memeorandum: Biden contradicts State Department on Benghazi security (Josh Rogin/Foreign Policy)

2:45 PM ET, October 12, 2012

Top Items:

CNN:

CNN Poll: Debate watchers split on who won VP debate — Danville, Kentucky (CNN) - Call it a draw. — Forty-eight percent of voters who watched the vice presidential debate think that Rep. Paul Ryan won the showdown, according to a CNN/ORC International nationwide poll conducted right after Thursday night's faceoff.

CBS News:

Poll: Biden takes debate over Ryan, uncommitted voters say — Fifty percent of uncommitted voters who tuned into Thursday night's vice presidential debate in Danville, Ky., said they see Vice President Joe Biden as the winner over Mitt Romney's GOP running mate Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., according to an instant poll taken by CBS News.

Discussion: Politico, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Daily Beast, New York Times, Forbes, Power Line, CNN, BuzzFeed, The Maddow Blog, Infidel753, AEIdeas, Capital New York, Capital Tonight, Daily Kos, PolicyMic, Prairie Weather and Business Insider

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Joe Biden Dispenses With the Niceties — In case you missed it, I predicted that Paul Ryan would wipe the floor with Joe Biden. That did not so much happen. Ryan did not perform quite as well as I expected - he seemed greener, younger, and he visibly gulped when challenged.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Paul Krugman

Wall Street Journal:

The Bully vs. the Wonk — The Veep's strategy: Show contempt for your opponent. — So now we know what Team Obama's comeback plan was following last week's defeat in the Presidential debate. Unleash Joe Biden to interrupt, filibuster, snarl, smirk and otherwise show contempt for Paul Ryan.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Week, National Review, Politico, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Daily Beast, GayPatriot and Washington Post

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Raddatz Visited Biden at His Residence in March — White House records reveal that the moderator of last night's vice presidential debate, Martha Raddatz, visited Vice President Joe Biden at his official residence on March 26, 2012. Raddatz is an employee of ABC News.

Discussion: Fox News, CNN, NewsBusters.org blogs, The Lonely Conservative, Weasel Zippers, New York Magazine, The Week and The Daily Caller

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Sarah Palin: Martha Raddatz let Joe Biden run wild — Sarah Palin took vice presidential debate moderator Martha Raddatz to task for allowing Vice President Joe Biden to “run roughshod” over Paul Ryan. — “Really tough format, Sean, for someone like a Paul Ryan or anybody else up against Joe Biden …

Discussion: Reuters, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Daily Kos, PolicyMic, Riehl World News, The Daily Caller and Taylor Marsh

Rick Wilson / Ricochet Conversations Feed:

The Edge of Panic — Last night's performance by Biden â€" capering, giggling, near-maniacal opera buffa â€" was targeted in one place: a dispirited, demoralized Democratic base on the edge of panic. — Paul Ryan was businesslike, steady, and on-point.

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
VP Debate 2012: The Real Paul Ryan Is Bad for America

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Atlantic Online, AMERICAblog, The Maddow Blog and Balloon Juice

Wall Street Journal:
Noonan: Confusing Strength With Aggression

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Weekly Standard, PolicyMic, Power Line, The Caucus, Taegan Goddard's …, Ed Driscoll, Da Tech Guy's Blog and National Review

Alex Wong / Rolling Stone: The Vice Presidential Debate: Joe Biden Was Right to Laugh

Patrick Gavin / Politico:
Twitter frowns on Joe Biden's laugh

Discussion: New York Times, Michelle Malkin, Villainous Company, Townhall.com, americanthinker.com, Swampland, Betsy's Page, Sweetness & Light, Weekly Standard, Liberal Values, National Review, American Spectator, The Lonely Conservative, Ricochet Conversations Feed and The Strata-Sphere

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Angry old man yells at Paul Ryan for 90 minutes; Update: CNN insta-poll of undecideds shows tie …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs, Slate, PoliticusUSA, The Daily Beast, Mediaite, WBUR, Questions and Observations, Search Engine Land, Instapundit, americanthinker.com, Hit & Run, Associated Press and Betsy's Page

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
In Polls, Biden Gets a Hold

Discussion: Salon, The Week, New York Times, Colorlines, Washington Monthly, BillMoyers.com, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Capital New York, Business Insider and Washington Examiner

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
GOP not smiling over Biden's laughter at debate vs. Ryan

Discussion: Yahoo! News, The Daily Caller, The Fix and Daily Kos

Fred Barnes / Weekly Standard:
Biden Bombed — You don't win a nationally televised debate by being rude and obnoxious.

Discussion: American Prospect, Washington Post, BREITBART.COM, Los Angeles Times, Washington Wire, The Gateway Pundit, CNN, The Jawa Report and Wall Street Journal

Michael Barone / Washington Examiner:
Thoughts on the vice presidential debate

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Maggie's Farm, National Review and Naked DC, more at Mediagazer »

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Very Quick Thoughts

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, Los Angeles Times, Washington Monthly, Swampland, Guardian, The Week, National Review and Esquire

Ricochet Conversations Feed:
Mollie Hemingway, Ed. : You Want To Win The Debate, But You Also Want To Win The Post-Debate

Discussion: GayPatriot

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Live-Blogging The Biden-Ryan Debate

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Slate, Poliglot, The Daily Beast, The Hinterland Gazette, Mother Jones, New York Magazine and Da Tech Guy's Blog

Joe Biden / CNN:
Transcript: Vice Presidential Debate

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Weekly Standard, Talking Points Memo, Firedoglake, WPTV, Mail Online, The New Republic, ABCNEWS, The Daily Beast, Balloon Juice, The Huffington Post, Simply Left BehindThe …, Algemeiner.com, emptywheel, Guardian and Law Blog

Josh Rogin / Foreign Policy:

White House: Obama and Biden were never aware of requests for more Benghazi security — Vice President Joseph Biden speaks only for himself and President Barack Obama, and neither man was aware that U.S. officials in Libya had asked the State Department for more security before the Sept. 11 attack …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Jawa Report, The Daily Caller, Politico, Wake up America, Villainous Company, BuzzFeed, The Gateway Pundit, Althouse, The Heritage Foundation, The PJ Tatler, Hit & Run, Hot Air, Taegan Goddard's …, Weasel Zippers, CNN and Weekly Standard

Eli Lake / The Daily Beast:

VIDEO CAPTURED LIBYA ATTACK — Footage from the night of Sept. 11 might be the clearest evidence yet of a military-style assault on the consulate in Benghazi. Eli Lake reports. — Video footage from the United States consulate in Benghazi, Libya, taken the night of the Sept. 11 anniversary attacks …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Jammie Wearing Fools and Riehl World News

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Sen. Corker: Obama must have known what happened in Libya

Discussion: Instapundit and National Review

Josh Rogin / Foreign Policy:
Biden contradicts State Department on Benghazi security

John Boone / E! Online:

NEWS/Lindsay Lohan: I'm Voting for Mitt Romney — Lindsay Lohan should have enough issues to focus on in her life (like, say, the blow up fight she had with her mom and subsequent fight she had with her dad) but she has another on her mind: Unemployment. — The Liz & Dick star stepped …

Discussion: Business Insider, Reuters, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, New York Magazine and Gawker

Cindy Adams / New York Post:

Lindsay Lohan endorses Mitt Romney — LOS ANGELES - Four years ago, Lindsay Lohan referred to Obama's Presidential victory as “amazing,” but cut to 2012, and it seems the “Mean Girls” star has had a serious change of heart. — “I think unemployment is very important for now, so as of now I think …

Discussion: The Hill, The Other McCain, PopWatch and ABCNEWS

Gene Maddaus / The Informer:

Brad Sherman Grabs Howard Berman At Debate, Challenges Him To A Fight — Think Biden-Ryan was a hard-fought debate? Then you missed the Berman-Sherman brawl up in the Valley today. — Congressman Brad Sherman put his arm around rival Congressman Howard Berman and challenged him to a fight, saying “Do you want to get into this?”

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Influence Alley

Michael R. Blood / Associated Press:
Brad Sherman, Howard Berman Fight: California Congressional Race Turns Physical (VIDEO)

Discussion: Mediaite and National Review

Shelby Grad / PolitiCal:
Berman, Sherman get into near-altercation at forum [Video]

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Wonkette, The Fix, First Read, Business Insider, Hotline On Call, Gawker and The Raw Story

Lee Enterprises / Missoulian:

Grenade burns sleeping girl as SWAT team raids Billings home — A 12-year-old girl suffered burns to one side of her body when a flash grenade went off next to her as a police SWAT team raided a West End home Tuesday morning. — “She has first- and second-degree burns down the left side …

Discussion: Hit & Run and The Agitator

Amanda Peterson Beadle / ThinkProgress:

Todd Akin: No ‘Science’ Behind Evolution — Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) has had trouble with facts about reproduction. He said in August that women cannot get pregnant from “legitimate rape” because “the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down.” And in 2008, Akin claimed that it is …

Discussion: The Raw Story and Esquire

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Americans' Views of Obama More Polarized as Election Nears — Ninety percent of Democrats, 8% of Republicans approve of him — PRINCETON, NJ — Thus far in October, an average of 90% of Democrats, and 8% of Republicans, approve of the job Barack Obama is doing as president.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Politico and Planet Washington

TWS Podcast / Weekly Standard:

Kristol Reacts to the Vice Presidential Debate — Hosted by Michael Graham. — THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Bill Kristol, hosted by Michael Graham: — This podcast can be downloaded here. Subscribe to THE WEEKLY STANDARD's iTunes podcast feed here.