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.”

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 …

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 …

NBC/WSJ poll: Obama leads Romney nationally by 5 points  —  Fueled by increased optimism about the economy and nation's direction, President Barack Obama leads Mitt Romney by 5 points among likely voters and now sees his job-approval rating reaching the 50 percent threshold for the first time since March …

Romney's Right—Palestinians Have Rejected Peace  —  Mideast: Maybe you heard the kerfuffle over Mitt Romney's comments about those who don't pay taxes.  But you likely didn't hear his other remarks — that Palestinians don't really want peace.  He was right about that, too.

Obama 48%, Romney 46% in Swing States  —  Twenty-two percent of swing-state voters could change their vote preference  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Registered voters in key 2012 election swing states remain closely divided in their presidential vote preferences, with 48% supporting President Barack Obama and 46% Mitt Romney.

Obama to Romney: ‘You have to work for everyone’ as president  —  President Obama on Tuesday lectured Mitt Romney for “writing off a big chunk of the country” in his first remarks about the GOP presidential nominee's controversial statements at a closed-door fundraiser.

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 …

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.

WBUR Senate Poll: Warren Leads Brown By 5  —  BOSTON — A WBUR poll of 507 likely Massachusetts voters (PDFs — topline, crosstabs) finds Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren leading Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, 45 percent to 40 percent.  The survey has a 4.4 percent margin of error.

Beyoncé & Jay-Z host NY Bam ba$h  —  WASHINGTON — Nix the flags and the podium.  Cue the opulent 18-foot tower of gold-bottled French champagne.  —  When President Obama addresses an elite roster of hipsters and multimillionaires, including hosts Beyoncé and Jay-Z …

Chicago Public Schools teachers' strike over  —  The Chicago teachers' strike is over.  —  The Chicago Teachers Union's House of Delegates voted Tuesday to end its strike after seven days, meaning classes will be in session Wednesday for 350,000 Chicago Public Schools students.

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.

Mary Matalin: Thanks To Romney, We Can Single Out ‘Parasites’  —  Conservative commentator Mary Matalin hailed Mitt Romney's “47 percent” line on CNN as good news for Republicans.  —  “There are makers and takers, there are producers and there are parasites,” she said.

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

Obama's first term is like FDR's dismal second … People, not least himself, have often compared Barack Obama to Franklin D. Roosevelt.  —  You know the narrative.  He came to office in a financial crisis and proceeded to take government action to revive the economy and expand government to help the little guy.

NEWSPAPER AD REVENUES COLLAPSE TO 1950 LEVELS  —  There are three important things to keep in mind when looking at this gorgeous graph: … Sometimes it doesn't feel like we're winning, because the corrupt media still has the power to create its own reality - to create the illusion …

French Magazine Runs Cartoons That Mock Muhammad  —  PARIS — A French satirical magazine on Wednesday published a series of cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad, setting off a new wave of outrage among Muslims and condemnation from French leaders amid widening unrest over an amateur video …