memeorandum: Rahm Emanuel: Weak Romney speech put focus on Eastwood (Elise Viebeck/Ballot Box)

2:30 PM ET, September 2, 2012

Top Items:

Susan Page / USA Today:

Obama, a ‘huge’ Clint Eastwood fan, not offended by skit — DES MOINES - President Obama wants to make it clear that, in his own words, “I am a huge Clint Eastwood fan.” — “He is a great actor, and an even better director,” the president said in an interview with USA TODAY aboard Air Force One …

Discussion: The Hill, The Moderate Voice, The Rightnewz and Jammie Wearing Fools

Reid J. Epstein / Politico:

5 landmines for Democrats in Charlotte — The Republican National Convention in Tampa brought fresh reminders that even carefully choreographed political events don't always go according to plan. — Hurricane Isaac threatened to cancel the whole affair, Ron Paul supporters stirred up trouble …

Discussion: CNN, Weasel Zippers, Althouse and The Hill

Edward Klein / New York Post:

How Clinton plans to upstage Obama at the DNC — Not since the feud between Ted Kennedy and Jimmy Carter tore the Democratic Party apart more than 30 years ago have two panjandrums of the party loathed each other quite as much as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

Discussion: Vodkapundit

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:

White House adviser Plouffe: Romney campaign ‘built on a tripod of lies’ — White House senior adviser David Plouffe on Sunday said Mitt Romney's presidential campaign is “built on a tripod of lies.” — “I don't think we've ever seen a presidential campaign, ever, that's built on a foundation of lies,” he said on ABC's “This Week.”

Discussion: Politico and Riehl World News

Devin Dwyer / ABCNEWS:

Iowans' Message to Obama: ‘We Did Build This’ — SIOUX CITY, Iowa — President Obama received a less than warm welcome and a warning upon arrival at the airport here on the second stop of his Iowa visit, which was aimed at recapturing some of the magic the state gave his run to the White House in 2008.

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative, The Gateway Pundit, The Rightnewz, Nice Deb and Washington Times

Elise Viebeck / The Hill:
Obama: GOP agenda outdated, like watching ‘black-and-white TV’

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Politico, The Gateway Pundit and Examiner

Alina Selyukh / Reuters:
Romney's bounce from convention looks short-lived: Reuters/Ipsos poll

Discussion: Hot Air, Ballot Box, Outside the Beltway, Conservatives4Palin, The Moderate Voice, FiveThirtyEight, The Political Carnival and The Hinterland Gazette

Olivier Knox / Yahoo! News:
Obama: GOP ideas better ‘for the last century’

Discussion: americanthinker.com and PoliPundit.com

Dave Levinthal / Politico:

Axelrod: America in a ‘better position’ today than four years ago — Are Americans better off today than they were four years ago? — That's the question Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace immediately posed to President Barack Obama's Senior Adviser David Axelrod, who didn't quite answer directly.

Discussion: CNN, The Lonely Conservative, americanthinker.com and Datechguy's Blog

Dave Levinthal / Politico:

Dems continue to dodge 4-years-ago question — The question Democrats didn't want to answer head-on Sunday: Are Americans better off today than they were four years ago? — Asked the same question repeatedly host George Stephanopoulos on ABC's “This Week,” President Barack Obama's senior …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Swampland

BuzzFeed:
O'Malley: We Are Not Better Off Than We Were Four Years Ago

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Babalú Blog

Mike Allen / Politico:

HOW BARACK MOBILIZED BILL — HuffPost: Obama now a ‘creature of Washington’ — Romney down for debate prep during Dem. convention — Tom Manatos, James Rosen, Don Gonyea b'days — FIRST LOOK - RYAN LIZZA in The New Yorker, “The Political Scene: LET'S BE FRIENDS - Two Presidents find a mutual advantage” …

New York Post: Look who parks their cash at Bain

New York Times:
Inquiry on Tax Strategy Adds to Scrutiny of Finance Firms

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Crooks and Liars, New York Magazine, The Raw Story, Prairie Weather, Gothamist and The Hinterland Gazette

Elise Viebeck / Ballot Box:

Rahm Emanuel: Weak Romney speech put focus on Eastwood — Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) said Mitt Romney's convention speech was “devoid and vacuous” and allowed for Clint Eastwood's appearance to claim the spotlight. — President Obama's former chief of staff said Sunday on “Meet the Press” …

Discussion: Associated Press

CNN:
Romney camp: We talked war before convention

Discussion: Politico

BuzzFeed:

Orange Bowling On The Romney/Ryan Planes — A scene familiar to West Wing fans played out in real life on the Romney campaign's planes Saturday. — On Romney's plane, Saturday's orange asked a question about debate prep … Via: instagram.com — A transcript

Discussion: Pat Dollard and CNN

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

Obama did not change Washington. For each side, it's clear who's to blame. — View Photo Gallery — Obama on the campaign trail: Washington Post photographer Nikki Kahn has been following President Obama on the campaign trail. Here are some of the images she has captured.

Discussion: The Reaction and Right Wing News

Alexander Burns / Politico:

Huckabee whacks Rove, citing Giffords — The former Arkansas governor, who has been Todd Akin's highest-profile defender, dives into the Karl Rove murder joke controversy with a message arguing that either Akin should receive the same leniency for his awful verbal miscue as Rove, or Rove should be ostracized the same way as Akin:

Discussion: CNN and Mike Huckabee

Jo Becker / New York Times:

The Other Power in the West Wing — WASHINGTON — President Obama was in a bind, and his chief of staff could not figure out how he had ended up there. — Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church were up in arms last fall over a proposal to require employers to provide health insurance that covered birth control.

Discussion: Althouse

Ryan Grim / The Huffington Post:

Barack Obama Promised A New Kind Of Politics, But Played The Same Old Game … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Barack Obama , GOP, Barack Obama 2012 , Barack Obama 2012 , Republican Party, Video, Obama Politics, Obama Boehner, Obama Congress, Obama John Boehner, Politics News

Discussion: Riehl World News and NewsBusters.org blogs

Cincinnati.com:

Romney courts local Republicans at Union Terminal … Mitt Romney, Republican Presidential Nominee: Victory Rally at Union Terminal in Cincinnati, Ohio — Purchase Image — Republican candidate Mitt Romney addressed the crowd at Union Terminai. / The Enquirer/Jeff Swinger

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Zandar Versus The Stupid and Talking Points Memo