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A Mood of Gloom Afflicts the Romney Campaign — SALT LAKE CITY - Mitt Romney's traveling press secretary walked to the back of the candidate's plane midflight on Tuesday and teasingly asked a pair of journalists in an exit row if they were “willing and able to assist in case of an emergency.”
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Time for an Intervention — What should Mitt Romney do now? He should peer deep into the abyss. He should look straight into the heart of darkness where lies a Republican defeat in a year the Republican presidential candidate almost couldn't lose. He should imagine what it will mean for the country …


Romney Tapes Give Way To The Not-So-Calm After The Storm (The Note) — NOTABLES: — ROMNEY TAPES GET THE SUPER PAC TREATMENT: That didn't take long. The pro-Obama super PAC, Priorities USA Action, is quick out of the starting gate this morning with a new television ad featuring footage …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Albuquerque Journal, USA Today, Talking Points Memo, Althouse and The Daily Caller

I'll deliver recovery, not dependency — Since our founding, America has promoted personal responsibility, the dignity of work and the value of education. Those values made our nation the hope of the earth and our economy the envy of the world. — Efforts that promote hard work …
Discussion:
Politico, The Hill, AEIdeas, The Future of Capitalism, Mediaite, Daily Kos and Election 2012

MEMORANDUM — Location — To: Interested Parties — Re: Two Visions for America — 48 days remain until Election Day. As the choice voters face comes into greater focus, the different visions that Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have for America are becoming more sharply defined.
Discussion:
Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Daily Beast and Daily Kos


Poll: Obama leads in Virginia, Wisconsin; Tight in Colorado — (CBS News) President Obama holds a narrow lead over Mitt Romney in the key swing states of Virginia, Wisconsin and Colorado, according to a new Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times survey.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Morning Call, First Read, Talking Points Memo and Washington Post
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France to close embassies in fear of cartoon backlash — France announced Wednesday it will close 20 embassies across the Muslim world on Friday after French weekly Charlie Hebdo published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed naked, amid growing unrest over an anti-Islamic film that has left dozens dead.
Discussion:
Babalú Blog, The Gateway Pundit, Gawker, The Lonely Conservative and Althouse, more at Mediagazer »
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French Magazine Runs Cartoons That Mock Muhammad
Discussion:
BBC, Blazing Cat Fur and The Hinterland Gazette

French weekly fuels Mohammad row with cartoons
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and emptywheel


Critical audio gap in “complete” Romney tape released by Mother Jones (Update - Corn responds, 1-2 minutes missing) — David Corn of Mother Jones released the “complete” audio and video of the secretly recorded Mitt Romney speech at a private fundraiser. — Yet the complete audio and video is not complete.
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WATCH: Full Secret Video of Private Romney Fundraiser
Discussion:
American Prospect, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Ballot Box, Boston Globe, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Guardian, American Spectator, Reuters, The Moderate Voice, World, THEROOT.COM, Swampland, New York Magazine, Truthdig, Sweetness & Light, Campaign Stops, Donklephant, Suburban Guerrilla, The Democratic Daily, Twitchy, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Hot Air, National Review, Business Insider, Washington Wire, Los Angeles Times, The Week, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, CNN, The Raw Story, Mashable!, Taking Note, Power Line, ABCNEWS, Gawker, BBC, Real Clear Politics, Hullabaloo, bizjournals, The Huffington Post, NewsBusters.org blogs, The Lede, The Visible Measures Blog, Wonkette, The Gateway Pundit, Media Decoder, The Daily Beast, Taylor Marsh, Red Alert Politics, Dave Winer, VentureBeat, Nice Deb, emptywheel, Outside the Beltway and Mother Jones, more at Mediagazer »

IS THE SECRET VIDEO OF ROMNEY AT FUNDRAISER REALLY UNEDITED? WE MAY HAVE PROOF OTHERWISE
Discussion:
Associated Press, Hot Air, Pat Dollard, Red Alert Politics, americanthinker.com, Michelle Malkin, Moe Lane, Twitchy, Washington Post, ABCNEWS, Washington Wire and Mediaite


Poll: In 2-point presidential race, Romney trips over 47% — The good news for Republican challenger Mitt Romney: After three rocky weeks, he remains within striking distance of President Obama in the battleground states that matter most. The bad news: His latest misstep could upend that.
Discussion:
National Review and The Daily Dish
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Obama 48%, Romney 46% in Swing States
Discussion:
Politico, americanthinker.com, Ballot Box and CNN

Romney's missteps could cost party the Senate, strategists say — Republicans believe Mitt Romney's mistakes could prevent them from winning back the Senate. — Romney's failure to close the gap with President Obama less than 50 days before the election, as well as a variety of high-profile gaffes …
Discussion:
Prairie Weather
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Romney Campaign Borrowed $20 Million — Before the Republican National Convention, Mitt Romney was the Republican nominee in all but name. By law, however, he could only spend primary donations until he officially became nominee. To increase cash flow during the interregnum, the Romney campaign borrowed $20 million.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Fix, The Caucus, Washington Post, New York Magazine and Election 2012
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Romney campaign memo: Obama's vision is ‘a government-centered society’
Discussion:
CNN

AP-GfK poll reveals demographic divides driving close contest for the presidency — The presidential race remains a tight contest, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll, but beyond that near-even split on the vote lie shifting public views of the nation's outlook and an electorate beginning …
Discussion:
Hot Air
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Mitt Romney's ‘Severe Conservatism’ — “I was a severely conservative Republican governor,” Mitt Romney told the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February 2012. — Severely conservative? — Conservatives snickered. “I may be a little giddy here,” Rush Limbaugh said.
Discussion:
emptywheel, The Reaction, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Post, The Week, The Daily Dish, Politico, The New Republic and CBS News


CNBC Poll: 75% Agree With Romney's 47% Comments — UPDATE: The number of people who have taken the CNBC poll has doubled, bringing those who agree with Romney's comments to 76 percent. — As the faux outrage over Mitt Romney's “47%” comments continue to barrel through the airwaves of the old media …
Discussion:
Hit & Run and UrbanGrounds
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Ann Romney: Mitt Doesn't Disdain The Poor — The saddest rapid response... The Romney campaign just uploaded a video with the title “Ann Romney to FOX31: Mitt Doesn't Disdain the Poor.” UPDATE: Apparently the campaign has removed the video from their official account. — Zeke Miller — an hour ago
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Mediaite, Swampland and US Politics

Sept. 18: Obama's Bounce Erodes in Two Tracking Polls — President Obama has been on the decline in the FiveThirtyEight forecast. On Tuesday, his chance of winning the Electoral College dropped to 72.9 percent, from 74.8 percent on Monday. Mr. Obama is now well off his peak in the forecast …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS


Arctic Resources, Exposed by Warming, Set Off Competition — NUUK, Greenland — With Arctic ice melting at record pace, the world's superpowers are increasingly jockeying for political influence and economic position in outposts like this one, previously regarded as barren wastelands.
Discussion:
Gawker, Booman Tribune, World and American Power


Chicago Teachers Suspend Strike — But Who Won? — . (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife) — The membership of Chicago's striking teachers union has voted overwhelming to suspend their strike and go back to work effective Wednesday morning. — The vote, with 98 percent in support of suspension …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars and Chicago Tribune

CRS report: number of able-bodied adults on food stamps doubled after Obama suspended work requirement … Obama administration officials have insisted that their decision to grant states waivers to redefine work requirements for welfare recipients would not “gut” the landmark 1996 welfare reform law.
Discussion:
The Heritage Foundation and Washington Free Beacon

Pat Buchanan: President Obama a ‘drug dealer of welfare’ — President Barack Obama is a “drug dealer of welfare,” conservative commentator Pat Buchanan charged in an interview with Fox News's Greta Van Susteren Tuesday night. — “Barack Obama is a drug dealer of welfare,” he said, speaking on “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren.”
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland