Top Items:
Howard Kurtz / The Daily Beast:
Why Obama Went Low Key in His Democratic Convention Speech — The president's more subdued rhetoric is being derided by pundits—but it was carefully vetted with groups of voters. Howard Kurtz reports exclusively on the Obama team's decision not to swing for the fences in Charlotte.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, Politico, New York Times, Reuters and Connecting.the.Dots
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Reuters:
Obama fell flat — Barack Obama was flat. — A surprisingly long parade of Democrats and media commentators who didn't think much of the speech described it less as a failure than a fizzle—an oddly missed opportunity to frame his presidency or the nation's choice in a fresh or inspirational light.
Frank Newport / Gallup.Com:
Obama Bounces Up to 52% Approval, 48% to 45% Over Romney — President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party look as if they are getting at least a preliminary bounce from their convention. Today's (Friday, Sept. 7) Gallup Daily tracking update puts Obama's job approval rating at 52% …
Chris Kluwe / Deadspin:
“They Won't Magically Turn You Into A Lustful Cockmonster”: Chris Kluwe Explains Gay Marriage To The Politician Who Is Offended By An NFL Player Supporting It — Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo has spoken out in favor of a Maryland ballot initiative that would legalize gay marriage.
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Yahoo! Sports:
Maryland politician's letter denouncing Brendon Ayanbadejo's support of gay marriage — Maryland politician and minister Emmett C. Burns Jr., in a letter obtained by Yahoo! Sports on Thursday, has demanded that the Baltimore Ravens halt linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo from publicly expressing his support for gay marriage.
David Nelson / KWQC-TV:
Ann Romney: birth control, gay marriage not “what this election is going to be about” — DAVENPORT, Iowa - Ann Romney told KWQC TV6 news Friday that birth control and gay marriage are issues that “distract from what the real voting issue is going to be at this election.”
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, CNN, Outside the Beltway, ABCNEWS, The Raw Story, Sky Dancing, Blue Crab Boulevard and Balloon Juice
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Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:
Ann Romney Refuses To Answer Questions About Birth Control — In an interview with KWQC-TV6 today, Ann Romney refused to comment on the issues stemming from the ongoing War on Women, declining to address whether she believes women should have access to contraception through their employer-based insurance plans.
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Paul Miller / pineconearchive.com:
Eastwood says his convention appearance was ‘mission accomplished’ — AFTER A week as topic No. 1 in American politics, former Carmel Mayor Clint Eastwood said the outpouring of criticism from left-wing reporters and liberal politicians after his appearance at the Republican National Convention …
Discussion:
Gawker, Newsy, Guardian, Deadline.com, BBC, newsfeed.time.com, New York Magazine, ThinkProgress, Election 2012, AEIdeas, CNN, Wake up America, ABCNEWS, emptywheel, Macsmind, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Althouse, Hot Air, The Caucus, Mediaite, Blue Crab Boulevard, Daily Kos, The Jawa Report, PopWatch, Chicago Boyz, Moe Lane, NewsBusters.org, The Daily Caller, The Maddow Blog, USA Today, Riehl World News, Babalú Blog, National Review, Washington Examiner, Gothamist, Weasel Zippers, The Hill, The PJ Tatler, Towleroad News #gay, Moonbattery, iOwnTheWorld.com and Jammie Wearing Fools
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Tim Mak / Politico:
Clint Eastwood explains the ‘empty chair’
Clint Eastwood explains the ‘empty chair’
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, Outside the Beltway and The Rightnewz
James Pethokoukis / AEIdeas:
The awful, awful August jobs report — This was not the employment report either American workers or the Obama campaign were hoping for. A huge miss. It shows the U.S. labor market remains in a deep depression, generating few jobs and little if no income growth. As IHS Global Insight puts it:
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, The Moderate Voice, Doug Ross, The Heritage Foundation, Bloomberg, BuzzFeed, Business Insider, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Ed Driscoll, The Right Scoop, Reuters, ThinkProgress, Sister Toldjah, CNBC, The Gateway Pundit, Questions and Observations, Instapundit, American Power, NewsBusters.org blogs, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Blue Crab Boulevard, Patterico's Pontifications, Power Line, Fausta's Blog and National Review
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Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:
Record 88,921,000 Americans ‘Not in Labor Force’—119,000 Fewer Employed in August Than July
Record 88,921,000 Americans ‘Not in Labor Force’—119,000 Fewer Employed in August Than July
Jonathan Bernstein / Washington Post:
Disappointing jobs report unlikely to change presidential contest
Disappointing jobs report unlikely to change presidential contest
Susanna Kim / ABCNEWS:
August Jobs Report: Unemployment Falls to 8.1 Percent
August Jobs Report: Unemployment Falls to 8.1 Percent
Discussion:
Guardian, The Moderate Voice, Sweetness & Light and The Mental Recession
Ben Armbruster / ThinkProgress:
Romney On Omitting U.S. Troops From RNC Speech: ‘You Talk About Things You Think Are Important’ — Romney giving his speech to the Republican National Convention — In an interview with Fox News this afternoon, Mitt Romney shot back at critics who complained that he didn't mention Afghanistan …
Discussion:
Towleroad News #gay, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice, Shakesville, Little Green Footballs and US Politics
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Philip Roth / Page-Turner:
An Open Letter to Wikipedia — I am Philip Roth. I had reason recently to read for the first time the Wikipedia entry discussing my novel “The Human Stain.” The entry contains a serious misstatement that I would like to ask to have removed. This item entered Wikipedia not from the world …
Discussion:
Tablet Magazine, Lawyers, Guns & Money, ArtsBeat, Gizmodo and Daily Dot
BuzzFeed:
Romney Endorses Ultraconservative Congressman — Rep. Steve King takes a hard line on issues like abortion and Islam. The Obama campaign seizes opportunity to cast Romney as extreme on social issues. — Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly and Election 2012
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Nick Wing / The Huffington Post:
Steve King Nabs Mitt Romney Endorsement, Obama Campaign Pounces
Steve King Nabs Mitt Romney Endorsement, Obama Campaign Pounces
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and The Political Carnival
Erik Wasson / The Hill:
White House to miss deadline for report on ‘fiscal cliff’ budget cuts — The White House on Friday said it will miss the legal deadline for delivering a report to Congress on the spending cuts from sequestration that are scheduled to take effect in 2013. — Spokesman Jay Carney told reporters …
Discussion:
Washington Wire, Politico, Hot Air and Texas on the Potomac
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Jennifer Martinez / The Hill:
White House circulating draft of executive order on cybersecurity
White House circulating draft of executive order on cybersecurity
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Next Web, The Heritage Foundation and Daily Dot
Jeffb / Nielsen Wire:
Closing Night of Democratic National Convention Draws 35.7 million Viewers — An estimated 35.7 million people watched the third and final night of the 2012 Democratic National Convention on Thursday, September 6. The closing night of the DNC was carried live from Charlotte …
Discussion:
Politico, USA Today and TVbytheNumbers
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BuzzFeed:
Obama's Message Breaks Through In Swing State Newspapers — An emphasis on the path forward. Lukewarm reception to his speech from pundits doesn't make the headlines. — Andrew Kaczynski — an hour ago — 22 responses
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, The Moderate Voice and BuzzFeed
Katherine Skiba / Chicago Tribune:
Rep. Jackson leaves Mayo Clinic … WASHINGTON — Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., has left the Mayo Clinic and is at home in the nation's capital with his family, an aide said today. — “He's home with his wife and children and he's convalescing,” Rick Bryant, his chief of staff in suburban Chicago, told the Chicago Tribune.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Election 2012
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Wall Street Journal:
The Democrats' Soft Extremism — Obama is out of ideas, and Clinton's speech was unworthy of him. — Barack Obama is deeply overexposed and often boring. He never seems to be saying what he's thinking. His speech Thursday was weirdly anticlimactic. There's too much buildup, the crowd was tired, it all felt flat.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Crooks and Liars, No More Mister Nice Blog, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, American Power and INSTAPUTZ
Rush Limbaugh:
It's Uncanny! Obama Copied Jimmy Carter's Convention Acceptance Speech from 1980 — RUSH: We also have done something. It's amazing, by the way, when you hear it, how similar Obama's speech last night was to Jimmy Carter's in 1980. It really is kind of stunning.
Discussion:
Ed Driscoll and Politico
Pat Garofalo / ThinkProgress:
Even Fox News Is Fed Up With Romney Failing To Provide Details Of His Tax Plan — The Romney campaign has so far refused to clarify which tax deductions and loopholes it would eliminate in order to make its huge proposed tax cut for the rich revenue neutral.
Discussion:
The Political Carnival