NBC/WSJ/Marist poll: Romney gains in key swing states  —  A week after President Barack Obama's lackluster debate performance, Republican challenger Mitt Romney has made some gains in three key swing states among those most likely to vote, according to the latest round of NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist polls.

Biden seeks to calm left — Ryan to claim misrepresentations by Obama — New swing-state polls: CO, VA, OH, WI, FL — Brooke Brower baby  —  MORNING MINDMELD: Conversations with advisers to the V.P. candidates suggest that both will be very aggressive tonight.

Mother of Slain State Dept. Official Tired of Being Lied To and Stonewalled by Obama Administration  —  The mother of State Department official Sean Smith, who was killed September 11, 2012 in the terrorist attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, appeared on CNN this evening.

Letting us in on a secret  —  When House Republicans called a hearing in the middle of their long recess, you knew it would be something big, and indeed it was: They accidentally blew the CIA's cover.  —  The purpose of Wednesday's hearing of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee …

Bus Driver Tells 12 Year-Old He Should Have Been Aborted Because of Romney Yard Sign  —  A bus driver told a 12 year-old student that he should have been aborted because his family had a Romney-Ryan sign in their yard.  —  Freedom Eden reported: … UPDATE: The bus driver was fired after the report on Mark's show.

U.S. Jobless Claims Fall  —  The number of U.S. workers filing applications for jobless benefits fell last week, a hopeful sign for the job market following the recent drop in the unemployment rate to its lowest level since January 2009.  —  Initial jobless claims—a measure of layoffs …

GOP senators to White House: Cyber order would be ‘a mistake’  —  A trio of centrist Senate Republicans on Wednesday urged President Obama to hold back on issuing an executive order that would protect critical infrastructure systems from cyberattacks and encouraged him to work with Congress to pass legislation instead.

The Dark Side of Jefferson is the Dark Side of America  —  This Henry Wiencek piece at Smithsonian on Thomas Jefferson's dark side has half-perplexed me, yet the reactions show why it is so necessary.  The piece essentially argues that Jefferson was a cold calculating slaveholder …

Morning Jay: Politics and the Gallup Poll  —  Since about the beginning of President Obama's tenure, the Gallup poll has generally been one of the least positive polls for the Democratic party.  This has prompted outrage and pressure from the left—even from presidential advisor David Axelrod.

Oct. 10: Is Romney Leading Right Now?  —  Polling since the debate in Denver last week has generally been very strong for Mitt Romney.  But there have also been a couple of rays of hope for Democrats and President Obama.  —  One hypothesis is that Mr. Romney's debate bounce was initially very strong, but has since faded some.

Mitt Romney's tax mythology, made simple  —  I've said this before, but Mitt Romney's new formulation of his tax plan — one he used at the debate, and which he repeated to Wolf Blitzer yesterday — makes it absolutely clear that he's lying about something.  You don't need complicated Tax …

CBS 5 Poll: Romney Gains 8 Points On Faltering Obama In California  —  SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) — The effects of President Barack Obama's falter in the first debate with Mitt Romney are not just being felt in battleground states, according to KPIX-TV CBS 5′s latest tracking poll of California …

FLASHBACK: MODERATOR RADDATZ STUNNED DEMOCRAT JOHN SILBER'S CAMPAIGN FOR MA GOVERNOR IN 1990 DEBATE  —  Ahead of Thursday evening's highly-anticipated debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Republican challenger Rep. Paul Ryan, pundits are wondering whether the moderator, ABC News' Martha Raddatz …

Romney Campaign Looks to Capitalize on Image Voters Saw in Debate  —  BOSTON — Inside Mitt Romney's campaign headquarters over the past few days, the data pouring in was unmistakable.  Aides scouring the results of focus groups and national polls found that undecided voters watching …