memeorandum: The GOP's absurd effort to drive wedge between Clinton and Obama (Jamelle Bouie/Washington Post)

3:00 PM ET, September 5, 2012

Top Items:

CNN:

TRENDING: First on CNN: DNC secretly scheduled guests: Actresses Johansson, Portman, Washington — Charlotte (CNN) - Clint Eastwood meet Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman and Kerry Washington. — The three actresses, firmly anchored in Hollywood's royalty, have been secretly scheduled …

Discussion: Reuters, Deadline.com, Politico, Riehl World News and Jammie Wearing Fools

Byron Tau / Politico:

Obama speech moved indoors — Democratic officials confirm to POLITICO that President Obama's prime time address will be moved indoors to the Time Warner Center. — The Thursday address was scheduled to be at Bank of America stadium — an outdoor venue with more than 70,000 seats.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Weekly Standard and Taylor Marsh

CNN:

BREAKING: Obama's speech to move indoors — Charlotte, North Carolina (CNN) - After days of bad weather, President Barack Obama's re-election campaign and Democratic National Convention organizers have decided to change the venue of the president's acceptance speech Thursday in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Monthly, Grist, Pirate's Cove, The Other McCain, Towleroad News #gay and The Caucus

Alex Pappas / The Daily Caller:

‘Best weather of the entire week’: Local meteorologist puzzled by Obama speech move — CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The chief meteorologist at a Charlotte television station is questioning the decision by Democrats to move President Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention to a smaller venue because of the weather.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Joe. My. God. and Washington Post

Stephanie Condon / CBS News:

Lightning threat forces Obama to change convention plans — (CBS News) CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Democrats are significantly downsizing the final night of their national convention, moving the events — including President Obama's acceptance speech — from Bank of America Stadium to the Time Warner Cable Arena …

Discussion: The Hill, Hot Air, New York Magazine, Washington Examiner, The Mental Recession and Washington Free Beacon

Kevin Robillard / Politico: DNC 2012: Obama's crowd downsized by 50K

Donovan Slack / Politico:
POTUS will do conference call with out-of-luck ticket-holders

Discussion: Michelle Malkin

CNN:
For Democrats, 2016 jockeying begins over breakfast

Discussion: Politico

Daily Mail:
Democrats WILL move Obama's big speech from 74,000-seater outdoor stadium to smaller indoor …

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative, Weasel Zippers and Washington Examiner

CNN:

CNN Fact Check: About those 4.5 million jobs ... San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro touted 4.5 million new jobs created during the Obama administration. Was he right? — (CNN) — Anyone watching the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night heard the number 4.5 million several times.

Discussion: Associated Press, Outside the Beltway, Wake up America, Politico, Riehl World News and Jammie Wearing Fools

Brooks Jackson / FactCheck.org:

Democratic Disinformation from Charlotte — CHARLOTTE, N.C. — We heard a number of dubious or misleading claims on the first night of the Democratic National Convention: — The keynote speaker and others claimed the Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, would raise taxes on the “middle class.”

Discussion: ThinkProgress, NPR, The Maddow Blog, Online NewsHour, The Daily Dish, USA Today, The Agonist, Obama Isn't Working and New Orleans Times-Picayune

Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:
The Truth Behind The GOP Claim That Obama Hasn't Created A Single Net Job

Discussion: The Mahablog, The Maddow Blog and Newsy

Investor's Business Daily:
Better Off? Let's Count the Ways We're Not

Discussion: Hot Air, AEIdeas, Connecting.the.Dots and ThinkProgress

ABCNEWS:

Transcript: Michelle Obama's Democratic Convention Speech — Below is the full transcript, as prepared for delivery, of First Lady Michelle Obama's speech to the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night. — Thank you so much, Elaine...we are so grateful for your family's service and sacrifice …

Mike Flynn / BREITBART.COM:
NOT 2008: BIG DROP IN VIEWERS FOR DAY ONE OF DEM CONVENTION

Discussion: Deadline.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and PoliPundit.com

Kevin Cirilli / Politico:

Bill Clinton's 8 digs at Obama — There's only one president who actually came from Hope. — Former President Bill Clinton — a native of Hope, Ark. — is expected to offer a rousing endorsement of President Barack Obama in his speech Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention.

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and Riehl World News

Jamelle Bouie / Washington Post:
The GOP's absurd effort to drive wedge between Clinton and Obama

Discussion: Election 2012, First Read, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Maddow Blog and Daily Kos

Paul West / Los Angeles Times:
Bill Clinton's convention appearance could influence two elections

Discussion: Salon, Online NewsHour and neo-neocon

Jay Cost / Weekly Standard:
Morning Jay: The Importance of Bill Clinton

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Betsy's Page and Washington Post

Amanda Terkel / The Huffington Post:
Bill Clinton Speech At Democratic Convention: GOP ‘Built’ National Debt

Discussion: thenation.com/blogs/163253, Sky Dancing, The BRAD BLOG, CANNONFIRE, Suburban Guerrilla and Crooks and Liars

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Sept. 4: The Simple Case for Why Obama Is the Favorite — I've been tiptoeing around this point, because I don't think that our forecast model ought to represent the totality of our analysis about the election. — But if you look at the right-hand column of this page …

Discussion: Prairie Weather, Guardian and The Daily Dish

Wall Street Journal:
Caddell and Schoen: A Campaign in Need of a Clintonian Pivot

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Daily Kos and Washington Monthly

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:

DWS attacks Examiner for ‘deliberately’ misquoting her, but here's the audio … CHARLOTTE - Earlier this evening, in an appearance on Fox News, Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz accused the Washington Examiner of “deliberately” misquoting her comments claiming …

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air, The Hill, Weekly Standard, Washington Free Beacon, The PJ Tatler, NewsBusters.org, Mediaite, Election 2012, The Lonely Conservative, American Spectator, Power Line, Israel Matzav, The Gateway Pundit, GayPatriot and JOSHUAPUNDIT

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Will Debbie Be Dumped?

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Nice Deb, GayPatriot and JOSHUAPUNDIT

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:

RNC Highlights: Romney Shares Top Billing With Eastwood — Fewer Watch Convention Coverage than in 2008 — OVERVIEW — The public paid far less attention to this year's Republican convention than it did to the GOP convention four years ago. Just 37% say they watched …

Discussion: Ross Douthat, The Fix, Deadline.com, Politico, Outside the Beltway, The Hill, Political Capital, GOP 12, Washington Examiner, Daily Kos and FiveThirtyEight

Bloomberg:

ECB Plan Said To Pledge Unlimited, Sterilized Bond-Buying — European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's bond-buying proposal involves unlimited purchases of government debt that will be sterilized to assuage concerns about printing money, two central bank officials briefed on the plan said.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Business Insider, Hit & Run, naked capitalism, Calculated Risk and FT Alphaville

Matthew Yglesias / Slate:
The European Central Bank's Ongoing Power Grab

Discussion: Business Insider and Firedoglake

Vanity Fair:

Barack Obama to Michael Lewis on a Presidential Loss of Freedom: “You Don't Get Used to It—At Least, I Don't” … “Don't be looking to the sidelines all sheepish,” Barack Obama yells at Vanity Fair contributing editor Michael Lewis in “Obama's Way,” in October's V.F. “You got to get back and play D!”

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Felix Salmon, Weasel Zippers, Business Insider, USA Today and ABCNEWS

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

S.C. Dem. Chair Compares GOP Gov. to Hitler's Mistress — South Carolina Democratic chairman Dick Harpootlian compared his state's Republican female governor, Nikki Haley, to Hitler's mistress, Eva Braun this morning at a breakfast in Charlotte, North Carolina. — South Carolina's the State reports:

Discussion: Politico, The PJ Tatler, Moe Lane, Weasel Zippers, Washington Free Beacon, The Right Sphere, Sister Toldjah, Election 2012 and Wichita Eagle

Eric Ostermeier / Smart Politics:

Michelle Obama's DNC Speech Written at 7 Grade Levels Above Ann Romney's — The First Lady's speech Tuesday was written at a 12th grade level - the highest in history among the wives of presidential nominees and far above Ann Romney's lowest mark of a 5th grade level

Discussion: Politico and Daily Kos

Julian Pecquet / The Hill:

Charlotte speech increases rumors Kerry is up for Hillary Clinton's job — CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) will be defending President Obama's record on national security when he speaks to convention delegates on Thursday evening, but political observers will be watching …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Taylor Marsh, ThinkProgress and Booman Tribune

Caitlin McDevitt / Reuters:

Exclusive: Gabby Douglas to lead DNC Pledge of Allegiance — CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Two-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas will be back under the bright lights at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday. — The 16-year-old gymnast, known as the “flying squirrel,” …