memeorandum: Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan Speeches Make Me Miss George Bush (Chris Maddaloni/Rolling Stone)

11:20 AM ET, September 2, 2012

Top Items:

Alina Selyukh / Reuters:

Romney's bounce from convention looks short-lived: Reuters/Ipsos poll — (Reuters) - A modest bump in popularity for U.S. presidential hopeful Mitt Romney from this week's Republican Party convention looks to be short-lived, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

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

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 Rightnewz and Jammie Wearing Fools

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 Gateway Pundit, The Rightnewz and Nice Deb

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Obama: GOP agenda outdated, like watching ‘black-and-white TV’

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

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

Discussion: americanthinker.com and PoliPundit.com

Amie Parnes / Ballot Box:
Obama campaign says it will fill stadium for convention's finale

Discussion: Pat Dollard, The Lonely Conservative and Weasel Zippers

Elise Viebeck / The Hill:
Team Obama downplays expectations, predicts ‘close’ race after Charlotte

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Red Alert Politics and Weasel Zippers

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 — Democrats convened in Charlotte, NC, will double down on their claim that Bain Capital is really the Bain crime family. They will accuse Republican nominee Mitt Romney and Bain's other “greedy” co-founders of stealing their winnings …

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

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Crooks and Liars, Prairie Weather and The Hinterland Gazette

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

New York Times:
For Mitt Romney, Ohio Remains a Vital Hurdle

Discussion: Booman Tribune

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: Datechguy's Blog and americanthinker.com

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

Maggie Haberman / Politico:
Orangeball with Ryan — My colleague MJ Lee:

Discussion: New York Magazine

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: NewsBusters.org blogs

Nicholas Eberstadt / Wall Street Journal:

American Character Is at Stake — The American republic has endured for well over two centuries, but over the past 50 years, the apparatus of American governance has undergone a radical transformation. In some basic respects—its scale, its preoccupations, even many of its purposes …

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: Right Wing News

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:

Rains wash away Mount Obama in Charlotte, N.C. — CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A torrential downpour that struck Charlotte Saturday afternoon damaged the Mount Rushmore-style sand sculpture bust of President Obama — an ominous beginning to what many fear is a plagued convention.