, New York Magazine and The PJ Tatler

Kevin Drum / Political Mojo:

A Conversation About Greece — Here's a cleaned-up version of a conversation I just had about Greece's sudden U-turn on the rescue deal negotiated just last week. Enjoy. — Are the Greeks crazy? — No, they're just at the end of their tether. Europe is asking them to adopt more austerity than they're willing to bear.

Discussion: Suburban Guerrilla, US Politics, Patterico's Pontifications and Marginal Revolution

Digby / Hullabaloo:
Greece — For those of us who find the Greece/Euro situation …

Discussion: Foreign Policy, Paul Krugman and AMERICAN FUTURE

Emma Hurd / Sky News:

Israel Considers Pre-Emptive Attack On Iran — Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu (L) is understood to be calling for military action against Iran — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to rally support in his cabinet for an attack on Iran, according to government sources.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Jeff Bercovici / Mixed Media:

The One Question You Should Never Ask Chris Matthews — Chris Matthews reading a passage from his new book about John F. Kennedy — Be it known: Chris Matthews does not use a ghostwriter. The “Hardball” host does all his own writing, and he resents the idea that anyone would ever think otherwise.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs and Weasel Zippers, more at Mediagazer »

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:

For immediate release — Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in September indicates that economic growth strengthened somewhat in the third quarter, reflecting in part a reversal of the temporary factors that had weighed on growth earlier in the year.