memeorandum: O'Malley Does an About-Face: Yes, We are Better Off (Jonathan Miller/NationalJournal.com)

11:00 AM ET, September 3, 2012

Top Items:

Frank Newport / Gallup:

GOP Convention, Romney Speech Evoke Lukewarm Reactions — Speech gets lowest ratings of any Gallup has measured since 1996 — PRINCETON, NJ — Last week's Republican National Convention had a minimal impact on Americans' self-reported voting intentions, with just about as many saying …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Ballot Box, Politico, Outside the Beltway, CNN, Business Insider and Daily Kos

Frank Newport / Gallup.Com:

No Signs of GOP Convention Bounce Yet — The two-week convention phase of this election is now at its midpoint. We won't know what the impact of the two conventions is until roughly Sept. 7-13, the full week after the Democratic convention closes in Charlotte.

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, USA Today, Zandar Versus The Stupid and The Reaction

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

No bounce for Romney in Florida — PPP's newest Florida poll, conducted completely after the Republican convention, finds no change in the Presidential race there. Barack Obama leads Mitt Romney 48-47, exactly as he did on our last poll of the state five weeks ago.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Naked Politics and Politico

Ryan Lizza / New Yorker:

LET'S BE FRIENDS … - SPORTS - PHOTO BOOTH - DAILY SHOUTS - PAGE-TURNER - DAILY COMMENT - AMY DAVIDSON - JOHN CASSIDY - ANDY BOROWITZ - RICHARD BRODY

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CANNONFIRE, Capital Tonight, The New Republic and The PJ Tatler

BuzzFeed:
Inside The Democrats' Convention Media Plan

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

Russell Berman / Ballot Box:
Obama turns to Bill Clinton, the old pro, to help win reelection

Discussion: Politico and Outside the Beltway

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Bill Clinton on Obama: ‘A Few Years Ago, This Guy Would Have Been Carrying Our Bags’

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, NewsBusters.org blogs and The Gateway Pundit

Leigh Ann Caldwell / CBS News:
Democratic aide: GOP thinks “lying is a virtue”

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, American Power and Riehl World News

Jonathan Miller / NationalJournal.com:

O'Malley Does an About-Face: Yes, We are Better Off — A day after saying, no, the country was not better off than it was four years ago, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley reversed course on Monday and said, yes, indeed it was. — “We are clearly better of as a country because we're …

Discussion: The Maddow Blog, Hot Air, americanthinker.com and Capital Tonight

Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:

Obama Team Readjusts On ‘Are You Better Off?’ — After either saying “no” or refusing to give a straight yes or no answer to Sunday show anchors when asked if Americans are better off today than they were four years ago, officials from Team Obama this morning changed their answers and enthusiastically offered a capital-Y “Yes.”

Discussion: Washington Wire, Althouse, Election 2012 and The Fix

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:
RNC to counter Dem convention with focus on Obama economy

Discussion: CNN

Kevin Bogardus / The Hill:

Labor tries to soften image with ‘hug a union thug’ booth in Charlotte — This Labor Day, unions are trying a mix of celebrity, social media and humor to polish up the labor movement's image in the eyes of everyday people. — In Charlotte, people will be asked to “hug a union thug” …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Jim Morrill / The Charlotte Observer:
New N.C. poll gives Romney small lead in presidential race

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and First Read

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
NC enters convention tied up

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, The Rightnewz and National Review

Kelly Poe / The Charlotte Observer:
Group says it found 30,000 dead North Carolinians registered to vote

Discussion: Riehl World News and The Gateway Pundit

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Rosie Ruiz Republicans — Remember Rosie Ruiz? In 1980 she was the first woman to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon — except it turned out that she hadn't actually run most of the race, that she sneaked onto the course around a mile from the end.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Maddow Blog, Balloon Juice, TBogg and Bark Bark Woof Woof

John Heilemann / New York Magazine:

Joe Biden Isn't Finished — The Paul Ryan selection shone a spotlight on the vice-president. He's ready for it—no matter what just came out of his mouth. — Jesus Christ! " Joe Biden barks, pitching forward in the captain's chair in his cabin aboard Air Force Two.

Michelle Malkin:

Monday is National Empty Chair Day; Updated with photos — What better way to commemorate the Labor Day holiday than to send a message to the AWOL campaign-in-chief — and support Clint Eastwood, to boot! — Twitchy has the story of the latest Eastwood-inspired social media phenomenon.

Discussion: Power Line, The Gateway Pundit, The Right Scoop and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Michael Patrick Leahy / BREITBART.COM:
‘EASTWOODING’ INSPIRES NATIONAL EMPTY CHAIR DAY ON MONDAY

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hot Air, Babalú Blog, UrbanGrounds and iOwnTheWorld.com

John Cusack / truth-out.org:

John Cusack Interviews Law Professor Jonathan Turley About Obama Administration's War On the Constitution — I wrote this a while back after Romney got the nom. In light of the blizzard of bulls**t coming at us in the next few months I thought I would put it out now.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs

Mickey Kaus / The Daily Caller:

Credulous fact-checkers fall for 20% scam … “To anyone who spends any amount of time dog-paddling through the scum-slicked waters of our political culture, I'd suggest that if you don't become a committed cynic, then you're just not paying close enough attention.” Updated: Aug. 21, 2012 more

New York Times:

In the Los Angeles Area, Bans Are Hot — LOS ANGELES — “Whatever it is, I'm against it!” Groucho Marx sang in a 1932 picture filmed on the Paramount lot here. — Today's Southern Californians seem to agree. — Once known for its sunny, freewheeling disposition …

Chris / Chris Lynch's IPTV Blog:

RNC Viewership Down vs. 2008? — It is interesting to note two conflicting reports - Mitt Romney's acceptance speech according to some reports was down by 8.6 million viewers in comparison to the acceptance speech by John McCain four years earlier. Yet there are many reports …

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Mike Lillis / The Hill:

Dem platform calls for gun reforms, but advocates pan language as timid — The Democrats' approach to gun reform is far too timid and needs a boost of courage to be effective, some leading gun-reformers are charging. — The draft language of the Democrats' 2012 platform …

Cheryl Wetzstein / Washington Times:

Rev. Moon, Times founder, dies at 92 — The Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, the leader of the Unification Church and founder of The Washington Times, died early Monday morning in South Korea. He was 92. — He passed away just before 2 a.m. local time (12:54 p.m. EDT Sunday) …

Discussion: Online NewsHour, Mediaite and Crooks and Liars, more at Mediagazer »