Obama Ahead with Stronger Support, Better Image and Lead on Most Issues  —  Democrats Narrow Engagement Gap  —  OVERVIEW  —  At this stage in the campaign, Barack Obama is in a strong position compared with past victorious presidential candidates.  With an eight-point lead …

Brown's office reiterates senator's support for Romney  —  Sen. Scott Brown's (R-Mass.) office on Wednesday said the senator supports Mitt Romney's presidential bid after the lawmaker gave an indirect response to an inquiry by The Hill.  —  “He absolutely supports Romney, there's no doubt about that,” an aide to Brown said.

Voters' Reaction to Romney's “47%” Comments Tilts Negative  —  Independent voters, by 29% to 15%, also more negative than positive  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans have a more negative than positive immediate reaction to Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's comments, secretly caught on video …

Obama official: Benghazi was a terrorist attack  —  The Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi was in fact “a terrorist attack” and the U.S. government has indications that members of al Qaeda were directly involved, a top Obama administration official said Wednesday morning.

Obama's Campaign Manager Tweets Out Super Creepy Pic Of Himself - Update: Make Your Own Jim Messina Meme...  Would you let this man within a hundred feet of your children?  —  Update: Messina is now officially a meme.  I made this one.  You can make yours here.

Major report released on Fast and Furious, DOJ official resigns  —  A major report released Wednesday on the Operation Fast and Furious scandal faulted a range of federal agencies for the failed anti-gunrunning program — and has resulted in the resignation of one Justice Department official.

GOP blocks veterans jobs bill with budget vote  —  Senate Republicans stopped the veterans jobs bill Wednesday by forcing a budget point of order vote.  —  Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (R-Ill.) requested a motion to waive the budget point of order, which was raised by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.).

Speaking to the 47%: The $105,000 champagne tower featured at Obama fundraiser hosted by Jay-Z and Beyonce  —  President Barack Obama attended a fundraiser at Jay-Z's 40/40 Club in Manhattan that featured a champagne tower of 350 bottles worth $105,000 - more than twice the median household income of an American family.

Romney Tape Leaves Senate GOP Leaders Speechless  —  Senate Republican leaders fled their weekly press conference after delivering prepared remarks Wednesday without taking a single question from reporters eagerly seeking their thoughts on their presidential nominee's newly unearthed remarks dismissing nearly half of American voters.

Netanyahu ad to debut in Florida  —  Bibi Netanyahu is not running a campaign in the US - it just looks that way in this new ad.  —  A spot featuring only the Israeli prime minister talking about Iran is set to hit the airwaves in select Florida markets tomorrow, a media tracking source confirms.

Exclusive: Western report - Iran ships arms, personnel to Syria via Iraq  —  (Reuters) - Iran has been using civilian aircraft to fly military personnel and large quantities of weapons across Iraqi airspace to Syria to aid President Bashar al-Assad in his attempt to crush an 18-month uprising …

Is Barack Obama America's Most Dishonest Politician?  —  A lot of politicians are dishonest, but Barack Obama may be in a league by himself.  He appeared on the David Letterman show last night, and Letterman asked him about the national debt (somewhat surprisingly).  Obama's answer was a masterpiece of prevarication.

Mitchell: Obama video not authenticated yet  —  MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell today said that the network was not airing a potentially controversial of video of Barack Obama because neither NBC News or MSNBC had been able to verify its authenticity yet.  —  “Because we have not independently …

Payments of Penalties for Being Uninsured Under the Affordable Care Act  —  Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act (comprising Public Law 111-148 and the health care provisions of P.L. 111-152) requires most legal residents of the United States to either obtain health insurance or pay a penalty tax.

Front porches making a big comeback  —  Front porches are making a big comeback.It's not quite a return to Norman Rockwell's Americana, but the rise in the number of new homes with porches hints at a shift in the way Americans want to live: in smaller houses and dense neighborhoods that promote walking and social interaction.

Monica's revenge: Lewinsky ‘to publish secret love letters to Clinton revealing his insatiable desire for threesomes and how he trashed Hillary’  — She is ‘writing book out of revenge as she has struggled with relationships and jobs after the scandal while Clinton escaped unscathed’

NEWS FLASH  —  ASKED 4 TIMES, ROMNEY WON'T SAY IF HE'LL MAINTAIN OBAMA'S IMMIGRATION DIRECTIVE |  During Wednesday evening's Univision forum, Mitt Romney was asked four times if he would maintain President Obama's directive allowing young undocumented immigrants to stay in the United States …