memeorandum: This Presidential Race Should Never Have Been This Close (Rolling Stone)

10:05 AM ET, September 27, 2012

Top Items:

The Libya Debacle — The more we learn, the more Benghazi looks like a gross security failure. — In his United Nations speech on Tuesday, President Obama talked about the September 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya and declared that “there should be no doubt that we will be relentless …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Weekly Standard

CNN:

Sources: FBI can't get to Benghazi — (CNN) — More than two weeks after four Americans — including the U.S. ambassador to Libya — were killed in an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, FBI agents have not yet been granted access to investigate in the eastern Libyan city, and the crime scene has not been secured, sources said.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and americanthinker.com

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

From video to terrorist attack: a definitive timeline of administration statements on the Libya attack — “We are still doing an investigation.” — In any kind of confused overseas event, initial reports are often wrong. But the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi …

Discussion: First Read and The Daily Caller

Steven Lee Myers / New York Times:
Clinton Suggests Link to Qaeda Offshoot in Deadly Libya Attack

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation, Hot Air, Right Wing News, The Gateway Pundit, Althouse, Weasel Zippers, American Power, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Aviva Shen / ThinkProgress:

6 Conservatives Who Think The Media Is Fixing The Polls For Obama — With six weeks until Election Day, new polling from Quinnipiac, the New York Times and CBS News shows President Obama leading in crucial swing states including Ohio, Florida and Iowa. As Obama's lead grows …

Discussion: Slate, New York Magazine, The Daily Beast and CNN

Rush Limbaugh:
Don't Let Bogus Polls Depress You

Discussion: Doug Ross, Weekly Standard, Nice Deb, his vorpal sword and Politico

John Nolte / BREITBART.COM:
JUICED: PRO-OBAMA POLLS RELY ON RECORD DEM TURNOUT

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere, The Daily Caller, Doug Ross, Hot Air, HillBuzz.org, Israpundit, Da Tech Guy's Blog, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

Matthew Sheffield / NewsBusters.org blogs:
Quinnipiac Pollster Admits: ‘Probably Unlikely’ That Electorate Will Feature Massive Dem Skew

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and Da Tech Guy's Blog

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Romney camp goes all in on ad touting concern for ordinary Americans — A Democrat familiar with ad buy information tells me that starting Friday, the new ad the Romney campaign rolled out today will begin airing at full throttle in all of Romney's media markets in nine swing states, and it will be the only Romney ad running in them.

Discussion: New York Times, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, Politico, The Stranger …, The Caucus and Business Insider

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Romney Campaign: No, We're Not Backing Off Our Tax Plan

Discussion: Brad DeLong

Matthew Yglesias / Slate:
Romney Campaign Now Says They Probably Won't Do Their Tax Cuts After All

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Daily Beast, BuzzFeed and Brad DeLong

Garance Franke-Ruta / The Atlantic Online:
Mitt Romney's ‘Them’ Problem

Discussion: The Maddow Blog, Shakesville and The Agonist

Alexander Burns / Politico:

Obama's two-minute, direct-to-camera ad — In a new commercial that has the feeling of a closing argument, President Barack Obama outlines a four-point agenda to restore “economic patriotism,” moving to crystallize a positive economic message for the last weeks of the campaign.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

Carol E. Lee / Washington Wire:
Now On-Air: A 2-Minute Obama Ad, Romney Coal Ad

Discussion: CNN, Business Insider and Towleroad News #gay

Rolling Stone:
This Presidential Race Should Never Have Been This Close

Discussion: CANNONFIRE and Taylor Marsh

Martin Crutsinger / Associated Press:

US ECONOMY GREW 1.3 PERCENT IN SECOND QUARTER — WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at an even more sluggish pace in the April-June quarter than previously believed as farm production in the Midwest was reduced by a severe drought. — The overall economy grew at an annual rate …

Discussion: GOP 12

CNBC:
Durable Goods Orders Sink Even as Jobless Claims Fall

Discussion: Hot Air and americanthinker.com

Associated Press:

Refs due back Thursday night — NEW YORK — So long, replacement refs. The NFL's regular crews will be back on the field starting Thursday night. — After two days of marathon negotiations — and mounting frustration among coaches, players and fans — the NFL and the referees' union announced …

Discussion: Hot Air, americanthinker.com, The Daily Caller and Taylor Marsh

Barry Wilner / ABCNEWS:
With Goodell at Table, NFL Ref Talks Heat Up

Discussion: The Agonist

Tara Palmeri / New York Post:

WATCH: Samuel L. Jackson debuts profanity-laced pro-Obama ad — He's hoping this scary bedtime story will make you run to the polls. — Samuel L. Jackson, whose video reading of the book “Go the F—k to Sleep” went viral on the Internet, is releasing a pro-Obama ad today in the spirit of Dr. Seuss …

Discussion: Business Insider, Jammie Wearing Fools and Washington Examiner

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Defiant Romney: 'I'm going to win Ohio, become the next president' — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Wednesday he was unconcerned by new polls that showed him trailing by double digits in the crucial swing state of Ohio, and pledged that he would win both the state and the presidency.

Discussion: Politico, CNN, RedState, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Reaction and The Democratic Daily

Scott Wilson / Washington Post:
Obama, Romney differ on U.S. exceptionalism

Discussion: Althouse

Shira Toeplitz / Roll Call:

DCCC Moving TV Resources to More Competitive Races — House Democrats shifted resources away from six races as the party continues to move money to more promising targets. — According to two sources who monitor ad buys, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee cut its reservations …

Discussion: Washington Wire and The Buzz Florida Politics Feed

Matthew Jaffe / ABCNEWS:

Police Search for Jimmy Hoffa's Body in Michigan Driveway — “Where is Jimmy Hoffa's body?” is a question that has spawned thousands of theories. Now, one Michigan police chief believes a break in the famous cold case could be close at hand. — James Berlin, the police chief in Roseville …

Discussion: CNN, Scared Monkeys and The Agonist

Philip Dorling / Sydney Morning Herald:

US calls Assange ‘enemy of state’ — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange addresses a UN in event in New York via video link from the Ecuadorian embassy in London. — THE US military has designated Julian Assange and WikiLeaks as enemies of the United States - the same legal category …

Discussion: The Talking Dog and Guardian

Jesse Drucker / Bloomberg:

Romney ‘I Dig It’ Trust Gives Heirs Triple Benefit — In January 1999, a trust set up by Mitt Romney for his children and grandchildren reaped a 1,000 percent return on the sale of shares in Internet advertising firm DoubleClick Inc. — If Romney had given the cash directly …

Molly Ball / The Atlantic Online:

Romney Is Flailing in Ohio — The GOP nominee's scattershot campaign and faltering poll numbers have Democrats in Ohio and elsewhere saying, “Thanks, Mitt!” — Reuters — KENT, Ohio — As I was leaving an Obama campaign rally here — roaring, enthusiastic, packed with gleeful liberals …

Discussion: The Reaction, The Caucus and Reuters

Julian Pecquet / The Hill:

Netanyahu to aim fiery UN address at both Obama, Israeli public — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to deliver a fiery address to the United Nations Thursday calling on the international community to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

BuzzFeed:

Romney's Supporters Reject His Soft Line On Obama — A failed golfer-president, not Che Guevera Lite? Shouts of “No!” in Toledo. — Image by Brian Snyder / Reuters — TOLEDO, Ohio — Mitt Romney covered a lot of territory Wednesday — rhetorically and geographically …

Discussion: GOP 12

Andy McSmith / The Independent:

New New Labour for children of the Blair years — Rumour has it that Euan Blair, Tony' eldest, may run for parliament. But what about the other progeny of those who dominated the New Labour era? — The blogger Guido Fawkes set a hare running this week by suggesting that Euan Blair …

Discussion: BuzzFeed and Political Scrapbook

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

AP editor cites Bachmann fact-checking ‘quota’ — Fourteenth in a series of endless, tireless, exhaustive, hairsplitting, obsessive, resounding, never-before-attempted and conclusive posts on the fact-checking industry. — In a panel of fact-checking all-stars this morning at the National Press Club …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Daily Kos

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day — “Frankly at this early stage, polls go up, polls go down.” — Mitt Romney, quoted by ABC News, apparently not aware the election is 41 days away.

Discussion: Balloon Juice