Inside the campaign: How Mitt Romney stumbled  —  Stuart Stevens, Mitt Romney's top strategist, knew his candidate's convention speech needed a memorable mix of loft and grace if he was going to bound out of Tampa with an authentic chance to win the presidency.

WEIGHING OFFER, CHICAGO TEACHERS REMAIN ON STRIKE … CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago teachers uncomfortable with a tentative contract offer decided Sunday to remain on strike, insisting they need more time before deciding whether to end an acrimonious standoff with Mayor Rahm Emanuel …

Warren rebounds  —  Things have been going Elizabeth Warren's way in the Massachusetts Senate race over the last month.  She's gained 7 points and now leads Scott Brown 48-46 after trailing him by a 49-44 margin on our last poll.  —  Warren's gaining because Democratic voters are coming back into the fold.

BREAKING: VIDEO PURPORTS TO SHOW US AMBASSADOR DRAGGED FROM BENGHAZI CONSULATE  —  YouTube user “Abdalgadar Fadi” has uploaded a video on the arabic language version of the video sharing site purporting to show US Ambassador Christopher Stevens dragged from the consulate in Benghazi.

Maureen Dowd meets anti-Semitism charge  —  New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd set the Jewish political community on fire today with a column about the Republican ticket's foreign policy proposals that, according to her critics, peddled anti-Semitic imagery.

Libya ‘arrests’ over Benghazi US consulate deaths  —  The US ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens died along with three others in the Benghazi attack  —  Libyan authorities have arrested some 50 people in connection with last week's deadly attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, the president of Libya's interim assembly says.

Islamists step up pressure for U.S. media curbs, Obama equivocates  —  Arab governments are stepping up their demands for regulation of American media to ensure Islam gets more favorable coverage in the United States, while President Barack Obama used his weekend message to again condemn criticism of Islam.

Ultimatum to US: ‘Criminalise blasphemy or lose consulate’  —  LAHORE:  —  Several Muslim parties and a Christian group held rallies on Sunday to protest against a movie released in America.  —  Around 10,000 people participated in the main rally organised on The Mall by the Tehreek Hurmat-i-Rasool (THR).

Obama up 5 in Virginia  —  PPP's newest Virginia poll finds Barack Obama leading by 5 points, 51-46.  Obama's lead is unchanged from a month ago when we found him leading 50-45 in the state.  He may not be seeing a bump from the convention in the state at this point, but he was in a pretty good position to begin with.

Joe Scarborough On The Entire Muslim World: ‘They Hate Us Because Of Their Religion’  —  This morning on MSNBC, Joe Scarborough accused every single person in Muslim and Arab world of hating the United States.  According to Scarborough, “if you scratch the surface, and if you gave every street vendor …

Obama crams for debates, works on being concise  —  (Reuters) - On long flights to swing states in the West and late nights at the White House after his children have gone to bed, President Barack Obama is cramming like a student for a test that could determine his political future.  —  The subject?

E.J. Dionne Jr.  —  The American election's global reach  —  The Obama-Clinton alliance, formalized with Bill Clinton's blockbuster speech at the Democratic National Convention, confirms what has often been played down: President Obama has chosen to build on Clinton's legacy rather than abandon it.

AP: Black Pastors Say ‘Stay Home’ Election Day  —  More ways to share...  Mixx  —  Stumbled  —  LinkedIn  —  Vine  —  Buzzflash  —  Newstrust  —  Technocrati  —  Forward Article  —  Some black clergy see no good presidential choice between a Mormon candidate and one who supports gay marriage …

With 50 days until the election, Obama holds edge over Romney  —  With 50 days until the 2012 election, President Obama has a small, but clear lead over Mitt Romney.  —  Obama is ahead of Romney by a narrow margin in most national polls, and has a slightly wider lead in most swing states, giving Romney almost no room for error.