memeorandum: Email Shows State Department Rejecting Request of Security Team at US Embassy in Libya (Jake Tapper/ABCNEWS)

1:05 PM ET, October 5, 2012

Top Items:

Tim Catts / Bloomberg:

Former GE CEO Jack Welch Says White House Manipulates Jobs Data — History Says No — Former General Electric Co. (GE) Chief Executive Officer Jack Welch accused the Obama administration on Twitter of manipulating today's employment data for political advantage.

Discussion: Real Time Economics, Election 2012, The New Republic, Washington Monthly, Mediaite, Wonkblog, New York Magazine, MarketBeat, Booman Tribune, The Raw Story and The Hinterland Gazette

Talking Points Memo:

Romney: ‘This Is Not What A Real Recovery Looks Like’ — Following news that the U.S. economy added 114,000 jobs in September, with unemployment falling to 7.8%, Mitt Romney on Friday released the following statement on the September unemployment report:

Discussion: Suburban Guerrilla and p m carpenter's commentary

Congressman Allen West / Facebook:

In regards to today's Jobs report—I agree with former GE CEO Jack Welch, Chicago style politics is at work here... We all want the suffering of the American people from this rampant scourge of unemployment to end. However, today's jobs report is confusing to say the least.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, Business Insider, Weasel Zippers, TechCrunch, BuzzFeed, theGrio, The Hinterland Gazette, Post on Politics and Mother Jones

Jeff Cox / CNBC:

Jobs Growth Rises 114,000 as Rate Slides to 7.8 Percent — Job growth remained tame in September, with the economy creating just 114,000 net new positions though the unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent, the first time it has been below 8 percent in 43 months.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Daily Caller, Taylor Marsh, iOwnTheWorld.com, The Gateway Pundit and Scared Monkeys

Aviva Shen / ThinkProgress:

Meet The Conservatives Who Think Today's Job Numbers Are A Conspiracy — The Bureau of Labor Statistics released an unexpectedly strong monthly jobs report on Friday, finding a dramatic drop in unemployment to 7.8 percent and revised the number of jobs added in July and August up from initial estimates.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Wonkblog, The Maddow Blog, americanthinker.com, Wonkette and Dependable Renegade

Associated Press:

US jobless rate falls to 7.8 pct., 44-month low — US unemployment rate falls to 7.8 pct., lowest since 2009, giving Obama a potential boost — WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent last month, dropping below 8 percent for the first time in nearly four years …

Discussion: p m carpenter's commentary, The PJ Tatler and The Hinterland Gazette

James Pethokoukis / AEIdeas:

The sickly, stagnant September jobs report — Is this the Obama October Surprise? — Only in an era of depressingly diminished expectations could the September jobs report be called a good one. It really isn't. Not at all. — 1. Yes, the U-3 unemployment rate fell to 7.8% …

Discussion: Americans for Limited …, protein wisdom, FiveThirtyEight, Economy Watch, Felix Salmon, Colorlines, The Heritage Foundation, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Immoral Minority, Instapundit, National Review and Weasel Zippers

Shaila Dewan / New York Times:

Jobless Rate Falls to 7.8%, Lowest Since January 2009 — The nation's unemployment rate dropped below 8 percent in September to its lowest rate since President Obama took office, the Labor Department said Friday. — While employers added only a modest 114,000 jobs last month …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Associated Press, Plunderbund, Washington Monthly, The Agonist, Economix, Mother Jones, Marbury, New York Magazine, The PJ Tatler, FT Alphaville and Blue Mass Group

Brett LoGiurato / Business Insider:

JACK WELCH: Obama Is Manipulating The Jobs Numbers Because His Debate Performance Was Awful — Former GE CEO Jack Welch's reaction to non-farm payrolls adding 114,000 new jobs in September and the unemployment rate falling to 7.8 percent: — Looks like Welch already was predicting this last night:

Discussion: GOP 12

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Jobs report: 114K jobs added, jobless rate 7.8%; Update: CNBC confused by “contradictory” …

Discussion: Calculated Risk, Weekly Standard, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Outside the Beltway, The Maddow Blog, The Moderate Voice, Pirate's Cove and HyperVocal

Sheldon Alberts / The Hill:
Labor secretary ‘insulted’ by claims job numbers were rigged

Discussion: CNN

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
September jobs report: Debunking the jobs report conspiracy theories

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Monkey Cage, Business Insider, No More Mister Nice Blog, Guardian, The Caucus and The Maddow Blog

Business Insider:
BOOM: UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FALLS TO 7.8%, BIG UPWARD REVISION TO LAST MONTH

Discussion: Firedoglake, Mediaite, The Big Picture and Washington Examiner

CNN:
Unemployment rate below 8% a boon for Obama, but Romney says not enough

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Politico, Ballot Box and KDVR.com

Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:
Unemployment Rate Plummets to 4.3%—For Government Workers

Discussion: protein wisdom, Patterico's Pontifications and Riehl World News

Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo: Huge September Drop In Unemployment, Economy Adds 114,000 Jobs

Alex Kowalski / Bloomberg:
U.S. Jobless Rate Declines to 7.8%; 114,000 Jobs Added

Discussion: Hit & Run and Balloon Juice

Wall Street Journal:
Unemployment Rate Falls to 7.8%

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and The PJ Tatler

Washington Post:

Romney: ‘47 percent’ remarks were ‘completely wrong’ — View Photo Gallery — Surrounded by four of his five sons, Republican nominee for president Mitt Romney makes a surprise appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Denver. View more photos from the campaign trail.

Discussion: Fox News Insider, Election 2012 and Balloon Juice

Mario Trujillo / Ballot Box:
Romney says he was ‘completely wrong’ on ‘47 percent’ comment

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Dish and Rumproast

Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:

Email Shows State Department Rejecting Request of Security Team at US Embassy in Libya — (Image Credit: Ibrahim Alaguri/AP Photo) — ABC News has obtained an internal State Department email from May 3, 2012, indicating that the State Department denied a request from the security team …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, JustOneMinute, The Daily Caller, Taylor Marsh, emptywheel, The Heritage Foundation, The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers, americanthinker.com, National Review, Conservative Hideout 2.0 and The Daily Beast

Zeke Miller / BuzzFeed:

Romney “Cheat Sheet” Was A Handkerchief, Campaign Says — Conspiracy theory of the day. — Source: youtube.com — ABINGTON, Va. — Mitt Romney's campaign is shooting down a simmering online theory the Republican nominee used a “cheat sheet” in Wednesday night's debate against President Barack Obama.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Shakesville, Wonkette and Towleroad News #gay

Reuters:
Inside the campaign: Reinventing Romney

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, CNN, Hot Air, National Review, First Read, Politico and The Hill

Jonathan Easley / The Hill: Former college hoops star endorses Romney in new ad

John McCormack / Weekly Standard:

Ryan: Biden Coming at Me ‘Like a Cannonball’ — Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan talk to each other on the phone almost every day, and the day of the first presidential debate was no exception. “I told him after the debate that he crushed it,” Ryan told THE WEEKLY STANDARD in a phone interview Thursday night.

Discussion: The Hill, ABCNEWS and Election 2012

Kyle Balluck / The Hill:
Dems hope Biden can blunt Romney momentum post-debate

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Jammie Wearing Fools

BuzzFeed:

Obama Deploys Big Bird To Romney Rally — And the Democratic National Committee releases a new web video mocking Romney for wanting to cut the subsidy for PBS. Furry politics. — Source: youtube.com — Statement from Obama spokeswoman Lis Smith:

Philly.com:
How Big Bird can teach two political candidates a new lesson

Discussion: Smartypants, Infidel753, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, She The People and Salon

Mike Ramsey / CBS Chicago:

NAACP Official: Obama Campaign Staffer Threatened Me — CHICAGO (CBS) — The President of the South Suburban Branch of the NAACP alleges a director of the re-election campaign of Barack Obama has threatened and intimidated him because he doesn't support the president.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers, The Hinterland Gazette and Jammie Wearing Fools

Elias Isquith / The Atlantic Online:

Paul Ryan's Debt to Barry Goldwater—Who'd Be Mortified by Paul Ryan — The conservative scion vice-presidential nominee seeks to finish the work that the GOP started in 1964, with one crucial revision. — U.S Congress (Ryan); Library of Congress (Goldwater)

Discussion: Bloomberg, Balloon Juice and National Review

Matt Higgins / CBS DC:

Top Obama Fundraiser To Release Bin Laden Film 2 Days Before Election — LOS ANGELES (AP) — A film dramatizing the death of Osama bin Laden is set to debut next month on the National Geographic Channel, two days before the presidential election. — “Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Taylor Marsh and Riehl World News

Kevin A. Hassett / National Review:

Think Again about That ‘Good’ Jobs Report — Today's jobs report is a classic. The report, of course, reveals the results of two surveys, one of households, one of establishments. The professional economists and the press usually emphasize the establishment survey because it is viewed as less volatile.

Discussion: Power Line, Outside the Beltway and Hot Air