memeorandum: Debt to hit $16 trillion as DNC kicks off (Mike Zapler/Politico)

12:15 PM ET, September 4, 2012

Top Items:

Sheldon Alberts / The Hill:

Hill Poll: Voters say second term undeserved, country is worse off — A majority of voters believe the country is worse off today than it was four years ago and that President Obama does not deserve reelection, according to a new poll for The Hill. — Fifty-two percent of likely voters …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, GOP 12, Riehl World News, Weasel Zippers, Pirate's Cove, Outside the Beltway, americanthinker.com, Datechguy's Blog, The Rightnewz, UrbanGrounds, Grim's Hall, Politico, The Other McCain and Jammie Wearing Fools

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:

Democrats Say U.S. Is Better Off Than Four Years Ago — CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A day after fumbling a predictable and straightforward question posed by Mitt Romney last week — are Americans better off than they were four years ago — the Obama campaign provided a response on Monday …

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, CBS News, The Hill, USA Today, News Desk, Washington Post, Obama Isn't Working and The Caucus

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:

President says Romney camp running against ‘fictional’ Obama — President Obama accused Republicans of distorting his record, claiming that Mitt Romney was running against a “fictional Barack Obama.” — Republicans “have spent a lot of time creating a fictional Barack Obama who is supposedly taking …

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, CNN and neo-neocon

CEPR:

“Are Americans Better Off Today Than They Were Four Years Ago?” The Question That Exposes Incompetent Reporters — While the source is not clear, someone developed a simple way to identify incompetent news reporters. If you hear a reporter ask people in President Obama's administration …

Discussion: Paul Krugman, Associated Press, protein wisdom, Hullabaloo, The Confluence, National Review, Daily Kos, Hot Air and Crooks and Liars

Charlie Cook / NationalJournal.com:
Obama's Enthusiasm Deficit Could Soon Haunt Him

Discussion: Questions and Observations, americanthinker.com, Connecting.the.Dots, Power Line and Hot Air, more at Mediagazer »

Susan Page / USA Today:
Interview: Obama says GOP drawing ‘a fictional Barack Obama’

Discussion: CNN, Online NewsHour and Associated Press

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:

'64 or Bust — In a Bloomberg column, Ramesh Ponnuru makes an argument for Mitt Romney's election that you are going to hear a lot more of soon: it's the only way that partisan gridlock in Washington can be broken. The basic theory is that Republicans will not change from their current …

Discussion: ECHIDNE of the snakes

Ramesh Ponnuru / Bloomberg:

If You Think Obama's First Term Was Bad, Imagine a Second — Ben Feller of the Associated Press asked President Barack Obama a good question recently. If Obama wins re-election, Feller said, Republicans are still likely to have a majority in the House. “How is that any different from what we have now?

Discussion: National Review

Dylan Byers / Politico:
Reporters: We loathe 2012 campaign

Discussion: American Prospect, Mother Jones, Poynter, Mediaite, Balloon Juice and Jammie Wearing Fools, more at Mediagazer »

Boston Herald:

Indian delegates seek sit-down with Elizabeth Warren — Tribal activist:'Shame on her' — CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Elizabeth Warren can't escape her Cherokee heritage controversy even at this gathering of loyal Democrats, as a contingent of skeptical American Indian delegates …

Discussion: The Other McCain, The Gateway Pundit, Althouse and Jammie Wearing Fools

David Catanese / Politico:
Elizabeth Warren DNC speech: Charlotte star, Massachusetts underdog

Discussion: Power Line

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion: Video: Unaccountable - Elizabeth Warren and the Cherokee

Tim Mak / Politico:

Paul Ryan: Obama didn't close the plant — Rep. Paul Ryan said Tuesday that he wasn't suggesting that President Barack Obama was responsible for the closure of an auto plant in Janesville, Wis., during his convention speech last week. — “What they are trying to suggest is that I said Barack Obama …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Daily Kos

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Paul Ryan: Janesville story was about 'Obama's broken promises'

Discussion: CNN

Stephen C. Webster / The Raw Story:
Chuck Norris threatens ‘1,000 years of darkness’ if Obama wins

Discussion: Gawker, The Moderate Voice, The Impolitic, Booman Tribune, Mediaite, The Hinterland Gazette and Little Green Footballs

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

Madeleine Albright: 'I Can't Understand Why Any Woman Would Want To Vote For Mitt Romney' … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Ann Romney, DNC Convention, Madeleine Albright, RNC Convention, Romney Campaign, Secretary Albright, Women's Voices, Albright, Mitt Romney 2012, Romney Gender Gap …

Discussion: Mediaite, Althouse, GOP 12, neo-neocon, Truthdig, Washington Examiner and National Review

Kenneth P. Vogel / Politico:

Source: Mitt camp claims $100M Aug. — Mitt Romney raised $100 million in August, his campaign told bundlers last week in Tampa. — Romney campaign finance director Spencer Zwick revealed the tally during an event with top fundraisers on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention, according to a source who was present.

Discussion: Questions and Observations, First Read and Outside the Beltway

Jamie Weinstein / The Daily Caller: Blast from the past: Dukakis to attack Romney's gubernatorial record at DNC

David Hill / Washington Times:

Bedbugs an increasing concern at DNC hotels — Charlotte seeing an uptick in pest reports — CHARLOTTE, N.C. — You think incumbent politicians are hard to get rid of? Try bedbugs. — The blood-sucking insects have made a resurgence in recent years, including reports of them at nine …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Moe Lane

John Fund / National Review:
The Crack Hotels of the DNC

Discussion: Babalú Blog and Ed Driscoll

Julie Pace / Associated Press:

First Lady's Focus Is Drawing Contrast With Romney — Michelle Obama rarely mentions Mitt Romney by name. But everything she says during this presidential campaign is meant to draw a contrast between her husband and his Republican challenger. — She implies that Romney …

Discussion: Politico and New York Times

Catalina Camia / USA Today:
Michelle Obama tops 5 things to watch at the DNC

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Heritage Foundation, Pirate's Cove, Taegan Goddard's … and The Hinterland Gazette

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:
Reporters scolded by Democratic garbage police

Discussion: Fausta's Blog

Michael Barone / Washington Examiner:
Jewish Democrats on the defensive

Discussion: Israel Matzav

KKTV-TV:

11 News Anchor Dianne Derby Interviews President Obama — 11 News Interview President Obama & Romney Sr. Campaign Advisor — It's President Obama's second trip to Colorado within a week and I had a chance to ask him a few questions before he took the stage at CU-Boulder.

Discussion: The Rightnewz and The Hinterland Gazette

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Obama gives himself ‘incomplete’ grade on economic policy

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and Jammie Wearing Fools

Tim Mak / Politico:

Report: Hillary Clinton aide voting Romney — Top Clinton confidant Douglas Band has said that he will vote for Republican Mitt Romney, according to a report in The New Yorker, apparently a move to strengthen Hillary Clinton's position in the Democratic Party.

Discussion: Maggie's Notebook, Betsy's Page, The Daily Caller, National Review, No More Mister Nice Blog and Riehl World News

Politico:
November thaw for Clinton, Obama

Discussion: CNN

David Maraniss / Washington Post:
Obama finds key asset in Bill Clinton's support

Discussion: Washington Wire, ABCNEWS, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast, Taylor Marsh, BuzzFeed, ABCNEWS, New York Times, New York Magazine, Daily Kos and New Yorker

Daniel J. Mitchell / Townhall.com:

Johnny Depp Flees France Over Tax Hikes — I'm a bad person. I know it's not nice to take joy in the misery of others, but I can't help but smile when I see a story about bad news in France. — In my defense, this is not because of hostility to French people, who have always been friendly to me.

Discussion: Riehl World News

Mike Zapler / Politico:

Debt to hit $16 trillion as DNC kicks off — Bad timing for Democrats: The gross national debt is set to hit $16 trillion Tuesday as the party's convention gets underway, and Republicans are pouncing. — “This is a grim landmark for the United States,” Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) …

Donna Cassata / Associated Press:

Democratic platform focuses on fixing the economy — WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats unveiled a party platform at their national convention Monday that echoes President Barack Obama's call for higher taxes on wealthier Americans while backing same-sex marriage and abortion rights.

Discussion: Advocate