Top Items:

Like a Boss — When it comes to being a rich guy, Mitt Romney should own it — What do women want? The conventional biological wisdom is that men select mates for fertility, while women select for status — thus the commonness of younger women's pairing with well-established older men but the rarity of the converse.
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In Exclusive Interview, Paul Ryan Distances Self From Todd Akin — CARNEGIE (KDKA) — In Congressman Paul Ryan's first interview in Pennsylvania, Mitt Romney's vice presidential pick reacted strongly to Congressman Todd Akin's comment than women who are raped rarely get pregnant.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, New York Times, The Agonist, Ballot Box, Daily Kos, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, Firedoglake, Wake up America, ABCNEWS, The Raw Story, Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Maddow Blog, TODAY on the Trail, Taylor Marsh, Hullabaloo, New York Magazine, First Read, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, CNN, Towleroad News #gay, No More Mister Nice Blog, Little Green Footballs, rightwingwatch.org, Balloon Juice, The Caucus, The Moderate Voice, Gothamist and GOP 12

Just Think No — There's something trying about an unforgiving man suddenly in need of forgiveness. — Yet Todd Akin is right. He shouldn't have to get out of the United States Senate race in Missouri simply for saying what he believes. He reflects a severe stance on abortion …


Ryan's Record Of Abortion Opposition Consistent With Akin's
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Atlantic Online, Mother Jones and Daily Kos

Paul Ryan stands by his anti-abortion record while running away from it
Discussion:
First Read

Ryan Refuses To Say Abortions Should Be Available To Women Who Are Raped

Boxer: Akin is the symptom, but Ryan and Romney are the disease
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Washington Examiner, Weasel Zippers, Politico, Hot Air and The PJ Tatler

Dem Convention becomes anti-Akin affair
Discussion:
Power Line, Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler and Instapundit

Ryan says he is ‘proud of my pro-life record,’ defends bill sponsored with Akin
Discussion:
The Rightnewz

Ryan Refuses to Explain “Forcible” Rape as Dems Attempt More Akin-izing of the GOP Ticket
Discussion:
Daily Kos, The Hill, The Raw Story, The PJ Tatler and CNN

Legitimate political gang rape
Discussion:
Angry Black Lady Chronicles, Mother Jones, Mediaite, Wonkette and Washington Wire

Michael Steele: GOP plank not ‘mainstream’
Discussion:
CNN, NewsBusters.org, Mediaite and Guardian


First Thoughts: Not your ordinary August poll — This isn't your ordinary August poll; it looks more like October... The poll's three macro-conclusions: 1) Obama has the advantage heading into the conventions, 2) he's still below 50%, 3) Romney has work to do repairing his image …
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, Daily Kos, Politico, Outside the Beltway, The Maddow Blog, The Moderate Voice and The Huffington Post
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Romney says fact-checkers biased in criticism of campaign's welfare ads
Discussion:
CNN and Des Moines Register

Marco Rubio on how he learned he wasn't Romney's VP pick; kind words for Nelson, harsh ones for Akin — Republican Sen. Marco Rubio told a Forum Club of the Palm Beaches luncheon crowd today about the phone conversation he had with Mitt Romney the day before Romney announced Paul Ryan as his running mate.
Discussion:
The Hill, ABCNEWS and Washington Post
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Texas Judge Suggests He Will Join ‘Civil Unrest, Civil Disobedience, Civil War Maybe’ If Obama Is Reelected — Judge Tom Head, a county judge in Lubbock, Texas, announced on a local television station that he would personally join the resistance against a United Nations' takeover of American sovereignty …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, The Maddow Blog, Applesauce and nation.foxnews.com
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Texas Judge Warns Of ‘Civil War, Maybe’ If Obama Wins — Texas Judge Tom Head is worried about what might happen if President Obama wins reelection in November. There could be riots, unrest or a “civil war, maybe,” he told a local television station this week.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Balloon Juice, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Stinque, Wonkette and Booman Tribune


Sheriff candidate says he wouldn't reject deadly force to stop abortions — Candidate says he believes elective, late-term abortions aren't lawful — Candidate's abortion comments draw criticism — A Republican candidate for Hillsborough County Sheriff said Wednesday …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, CBS Boston and The Raw Story
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Video: Obama Says He's “Pro-Choice” on Third-Trimester Abortions
Discussion:
LifeNews.com, The Gateway Pundit and BuzzFeed

The Tax Returns are Hurting Romney, Badly — I didn't mention this in my previous post, but in addition to the aforementioned questions, NBC News and the Wall Street Journal asked respondents about the recent controversies over Bain Capital and Mitt Romney's tax returns to gage whether they affected support for the Republican nominee.
Discussion:
The Maddow Blog, Politico and Mother Jones
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Rick Santorum: Here Are the Reasons That Romney Might Lose — The former senator is heading to Tampa to speak on behalf of his former rival. He tells Howard Kurtz what Romney must avoid if he is to beat Obama. — Rick Santorum has a simple formulation for how the 2012 election will turn out.
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, The Hill, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Hinterland Gazette

Team Romney calls out Obama for misspelling ‘Ohio’ at campaign stop — President Obama needed a do-over to spell “Ohio” correctly on the campus of Ohio State University this week. — Although Obama and several students at a campaign stop Tuesday morning at Sloopy's Diner on the campus …
Discussion:
The Ulsterman Report and Jammie Wearing Fools
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‘O-I-H-O’: Barack Obama's Dan Quayle moment
Discussion:
Riehl World News and Lawyers, Guns & Money

An Update to the Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022 — For fiscal year 2012 (which ends on September 30), the federal budget deficit will total $1.1 trillion, CBO estimates, marking the fourth year in a row with a deficit of more than $1 trillion.
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CBO warns of deep recession if Congress fails to avert ‘fiscal cliff’
Discussion:
CBO's Publications, Washington Times, MarketBeat, CNN, Wall Street Journal, Hot Air, Wake up America and Weekly Standard

Rick Warren cancels Obama-Romney forum at Saddleback Church — LAKE FOREST - Rick Warren, Saddleback Church's pastor, announced Wednesday that a civil forum planned with President Barack Obama and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney at the church has been canceled …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Religion Dispatches


Republican Party Changes Rules To Stop The Pauls — Avoiding “distractions” in Tampa. — Image by Czarek Sokolowski / AP — TAMPA, Florida — The Republican National Committee's Rules Committee voted to require written certification that a presidential candidate has a plurality …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Fix
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Could Hurricane Isaac derail the GOP convention? — It's deja vu all over again: Four years ago, Hurricane Gustav threatened Republican National Convention plans. This year, it's Hurricane Isaac. — The bad weather, still a tropical storm in the Atlantic, has convention planners …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Truthdig and Firedoglake
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Isaac lashing the Lesser Antilles; TD 10 forms
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, CNN, Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, Political Insider, Washington Post and Outside the Beltway


Zing! Romney on Obama: ‘Bless his heart’; Update: No, it's not racist … Oh, yes, he did. He dropped the most awesome insult ever. … Swoon! Romney's point is, of course, correct and needs repeating. But the “bless his heart” is getting more play as of now; it was the delicious final touch on the pro-freedom message.
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Lonely Conservative, The Other McCain and Pirate's Cove

Economists Risk Labeling as Political Hacks — By Laurence Kotlikoff 2012-08-21T22:30:48Z — Some 500 of my colleagues in economics, almost all academics, have signed a statement applauding former Governor Mitt Romney's economic plan and condemning President Barack Obama's handling of the economy.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money and Eschaton


A Nation Adrift From the Rule of Law — We are losing sight of the basic principles that made us great in the 20th century. — No one doubts that the coming election will be the most important referendum on the size and nature of government in a generation.
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy and ProfessorBainbridge.com