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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

House passes new Buffett Rule  —  The House on Wednesday passed Republicans' own version of the Buffett Rule, which allows wealthy Americans to voluntarily pony up to reduce the deficit.  —  The bill, labeled the Buffett Rule Act, passed by voice vote, meaning Democrats and Republicans agreed with it.