memeorandum: September 9: Mitt Romney, Ann Romney, Julian Castro, Peggy Noonan, E.J. Dionne, Bill Bennett, Chuck Todd (msnbc.com)

9:50 PM ET, September 9, 2012

Top Items:

Erik Wasson / The Hill:

VP Biden gets friendly with female biker at campaign stop in Ohio — Vice President Joe Biden got caught in a stunning photo with a female biker sitting on his lap. — The Associated Press snapped the shot at Cruisers Diner in Seaman, Ohio on Sunday. — A White House pool report …

Discussion: Associated Press, Michelle Malkin, The Impolitic, Weasel Zippers, Babalú Blog, Scared Monkeys, New York Magazine and The Lonely Conservative

The Right Scoop:

Biker chick sits on Biden's lap while Obama lifted in the air by restaurant owner — Boy, what these guys will do for votes. Consider this your open thread for Sunday. UPDATE: OK Biden, this is a little much:

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Jawa Report and protein wisdom

Ethan Klapper / The Huffington Post:

Obama Picked Up By Scott Van Duzer, Florida Pizza Place Owner (PHOTO) … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Barack Obama , Elections 2012, Video, Obama Florida, Obama Photo, Barack Obama Lifted Off The Ground, Barack Obama Photo, Obama Lifted Off The Ground, Obama Lifted Photo, Obama Picked Up …

Discussion: Mediaite and Joe. My. God.

Zack Beauchamp / ThinkProgress:

Ryan: I Didn't Vote For The Defense Cuts I Voted For — Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan has gotten in hot water before for criticizing President Obama for the very same defense cuts that he voted for in 2011. When confronted with this incongruity today on Face The Nation …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Booman Tribune, The Raw Story and Hullabaloo

Jeremy Herb / The Hill:

Ryan defends vote for sequestration deal — GOP vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Sunday defended his vote for the Budget Control Act (BCA) that set sequestration in motion, even as Mitt Romney called it a “big mistake” for Republican leaders to accept the deal.

Discussion: Politico and CNN

CNN:
Medicare takes center stage for Obama campaign in Florida

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Politico, The Reaction and Ballot Box

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
Romney Rips Paul Ryan: Calls Running Mate's Vote For Defense Cuts ‘A Big Mistake’

Discussion: The Raw Story, Crooks and Liars, Wall Street Journal, Washington Wire and Press Pass

ABCNEWS:
On ‘This Week’: GOP Vice Presidential Nominee Paul Ryan

Discussion: Politico and The Political Carnival

John McCain / CNN:
McCain calls out Obama over Syria, again

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The Hill

Jeff Spross / ThinkProgress:

Flabbergasted Rand Paul Learns Public Employment Decreased Under Obama — One of the least appreciated but easily-confirmed facts about the current state of the American economy is that the number of Americans employed by the government has gone down under President Obama.

Discussion: Paul Krugman and Zandar Versus The Stupid

Paul Krugman:

Government Employment — During today's round table on ABC, Rand Paul seemed shocked at my claim that government employment is down under Obama. Of course, it is. But maybe he's thinking of the fact that since govt employment rose under Bush, we're still at higher absolute levels than we were a decade ago.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Sky Dancing, Blue Crab Boulevard and Crooks and Liars

Travis Waldron / ThinkProgress:

Romney Says His Plan To Cut Taxes On The Rich Doesn't Actually Cut Taxes On The Rich — On Meet The Press this morning, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney claimed that his tax plan — which provides a 20 percent tax cut for all Americans — would not “reduce the tax burden” …

Discussion: The Political Carnival, Crooks and Liars, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:

Romney, Ryan Refuse To Identify Tax Loopholes They'd Close — In separate interviews Sunday, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan refused to identify which tax loopholes they would close in order to pay for their large tax cuts. — On NBC's “Meet The Press,” Romney dodged multiple questions …

Discussion: Associated Press, Outside the Beltway, CANNONFIRE and Hullabaloo

Albuquerque Journal:

Puzzles & Comics … The presidential race in New Mexico may be more competitive than national pundits and polls have suggested. — According to a Journal Poll, President Barack Obama appears to have a small lead over Republican Mitt Romney in New Mexico, but Obama has not topped 50 percent …

Discussion: Politico and The Gateway Pundit

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Romney going up in Wisconsin with TV ads

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Politico:
State of the race: Advantage, Obama

Discussion: Hot Air, Taegan Goddard's …, Via Meadia, Washington Post, Daily Kos, The Page, The Reaction and Taylor Marsh

Anne-Marie Slaughter / The Atlantic Online:

Why Women Still Can't Have It All — It's time to stop fooling ourselves, says a woman who left a position of power: the women who have managed to be both mothers and top professionals are superhuman, rich, or self-employed. If we truly believe in equal opportunity for all women, here's what has to change.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

msnbc.com:

September 9: Mitt Romney, Ann Romney, Julian Castro, Peggy Noonan, E.J. Dionne, Bill Bennett, Chuck Todd — Below: — MR. DAVID GREGORY: This Sunday morning, for the first time during this campaign, I go one on one with the Republican nominee for president, Mitt Romney.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Reality-Based Community and Althouse

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Sept. 8: Conventions May Put Obama in Front-Runner's Position — On Friday, we began to see reasonably clear signs that President Obama would receive some kind of bounce in the polls from the Democratic convention. — Mr. Obama had another strong day in the polls on Saturday …

Discussion: Business Insider, Conservatives4Palin, The Daily Dish, Marbury, American Power, The Reaction, The Atlantic Online, iOwnTheWorld.com, Balloon Juice, US Politics, Outside the Beltway, mmicdata.rand.org, The Mahablog and Booman Tribune

Dylan Byers / Associated Press:

Smoke and mirrors at CBS's Face The Nation — Today's listing for CBS's Face The Nation. — Viewers flipping through their cable listings this morning may have noticed that while NBC's ‘Meet The Press’ had an exclusive interview with Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney — a big get …

Discussion: TVNewser

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

Gaffetastic!... Obama Pulls a Biden, Tells Audience, “Three Proud Words - Made in the USA!” (Video) — Gaffetastic! — Add this to the list... Obama goes off TelePrompter, pulls a Biden. — Barack tells audience, “Stamped with 3 proud words... Made in the USA!” — Via The Blaze:

Discussion: TheBlaze.com and The Lonely Conservative