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, The Agonist, Ballot Box, New York Times, Firedoglake, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, The Raw Story, Wake up America, Booman Tribune, Daily Kos, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Taylor Marsh, TODAY on the Trail, The Maddow Blog, Hullabaloo, New York Magazine, First Read, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Little Green Footballs, CNN, No More Mister Nice Blog, Towleroad News #gay, rightwingwatch.org, Balloon Juice, The Caucus, The Moderate Voice, Gothamist and GOP 12

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:
ABCNEWS, Reuters, New York Magazine, The Hill, Washington Post and Philly.com

MISSOURI: THE ‘SHOW ME ANOTHER G.O.P. CANDIDATE’ STATE — Relying on Todd Akin's sense of decency has not worked. Within hours of his idiotic comments about “legitimate rape,” Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS pulled out millions of dollars in funding for the Missouri Senate race. Akin didn't get the hint.
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller and Barack Obama

Paul Ryan stands by his anti-abortion record while running away from it — “It's very tough for people like me who are pro-choice Republicans. It's admittedly not a large caucus. But when I have to see a story like Todd Akin, and then turn to my wife and my daughters, who are looking at me and saying, 'Really?
Discussion:
First Read

Dem Convention becomes anti-Akin affair
Discussion:
Power Line, Ballot Box, ABCNEWS, The Lonely Conservative, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler and Instapundit


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

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

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

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

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

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

Illinois Republicans Discuss Akin, Party Response
Discussion:
The Hill, CNN, Wonkette, Mediaite, Politico, Daily Kos, The Huffington Post, Associated Press and The Raw Story


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, Mediaite, Balloon Juice, Stinque, Wonkette, Booman Tribune and Zandar Versus The Stupid


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 Guardian
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Obama leads big with Latinos, but enthusiasm still lags
Discussion:
Ballot Box, The Moderate Voice, The Buzz Florida Politics Feed, Business Insider and theGrio


GOP takes tough platform approach — Filled with strict stances, most conservative plan in party history to be unveiled — TAMPA, Fla. — Republicans next week will likely adopt what veteran platform writers said is the most conservative platform in their history after the drafting committee voted …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Campaign Stops, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and New York Times
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Republican Party Changes Rules To Stop The Pauls
Discussion:
The Fix and Alan Colmes' Liberaland


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:
CBS Boston, Talking Points Memo and The Raw Story
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Video: Obama Says He's ‘Pro-Choice’ on Third-Trimester Abortions
Discussion:
Doug Ross, 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
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

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


Steve King: Multicultural Groups Are ‘People That Feel Sorry For Themselves’ — At a recent town hall, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) explained his concern over discovering that Iowa State University has multicultural groups. King characterized minority students as people “who feel sorry for themselves …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, Angry Black Lady Chronicles and The Political Carnival


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

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.

Romney says fact-checkers biased in criticism of campaign's welfare ads — Mitt Romney said Wednesday that the fact-checkers who have criticized his recent attacks on President Obama's welfare changes were examining the issue “in the way they think is most consistent with their own views” …
Discussion:
CNN and Des Moines Register


GOP Announces Convention Theme “We Built This” In Stadium Built With 62% Government Funds — Apparently rejecting a more controversial “You Didn't Really Get Raped, Pregnant Lady” theme for its 2012 convention, the GOP has announced that its Tuesday night session will be themed “We Built This!”
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Atlantic Wire, Fox News, Mediaite, Wonkette, The Raw Story, Lynn Sweet, Gawker and Pirate's Cove

John Edwards Stiffed, Not Invited to Dem. Convention — When asked whether John Edwards has been invited to next month's Democratic National Committee's convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, a Democratic convention official had only one word for THE WEEKLY STANDARD: “No.”
Discussion:
The Daily Caller