Washington Post polls: Obama lead in Ohio, edge in Fla. hamper Romney path to victory  —  President Obama has grabbed a significant lead over Mitt Romney in Ohio and holds a slender edge in Florida, according to two new polls by the Washington Post that indicate there are fresh hurdles …

Portman: Obama will be ‘formidable’  —  From the Department of Debate Expectations-Setting, Sen. Rob Portman told POLITICO's Alexander Trowbridge that President Obama has the upper hand in the presidential debates because Mitt Romney hasn't faced a Democrat in awhile:

In New York, defiant Ahmadinejad says Israel will be “eliminated”  —  (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday Israel has no roots in the Middle East and would be “eliminated,” ignoring a U.N. warning to avoid incendiary rhetoric ahead of the annual General Assembly session.

Bill Clinton: Romney's refusal to share tax plan specifics a ‘red flag’  —  Former president Bill Clinton on Tuesday hammered Mitt Romney over the Republican candidate's refusal to say which deductions and loopholes he would eliminate as part of his tax reform plan.

The Conservative Mind  —  When I joined the staff of National Review as a lowly associate in 1984, the magazine, and the conservative movement itself, was a fusion of two different mentalities.  —  On the one side, there were the economic conservatives.  These were people that anybody …

Romney Doesn't Understand Why You Can't Roll Down Windows On A Plane … On Monday, Mitt Romney offered a remedy to the problem that caused his wife's airplane to land prematurely last week: Allow passengers to roll down the airplane windows.  —  Ann Romney's plane was grounded Friday after the main cabin filled with smoke.

Sen. Scott Brown staffers caught on video chanting Indian war whoops, making tomahawk chops  —  Rally video surfaces after campaigns release ads about Warren's heritage  —  Staffers for Sen. Scott Brown chanted Indian “war whoops” and made “tomahawk chops” during a rally for the Republican senator this week in Boston.

A Measure of Change: Arab Spring Proves a Harsh Test for Obama's Diplomatic Skill  —  WASHINGTON — President Hosni Mubarak did not even wait for President Obama's words to be translated before he shot back.  —  “You don't understand this part of the world,” the Egyptian leader broke in.

Harry Reid: Mitt Romney is not the face of Mormonism  —  • Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he agrees with a fellow Mormon who wrote recently that Mitt Romney has “sullied” the LDS faith and that the GOP presidential candidate is “not the face of Mormonism.”

I'm from the economics profession, and I'm here to help.  —  EconoTrolls: An Illustrated Bestiary  —  In your journey through the Econ Blogosphere, you will be beset by a great many curious and interesting species of EconoTroll.  At first you may be intimidated by their voluminous use of insider jargon …

Obama offers himself up as ‘eye candy’ on ‘The View’  —  * President aims to connect with women, a key voting block  —  * Obama says problems in economy won't be solved overnight  —  President Barack Obama on Monday sought to woo women voters at a taping of the daytime talk show “The View …

Complaints Mount Against Michelle Obama's New Lunch Menu  —  In Wisconsin, high school athletes are complaining about not getting enough to eat each day, due to the skimpy new school lunch menu mandated by the United States Department of Agriculture and First Lady Michelle Obama.

Pennsylvania Voter ID Law In Jeopardy As Next Court Case Opens … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Elections 2012, Video, Voting Rights, Voting Rights, Pennsylvania Voter Id, Pennsylvania Voter Id Court Appeal, Pennsylvania Voter Id Court Case, Voter ID, Politics News

Obama campaign had twice the staff as Romney last month at same cost  —  (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images / September 22, 2012)  —  This post has been updated, as indicated below.  —  WASHINGTON — One of the big challenges Mitt Romney faced after effectively clinching the GOP presidential nomination …

Will Obama Free the Blind Sheik?  —  The theologian of terrorism inspired the 1993 and 9/11 World Trade Center attacks.  The White House should state clearly that he will serve out his life term in the U.S.  —  Are senior Obama administration officials considering transferring to Egypt …

We Are the 96 Percent  —  WHEN Mitt Romney told the guests at a fund-raiser in Florida in May that America is divided between people who pay no income taxes and depend on government and pretty much everyone else, he missed the deeper truth.  It is not just that most of the 47 percent …

Madonna gives odd Obama endorsement  —  At a concert in Washington, D.C. on Monday, Madonna declared her support for President Barack Obama but sounded confused about his religion.  —  “Y'all better vote for f—  g Obama, OK?  For better or for worse, we have a black Muslim in the White House …

Hello, Ohio: Key To 2012 (The Note)  —  By MICHAEL FALCONE (@michaelpfalcone) and AMY WALTER (@amyewalter)  —  NOTABLES:  — OBAMA AT THE UN — WHAT HE WILL SAY: Excerpts from the speech President Obama plans to deliver this morning at the United Nations: “The attacks of the last two weeks are not simply an assault on America.

More Mitt Romney science: He believes University of Utah ‘solved’ cold fusion  —  Captain Seamus in December 2011 (audio clip below the fold), rolling down the window on what he believes to be true about cold fusion: … Um.  I'll be gentle here.  Other than to point out this New York Times article …