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 …

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.

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 …

Republicans at risk of losing the House?  —  Conditions through August showed a 2% lead on the generic Congressional ballot for Democrats.  As of September 20th, in the wake of the Democratic convention, the lead has widened to 4.0 +/- 2.0%.  Although it has yet to be appreciated by pundits …

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%” …

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.

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. . . .

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 …

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.

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.

Dave Matthews makes (and talks) history  —  (CNN) — Dave Matthews supported Barack Obama in the presidential race of 2008, and he's supporting him again in 2012 — but not without reservations.  —  The multi-platinum Grammy winner laments, “I wish there was a third party, but right now …

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 …

SHOCKING AUDIO: Paris Hilton Blasts Gays Who Have Sex With Strangers: ‘Most Of Them Probably Have AIDS’  —  Paris Hilton has been caught on tape making homophobic and derogatory statements about gay men who have random sex with strangers even stating “most of them probably have AIDS.”

Whoopi Goldberg: Mitt Romney ‘flushed his ideals down the drain’  —  Whoopi Goldberg went on a Twitter rant Wednesday night against Mitt Romney, calling him a “confused candidate” who “flushed his ideals down the drain” and “sheds ideas faster than a snake sheds skin.”

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 …

Fiona Apple — ARRESTED for Hash in Texas  —  ARRESTED  —  for Hash in Texas  —  EXCLUSIVE  —  All she needs is a good defense ...  Fiona Apple was arrested at a border stop in Texas yesterday ... after authorities claim they found hashish on the “Criminal” singer's tour bus ... TMZ has learned.

Pakistan: new television ads with US Embassy seal condemn anti-Islam film and feature Obama  —  ISLAMABAD — Marked by the U.S. Embassy seal, advertisements condemning an anti-Islam video appeared on Pakistani television on Thursday in an apparent attempt to undercut anger against the United States, where the film was produced.

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 …

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 …

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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.

Romney Is Latest in a Long Line to Trip Over a Tongue  —  As critics pummel Mitt Romney over his secretly recorded comments at a fund-raiser, he can at least take comfort in this: he's not the first.  —  Presidential campaign history overflows with candidates who tripped over their own loose tongues …