memeorandum: The Elevator Speech — Why did God put Barack Obama on this earth? (David Brooks/New York Times)

6:15 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 …

CNN:

CNN Poll: Did Romney get a convention bounce? — Charlotte, North Carolina (CNN) - It's the question everyone's asking: Did Mitt Romney get a bounce out of last week's Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida? — According to a new national poll released Tuesday …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Taegan Goddard's …, JOSHUAPUNDIT, The Fix and Election 2012

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Sept. 3: Par or Bogey?

Discussion: Latino Decisions, Booman Tribune, GOP 12 and Hullabaloo

CNN:
Florida Republicans hammer Crist for switch

Discussion: The Rightnewz, Weasel Zippers and Politico

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: The Daily Beast and Mother Jones

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: Hullabaloo and ECHIDNE of the snakes

Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:
Republicans Scoff At White House Theory That Obama Victory Will Break GOP ‘Fever’

Discussion: Balloon Juice, PERRspectives and Grist

Josh Ong / The Next Web:

Here's how to check if your Apple device UDID has been compromised by the AntiSec leak — If you're worried that you might own one of the 1 million Apple devices that have had their UDIDs leaked by AntiSec, reportedly from a breach of an FBI agent's laptop, our rockstar tech team has put together a tool to help you check.

Discussion: Wired, Gizmodo, VentureBeat and Marco.org

Gizmodo:
AntiSec Leaks 1 Million Apple Device IDs Obtained During FBI Breach (Updated)

Discussion: The Stranger …, The Next Web, The Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, Gawker, Wired, Newsy, Mashable!, TechCrunch, MOTHERBOARD and emptywheel

cortesi:
The UDID leak is a privacy catastrophe

Discussion: GigaOM and TechCrunch

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:

Debbie Wasserman Schultz: Israeli ambassador called GOP “dangerous for Israel” … CHARLOTTE - Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz claimed on Monday that Israel's ambassador to the United States has accused Republicans of being “dangerous” to Israel by criticizing President Obama's record.

Discussion: Commentary Magazine, Power Line, Israel Matzav, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, AEIdeas, Mediaite and The Right Scoop

Adele Hampton / Ballot Box:
Obama campaign continues to harp on Mitt Romney's taxes in new ad

Discussion: Politico

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Madeleine Albright: 'I Can't Understand Why Any Woman Would Want To Vote For Mitt Romney'

Discussion: American Thinker, Althouse, Mediaite, Israel Matzav, The Gateway Pundit, neo-neocon, Truthdig, Washington Examiner and National Review

Business Week:

Exclusive: How Karl Rove's Super PAC Plays the Senate — On Thursday, Aug. 30, the final day of the Republican National Convention, Karl Rove gave a breakfast briefing to a group of about 70 of the Republican Party's most influential donors. As Bloomberg Businessweek reported …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, BuzzFeed, Daily Kos, The Hinterland Gazette, Gawker and The Hill

Nicole Belle / Crooks and Liars:
Haley Barbour: 'I Would Love For Christie To Put A Hot Poker To Obama's Butt'

Discussion: Yall Politics

David Brody / The Brody File:

Exclusive: Democrats Drop ‘God’ From Party Platform — Guess what? God's name has been removed from the Democratic National Committee platform. — This is the paragraph that was in the 2008 platform: — “We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values, and interests of working people …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit, LifeNews.com and The Daily Caller

John Fund / National Review:

The Crack Hotels of the DNC … I can't speak for the delegates or ther foreign dignitaries, but many of the journalists I have spoken with here are appalled at the accommodations in Charlotte to which they were assigned by the DNC. National Review was assigned to two Knights Inn properties.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Belmont Club, Babalú Blog, Fausta's Blog, The Daily Caller, Wonkette and Ed Driscoll

David Hill / Washington Times:
Bedbugs an increasing concern at DNC hotels

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Election 2012 and Moe Lane

Washington Free Beacon:

Pro-Israel Language Removed From Democratic Party Platform — Several pro-Israel sections of the 2008 Democratic Party platform have been removed from the 2012 platform—on Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, and Hamas. The new platform represents another shift by the Obama Democrats toward …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, CNSNews, Politico, protein wisdom, Weekly Standard, Hot Air, Atlas Shrugs, Guardian and Washington Examiner

Jeff Dunetz / “The Lid”:
Democrats Strip Pro-Israel Language From Platform

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, RJC, Weekly Standard, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Israel Matzav, The Gateway Pundit and Weasel Zippers

Daily Mail:

Democrats set to move Obama's big speech from 74,000-seater outdoor stadium to 20,000-seater indoor arena — Democrats are poised to avoid the danger of President Barack Obama accepting his party's nomination before a partially-empty stadium by shifting his speech to an indoor arena and citing ‘severe weather’.

Discussion: CNN, Riehl World News, Weasel Zippers, The Rightnewz, Freedom's Lighthouse, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Conservatives4Palin, Jammie Wearing Fools and Vodkapundit

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Why the Obama campaign is cautiously confident in victory — The Romney campaign makes a strong case that he may well prevail in November. As Mark Halperin summarized: “Team Romney remains convinced that voters crave a more concrete form of hope and change, and that the anemic economy …

Discussion: Booman Tribune and Balloon Juice

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: The Atlantic Online, The Hill, FiveThirtyEight, The New Republic, CBS News, Hot Air, Swampland, News Desk, The Hill, USA Today, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Obama Isn't Working, Washington Post and The Caucus

Zack Beauchamp / ThinkProgress:
Are We Better Off? 10 Headlines From September 2008

Discussion: The Political Carnival and Fox News Insider

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: Michelle Malkin, The Gateway Pundit, The Other McCain, iOwnTheWorld.com, Althouse and Jammie Wearing Fools

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

Discussion: Boston Herald, Politico, Riehl World News and protein wisdom

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: New York Magazine, The Hill, Truthdig, Daily Kos, The Hinterland Gazette, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNN and The Stranger …

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Obama will watch first lady's Charlotte speech from the White House

Discussion: Politico and CNN

Ben Pershing / Washington Post:

Virgil Goode makes presidential ballot in Virginia — Former congressman Virgil Goode Jr. has qualified for the presidential ballot in Virginia, the State Board of Elections ruled Tuesday morning, adding a potential obstacle to Republican Mitt Romney's hopes of winning the pivotal state.

Discussion: Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, First Read, Taylor Marsh and Election 2012

Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:

GOP Senate Candidate Supports Life Sentences For Rape Victims Who Obtain Abortions — Rep. Rick Berg (R-ND), the candidate for Senate from North Dakota, once voted for a bill that would have made any woman who obtained an abortion guilty of a homicide crime — even if it were in the case of rape or incest.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Wonkette, Little Green Footballs and Mock, Paper, Scissors

Zeke Miller / BuzzFeed:
North Dakota Senate Candidate Voted To Make Abortion In Case Of Rape, Incest Carry Life Sentence

Discussion: Washington Monthly

David Brooks / New York Times:

The Elevator Speech — Why did God put Barack Obama on this earth? If you had asked that question between his 2004 convention address and his 2008 campaign, the answer could have been summarized in a short elevator speech. — Obama was here to heal our politics, to move us beyond …

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Mother Jones, Taking Note, Grist, Washington Wire, BillMoyers.com and Connecting.the.Dots

Major Garrett / NationalJournal.com:

Obama's Invisible Second-Term Agenda — Obama walks down the steps of Air Force One during his arrival on Saturday in Aurora, Colo. — Democrats are incredulous that Mitt Romney didn't mention U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan during his nomination acceptance speech.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Hot Air and National Review

Bruce Golding / New York Post:

Naked gal gets deal on a suit: 15G for Times Sq. bust — NOW BUY SOME CLOTHES! Zoe West, busted for stripping down during a body-painting exhibition in Times Square last year has won a settlement in her false-arrest lawsuit. — A nude model busted for dropping her drawers during …

Discussion: Runnin' Scared, New York Magazine and The Jawa Report

Hunter Walker / Politicker:

Pro-Romney Super PAC Launches Anti-Gay Marriage Ad to Snag Southern Swing State Votes — A still from the “New Morning” ad. (Photo: YouTube) — GASTONIA, NC — A super PAC with ties to evangelist leader Gary Bauer is trying frighten would-be Obama supporters in at least one Southern swing state …