memeorandum: Congress Nears End of Low-Output Session (Jennifer Steinhauer/New York Times)

2:45 PM ET, September 19, 2012

Top Items:

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 …

Mitt Romney / USA Today:

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: ABCNEWS, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Political Watch, Politico, Sister Toldjah, Wake up America, Mediaite, Election 2012, The Hill, The Daily Beast, The Future of Capitalism and Daily Kos

Michael Falcone / ABCNEWS:

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, The Caucus, USA Today, Talking Points Memo, American Spectator, Althouse and The Daily Caller

Benny Johnson / TheBlaze.com:

IS THE SECRET VIDEO OF ROMNEY AT FUNDRAISER REALLY UNEDITED? WE MAY HAVE PROOF OTHERWISE — Tuesday afternoon, the site Mother Jones released what was described as the “full,” “raw and uncut” video of Mitt Romney's comments at a private campaign fundraiser, which has drawn immense criticism from both sides.

Michael Barbaro / The Caucus:

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.”

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Maddow Blog, Politico, New York Magazine, Hit & Run, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Lonely Conservative, New York Times, Connecting.the.Dots, Daily Kos, Wonkette, Reuters, Patterico's Pontifications and Balloon Juice, more at Mediagazer »

Scott Wong / Politico:

Heller knocks Romney over ‘47 percent’ — Make that three Republican Senate candidates who are taking Mitt Romney to task for his “47 percent” remarks. — Incumbent Sen. Dean Heller, who is in a tight race with Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley, played up his blue-collar background …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and The Maddow Blog

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:

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.

Discussion: GOP 12, Associated Press, Wonkette, The Lonely Conservative, emptywheel, Wizbang, Examiner, The Spectacle Blog, Mediaite, Twitchy, Conservatives4Palin, Patterico's Pontifications, NewsBusters.org blogs, Los Angeles Times, Washington Wire, Mashable! and Taylor Marsh

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Romney video missing ‘one to two minutes’ — The videos of Mitt Romney's remarks at a May fundraiser, released in full by Mother Jones yesterday, omit “one to two minutes” of the candidates remarks, the journalist who obtained the video told POLITICO. — The omission comes between parts …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Naked DC and The Hill

Jesse Helfrich / The Hill:

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: CNN, Politico and Prairie Weather

James Monteleone / Albuquerque Journal:

Gov. Martinez critical of Romney's ‘47 percent’ — Gov. Susana Martinez today rejected Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's remarks that Republicans this fall can't woo “47 percent” of voters because they're too dependent on government services. — Martinez, who was asked to speak …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Hill, Politico and The Hinterland Gazette

The Onion:

Romney Apologizes To Nation's 150 Million ‘Starving, Filthy Beggars’ — SALT LAKE CITY—Seeking to limit the fallout from a videotaped speech in which he asserts 47 percent of Americans “pay no taxes” and do not take “personal responsibility and care for their lives,” Mitt Romney hastily called …

Discussion: The Raw Story, Shakesville and US Politics

Joan Walsh / Salon:
Does Paul Ryan regret his choice?

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Maddow Blog and The Raw Story

John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
Mitt Romney's ‘Severe Conservatism’

Discussion: emptywheel, The Maddow Blog, The Reaction, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Post, Election 2012, The Daily Dish, The Week and The Huffington Post

Katie Pavlich / Townhall.com:
CNBC Poll: 75% Agree With Romney's 47% Comments

Discussion: Hit & Run and UrbanGrounds

Mitt Romney for President of the United States …:
MEMORANDUM

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Daily Beast and Daily Kos

Mark McKinnon / The Daily Beast:
Mark McKinnon on Why Time Is Running Out for Mitt Romney

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Mario Piperni dot Com, Boston Globe and The Hill

Dick Durbin / CNN:
Partisan field day: Reid, Durbin on Romney remarks

Discussion: Politico

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
Maybe Romney answer was “inelegant” only because Mother Jones didn't disclose that part of tape was missing

Discussion: 24Ahead, Swampland, JOSHUAPUNDIT, BBC and Washington Post

FRANCE 24:

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 »

Nicola Clark / New York Times:
French Magazine Runs Cartoons That Mock Muhammad

Discussion: BBC, Hit & Run, Blazing Cat Fur and The Hinterland Gazette

CNN:
Free speech or incitement? French mag runs cartoons of Prophet Mohammed

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Reuters, BuzzFeed, Poynter and Shakesville

Geoff Earle / New York Post:

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 …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler, Red Alert Politics, The Right Scoop, Jammie Wearing Fools, Weekly Standard, Moonbattery, Pirate's Cove and Vodkapundit

Toby Harnden / Daily Mail:
Speaking to the 47%: The $105,000 champagne tower featured at Obama fundraiser hosted by Jay-Z and Beyonce

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative, HillBuzz.org and Washington Examiner

Quinnipiac University:

Obama Hits 50% In Wisconsin, Virginia; Colorado Is Close, Quinnipiac University/New York Times/CBS News Swing State Poll Finds — Watch Video: Assistant Director Tim Malloy discusses poll results — Clip Information and Download: — FLV File - For Website (1920x1080 / 189.1MB)

Discussion: Washington Wire, Washington Post, CNN, GOP 12, ABCNEWS, Firedoglake, The Fix, First Read, Ballot Box and The Hinterland Gazette

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:

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: iOwnTheWorld.com, Moonbattery, The Heritage Foundation, The Lonely Conservative, UrbanGrounds and Washington Free Beacon

Susan Page / USA Today:

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: CBS News, The Daily Caller, Weekly Standard, Associated Press, The Fix, National Review, First Read and The Daily Dish

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Obama 48%, Romney 46% in Swing States

Discussion: Hot Air, AEIdeas, Politico, Washington Examiner, americanthinker.com, CNN and Ballot Box

Associated Press:

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: Wall Street Journal, Outside the Beltway and Hot Air

ap-gfkpoll.com:
AP-GfK Poll: Obama job approval numbers back up above 50 percent, but race with Romney still tight

Discussion: Sweetness & Light, Politico, First Read and Washington Post

BuzzFeed:

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: Guardian, The Hinterland Gazette, Swampland, Mediaite and US Politics

Eli Stokols / KDVR.com:
Ann Romney to FOX31: Mitt doesn't disdain the poor

Discussion: Politico, The Raw Story and New York Magazine

Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:

GOP Congressional Candidate Says Mideast Turmoil Is Because Of ‘Girly Men’ In The White House — A Republican congressional nominee laid the blame for turmoil in the Middle East on “girly men” in the White House. — North Carolina State Sen. David Rouzer (R), the GOP nominee …

Discussion: Mediaite and The Raw Story

Esquire:

(Plus: Americans Trust Obama Over Romney in War) — There is a strong and pervasive sense among critics, pundits, and all-purposed commentators right now that Mitt Romney is on his way to losing this thing. That he is taking a highly winnable situation — an incumbent president …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill and Weasel Zippers

the MoJo / MoJo Articles:

Full Transcript of the Mitt Romney Secret Video — Additional highlights include Romney mocking immigration and pondering how he'd exploit a pre-election hostage crisis. — Below is a complete transcript, produced by Mother Jones, of the entire unedited Romney videos that we published on Tuesday.