Pawlenty to take over as Financial Services Roundtable CEO  —  Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will take over one of K Street's most prestigious jobs as CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable.  —  The group announced Thursday morning that the former GOP candidate for president …

Romney: ‘This is a campaign about the 100 percent’  —  Updated at 8:02 a.m. ET: MIAMI — Mitt Romney said his campaign is about “100 percent” of Americans as his campaign continued to work to contain the fallout from controversial comments he made at a private fundraiser in May.

The Obama you don't know  —  Few if any of his predecessors took the oath of office with higher public hopes for his success than President Obama on Jan. 20, 2009.  —  Millions of Americans hailed his election as an end to partisanship, a renewal of the spirit of compromise and a reinvigoration …

Source: Slain ambassador Stevens said he was on al Qaeda list  —  (CNN) — In the months leading up to his death, Chris Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, worried about constant security threats in Benghazi and mentioned that his name was on an al Qaeda hit list, a source familiar with his thinking told CNN.

Voter ID and Voter “Virtue”  —  If you want a sense of what motivates the politicans and activists who push for voter identification laws, look no further than this quote from Pennsylvania State Representative Darryl Metcalfe: … As always, it's worth noting the extent to which the “47%” …

Romney rescue plan: More Mitt  —  BOSTON - More Mitt.  —  After taking a beating for comments he privately wishes he never made and from conservative critics he wishes he could muzzle, Mitt Romney and his campaign are settling on a rescue plan to show more of him - in ads, speeches and campaign appearances.

CAPTION THIS: Debbie Wasserman Schultz Wrote Something On Her Hand, Too.  What is this, middle school?  —  UPDATE: Meanwhile, on the just-plain-creepy side: Actress Jessica Alba asks voters to pledge allegiance to Obama.  I understand that actors are generally none-too-bright, and none-too-educated, but still. . . .

UMass/Herald poll: Scott Brown in slight lead vs. Warren  —  U.S. Sen. Scott Brown has moved into a narrow lead over rival Elizabeth Warren while his standing among Massachusetts voters has improved despite a year-long Democratic assault, a new UMass Lowell/Boston Herald poll shows.

Rethinking Robert Rubin  —  Bill Clinton has a favorite Robert Rubin story.  It's 1999, and the Cabinet has gathered to discuss the business of the American people.  Except no one can focus because the impeachment crisis is raging, and even the most veteran Washington power players are, for lack of a better term, freaking out.

Guess who's trashing Obama campaign signs in Austin, Texas?  —  Texas may be a red state but the capital of Austin is Obama country.  It's thus not unusual to see myriad Obama campaign signs in nice neighborhoods — displayed on one manicured front lawn after another.

Romney's Video-Debunking Claim Is...Debunked  —  This is getting ridiculous.  —  After Mother Jones posted video of Mitt Romney sharing remarks with millionaire donors that he would never express to voters—noting that nearly half of the American electorate are moochers and that Romney …

Secret Ryan Transcript: Social Security and Medicare are the Target  —  This isn't from a secret video, it's from the untranscribed portion of Ryan's 2005 speech at the Atlas Society's “Celebration of Ayn Rand.”  It fits well with the Romney video because it makes clear that middle class entitlements …

Obama's Lead Looks Stronger in Polls That Include Cellphones  —  As I observed on Tuesday, and as The New Republic's Nate Cohn also found, Barack Obama seems to have received a much clearer bounce in some types of polls than others.  —  Although there are exceptions on either side …

No One Left to Race Bait  —  Dave Weigel points out the difference between the covert racism of a young cagey Pat Buchanan in the days of the Southern strategy, and overt racism of the pariah Pat Buchanan banished to Fox News (emphasis added): … Calling the first black president a …

Democratic Enthusiasm Swells in the Swing States, Nationally  —  Overall, 59% of swing-state voters now highly enthusiastic, up from 46% in June  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Voters in the 12 states USA Today and Gallup consider the key swing states that could decide the 2012 presidential election …

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Ryan assures House Republicans: ‘We are going to win this thing’  —  Republican vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan delivered a pep talk to his House colleagues on Thursday, telling them not to be distracted by the daily polls and controversies of the campaign.

O eyes ‘blind sheik’ release  —  The Obama administration is weighing the release of blind Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman — the spiritual adviser to the 1993 World Trade Center bombers — in a stunning goodwill gesture toward Egypt that has touched off a political firestorm, officials said yesterday.

Seven of nation's 10 most affluent counties are in Washington region  —  Ron Edmonds/AP - The Washington D.C. area, including suburbs in Maryland and Virginia, are benefiting from a healthy job market in 2012, much of it linked to the federal government.  Demand for homes is consistently strong …