memeorandum: No, Romney Did Not “Move to the Center” in Debate (Ed Kilgore/Washington Monthly)

1:20 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, Wonkblog, New York Magazine, Mediaite, MarketBeat, The Raw Story and The Hinterland Gazette

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: BuzzFeed, Business Insider, Weasel Zippers, theGrio, The Hinterland Gazette, Post on Politics and Mother Jones

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

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: protein wisdom, Weekly Standard, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller, Taylor Marsh, iOwnTheWorld.com, The Gateway Pundit and Scared Monkeys

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: protein wisdom, Americans for Limited …, Business Insider, FiveThirtyEight, Economy Watch, Felix Salmon, OpenMarket.org, Colorlines, neo-neocon, The Heritage Foundation, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Immoral Minority, Instapundit, National Review and Weasel Zippers

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, 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

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

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:

September jobs report: Debunking the jobs report conspiracy theories — Look at that graph. There's nothing all that amazing, or all that weird, about this month's numbers. — We've hit that moment in the election when people begin to lose their minds.

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

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 and The PJ Tatler

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, The Maddow Blog, Pirate's Cove, HyperVocal, Outside the Beltway and The Moderate Voice

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

Discussion: CNN

Benjy Sarlin / Talking Points Memo:
Solid Jobs Report Spawns Crackpot ‘Job Truthers’ Movement

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Politico, Paul Krugman, Wonkblog, Outside the Beltway and TechCrunch

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

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

Discussion: Hit & Run and Balloon Juice

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

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

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

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, Daily Kos, Infidel753, Balloon Juice, She The People and Salon

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:

No, Romney Did Not “Move to the Center” in Debate — Before it becomes a kind of Fact-Made-Fact-By-Repetition, I'd like to challenge the much-assumed idea that in the first presidential debate Mitt Romney “moved to the center” in a real, substantive way. This seems to be the conclusion …

Discussion: First Read, Mother Jones and Slate

David Brooks / New York Times:
Moderate Mitt Returns!

Discussion: p m carpenter's commentary

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

Dennis Owens / WHTM-TV:

Pa. lawmaker refuses Pledge of Allegiance at House meeting — Politicians are often criticized for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time that's taken the wrong way. But state Representative Babette Josephs (D-Philadelphia) is being criticized for what she refused to say.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Weasel Zippers and The Raw Story