memeorandum: Romney touts his health-care law, bashes Obama's law (Philip Rucker/Election 2012)

11:45 AM ET, September 27, 2012

Top Items:

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: Weekly Standard, Wake up America, The PJ Tatler, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller

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: Weasel Zippers, Macsmind, Outside the Beltway, americanthinker.com and Washington Free Beacon

Wall Street Journal:

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, ABCNEWS and Weekly Standard

First Read:

First Thoughts: Obama's closing ad (with 40 days to go) — Obama's closing TV ad of sorts with 40 days to go... Why? Because voters in 30 states are already voting in some form or fashion... The administration's evolving statements on Libya... Romney's evolving statements on health care …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, National Review and Taylor Marsh

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

Discussion: Politico, The Heritage Foundation, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Althouse, Right Wing News, 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, Hot Air and CNN

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

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 …

Discussion: Brad DeLong

David Corn / Mother Jones:
NEW ROMNEY VIDEO: In 1985, He Said Bain Would “Harvest” Companies for Profits

Discussion: Addicting Info

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, Firedoglake, The Daily Caller, americanthinker.com, Taylor Marsh and Patterico's Pontifications

Lateef Mungin / CNN:
Deal ends lockout, brings real refs back to the NFL

Discussion: New York Times, The PJ Tatler, The Monkey Cage, Piers Morgan and This Just In

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, The Hinterland Gazette and Washington Examiner

Adele Hampton / The Hill:
Samuel L. Jackson tells voters to ‘wake the f—k up’ in new ad

Discussion: CNN

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, The Reaction, 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

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

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Mahablog, The Maddow Blog, Shakesville and The Agonist

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

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Daily Beast and Brad DeLong

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, The Impolitic and Israel Matzav

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

Discussion: The Daily Caller, CNN and Towleroad News #gay

CNBC:

Durable Goods Orders Sink Even as Jobless Claims Fall — New durable goods orders in August fell by the most since the recession and a separate reading on the broader U.S. economy came in much weaker than expected. But weekly jobless claims sank to a two-month low, in a hopeful sign for the labor market.

Discussion: Hot Air, GOP 12, Outside the Beltway, Weekly Standard, americanthinker.com and Jammie Wearing Fools

Martin Crutsinger / Associated Press:
US ECONOMY GREW 1.3 PERCENT IN SECOND QUARTER

Discussion: AEIdeas

The Fix:

Why Mitt Romney isn't going to get blown out — It's easy amid a slew of swing state and national polling that shows President Obama opening up a high single-digit lead over Republican challenger Mitt Romney to conclude that we could be witnessing an electoral blowout in the making.

Discussion: National Review, AEIdeas, The Daily Caller, Hotline On Call and Ballot Box

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

Discussion: Althouse

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Defiant Romney: 'I'm going to win Ohio, become the next president'

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

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

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 Rucker / Election 2012:

Romney touts his health-care law, bashes Obama's law — TOLEDO — Over the course of a half hour on Wednesday evening, Mitt Romney put on a vivid display of his political flexibility on the lightning-rod issue of health care. — As his surrogates were warming up a crowd of 3,600 …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Politico and New York Magazine

First Read:
Romney: Massachusetts health care law is proof of empathy

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Beast, Business Insider, New York Magazine and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

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

Nina Chestney / Reuters:

100 mln will die by 2030 if world fails to act on climate - report — (Reuters) - More than 100 million people will die and global economic growth will be cut by 3.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030 if the world fails to tackle climate change, a report commissioned by 20 governments said on Wednesday.

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Right Wing News, Questions and Observations, The Agonist and Hullabaloo

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: CANNONFIRE, The Talking Dog and Guardian

Nicholas Confessore / New York Times:

‘Super PACs’ Finally a Draw for Democrats — James Simons, a Long Island investor and philanthropist, has not given a cent to President Obama's re-election campaign this year. — But Mr. Simons has given at least $2 million to Priorities USA Action, the “super PAC” aiding Mr. Obama …

Discussion: The Caucus, Washington Free Beacon, Prairie Weather and Business Insider